Our Someday Is Now
ImJustRenee and MissKaylee
Inside Maya felt empty. She was in such a daze that she can't even recall going to Riley's new bay window in her new apartment, that she shared with someone who would never betray her like Josh did to Maya.
Maya didn't even knock on the window, she just sat outside it until Riley just so happened to walk past and notice her frail form sitting on the fire escape. Not even a second later, Riley had the window open and helped Maya in. Maya crawled in quietly and sat down. Her face was dry, not one tear sat on her face like earlier. Riley looked over at her with concern written all over her face. "Maya?" she asked softly.
Maya angled her body to face Riley and shakily replied, "Can you please be my friend right now and not his niece?" Riley nodded immediately. "Good."
Riley held Maya as she broke out into a fit of sobs. Soaking through Riley's white shirt. Riley did her best to try and soothe her best friend of almost twenty years through calming words and hugging her tightly. After a couple minutes Maya picked her head up off of Riley's shoulder and rubbed her red, puffy eyes. "Do you have any ice cream? I could use our broken heart remedies right about now."
Riley nodded timidly and stood with Maya leading her over to the living room. "I'll be right back," she told her. Riley made her way into the kitchen and started gathering the usual supplies needed for their own broken heart remedies. Ice cream, potato chips, and of course- tissues. As Riley started placing everything into a basket to take to Maya, she heard the front door open and close. Riley looked up to see Lucas standing there with some textbooks in his hand.
"Hey babe," Lucas greeted as he walked over to peck her lips. They pulled apart and Lucas scrunched his eyebrows together as he frowned. "I saw Maya sitting on the couch. She looked very unlike herself. What's going on?"
Riley shrugged. "The only clue I have is to prepare our old broken heart remedies."
Riley picked up the basket of items and walked out into the living room with Lucas behind her. As they walked in and saw Maya staring straight ahead as she sat frighteningly still, they each grew worried.
"Trouble in paradise?" Lucas asked in an effort to at least make her smile, or even get a sarcastic remark.
Nothing. He got nothing. Only a small answer from Maya. "There can't be trouble in paradise if paradise is broken," she answered softly. Riley and Lucas shared a look and turned their attention towards their longtime friend again. "He cheated on me."
This isn't what he intended. This wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to be happy. This wasn't happy. Josh isn't supposed to be sitting down in the kitchen trying to grasp the fact that his girlfriend just broke up with him. He was supposed to be sitting down with her on the couch talking about their days and trying to figure out what they wanted to eat, not this.
"My brother!" Josh looked up to find his older brother standing in his apartment doorway with his arms out wide ready for a hug.
Releasing a groan Josh let his head fall against the kitchen table.
"Well then," Cory sighed. "Someone is a Debbie Downer today."
Josh didn't move as his brother walked over and sat in the chair next to him.
"I'm an idiot," Josh told him plainly.
Cory sent him a confused look. "Interesting theory. May I see the evidence you have to back up said theory?"
Josh lifted his head to glare at him.
Cory shifted back. "Okay, someone's in a mood." Now to find out the problem. "Josh, what happened?" He glanced around the apartment confused. "And where's Maya?"
Josh leaned back in his chair and stared ahead blankly. "Good question."
Cory, realizing how serious whatever this was to his brother, leaned forward to look at him. "Josh? Is everything alright?"
Turning his head towards his older brother, Josh sighed and set his hands down on the table. "You just have to promise me one thing Cory."
"Anything," Cory promised.
"You have to be my brother and not her second father figure for at least two seconds," Josh explained as he looked his older brother in the eye. Cory nodded eagerly as he waited expectantly for Josh to speak. A moment passed right before Josh breathed out a nervous breath. "Maya left," he began. "Because I cheated on her."
The room was quiet as Cory took in this new information. "This isn't that bad," he tried to reason.
Josh shook his head. "Yes it is!" He argued. "I cheated on my girlfriend Cory! How the hell do you fix that?"
Cory shook his head as he tried to aid his brother. "You can, trust me. You know what happened between me and Topanga, right?" Josh nodded. "A kiss means nothing if you know you love Maya."
Josh scoffed. "It's not that easy when you did what I did."
"And may I ask what that was?" Cory asked courteously.
Josh frowned, trying to forget the nauseating memory. "I slept with someone else."
The first words out of Cory's mouth were, "Are you insane?"
"So much for being my brother," Josh commented.
"I am your brother and that's why I'm telling you that you're insane," Cory told him. He leaned back in his chair confused. "Josh, why would you sleep with someone else?"
He sighed at his brother's question. "I didn't mean to." Cory raised an eyebrow at his statement. "Remember when I spent those two weeks working in Mexico?" Cory nodded. "It happened while I was there. It was our last night before we would be coming home the next day, and there was this girl. Rebecca was one of the volunteers. We had become pretty good friends over those two weeks." Josh laid his head in his hands. "I screwed everything up. I got drunk with some of the guys - drunker than I've ever been before - and the next morning I woke up to find myself in my hotel room with Rebecca."
Cory patted his brother on the shoulder.
"I told Rebecca that it had been a mistake. I told her that I didn't want her to call me or text me. I quickly packed my things and left for the airport." Josh lifted his head to look at his brother.
"Josh, that trip to Mexico, it was two months ago," Cory remembered. "Why didn't you tell Maya before now?"
"I was going to. I had it all planned out. I was going to do it the night I got back from Mexico. One last night, I told myself. We would go out to dinner and celebrate my being back. I would tell her I loved her. We would go for a walk. I was going to tell her when we got back home, but I saw the love in her eyes when she looked at me and I couldn't do it. So I told myself that I would do it the next day. . . ."
"And you didn't," Cory guessed.
Josh nodded. "I kept telling myself that I would, but I never did. I just - I couldn't bring myself to break her heart."
"So why now?" Cory asked. "How did she find out?"
Without saying anything, Josh picked up his cell phone, swiped the lock screen, and clicked on his text message history before handing the phone to his brother. Cory's eyes widened at what he saw.
Josh explained, "Rebecca started to text me last week. At first she was nice about the whole thing. She even apologized for initiating the whole thing, but lately its been different. It's like she's a different person. She's been asking to meet. She's been wanting to come visit. She wants us to be together."
"Maya saw the texts, didn't she?" Josh nodded his head at his brother's question.
"I forgot to grab my phone before work. I actually forgot about the text messages. I walked into the apartment after work and found Maya holding it. She immediately demanded to know what was going on." Josh tried to hold in the despair he was feeling. "I told her everything and as soon as I was done, she left. I have no idea where she is now. "
"I'm sure Maya just went to Riley's," Cory told his younger brother. He could see the worry in Josh's eyes. He was truly worried that something would happen to her. "I have to say, though, you may want to pray that Maya doesn't tell Shawn what you did, because if he finds out no one is going to be able to hold him back from protecting her."
Josh groaned. He hadn't even thought about the reaction her father would have. Growing up, Shawn had always been like a cool older brother to him. But as soon as he began to date Maya, Shawn's daughter, that relationship changed. Josh swore to Shawn that he wouldn't hurt Maya.
Now he was screwed.
Meanwhile, in the apartment of Riley and Lucas.
"Let go of me!" Lucas demanded. He was struggling and as much as he hated to admit it he was losing. Riley was clutching his legs while Maya was in the piggy-back position on Lucas' back.
"No!" Riley yelled tightening her arms around her boyfriend's legs. "I will not let you turn into Texas Lucas!"
"I'm not," Lucas said calmly. "I'm just going to kick Josh's butt for hurting Maya!"
"Lucas stop!" Maya demanded.
Lucas sighed and stopped his struggling. "Maya, why are you fighting this?" he asked her. "Five minutes ago you were in tears on my couch because he cheated on you, but now you won't even let me go and give him what he deserves?"
"No I won't," Maya told him jumping down from his back. "Josh is Riley's uncle. If you hurt Josh then you ruin your relationship with not only Mr. Matthews, but Auggie, Topanga, and Riley as well. Do you want that to happen? I sincerely doubt that Mr. Matthews will let you marry Riley if you beat up her uncle."
Maya's point seemed to speak to Lucas in large volumes. Because she suddenly felt him relax significantly. Maya was still on his back and Riley was still clutching his legs as Maya whispered, "Lucas?"
Lucas sighed deeply and released a shallow breath. "Yes Maya?"
"Are you calm?"
"Maybe." Riley pinched Lucas' leg. "Ow!" Lucas looked down at Riley and frowned. "Really?"
"You weren't answering," Riley said as she defended herself. "Now, Lucas will you please answer Maya's question?"
Lucas sighed and gritted his teeth. "I am semi calm, but since I don't want to ruin my relationships with Riley's family, I won't kick Josh's butt." The two girls released their hold on Lucas and stared at him. "But it doesn't mean I still can't be pissed at him. Why aren't you as angry I thought?"
Maya shrugged and hugged herself sadly. "He's someone I let beyond my walls and he crushed me." She shook her head, her blonde hair flipping around her. "He may have stomped on my heart, but I can't seem to even be angry at him. I just love him too much."
Josh held his head in his hands as he tried to evaluate his conversation with Cory, who had to go to the bathroom. Soon coming down to the conclusion that he really was completely and utterly screwed. Cory came back into the room and sat across from his younger brother. "I take it that you thought about our conversation as I took care of business."
Josh scoffed and stared at his hands. "I guess you can say that."
Cory pursed his lips and looked at Josh intensely. "Pick up your head."
Josh groaned loudly as he ever so slowly picked up his head. "What?"
"Want my advice?" Josh shrugged. "Well too bad. You were going to get it anyway." Cory folded his hands together on top of the table. "I say you get a second opinion of the situation. Someone you trust, someone who will be honest, someone who is maybe kinda sorta married to your second older brother?" He hinted.
"No." Josh shook his head. "Nope. There is no way I'm asking Topanga for advice."
"Why not?" Cory asked. "You always go to her for advice after you pretend to ask me!"
"This time it's different. It's not about a test or someone at work. It's about someone that means the world to me and I just betrayed her in the worst way," Josh explained.
"I'm not proud to say this but Josh," Cory patted his back. "Topanga has experience in that area. Whether she wants it to be or not, it's a part of our history now, just like how it's a part of both yours and Maya's."
