Chapter 3 Tears Behind Closed Doors

The weight of rejection settled into Maya's bones like a dull ache, refusing to fade.

She had gone through the motions at dinner, and yelled at her mom In anger, unknowingly. But as soon as she was back in her room, she felt lonely.

The door clicked shut behind her, and the silence pressed in.

She stood frozen in the middle of the room, her eyes trailing over the space that once felt like a sanctuary. The posters of her favorite musicians, the lyrics she had scribbled on sticky notes and taped to the walls, the notebooks stacked on her desk-reminders of a dream that now felt like a joke.

Her gaze landed on the closet. The guitar case was tucked inside, out of sight. Out of reach.

Something in her chest twisted.

A week ago, she couldn't go a day without playing. Music had been a part of her, woven into her identity so deeply that she never imagined a life without it. But now?

Now, the thought of picking up her guitar made her stomach turn.

With a shaky breath, she moved toward her bed and sank onto the mattress. She hugged her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them.

Maybe she wasn't meant to be a musician. Maybe she had been fooling herself all along.

She grabbed her phone off the nightstand, unlocking it out of habit.

Social media was a bad idea, but she scrolled anyway. Her feed was filled with classmates sharing college acceptance letters, excited captions buzzing with hope and new beginnings.

"Got into LA! Can't believe it!"

"Berklee, here I come!"

"Dream school, here I come!"

Her stomach twisted, the words blurring together.

She searched for the email again, reading it for what had to be the hundredth time.

"We regret to inform you..."

Regret?? Really?

Maya shut her eyes, her fingers gripping the sheets.

Was she just not good enough? Had every song she poured her soul into been meaningless?

A lump rose in her throat.

She had worked so hard. She had spent years practicing until her fingers were sore, writing lyrics in the margins of her notebooks, sneaking into the school's music room whenever she could.

And for what?

To be told no?

She dropped her phone onto the bed and buried her face in her hands.

A tear slipped down her cheek, then another. She wiped at them hastily, as if erasing them would erase the rejection. But it didn't stop. The dam broke, and suddenly, she was sobbing, silent, body-shaking sobs that she didn't even have the energy to fight.

She curled into herself, pressing her face against the pillow, muffling the sound.

Crying felt useless, but she couldn't stop.

All the frustration, the heartbreak, the disappointment crashed over her, drowning her in a storm of emotions she wasn't ready for.

What was she supposed to do now?

Her entire life had revolved around this dream. If she wasn't a musician, then who was she?

The thought terrified her.

Minutes passed, maybe longer. The sobs eventually quieted, leaving her exhausted, her body feeling like dead weight against the bed.

She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling.

Her chest ached.

The world outside her window carried on as if nothing had happened. The occasional honk of a car horn, distant laughter from the neighbors, the hum of life moving forward.

But Maya felt stuck.

She reached for her phone again, her fingers hovering over Shine's name.

She wanted to talk to her. To hear her best friend's voice, to be reminded that this wasn't the end of the world.

But what if it was?

What if this was the moment that defined her? The moment where she realized she had been chasing something that was never meant for her?

She let her phone fall onto the mattress again.

She wasn't ready to hear Shine's optimism. At least, not yet.

Instead, she closed her eyes and let the exhaustion take over.

Maybe tomorrow would be different.

Maybe tomorrow, she'd find the strength to pick up her guitar again.

But for now, she let the darkness swallow her whole.

Maya didn't know when she had fallen asleep, but when she woke up, the room was bathed in darkness. The only light came from her phone screen, which dimly glowed on the bed beside her, notifications piling up.

She blinked against the dryness in her eyes, her throat raw from crying. For a moment, she just lay there, unmoving. Her body felt leaden, as if the weight of her shattered dream had seeped into her bones overnight.

The rejection email replayed in her mind. The words weren't just a disappointment, they were a confirmation of her worst fear. She wasn't good enough.

She rolled onto her side, facing the wall, hugging her arms around herself and sighed.

In the silence, her eyes landed on the closet again. She could almost hear the strings of the guitar humming in her mind, whispering melodies.

For a second, she thought about getting up, about picking up the guitar, letting the music carry her somewhere, anywhere but here.

But she didn't move because what was the point?

She had poured her everything into songs but now, it all seemed like vivid imaginations. She felt like waking up from this deep sleep.

But No!

It was reality!