Maya hated not talking to Isadora. She hated that she couldn't get Isadora's advice when faced with her problems. She hated not being able to ask for pancakes and she hated that she stayed in her room, feigning sleep so that Isadora wouldn't knock on her door and call her for breakfast. Some might say that she's being immature and that if she missed Isadora so much, she should just talk to her already but something wasn't letting her.

It was the secret that Isadora was keeping from her, Maya wondered if it was something Isadora shared with Maya's father. She wondered why the two of them knew something she didn't. It bothered her enough to not talk to her when she finally descended the stairs to go to the kitchen and make herself scrambled eggs. She ignored Isadora's move forward to try and talk to her, Maya placed her eggs into a clear glass plate she had grabbed from the cabinet and scarfed down her eggs so she could get out of the kitchen before she confessed to Isadora how much she missed her and why she was keeping something important from her. Maya knew that Isadora didn't know every single thing that went on with Maya but the important stuff, she made sure to share. Why couldn't Isadora?

Maya kept her poker face though and pushed Isadora to the side as the dreadful thought of attending Riley's party that day came to mind. That was another part of the reason Maya didn't want to talk to Isadora. She was helping Maya's father by taking her to Riley's party also referred to in Maya's mind as the last place on Earth she'd like to be. When she went to the basement, Maya took in the absolute wreck it was in because of the paint fight she had with Lucas the day before. Even though the feeling of being pressed against his wet, sticky chest wasn't the most romantic in the world, Maya still felt herself smile at the thought of being in his arms. That same feeling she had the first time he hugged seemed to amplify this time and not only did she feel safe but she felt loved?

Probably just her thinking too much into it but regardless the thought was endearing and nice when compared to what's been going outside her relationship with Lucas. The uptight cowboy somehow managed to take her mind off of Riley, Isadora and her father if only for a moment and for that she was grateful. She was also thankful to him for being their to listen to her tell her story in full for the first time without tears. She remembered when she told Isadora she wasn't even able to get out his name without sobbing or feeling nauseous. His name still struck a chord with her but she knew that mentioning it to Lucas would do them both no good. It wasn't like Lucas was going to report it to the police but that could've been the side of her brain that worried that her father may have been right about the whole thing.

Did she really want her name mentioned with his for the rest of her life? What if no one believed her? She didn't need alleged attached to her name like crazy was. She would remain silent for now, wishing and hoping that her father would fall into a scandal followed by rotting in hell. Besides what was Lucas going to do? Lock him up? Maya wasn't sure as the image of what Lucas would do once he found out who raped her didn't fully develop in her mind. She didn't know how he would react just like she didn't know what his job was before he came to take care of her, just like she didn't know how long Lucas had been living in New York for. When she really sat and thought about it, she didn't know a thing about Lucas yet he knew her darkest secret. He knew what haunted her dreams, he knew that she argued with her friends, he knew that she liked to paint and was terrible at basketball.

Maya knew he was good at basketball as he was at boardwalk games. She knew that he could potentially be in a relationship with another girl that he didn't like talking about. She knew he had a cat that was untrained and that he wasn't making progress to train it or at least buy it a litter box. She also knew that all this lack of information was going to change today especially if she was going to let her feelings develop any further than they already have.

It felt ridiculous to admit that within a week, the cowboy had gotten a hold over heart. She didn't love him, that'd be crazy and ridiculous and absolutely impossible because she'd just met him. But she had a feeling, like something lit up when she saw him and that feeling she couldn't deny especially when she heard him stumble down the stairs, once again wearing his makeshift blindfold with his red flannel

Lucas knew that Maya was taking up his thoughts more than she should. She's supposed to be the girl he's taking care of, especially now that he realized how much shit she's been through in the past three months. He knew that his father's feelings towards him were a little mixed because of what happened in Texas but he couldn't imagine his father telling him to keep to himself about something that traumatic. On his way to Maya's, his phone buzzed and if his mind wasn't in the clouds thinking about Maya he probably would've ignored it because it could only be one of two people.

It could be Zay telling him some story about Vanessa or work.

Or it could be Missy who he highly doubted was going to text him or call him because of their fight. But lo and behold, there was a text message from Missy. The text read, can we talk?

But he didn't want to talk. He didn't even know what he would say. Their fight happened in the heat of his anger and jealousy but things felt different now. Only a few days with Maya and Zay seemed to change his mindset completely, he didn't know how or why but it did. Now, seeing her message made him wonder if one conversation would put him back in the place where he was in love with Missy. Lucas decided to put all that to the back of his mind as he slipped his phone back in his pocket.

Today was about Maya and how he was going to try his hardest to be someone in her life worth trusting with a secret like that. When Isadora opened the door for him, she just motioned to the basement without uttering a word. He wondered briefly how long her standoff with Maya was going to be. There was no doubt in his mind that the two of them missed each other, they were just too stubborn or afraid to step up and say something. He knew he had to get Maya to hear Isadora out otherwise the two of them would continue to suffer in silence.

With his mind set, he made his way to the basement, almost thinking of it as his and Maya's hideaway now. He shrugged off his red flannel once he reached the first step and wrapped it around his head, making sure it was wrapped tight and he was unable to see anything around him. He might've taken a few more steps down the stairs before Maya's voice rang out to stop him.

"Freeze!" she told him and he listened, "I realized something yesterday, huckleberry. I realized that I know absolutely nothing about you so before you take another step, tell me a secret." she sounded serious and assured in her demand to him, making him wonder how long she'd been sitting on this realization. He stayed quiet and contemplated her request.

"I've never had a girlfriend before." he blurt out and cringed at the embarrassing fact. He cringed most of all because of how unnecessary the comment was, why was he mentioning his love life or lack thereof to her?

To avoid talking about what the real secret is, his mind tormented him.

"Not good enough." she dismissed him and he frowned. He could feel a faint draft and noted that the strong smell of paint had faded. Was there a window down here? he wondered.

"Then what is good enough?"

"Your secret. Something that...changed you, I guess. Something you wouldn't be comfortable sharing with just anyone." she said softly and Lucas knew why. It was because of what she told him yesterday. He hadn't realized until that moment that the severity and importance of him knowing that information was a novelty to her. The only two people who knew beside him were Isadora and her father. Both of whom she isn't on good terms as of now and both of them she knew much longer than the week she's known him.

If he wanted her to trust him, he knew that he had to tell her about his past. He took a deep breath, "Remember what I told you about me defending Zay when we were younger?"

"Yeah." she answered, a tone a bit stronger than before.

"Well, I defended him without the help of any teachers. I found Zay backed up against the wall with three eighth graders surrounding him, Zay saw me and shouted my name, I didn't even know he knew it at the time but he just sounded so helpless...I had to protect him. So, I grabbed one of the eighth graders and punched him in the face, I ended up breaking his nose and giving him a nosebleed. The other two guys who were with him were scared shitless and ran and their leader soon followed. After that I sort of became Zay's best friend/protector. Whenever he needed me, I was there. Even if the situation would leave me in trouble, I had to save him. When we go to high school, the situations Zay got in got a bit more serious. Our senior year of high school, a guy that graduated in the class before us invited us to a frat party. We went and Zay ended up dancing with one of the frat guys' girlfriends. I remember playing beer pong when someone bumped into me, people were yelling about there being a fight outside in the back. I followed them out of curiosity and I saw Zay on the ground, holding his stomach and blood coming out of his mouth. There were six guys over him, kicking him and punching him. And I lost it. I don't remember what happened but I broke the fight up and ended up putting two of the guys in the hospital. I had never lost control like that before and it was after that day that people started treating me differently. They kept treating me like some freak, no one talked to me beside Zay and eventually all the talk of me being dangerous to the community reached my parents. I've never seen my mom so disappointed, and my dad won't even speak to me because of what I did. So, I moved to New York and Zay came with me. I figured it was a new start for both of us. I became a cop because I thought it would redeem me I guess, but it didn't. An armed robber ran into a church on 45th and Zay and I chased after him, we didn't want him to hurt any of the churchgoers so we thought it would be a good idea to have them leave that way we wouldn't have to worry about him taking a hostage. But this old man didn't want to listen to him and called him the n word, then kept telling him how people like him are what's ruining the country. It was like I was back at the frat house, I couldn't stop myself and now an old man is in the hospital. I got demoted that day and that's how I ended up here with you. I can't stop thinking about what I did though, Maya. If I really think about it, everyone in Texas was right. I am a monster." his voice lowered towards the end because it felt more like he was confessing to a crime than telling a secret.

Maya didn't say anything at first and Lucas worried that maybe she now thought he was a monster too. He did put an old man in the hospital because of his temper. The thought frightened him more than it should've. He couldn't see her face but pictured a mixture of horror and fear. The man she allowed in her space, the man that was supposed to take care of her, couldn't even do his job and take care of the people in the city. He didn't want to let his self pity consume him but it was hard not to when she wasn't saying anything to him.

He contemplated asking for her thoughts on what he just said but thought better of it. If she was okay with it, she would've said something already.

Just as his thoughts were lecturing him to go back upstairs, Maya's hand slipped into his. She then led him down the stairs, carefully until they were on solid ground.

His heart was thumping as he waited for her to speak. He didn't want to get his hopes up about her still wanting to be around him when he didn't get a verbal agreement to that.

"I know what it feels like to have everyone against you and peg you as something you're not. That's what made me go out onto that balcony that night. I thought if I ended it then no one's opinion would bother me anymore. I know how you feel, Lucas. And the person that I grew to know over the past week is not a monster." she muttered to him.

He was shocked. There was no other way to describe it. He was so afraid of judgement from other people who would find out about his past and especially nervous about Maya finding out but it was all for not. She wasn't dismissing him but consoling him and he hadn't known how much he needed that until now.

Tears welled up in his eyes, her hands dropped from his and the darkness from his blindfold was pulled away from him and he saw Maya's soft smile directed at him. The room was lit by the natural light coming in from the small rectangular window above the shelf behind her. He was able to see the paint disaster that covered the gray concrete floor. He was able to see the originally white walls in a similar state to the floor with splattered paint covering it. Leaning up against the walls were framed canvases of artwork he couldn't make out because of the amount of paint covering it.

Maya had her blonde hair thrown up in a high ponytail, she had a white tube top on under her dark denim overalls and she was barefoot. It was the first time he openly admitted to himself how pretty he thought she was. Her blue eyes were looking at him nervously so he reached for her hand like she had with him and squeezed it assuringly.

"You have a lot of paint." he said dumbly. He wanted to shake his head for saying something so unnecessary and not at all comforting. What he did hear was her breathy laugh. His eyes flew from the framed painting by the wall to her small form in front of him. She was covering her mouth with the hand he wasn't holding and shaking her head, making her ponytail sway behind her.

"That was probably the last thing I expected you to say, huckleberry."

"W-What did you expect me to say?" he stuttered.

"I don't know. Something like, 'wow Maya! You're such a talented artist! This is what I've been missing by wearing the stupid blindfold!'" she teased. He was almost thankful for it as the heavy tension in the room after his confession began to shift into an easier playful atmosphere.

"Hey! I only wore that because you said I wouldn't be able to come down here otherwise!"

"Well, you're the idiot that actually listened to me. You even let me throw paint all over you. You let me hustle you at Coney Island. Is there anything you wouldn't do for me at this point, huckleberry?"

"It's my job, Maya." he rolled his eyes at her attempts to lure him in to her game.

She tapped her finger against her chin, feigning being thoughtful, "Hm, last time I checked you're supposed to take care of me not care about me."

"It's the same thing!" Lucas defended and had an inkling that the conversation was leading up to something else.

"Is not. Here's why, huckleberry. When you take care of someone, you feed them and cloth them. When you care about someone, you like them." she smirked like she just caught him in a trap. But Lucas wasn't a novice to Maya's teasing, taunting or trickery. In fact, he wanted her to continue.

"And you're saying I like you?" he lifted his brow in question. Maya didn't seem deterred by his sudden challenge though, she quirked her mouth to the side and bounced on the sole of her feet before landing on the ground again.

"Maybe. Would I be wrong?"

A voice appeared to him suddenly and it sounded an awful lot like Zay. He was telling him that he needed closure and that he needed to talk to Missy before he ever jumped into anything with Maya but she was taunting him. She was standing there looking effortlessly beautiful and he wanted to take her bait. He wanted to tell her the feelings that have consumed his mind for the past three days. He wanted to speak from his heart so he ignored Zay's voice echoing in his conscience and said,

"No."

She beamed at him and instead of running into his arms like he fully expected her to, she turned to walk away from him. He caught her hand before she could fully step away from him. She spun around looking bewildered as if she didn't understand him grabbing her.

"And you?" he prodded and her face scrunched further in confusion.

"And I what?"

He sighed deeply, "Are you really gonna make me ask? Are we in high school?"

"I don't know, sundance. Are we?" The ghost of a smile played on her lips and Lucas knew that she was messing with him. So, he pulled her closer to him until they were a few inches from each other and watched the smile disappear from her face.

"You're really driving me crazy, Hart."

"What did I do?" she eyed him innocently. Up close, the desire to kiss her was almost unbearable. Her full lips were parted and her clear blue eyes seemed to be holding him to that very spot.

"What did you do? How about giving me an answer on where you stand, huh?"

Her eyes fell from where they were meeting his own, down to his lips. Then she leaned in quickly and pecked his lips before he could react.

"I do." she took a step back after Lucas unintentionally released her hand.

"You what?" he shook his head to subdue the shock and stepped closer to her.

"I like you too." she answered simply.

"You what?" a grin appeared on his face when he reached for her hands and intertwined their fingers.

"I'm not saying it again."

"No?" he had their tangled hands held up by his face and he leaned his forehead against hers.

"Nope." she breathed.

His lips curved up into a smile before he tilted his head up and captured her lips in his own.