A/N: This part is a bit different than what I have written so far, but we get to learn a bit more about Maja. I split this part into two seperate parts because I thought it was a bit too long as one. The first part may seem a bit heavy, but loads of sappiness will come eventually, so just give it a read and let me know in the comments what you thought about it. Second part will come tomorrow! Enjoy! 💜

Maja sat down on her bed and picked up her phone, soon dialling the same number for the third time today. 'Third time lucky' she thought. Surprisingly, indeed it was.

"Hi sweetheart!" The male voice answered. She closed her eyes and smiled at the familiar sound, she hated to admit how much she actually missed him.

"Hi! How are-," she started cheerfully, but she didn't even get to finish her question.

"Honey, is it important? I'm currently really busy." Her father interrupted. 'Busy as always' she retorted in her head while rolling her eyes. She was suddenly beginning to regret even making this call in the first place. What made her think this time would be any different from the other attempts of communicating with him.

"Fine, I need to know what we're planning for Christmas so I can let work know that I won't be available." She decided to cut straight to the point if he didn't have time to talk.

There was a long silence, the girl even thought he might have hung up.

"Actually, this year I don't think we will be able to spend it together..." He trailed off and Maja's face fell completely. Now that was something she wasn't expecting to hear from him at all. "I'm going to be in New York with a lot of work to do," he tried to explain himself, failing miserably.

"Oh please, work at Christmas? Don't lie to me," she scoffed. Sometimes she wished he would have continued his snowboarding career instead of starting this stupid business, but then again, it would probably mean she wouldn't be where she is right now.

"Maja for god's sake you're an adult now. Grow up. You'll be fine if you spend this Christmas without me," the man huffed. "Find yourself some friends." Her father's tone only made her more upset.

"Right, no big deal. Sure. I'll be fine." She mumbled, clenching her fist as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. Christmas was going to be the only time she even got to see her father since last Easter, but she was not going to let herself cry over this.

"Look okay, I'm sorry," he sighed. "I will still send you some presents and money of course!" He beamed suddenly.

Maja on the other hand, didn't share her father's joy. That was enough. She couldn't believe that he thought money and presents would make her forget about it all. It was always just money that mattered to him.

"You can choke on that damn money, I don't want anything from you!" She spoke angrily, immediately hanging up.

She did in fact want something from him. She wanted to spend Christmas with her father, the only person from her family who she still kept in touch with.

She opened her drawer and grabbed a picture from under a set of notebooks. She stared at it with tears in her eyes. Her vision was blurry, but she knew exactly each and every part of the picture.

"Nothing's changed mama, nothing's changed," she choked out. The tears were now rushing down her cheeks whether she wanted them to or not.

***

Maja hadn't experienced a major breakdown for the whole time she had moved into the new apartment, mostly because of the amazing people she surrounded herself with. They simply made life worth living. However, for the past few days she couldn't keep herself together. After the phone call with her father, she somehow came across his social media account, which she wasn't even aware he had. She couldn't bring herself out of being sad after discovering that he now had a new family, which clearly she wasn't part of.

She didn't particularly feel like spending time with anyone or even talking to anyone, so besides going to work, she stayed in her apartment and used the excuse of being ill to decline the group's offers of hanging out, which she actually felt extremely bad about since the boys were leaving in just a few days.

She still saw Richi at work every other day, she tried her best not to be cold to him since none of this was his fault. However, she somehow succeeded in convincing him that she was just sick and she would be fine soon.

Maja eventually decided to go out for dinner with the boys, but she couldn't focus, nor was she in the mood for being in public places. So yet again, she used the excuse of feeling ill to leave and go back home, where she could let herself cry in piece. At this point it was no longer just about her father, the girl felt like everything was crashing down on her, even though it wasn't necessarily true. She just wanted the bad days to end, she couldn't deal with it all on her own anymore.

She began to wonder why she hadn't told anyone from the group about it, they were all close after all so what was stopping her? It was the fear of being a burden. The fear of dropping all her problems on them. It wasn't that she didn't trust them, she just didn't want to show how weak she could be. On the other hand, she really needed to talk to someone, but she didn't even know how to ask for help.

Little did she know help would soon come.

***

She didn't sleep much lately, so waking up at 7:45am didn't surprise her at all. It didn't mean she wanted to get up though. She was partly annoyed that she didn't have work today since that meant she probably wouldn't have the motivation to do anything the whole day. Though she was mostly glad, since she wouldn't have to face people today. Particularly Richard. She really wished she could talk to him about what's on her mind, but it just didn't feel right. She tried multiple times, but no words came out and he easily believed the lie about her not feeling well so she didn't make any more pathetic attempts to show that it was more than that.

Maja eventually got herself out of bed after over an hour and a half. She strolled lazily to the bathroom and stepped into the shower. Her eyes fell shut instantly, letting her body relax while the hot water ran down her skin. She took her sweet time, after all she wasn't in a rush to do anything.

She was lost in her thoughts when she flicked off the water and began to dry her body with a towel. The girl froze as soon as she heard a noise coming from somewhere inside her apartment. Immediately, her heart started beating faster and she wrapped the towel securely around herself, cursing under her breath for not bringing any clothes to the bathroom besides the underwear she slept in.

Quietly and carefully, she pulled down the door handle, slightly pulling the door open so she could take a peek into the hallway. Nothing. Just noises, which she could now identify were coming from the kitchen. She tiptoed through her apartment and almost screamed when she saw something moving on the floor in her direction.

"Waffles?" She whispered confused. She picked up the puppy and slowly headed towards the kitchen.

"What are you doing here? Are you insane?!" Maja snapped, putting Waffles back down as she glared at the boy.

"Good morning to you too. I'm making you breakfast, what does it look like?" Andi shrugged as if it was nothing.

"How did you get inside?" She questioned with a frown on her pale face. Before he could answer, her eyes spotted the spare set of keys on the counter. Andi must have still had the keys from the first time they brought Waffles over. "Don't scare me like that ever again," she mumbled, pouring herself a glass of cold juice.

"No offence Maja, but have you even slept lately?" The blond asked. She wished she hadn't looked up at him, that way she wouldn't have seen the worry in his gaze.

"I don't sleep much when I'm sick," she spoke softly while shrugging her shoulders and not showing any emotions on her face.

"Oh please Maja! You can lie to everyone about being sick as much as you want," he snapped. "...But don't feed me that bullshit," Andreas sighed, turning away from the breakfast he was making.

Andi's stare was much too intense for her to handle, it was as if he could see right through her. She looked down, just like a kid who did something wrong and was about to face the consequences.

"Get ready for breakfast and after that we're having a serious talk young lady," he breathed out when she remained silent, reminding her that she was wearing nothing but a towel.

She walked back to her room without giving him a second glance. Maja wasn't paying much attention to her actions, she simply threw on the first comfortable clothing she could find. She was mostly worried how this talk with Andi would go. Although, she had to admit to herself; she was so thankful to find him in her kitchen this morning. Maybe he was the help she needed all along, he was the only one who saw right through her bullshit after all.

After giving her hair a quick dry with a towel, she headed back to the kitchen where Andi had already laid out the breakfast on the table.

He threw a quick glance in her direction when she walked in, only to take another one with a raised eyebrow and a small smile tugging on his lips. "You have my merch?" He spoke surprised.

The girl looked down at what she was wearing. "It's pretty," she spoke casually, shrugging her shoulders and taking a seat at the table.

"Healthy breakfast?" She raised an eyebrow, looking at the veg and eggs.

"Get some vitamins in your body, you're paler than the wall," Andi acknowledged at which the girl just rolled her eyes.

Maja wasn't even particularly hungry, but she knew she couldn't do this to him. He went out of his way to make her breakfast even though no one asked him to.

"Where's Stephan?" She asked quietly while moving around a slice of avocado on her plate.

"He has gone back to see his family for a few days before we leave," Andi informed, taking a seat opposite her. The girl just gave a single nod to say she understood.

Andi was proud of himself for acting so casual, although on the inside it was killing him to see Maja so sad. It seemed like a part of her went missing and he wanted to bring that part back.

He began eating, almost sighing in relief when the girl also slowly began to consume some food from her plate. They ate in silence, making eye contact from time to time as the TV played quietly in the background.

They both took a seat on her couch once they finished eating and they cleaned up the kitchen. It was difficult not to notice the tension between them, but Maja was aware it wouldn't go away until she confessed. A part of her was extremely grateful that Andi wasn't pressuring her to hurry up, he just encouragingly glimpsed at her every now and then.

After a few minutes he finally spoke up. "Maja please just tell me what's going on with you," he whispered, observing her with a concerned look on his face.

It took her some time to finally find the courage to speak up. "I spoke to my father a few days ago..." She began, telling Andi all about the call and what she found out after. It took her quite some time since she struggled to get her words out, while trying not to let her tears spill.

It had come to Andi's attention that she never really mentioned her family before. So he dared himself to ask. "What about other members of your family? Do you not spend Christmas with them?" He questioned softly. He regretted it instantly because that's the exact moment he saw the first tear roll down her cheek. "Maja, I'm sorry. I just-," he sighed in panic, but he didn't even know what to say as the girl let out a sob. He could see how hard she was trying to stay strong, but he couldn't watch her struggle any longer.

Andi shifted closer to the brunette and wrapped his arms around her gently, yet securely. He carefully pulled her into his lap, bringing her close to his chest. She didn't protest, but his small affectionate gesture only made her breakdown even more. He pressed his lips to her temple and patiently let the girl sob into his chest.

"We don't have to speak about it if that will only make you feel worse," he spoke quietly, feeling guilty for bringing this up. However, Maja shook her head and eventually took a deep breath to compose herself slightly.

"I don't have anyone Andi," she mumbled, looking into his eyes. The boy could feel his heart shattering. "I don't have siblings, I didn't know the rest of my family because my parents never got along with them and my mum-," she had to take another deep breath, "..She passed away three years ago," Maja explained. She closed her eyes, biting down onto her bottom lip to stop herself from letting out another sob.

Andi stared at the wall opposite him in complete shock. He was speechless. He knew Maja as this perfectly happy girl who was always here for everyone. He would have never thought she had to go through such a struggle.

"I- I don't understand," he stuttered out. "I mean I'm so sorry about your mother, but you just always seem so full of joy. How have you been dealing with this so well on your own?" He asked amazed, gently rubbing circles on her back.

"I had to. I had no choice.. I was all on my own, I guess I had to teach myself how to deal with it," Maja sobbed. "I went to private school and the people there were horrible so I didn't even make any friends and even if I did it ended badly, so it's not like I had a single shoulder to cry on." She shrugged, breathing in his scent since she just discovered it had some sort of calming effect on her.

"My dad was always working, even when my mum passed away. His big firm became so important to him he didn't even take care of her when she needed him, you know?" She sobbed. "He loved her, I will never say he didn't, but he just loved the money more."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" Andi spoke sadly.

"Andi, I have no idea how to talk to anyone about these things," she admitted.

After her words, both of them remained in silence for some time. The tensions disappeared along with the distance between them. Andi continued to hold her while the girl let out the last of her tears, explaining to him how she hasn't been feeling herself for the past few days.

"I'm so sorry for bothering you with all this," she sighed, a sudden feeling of guilt taking over.

"What? Don't you dare apologise. If anything I should be apologising for not coming to you sooner." He gently wiped away a tear from her cheek. She looked directly into his eyes. She felt a little relieved, yet he could still see the sadness of course.

"The sadness in your eyes is so deep, I struggle to keep myself together when I look into them," he confessed quietly. "I'm not letting that continue, I care about you too much to let you go through it all alone.." He whispered honestly.

Maja rested her forehead against his, letting her eyes close as her lips tried to form a tiny smile.

"Thank you," she whispered, feeling his warm breath on her face.

The two of them stayed like this for a while, completely losing track of time. Maja didn't want to move away from the boy since she finally found some comfort and the boy wasn't complaining himself neither because of how perfectly the girl fit into his arms.

"You don't have work today, do you?" He asked out of the blue, getting a sudden idea.

Maja looked at him and shook her head. "No, I don't," she replied.

"We have the whole day so I'm taking you on a road trip. Just the two of us, let's get away.," he spoke a little enthusiastically, yet his tone still suggested that the final decisions was up to her.

"Let's get away," she approved.