AN: First of all, I'm so sorry for being so late on publishing this, but I haven't given up on it! It's taken a lot of time to develop the plot to this story mainly because I needed a realistic situation that continued Please Don't Leave Me and had the same action as the first one. So I hope you like this sequel story, "Eyes Open" (based off the Taylor Swift song). I wrote this and co-edited it with one of my close friends by the pen name on this website Stay Gold - Pebblemist. Check out her stories, she's so amazingly talented. On another note, if you haven't read Please Don't Leave Me, I suggest you do before you read this story. But you don't have to listen to me. And if you do, note that in pdlm, the girls are 13/14 like in the show, NOT 12.

Disclaimer- I don't own Girl Meets World... Yet ;).

Dear diary,

I don't even know what happened. One minute I was on my way to Riley's apartment and before I knew it I was tied up inside the trunk of Rick's car. I don't know where he took me but I know it's far enough to keep me away from the Matthews and the rest of the world for God knows how long. He drove for about two hours before dragging me out of the car by my hair and into a small house surrounded by trees. He said this was what my mom wanted... I don't even know where my mom is. Is she hurt? Did Mr. Matthews confront her? Why wasn't she here if this was what she wanted? Rick said I could write in this if I wanted... I guess it'll keep me busy. He said he'll keep me as long as he can and I hope that won't be long... I'm terrified. I wish I were with Riley. I wish someone could come save me and show me love for just once in my life.

Maya kept rereading those words which brought back memories of endless tears, bloodshed and fear. The very thought of the unforgotten remainders of screaming and crying during her past experiences made the fourteen year old shudder. She could still feel Rick's strong fist brushed against her cheek and distinctly remembered how it felt to be constantly degraded and put down by him. But today the feelings were stronger than ever and her pain was slowly crawling back to her. The date was January 16th- exactly one year since the day she was taken away from the people whom she loved and was forced to live in shame and isolation.

She gently placed the diary beside her on her night table as she let her head slowly sink back into the comfort of her pillow. Maya already knew that the day would be a struggle. Glancing over to the other side of the room, she noticed that Riley was still soundly sleeping. It was 6:15 on a Sunday morning; why shouldn't she be asleep? Maya only wished her best friend were awake, just so she could share her feelings with someone.

"Should I show it to her?" Maya wondered aloud in a hushed tone so she wouldn't awaken her sleeping friend. She once more took hold of her diary and examined it closely although she wasn't paying attention to the details. Ever since she was rescued, she had never shown or even mentioned the diary to Riley. The police found it and mailed it to the Matthews old apartment, where Maya opened it and refused to share it with anyone. Considering the fact that it was the first anniversary since that tragic day that changed her life forever, maybe she could open up a little more about her experiences.

When she deeply thought about the subject, Maya realized that she didn't even really tell Riley or even anyone much about what went down inside Rick's cabin. Of course, she explained the types of abuse taking place and briefly discussed the fear that lingered within her for those three scary months; however, she never went in depth about anything. She wasn't ready when she was reunited with her friends and the Matthews and when she was, let's just say that she and Riley weren't on friendly terms.

Sighing, Maya once more reached over to place the book down with one hand when it was too heavy and her fingers gave out on her. The diary landed with a thud, causing Riley's eyes to softly flutter open.

"Maya, what happened?" she whispered tiredly, wiping the sleep away from her eyes and groggily sitting up straight. "You okay?"

"Yea, I just dropped something," Maya said apologetically. "Sorry for waking you. Go back to sleep."

Riley's lips pursed into an inward smile. "You know me," she yawned. "Once I'm awake, I can never fall back asleep."

"Well, good. Because I'm wide awake."

Riley gingerly stood up and made her way over to Maya's bed, plopping herself next to her best friend. "Are you alright, Maya?" she asked, her bright brown eyes showing sincerity and concern.

"Yea, why wouldn't I be?" lied Maya, pretending as if nothing was bothering her.

"You don't have to pretend," comforted Riley, catching on to Maya's thoughts. "It's been a rough year."

"Riley, you don't have to do this," Maya insisted, breaking eye contact with her friend. "Please, just go back to sleep."

Riley sighed. "Okay, but I know you'll try to shut everyone out today. I also know that deep down, you really need me to talk to you."

Maya's head dropped as she felt defeated. "Riley... I'm just not over what happened. I will be someday and I'm on a good path to recovery but... It'll be a rough day."

"I know, and that's okay," Riley cooed, wrapping her arm around her best friend. "But it's all over now. No one's ever going to hurt you anymore."

Maya bit her lip, replaying Riley's words in her mind. That was one thing she wasn't so sure of. She always knew her dad left and that by doing that, he was hurting both Katy and herself. Then when she moved on from that fact, she thought no one would hurt her anymore. That's when she began to notice how unmotherly and abusive her mom was towards her, and when she finally escaped those living conditions, she was kidnapped and tortured. When she was rescued, Rick came back and stalked her for months, kidnapped her again, shot her and murdered a loved one. How could she be certain that all of the negativity in her life was officially over with?

"I don't know Riles..." she began after her long silence, her voice trailing off as her forced back cries choked her. She hated breaking down into sobs, and especially on a day like this, she would have to push herself to resist.

"What do you know?" questioned Riley. "Maya, you're perfectly safe. Don't ever forget that."

Gulping back all of her worries and concerns, Maya forced a smile across her lips and smiled at her best friend. "I won't," she said softly, although her smile wouldn't deceive Riley.

Riley let out a deep sigh, adjusting her position so she could face Maya. "I remember it as if it were yesterday," she said, changing the subject. "It seems so long ago but it's still real to me whenever I think about it. So much happened since then."

"You can say that again," mumbled Maya, blowing a strand of loose hair away from her eyes. "I still can't really believe that all of that ever happened. Life kind of just went by and I feel like I was left behind. I was never able to adjust to anything."

"We're still adjusting," Riley added. "But we're all good now, right?"

"I guess," sighed Maya. She knew that life was better, but she still had doubts. It's only been a year since she'd been kidnapped, 9 months since she'd been rescued and only 7 months since the man responsible for her pain left her life. The trauma was still there and the scars hadn't faded. Just because the Matthews started a new life away from the city didn't mean that all of there problems had evaporated into thin air.

Riley took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and reminisced the day she realized Maya was missing. "I remember how worried we were when you went home with your mom," she said. "We just found out about how she treated you and didn't want you to leave with her. Then at dinner my parents told me you ran away... Then at school we called you and... Well, it wasn't you who answered the phone-"

"I know," Maya interrupted her, not wanting to listen to the story anymore. "I remember too."

"Because of Missy," continued Riley. "Oh, Missy."

Maya chuckled softly although she knew that it wasn't necessarily a laughing matter. "She was... Interesting," she stated honestly. "But I don't feel bad anymore. She knew everything about both me and Rick and even if we hated each other all along, she still betrayed me. Just because she's gone now doesn't take back all of the bullshit she put us through."

"Yea," Riley said softly, twiddling the ends of her hair. Maybe Maya was right; Missy wasn't a good person. But when it was all over, a 14 year old girl was dead. She had her whole life ahead of her, and that just proves how nonsensical the whole situation was.

"Riley?" Maya asked quietly, breaking a silence lingering between the two girls.

"Yea?"

"What do you think would've happened... If I didn't run away? If I just sucked it up and stayed with my mother for a little longer... How would our lives be different?"

Riley shrugged as thoughts soared through her mind. "I don't know," she started, trying to develop the worst possible case scenario though it seemed impossible. "Well, if you stayed with your mom, that wouldn't change the fact that my dad still called the police. You would come to live with us and... And I guess we'd still be in Manhattan."

Manhattan. The very word was enough to brim tears in Maya's eyes. She missed everything from Rockefeller Center at Christmastime to riding the smelly subway to school everyday. She missed the smell of hot dogs on the street and the bright lights of Time Square. She missed going to Broadway shows with the Matthews, all of the thrift shops where she would put together her outfit ensemble and even the smell of smoke in the cold air, but most of all, she missed some her closest friends; Lucas Friar and Farkle Minkus. Brett too, of course, but he didn't matter to her as much. He was just a crush.

"Maya? You okay?" Riley asked with concern. She could tell how much her friend missed home; after all, Riley's own heart was breaking at the thought of New York. She understood that they moved to Pennsylvania for the best, but she couldn't help feeling a bittersweet nostalgia as the word "Manhattan" rolled off of her tongue.

"Yea, yea, I'm good," lied Maya, quickly wiping the tears away from her eyes. "Just tired, that's all."

"Maya, we all know it's gonna be a sad day for you," Riley consoled despite Maya's claims to be fine. "It's a sad day for all of us. Just... Hang in there. We love you."

"I love you too," Maya smiled. "But I promise, I'm okay. I... I just need to show you something."

Maya didn't want to hide anymore secrets from Riley. She had to be completely honest and free; she had to share how she felt and how things really were. She was ready to speak. She handed Riley the diary.

"Rick gave this to me so I could write in it," she explained as Riley examined the book. "I wrote every day. After the police mailed it to use when I was back home, I didn't show anyone. I was too embarrassed, I guess. I would write in it sometimes when Rick came back and I couldn't talk to you but I just gradually stopped. You can read it if you want."

Tears flooded to Riley's eyes after reading the first entry. She slowly closed the diary, handing it back to Maya. "I just can't believe you never showed me."

"Riles, I'm so sor-"

"No, I'm not mad," Riley interrupted. "It's okay. You weren't ready. But I have an idea. Let's read a different entry every day and we can see how you progressed ever since. Sound good?"

"Great," Maya smiled.

"Maya, are you positive this is what you want?" Cory questioned, worries popping up in his mind as he carefully steered his car through the woods. He still couldn't reason with why the girl would want to spend the anniversary of the day she got kidnapped in the house where she was held captive.

"I have to," Maya shrugged. "I have to take one last look at the house in order to realize that everything bad that took place in there was gone. If I don't, maybe I'll feel like it's always right behind me. I just need to be reminded that it's all over one last time."

"My best friend is so brave," Riley said sweetly, wrapping her arm around Maya in the back seat. "I'm so proud of you, Maya."

"Shut up," teased Maya, feeling somewhat embarrassed. This trip wasn't supposed to shame her but to strengthen her.

Riley sighed, looking out the window. She could still remember these forests. She could remember driving with her dad through the endless trees, thinking that they were heading towards Philadelphia. The next thing she knew was that she was hearing piercing screams from her best friend whom she hadn't seen in three months.

"We're here," Cory declared as Maya rushed out of the car. She took a few moments to stare at every detail of the house and a single tear streamed down her cheek. Once she was taken into the house, she never got out until she was saved. So much happened in that cabin; too much to ever forget.

"I'm going inside," she stated. She just had to see the room where she was locked up for so long once more. She had to sit in the place where she would cry endlessly. She had to look at the window which she would stare out of as hope began slipping away from her.

"Maya, I don't think you can," Riley informed her, pointing out the yellow tape stretched all around the cabin. "Remember, they're preparing to knock the house down in a few weeks!"

Maya looked down, hoping Riley would understand her. "I don't care, Riley," she stated. "It's something I have to do that you won't understand because you weren't stuck here for three months. You don't know what I went through in here."

"I could only imagine, Maya, but you can't-" Riley began, but stopped as Cory rested his hand on her shoulder.

"Let her go, Riley," he sighed. Personally, he would rather Maya didn't go inside either. It would bring back too many traumatic experiences for her and all of those months healing and recovering would be wasted. But if he knew anything about Maya, it was that she was very stubborn. She wouldn't take no for an answer.

"I'll be okay," Maya tried to reassure them, stressing the 'okay'. "I just want to go by myself."

Without further ado, the fearless girl crawled under the tape and gingerly opened the door. Taking a deep breath, she re-entered a place where she spent the most traumatic experiences of her life. Where her innocence was stolen, her childhood was damaged, her dreams were crushed and her freedom was terminated.

She wandered a few steps in the hallway before dropping her bag at the sight of the room where she stayed. She ran over to the room and fell to her knees for no apparent reason. She didn't have what it took to cry but she clearly was very upset. She body was numb and her chest was aching.

"It's okay," she reminded herself as she slowly stood up and roamed around the room, noticing how nothing much has changed. "It really is over."

She looked to her right and saw a chair. Ugh. The chair where she was tied up when Rick explained his reasons and methods to Maya exactly one year ago when he had just taken her.

To her left was the bed- no, cot, where she would lay awake at night, dreaming of perfect scenarios of how she could be somehow taken away to a better place. Her hope may have been slipping away from her but she never lost touch with her dreams. When Rick took everything away from her, her dreams were the only thing that she had left. He could try to crush her dreams and say how unrealistic they were, but he could never stop her from doing so.

After a few minutes of reminiscing painful memories, Maya reassured herself that everything really was only a part of her past and her past didn't define her, but she still just couldn't stand to be in the house alone again. Taking one last look at everything, she picked up her bag and slowly left, never turning back.

"That was quick," Cory inferred, leading Maya and Riley back to the car. "You're okay, right?"

"Yep," Maya said, "I'm good. Can we go out for lunch like you said earlier?"

Cory smiled, pulling the two girls into a hug. "No, we can't," he said sarcastically. "Let's go."

They drove away from the house, never intending to come back. Little did they know that Maya's diary fell out of her bag and it was still laying on the ground of Rick's old cabin.

And that it was found and stolen by someone they didn't ever want to know.

Okay, so there's the first chapter. I hope you liked it and let me know if I should continue! Please leave in the reviews how you felt and what you'd like to see next. Thanks for reading!