Days blurred into nights, yet something inside me sharpened with every passing hour.
It wasn't just Adrian's sudden intensity or Maya's uneasy eyes. It was the small things, pieces of this, pieces of that, on their own, seemed harmless.
But when together it whispered a story I wasn't supposed to hear.
That's true definition of nature evidence.
Like the way Adrian would leave the room when Maya called.
The way she avoided sitting too close to him whenever I was around, as if I was a leopard looking for a prey or a distance which could hide heat.
Whenever I remember how his kisses grew hungrier the more I questioned him, makes me feel so close to the evidence.
How he buried his hands in my hair as though trying to tangle my doubts into knots I'd never untie. But lies always leak. Even in his silence. Beat by beat, inches by inches.
One evening, I sat with Maya in the dorm lounge.
She looked pale, her sweater swallowing her frame and her fingers nervously clutching a cup of tea which she barely drank.
So I kindly asked to see if she would slip a little evidence.
You look tired, I said gently. She gave me a fragile smile and replied immediately.
Just exams Elena, it's stressing me out. I don't know what you wish to know.
Inside my mind I know exams didn't put that kind of shadow in someone's eyes.
Exams didn't make someone's fingers tremble when they held porcelain.
Some pressure is growing inside her and it's boiling harder everyday.
And then, like a thread being pulled, something slipped.
She muttered it under her breath, maybe even to herself: " Sorry I didn't mean for it to go this far."
I froze immediately to her statement.
What are you saying, Maya?
Her eyes widened, panic flashing, and she shook her head quickly.
Nothing, just talking to myself. Too much coffee, right..
I smiled in agreement even though i didn't agree.
But it wasn't nothing. It was everything. She slipped away and try to cover it up.
I wanted to press harder, but her sudden retreat, the way she grabbed her books and rushed off quickly told me enough.
She was protecting a secret, and that secret was wound tight around Adrian.
Same evening hours later, I found Adrian waiting outside my building.
I walked down to him and immediately he pulled me close as usual with his lips crashing against mine before I could even greet him.
I kissed him back, but my heart wasn't in it. I was listening not to his words, not to his passion, but to the gaps between them.
His heart pounding double beat like someone in pressure trying to cover up.
Where were you last night? I asked suddenly, pulling away.
His jaw clenched. I was at the Library. Fell asleep in one of the study rooms. Couldn't come back because it was too late.
Why are you asking?
My eyes narrowed. You're Funny Adrian. I don't think you were at the library because I was there until midnight. Didn't see you. Not even a glimpse.
A flicker. Barely it was there. Bold and alive
He recovered quickly, brushing it off with a chuckle. You probably missed me. Or maybe I left before you arrived. Stop worrying so much my Nana
He grabbed me and kissed again, harder, as though the pressure could wipe away my doubt.
But it didn't. It only pressed the bitter taste deeper into my mouth.
That night, I couldn't sleep.
I lay awake staring at the ceiling, then I remembered Daniel's voice echoing in my mind:
"Honesty is heavier than lies. And some people aren't strong enough to carry it."
I realized then, I wasn't imagining things. The pieces were real. They were waiting for me to fit them together.
And maybe I wasn't ready for the picture they would form. But I was done pretending not to see.
"A step forward is a step closer"
The puzzle was speaking. And I was finally ready to listen.