Chapter Text
The apartment was small, but it felt even smaller with the silence sitting between them.
Charlotte stayed on the couch, elbows on her knees, hands loosely clasped together. She didn’t look up. She already knew what was coming.
“You snuck out again.” Maya’s voice wasn’t loud, that made it worse.
Charlotte exhaled slowly. “Sandali lang naman.”
Maya let out a short, disbelieving laugh. “Sandali lang?” she repeated, pacing just a few steps before turning back to her. “You were on a motorbike. With your friends. Hanggang madaling araw.”
Charlotte finally glanced up, just briefly. “I know how to handle it.”
“That’s not the point, Cha.” The nickname softened nothing.
Maya crossed her arms, frustration written all over her face but underneath it, something else sat heavier.
Worry.
“Kakalabas mo pa lang sa kampo,” she continued, her voice tightening. “You just graduated. You’re supposed to be resting, adjusting—not doing… whatever that was. Me saying yes to you pursuing what you want is already enough, Charlotte. That should be enough.”
Charlotte looked away again. Back to her hands.
“I needed to clear my head,” she muttered.
Maya stopped pacing.
“Clear your head?” she echoed. “By doing something that could literally put you back in the hospital?”
That hit. Charlotte’s jaw tightened slightly.
“I’m fine,” she said, quieter now.
Maya stared at her. For a long second.
“You’ve been having seizures.”
Silence.
Charlotte didn’t answer. Maya stepped closer.
“Don’t do that,” she said, softer now. “Don’t just go quiet like it’s nothing.”
“I know,” Charlotte finally replied, still not looking at her. “It’s just… small ones.”
“That doesn’t make it okay!”
The words came out sharper than Maya intended. She inhaled quickly, trying to steady herself.
“Cha…” Her voice dropped again. “You collapsed two days ago.”
Charlotte rubbed the back of her neck. “I just lost balance.”
Maya let out a frustrated breath.
“You were shaking. Hindi mo nga kayang tumayo mag-isa.”
Another silence. Heavier this time.
Charlotte shifted slightly on the couch. For a moment, her hand twitched. Just once. Subtle. Easy to miss.
But Maya didn’t. Her expression changed immediately.
“See?” she said, almost pleading now. “It’s still happening.”
Charlotte clenched her hand into a fist. Still. Controlled.
“I’ve got it,” she said.
“You don’t,” Maya shot back, stepping closer again. “And that’s what scares me.”
That made Charlotte look up. Really look this time.
Maya wasn’t angry anymore. She looked… tired.
“You act like nothing can touch you,” Maya continued, quieter now. “Like you’re invincible or something.”
Charlotte frowned slightly. “I never said that.”
“You don’t have to,” Maya replied. “You just… live like it.”
That lingered. Charlotte leaned back slightly, resting against the couch.
“I just don’t want to stop,” she admitted.
Maya blinked. “What?”
Charlotte hesitated.
“I already lost months of my life after the accident,” she said, voice low. “I don’t want to feel… stuck again.”
“The accident happened years ago, Charlotte and yet it's still showing kasi abusado ka.”
That took the edge off everything. Just a little.
Maya’s shoulders dropped.
“And you’d rather risk losing more?” she asked softly.
Charlotte didn’t answer.
The silence stretched again.
Then Maya sighed. Long. Tired. She walked over and sat beside her. Not too close. But close enough.
“You’re impossible,” Maya muttered.
A small, almost guilty smile tugged at Charlotte’s lips.
Another pause.
Maya glanced at her. “You could’ve told me.”
Charlotte shrugged lightly. “You would’ve said no.”
“I am saying no.”
That made Charlotte huff out a quiet laugh. But it didn’t last long.
“Just—” Maya started, then stopped. She looked down at her hands. “Just don’t make me watch you break again.”
That hit harder than anything else.
Charlotte’s expression softened. “I won’t,” she said. But her voice wasn’t as certain as she wanted it to be.
The apartment was quieter now. Not the heavy kind from before.
Just… still.
Charlotte sat at the edge of the bed this time, shoulders slightly slumped, one hand braced against the mattress.
She looked fine. At least, that’s what she kept telling herself.
“Stay there.”
Maya’s voice came from the other side of the room. Firm. No room for argument.
Charlotte let out a small breath through her nose. “I’m not going anywhere.”
There was a faint clatter, glass against metal before Maya walked back in, carrying a small tray.
Water. A damp cloth. Medicine.
Charlotte glanced at it, then up at her. “‘Di mo naman kailangan gawin ‘yan.”
Maya set the tray down on the bedside table a little harder than necessary.
“I know.”
A beat.
“But I want to.”
That shut Charlotte up.
Maya picked up the cloth, wringing it slightly before stepping closer.
“Move.”
Charlotte shifted just enough to give her space.
The cloth pressed gently against her temple. Cool. Grounding.
Charlotte closed her eyes for a second. “I said I’m fine.”
“And I said stay still.”
There wasn’t any bite in it this time. Just… focus.
Maya’s hand lingered a moment longer than needed. Checking. Watching.
“You feel dizzy?” she asked quietly.
Charlotte hesitated. “A little.”
Maya nodded like she expected that. “Any ringing?”
“Yeah.”
“Vision?”
“Still good.”
Maya exhaled softly. “Okay.”
She pulled the cloth away, adjusting it before pressing it back again, more carefully this time.
Charlotte cracked one eye open, watching her. “You sound like a doctor.”
“Pag jowa mo si Charlotte Valle, magiging doktor ka talaga,” Maya muttered.
Charlotte almost smiled.
Silence settled again, but this time it wasn’t uncomfortable.
Just… close.
After a moment, Maya reached for the glass of water and held it out.
“Drink.”
Charlotte took it without arguing this time. Small sips.
Maya watched her the entire time. Not intense.
Just… making sure.
When Charlotte lowered the glass, she leaned back slightly against the headboard.
“You’re overreacting,” she said, softer now.
Maya didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she sat down beside her. Closer than earlier.
“I saw you collapse,” Maya said quietly.
Charlotte’s grip on the glass tightened just a little.
“You don’t get to decide how I react to that.”
Charlotte looked down. “Sorry…”
Maya glanced at her. Surprised, just a bit.
“That’s new,” she said.
Charlotte huffed faintly. “Don’t get used to it.”
That earned the smallest smile from Maya. Just for a second. Then it faded.
“We should get you checked again,” she said carefully.
Charlotte didn’t answer right away. She just nodded.
Not resistance. Not this time.
Maya reached out without thinking and took her hand.
Charlotte froze for half a second, then let it happen.
“You’re really not scared of anything, huh?” Maya murmured.
Charlotte glanced at her. “It's not like that...”
Maya tightened her grip slightly.
“Then be scared of this one,” she said softly.
That lingered.
Charlotte didn’t joke. Didn’t brush it off. She just looked at their hands for a moment.
“Okay.”
And this time, she meant it
For now, at least.
After a few days, Charlotte passed out again. Maya was pacing again. Same three steps. Same turn. Over and over.
“You should be lying down,” she muttered, more to herself than anyone else. “You just had—God, Cha, you just—”
“I’m fine.”
“You said that before you almost dropped on the floor!”
Charlotte, sitting casually on the edge of the bed, watched her with a quiet kind of patience.
Like this wasn’t new. Because it wasn’t.
“Maya.”
“No, don’t ‘Maya’ me,” she shot back, running a hand through her hair. “You don’t get to act like this is nothing. It’s not nothing. You’re not—”
Charlotte stood.
That alone made Maya stop.
“What are you doing?”
Instead of answering, Charlotte walked toward her. Slow. Unhurried.
Maya frowned slightly, tension still tight in her shoulders.
“Charlotte, I’m serious—”
Charlotte reached for her. Not forceful.
Just… certain.
Her hands settled gently at Maya’s waist, grounding her in place.
Maya stiffened at first. Still mid-thought. Still mid-panic.
“Charlotte, I—”
And then Charlotte leaned in.
The kiss wasn’t rushed. Wasn’t desperate.
It was intentional. Soft. Steady.
Like she was pressing pause on everything.
Maya’s words cut off instantly. For a second, she didn’t respond. Still caught between worry and surprise.
Then, slowly, her shoulders dropped. The tension in her chest eased, like something invisible had loosened its grip.
Charlotte didn’t pull away immediately. She stayed there. Close.
Letting the moment settle.
When she finally did, it wasn’t far. Their foreheads brushed lightly.
“Breathe, baby,” Charlotte murmured.
Maya let out a shaky exhale she didn’t realize she’d been holding.
“You always do that,” she said quietly.
Charlotte tilted her head slightly. “Do what?”
Maya looked at her. Really looked this time.
“Shut me up,” she muttered.
Charlotte smirked faintly. “Works, doesn’t it?”
Maya tried to roll her eyes. Didn’t quite manage it.
“You’re impossible.”
Charlotte smile but she didn’t move away. Her hands were still there. Warm and steady.
Maya rested her forehead lightly against Charlotte’s shoulder.
“I hate that it works,” she mumbled.
Charlotte’s hand slid up slightly, resting at the back of her neck.
Gentle.
“You’re overthinking again,” she said softly.
“I’m thinking,” Maya corrected.
Charlotte huffed a quiet laugh. Then, softer, “I‘m fine. You‘re fine.”
That made Maya pause. Because it wasn’t just reassurance.
It felt like something more. Something she couldn’t quite explain. Like warmth spreading through her chest. Like everything slowing down.
❀˖°