Chapter 1
*"The Two Lies"*
Maya and Jada were inseparable since grade 7. Sleepovers, secrets, matching bracelets. "Best friends forever," Jada always said.
Then came Ethan. Maya’s boyfriend.
He was loud, always texting, always "nothing" when she asked what was on his mind. But he was hers.
For a while everything felt normal. Messy, but normal.
Until one day Maya noticed it.
Jada stopped replying to her texts. "Ohh okay" was all she’d say.
Ethan started going offline for days. Five days. Then five more.
At school they barely looked at her. At each other? They talked a lot.
The truth came out in the worst way.
Maya saw them. Laughing. Whispering. The same way Jada and her used to.
And Ethan said it flat: "Jada has a crush on me."
Like that was supposed to make it better.
That night the bonfire at the lake was still burning. Maya sat by it alone.
Her heart didn’t race anymore when she thought of him.
It just felt quiet. Tired.
She realized two things:
1. Some people leave because they were never meant to stay.
2. Betrayal shows you who was real, and who was just borrowing your light.
Jada and Ethan lost a girl who would’ve fought for them.
Maya? She found herself again.
And the forest was waiting.
