Maya laid on her side as tears continued to stream down her face. Maya still couldn't believe that Charlie was gone. She had locked herself in her room for the past three days and hasn't opened the door for anyone. The bags under her eyes were a dark purple making her bright blue eyes look extremely dull.
Her small baby like fingers were wrapped tightly around the large stuffed bear that Charlie had won for Maya back when they were in ninth grade. Fluttering her eyes shut the memory came flooding back to her, causing a sad smile to form on her face.
"Maya!" Charlie sang aloud. Maya looked back at Charlie, her face showed the eeriness that flowed through her body. Maya ran towards Carlie wrapping her small arms around his taller frame. "What's wrong?" Maya shook her head as she placed her ear against Charlie's chest, listening to his steady heartbeat that began to pick up in pace.
"Fine, have it your way." He said as he pulled Maya way from him, grabbing her hand. "If I win you the big bear, will it make you feel better?" He asked.
Maya looked over at the three-foot tall bear that sat on the edge of the stand that 'toss the rings' were at. Maya smiled while looking up at Charlie, nodding her head happily.
Charlie smiled and pulled Maya towards the stand. Charlie handed the guy a crisp five dollar bill from his wallet. The older male handed Charlie three rings. With a look of determination, Charlie threw the first ring, having it land on the bottle. He looked down at Maya smiling, his cockiness getting to his head. "Alright kiddo, you just have to make one more to win a prize."
Charlie nodded his head and looked back at the glasses aiming towards the one directly in the middle. His throw was a bit too strong and it fell through two of the glasses. He frowned, throwing a sideways glance towards Maya, her eyes were locked on the brown bear, her eyes gleaming with joy.
Charlie threw the next ring and missed, miserably. Charlie whined as he handed the guy another five dollars. "I got this, I got this." Charlie whispered to himself. The ring was a miss. The second ring landed perfectly on the bottle. Maya smiled widely, looking at Charlie with hopeful eyes. Charlie looked back at Maya a small grin pulling at his lips. He narrowed his eyes onto one specific bottle. Charlie flung the ring forward. The ring bounced off the original bottle landed on the bottle behind it.
Maya squealed with happiness as the older male plucked the overly large stuffed bear off of the stand, handing it to Maya. Wrapping her small arms around the big bear, she looked back at Charlie, a wide smile plastered on her face.
"Happy now?" Charlie asked as he stared down at her. Maya clung to the bear for dear life, afraid that she'd dropped it. One of her hands moved to Charlie, grabbing his face. Charlie's eyes widened, moving across her face. "Hm?"
'Thank you.' Maya mouthed to him. He smiled at her, showing off his pearly white teeth. Maya smiled before grabbing his hand. "Want to go home?" Maya nodded. Charlie tossed his arm over Maya's shoulder as Maya leaned agaisnt him, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Maya?" A soft knock on the door pulled Maya out of her trance. Maya turned to look at the door before shoving her face back into the stuffed bear. "Maya, please open the door." The male's voice sounded broken, as if they felt pain and guilt, maybe even desperation.
Maya sighed as she stood up and walked towards the door, unlocking it. Opening the door Maya was greeted with a pair of green eyes. "Zachary? Why are you here?"
Zac lowered his head, "I'm sorry." Maya was taken back by his apologies. "I'm sorry that I interfered with the fight. But I also wanted to say thank you for saving my life."
Maya looked at the top of Zac's head, he couldn't find the courage to look her in the eyes. "Listen, Zac. I appreciate the apology but I'm still quite confused as to why you're apologizing. And as for saving you, it was the least I could do, you tried to save Charlie I was repaying the favor."
Zac picked his head up, looking at Maya. "I'm sorry, I feel as if I made things worse. If I hadn't interfered, then maybe Charlie wouldn't be where he is right now."
Maya's bottom lip quivered. "If anything you helped him live longer than what he did."
Zac tilted his head before speaking, "What do you mean, 'live longer than he did'."
"Charlie's dead." Maya said in a monotone.
Zac shook his head. "No, he isn't, he's in the hospital down the street. Your mother helped him out." Charlie paused looking down at Maya shocked face. "I thought you knew that." Maya stopped breathing for a moment, processing what he just said. Quickly grabbing her jacket and slides, Maya was out the door and on her way to the hospital leaving Zachary standing dumbfounded in her bedroom doorway.