As Far As My Arms Can Hold You

It was nearly midnight when Kiera returned. She didn't knock. Just used her key, stepped in, and let the door fall shut behind her with a heavy thud. Maya didn't look up. She was sitting on the floor, back against the couch, phone screen dimmed out beside her. She had been waiting.

"You're late," Maya said quietly.

Kiera shrugged off her coat and dropped it on the floor. "I didn't know I had a curfew."

"I didn't say you did."

"Then what are we fighting about?"

Maya finally looked at her. "We're not fighting. At least not the way you want us to. You walk in like you don't owe me anything. Like I'm not sitting here wondering whose perfume that is on your shirt."

Kiera didn't respond right away. She glanced down, smelled her collar, then gave a tired sigh. "Don't start this."

"You've already started it," Maya whispered. "That's the worst part."

For a second, Kiera looked like she might walk away. Like she might just head straight to the bedroom, close the door, and pretend this was nothing. But instead, she stayed. She leaned against the wall and folded her arms.

"Nothing happened."

"You don't believe that yourself," Maya said. "Because if it was nothing, you would've told me. You wouldn't be avoiding the name. Or the place. Or my eyes."

Kiera stared at her. "You really want to do this tonight?"

"Tonight is the only night left. Before it all turns to routine. Before you convince me I'm crazy for feeling what I feel."

Kiera stepped forward. "Fine. I went out with someone. We talked. It wasn't a date. She's just—"

"She." Maya cut in, bitterly. "You didn't even hesitate."

Kiera hesitated now.

Maya stood, her voice calm but sharp. "Who is she, Kiera? Who is the woman you 'just talked to' for five hours, came home with her scent, and decided not to mention?"

"She's no one."

"Wrong answer."

"She's someone I knew before you."

That hit harder than Maya expected.

"Her name?" Maya asked, even though her throat already burned.

Kiera looked away. "Larissa."

Maya blinked. "Larissa? As in... your ex?"

"She's not—she wasn't even—"

"You told me she meant nothing. You told me she cheated, that it was toxic, that you burned that bridge."

"I did."

"Then why the hell are you walking across the ashes?" Maya's voice rose now, no longer shaking. "Why are you letting her stand between us like we're some trial she gets to judge?"

Kiera stepped closer. "Because I didn't know I still had that door open. Until I saw her again."

And just like that, the room broke.

Maya's chest caved in. "So you're saying you still feel something for her?"

"I don't know what I'm feeling," Kiera said, suddenly vulnerable. "I was angry. Curious. I didn't plan it. I just... followed the thought. And it led me to her. But I didn't sleep with her, Maya. I swear to you, I didn't."

"But you wanted to."

Silence.

"That's the difference between honesty and betrayal," Maya whispered. "You don't need to sleep with someone to cheat. You just need to wish you had."

Kiera looked like she might cry. But Maya didn't care anymore. Not right now.

"You want to know the worst part?" Maya said, stepping back. "It's not that you saw her. It's that you didn't tell me. You let me sit here, love you blindly, while you entertained a maybe."

"I didn't want to hurt you."

"Then why did you pick the one thing that would?"

There was a long pause. Then Kiera spoke quietly, "Because I was scared. You've been slipping away and I thought maybe... I don't know. Maybe I was losing you already."

Maya scoffed. "So you ran to the past to protect yourself from the present?"

Kiera nodded slowly.

"That's cowardice, Kiera. Not love."

Maya turned away, started walking toward the hallway. Kiera followed, not ready to let go.

"Where are you going?"

"To the room I should've never opened."

She meant the guest room. The one that used to be full of boxes. The one Kiera had insisted on making cozy for "just in case."

Kiera's voice cracked. "Maya, don't. We can fix this."

Maya turned back one last time. "Only if you want to close that door for real. No more 'maybe's. No more names you can't say."

"I do."

"Then prove it."

Maya closed the guest room door behind her.

And for the first time in weeks, Kiera finally cried — not because she was guilty, but because she realized she might've broken the only thing that ever made her feel clear

---

Morning came without words. No apology. No hug.

Maya walked out of the guest room, her eyes swollen but her steps steady. At the kitchen table, Kiera was already sitting in silence. Her coffee still untouched. She stared for a while, unmoving.

"Larissa called," Kiera finally said.

Maya turned slowly. "You gave her your number?"

"She already had it."

"That doesn't make it better."

Kiera nodded slowly. "She wants to talk. To 'clear things up'."

"Things are already messy enough, don't you think?"

"I told her not to come. But she said she's already in town."

"Let me guess. She just happened to be nearby."

Kiera looked her in the eye. "She asked if I still live with you."

Maya froze. "And what did you say?"

"I said yes."

"And did you tell her you're still in love with me?"

Kiera didn't answer right away.

That was answer enough.

Maya grabbed her jacket. "I'm going out."

"Where?"

"Somewhere you're not."

But before she could reach the door, there was a knock.

Twice. Hesitant. But firm.

Kiera moved first. Maya held her breath. The door opened.

And there she was.

A woman. Tall. Dark brown hair. A cautious smile. A stare full of history.

"Hi," Larissa said. "I know I shouldn't be here. But I had to see you."

Maya spoke first. "You've seen her. Now leave."

Larissa turned toward Maya. "You must be Maya."

"And you must be the unfinished mistake," Maya snapped.

Kiera stepped between them. "Larissa, this isn't the time."

"I'm not here to fight," Larissa said gently. "I just… I need to say something. To both of you."

"No," Maya said sharply. "You lost that right years ago. You don't get to walk in and inject yourself into something we've been rebuilding with blood and trust."

Larissa didn't back down. "You think it was all me? You think Kiera didn't leave parts of herself behind when she left me?"

Kiera froze.

Maya looked at her. "Is that true?"

Kiera tried to respond. But Larissa kept going.

"She never let me go. Not completely. I was poison, sure. But she kept the bottle close."

Maya held back tears.

"I don't care," Maya finally said. "I don't care who you were. I care who she is now. And if she's still yours, say it. So I can walk away."

"Maya—" Kiera started.

"Say it, Kiera. Is she still yours?"

Kiera looked at Larissa.

Then at Maya.

Time stood still.

"No," Kiera whispered. "She's not."

Larissa gave a sad smile. "Not because you chose. But because I asked."

Maya stepped forward. "You came here to prove something, Larissa. But all you've done is remind her why she left."

Larissa sighed. "Then I got my answer too."

She turned and walked away.

Door closed.

Kiera was shaking.

Maya stood there, unmoving. "You brought a ghost into our house."

"I didn't invite her."

"You didn't have to. You never closed the door."

Kiera stepped closer. "Maya. I swear to you. That door is shut now."

Maya looked into her eyes.

"Prove it."

Kiera hesitated.

Maya's voice sharpened.

"Delete her number. Now."

Kiera picked up her phone. Slowly. Looked at the name on screen.

And pressed delete.

Maya was still quiet.

"Block her."

Kiera did.

Only then did Maya move closer.

No hug. No kiss.

Just one line:

"I'm still here. Don't make me regret it."

Maya hadn't spoken a word since Larissa left

Kiera sat at the edge of the couch

Staring at the dead TV

Remote in hand

But there was nothing left to control

Maya stepped out of the bathroom

Hair damp

Plain white shirt and black shorts

Her steps slow but certain

"What else are you hiding from me"

Kiera looked up

"Nothing"

"Don't use that word if you're still lying"

Kiera took a breath

"I'm not lying"

Maya stood by the table

Eyes locked on her

"Larissa knew we lived together

She knew you weren't married

She knew you were still unsure

And she knew because you never closed that damn door"

Kiera stood too

"I never promised her anything

You know that"

"Exactly"

Maya moved closer

"You didn't promise anything to me either"

Kiera froze

Maya kept going

"All this time

You've been playing safe

Keeping me just close enough to feed your ego

But far enough in case you needed an escape hatch"

Kiera whispered

"That's not fair"

Maya didn't flinch

"No

It's not

But neither was waiting five years for someone who couldn't decide if she was in or out"

Kiera almost cried

But Maya wasn't done

"When you left back then

You said you needed to heal

You said it wasn't about me

But today

I finally get it

You didn't leave to heal

You left because you were afraid of falling too deep"

Kiera sat back down

Head low

Hands trembling

And Maya just stood there

Finally holding the truth she had denied for too long

Maya's tears weren't loud

They were quiet

Like something breaking deep inside

Her arms folded on the table

Her forehead rested against them

And her breath stuttered every few seconds

Trying to hold in what her body refused to contain

She hated this

Hated how her strength always cracked when she was alone

She had held it together all day

But now

Now she was just a woman

A mother

Trying to keep her world from falling apart

Leo slept in the next room

Unaware that the world outside his door was being rewritten

Maya didn't want him to ever feel this

The confusion

The betrayal

The heavy silence that made you question if love was ever real to begin with

She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater

Then stood slowly and walked to the window

The city was alive outside

Cars, horns, lights

People moving forward

But inside this apartment

Time had frozen

And everything felt like it was waiting to collapse

—

At 11:03 PM

Her phone buzzed again

Clara

> "She wasn't lying about Rafael. But Luna didn't know everything about Jason either."

Maya stared at the screen

Then typed back

> "What do you mean?"

Clara replied almost instantly

> "Luna told me she thought Rafael was the father. But I saw her after she got back from Bali. She was scared. Not of Rafael. Of what she felt for Jason. She said if she told him, he'd never leave again. And that scared her more."

Maya read the message twice

More secrets

More gray areas in a story that was already full of smoke

She remembered Luna's eyes when she handed her Leo

How she looked like she was handing over her whole heart

Without words

Without backup

Clara sent one more message

> "I'm sorry I waited this long. I thought Luna's letters told the whole story. But they didn't. Maybe Leo needs to know who his father is. But he needs more to know who never left."

Maya didn't reply

She just let the phone fall beside her

And stood there

In the dark

—

At exactly 1:04 AM

Jason texted

> "I'm not asking for permission. I'm just telling you I'm still here."

No emojis

No question marks

Just that

Maya stared at it for a long time

Then put the phone down

Turned off the lights

And curled up on the couch

She didn't cry again

Not because it didn't hurt

But because some griefs

Some truths

Don't deserve more tears

They just need time

Time to breathe

Time to stop bleeding

Time to heal

Tomorrow she'd wake up and make pancakes for Leo

Pretend everything was normal

Until it wasn't

But tonight

She gave herself silence

And the right to finally stop pretending

---