I swear, I will never be over that campfire scene.
Anyways, welcome to the next chapter! Things are about to get quite intense and dangerous, I suggest you stick around. Please remember to leave a review, it really really helps me to continue writing and find inspiration. Enjoy the chapter!
Maya? What are you doing out here by yourself?"
Maya sits on the Matthew's couch, her legs crossed and her eyes glued to the TV.
After finishing up at the emergency call, I decided to head back to where I was previously. Only to find, of course, Isadora and Zay have jumped ship and probably are out dancing or something, and Farkle has a bedtime which he obeyed religiously...Leaving only Maya to stay at the Matthew's.
"Watching One Tree Hill, obviously. Now shhh!" Maya scolds me as I sit myself beside her, and she adjusts so that her legs are across my lap.
"No, I mean where's Riley?" I ask, leaning in and whispering in an extremely loud and exaggerated tone, knowing that it'll irk her if I'm not making an effort to hush up.
Oh how I love to annoy Miss Hart.
"She's in the shower, gosh darn! You might as well yell it!" She replies, actually yelling.
"Trying to sleep!" Cory's voice sounds from inside the other room, to which Maya and I simultaneously apologize. We then make momentary eye contact and can't help but laugh. As much as we love to annoy one another, it comes as a close second to how much we love to annoy others.
"Okay so, what am I looking at here?" I ask, watching the characters on the TV argue and cry. Maya sighs and glances at me, then takes the remote and turns off the television. "Definitely nothing as interesting as what happened on your call tonight. Care to share?" She asks, pulling her knees up against her chest and resting her chin on them. Looking far too innocent and wide-eyed, I hesitate to tell her the details of attempted murder.
"I'll tell you, if you want to know." I pause and look at the floor. "Just don't tell Riley, she's...Well, you know." I sigh through my teeth and look at her, as she then nods her head and agrees to keep this somewhat confidential.
Proceeding with a tremble in my voice, I then tell about the young boy and the car fire, along with the evidence pointing to arson, and potentially attempted murder. Maya seems to be unfazed, that is, until I mention the boy's name...
"Trent? Trent what?" She asks, staring at me.
"Trent Lee Brothers...?" I respond, curious as to why she seems so alarmed.
"Trent Lee Brothers? That kid is in my art class! I just saw him today!" Maya exclaims, realizing her volume and then quieting down a bit. "Him and I are really good friends."
"Yeah, he said that he had just come from art class...That's strange."
Both of us sit in silence for a few seconds, stunned by the current circumstances. Then, simultaneously, we both say each other's names.
"Maya?" "Lucas?"
"Uh, you go first." I say, nodding my head. Maya sighs and stares at me, her face showing deep concern. "D-do you think that the person who did that, would do it again?"
"I was just about to say..." I start in right away, my hands waving as I talk. Feeling like an idiot as I trip over my words, I attempt to warn her. "They-they haven't caught him yet...O-okay? So this might sound kind of stupid- but- I was h-hoping that you'd just be careful, you...you know?"
Maya laughs at my pathetic blabbering.
"Yes cowboy, I'll be careful." She nods her head and says in a soft voice, I stare into her eyes and my heart gives a painful lurch. I feel like a little boy with a school crush, stuttering through sentences as my heart is beating in my throat. If I were to outwardly show the way I felt, it would be a physical movement gesturing to all of the perfect beauty that is Maya Hart.
Instead, I keep my affections inside my chest, folding my hands silently and sighing.
Just then, Maya's phone rings. She scrambles to find it, lifting the couch cushion and quickly answering the call.
"Yes Josh- okay- yes I'm sorry, I was just- no-...okay...." Maya's previous excited tone slowly fades into a disappointed croak. She hangs up the phone, quickly stuffing it in her bag and pulling on her sweatshirt. Proceeding to search for her coat, I can't help but question her.
"Is everything okay?" I ask, trying to sound carelessly curious.
"Yes. Josh is waiting for me outside. I have to leave now."
"You have to leave?" I pause and stand up, stopping her in her tracks. She swallows audibly and looks at the floor, speaking in a pained voice. "You have to, or you are choosing to? Maya, I don't understand."
"Well you don't need to understand!" Maya snaps at me, her care-free persona completely faded from her figure. "This isn't one of your calls or something, this is just me, and I have to leave now. Stop asking questions." Without another word, she swiftly walks out the door, closing it quickly behind her.
My mouth gapes open in disbelief. What on earth? Did I say something wrong? I stand with my arms at my sides, replaying everything over in my mind. Walking towards the bay window that sits in the back of the room, I peer out into the street and see Maya making her way across the pavement. Approaching Josh's car as he steps out from it's interior, he greets her with his arms crossed. I cannot hear what they are saying, but he looks upset.
Biting my tongue, I acknowledge that what I'm doing may be extremely intrusive. My eyes grow wide however, when Josh grabs Maya's face with one hand, pinching her cheeks and pulling her close to him. He appears to be lecturing her, and I suddenly feel a fire growing in my chest. Finally he releases her, and she willingly gets in the car with him. I feel my stomach twisting and lunging, but I know there is nothing I can do.
Maya chose him, she chose to wait for him, and now she's with him. The way he treated her appeared extremely possessive and controlling, but I swore to myself that I wouldn't interfere unless she asked me to.
Or of course, if it got serious.