Hey y'all! I hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter because we found out some pretty important stuff about the characters.
This chapter will include a lot of useful information for Lucas and Maya. With a little help from Cory and a lot of help from Topanga.
Enjoy!
"You don't have to sleep in here if you don't want to. I understand if you don't want to," Lucas says. Maya is holding her pajamas and toothbrush in her hands. After what happened last night, she figured that Lucas was going to act this way. Maya is surprisingly okay about what conspired between them last night. Lucas isn't mad at her for what happened, and it's not like they haven't done it before. She's not worried about it any more.
"If you don't want me to sleep in here, then that's okay. I'll be fine sleeping in the guest room," Maya says.
This, however, is a lie. She can't sleep in the guest room anymore. Not by herself, anyway. She has been having so many nightmares about her past with Tony Espinoza. She dreams of what he did to her. She dreams of what he did to Lucas. The only thing different about what happens in her dreams and what happened in reality is that her dreams end in a whole different way. A scary way.
"You're a horrible liar."
Maya rolls her eyes. She thought she had gotten better at not showing her 'tell'. Lucas remembers that Maya puts one foot on top of the other when she lies. It honestly looks really weird, and Lucas can't remember how he figured her 'tell' out. It's not like she doesn't know his. When you used to be in a relationship with someone for almost three years, then you get to know everything about them. Their quirks, their insecurities, their 'tell'. Everything.
"Are you still having nightmares?" Lucas asks.
Maya doesn't want to tell him, but he won't leave it alone until she talks. "Yes. I feel like they keep getting worse."
"Why didn't you tell me? I know you've had nightmares before, but I didn't know they were this frequent. How much sleep are you getting?" Lucas asks.
She thinks back to the past couple of weeks. She would wake up very early and be too scared to go back to sleep. She never woke Lucas up because he has his own issues to worry about. And what kind of guest would she be if she woke him up almost every night because she's too scared to go back to sleep?
"Not a lot," Maya replies.
Lucas walks over to her. He takes her items out of her hands and sets them on top of his dresser. He grabs her hands and pulls her into a strong and warm embrace. Maya's heart skips a beat when he does this because it surprises her. She figures that he didn't even want to touch her after what happened last night, so the fact that he's here, comforting her, hugging her, makes a wave of relief wash through her body.
Most people would avoid each other and try to stay away from the awkward situation, but it's different with them for some reason. The reason has to be because they both have a lot on their plates. They aren't worried about what happened last night because they need to focus on the matter at hand, which is Kaitlyn and Tony.
"I'm so sorry. I know how hard it's been for you, and I hope that I'm trying my best to be there for you. I know we've had a very troubled past together, but I will always be available to help you. Just like you have been there to help me. I want to return the favor. So if you need to talk to me or if you need help going back to sleep, then please tell me. Okay?" Lucas says.
Maya squeezes her arms tighter around him, "Thank you, Lucas."
Lucas lays down in his bed and waits for Maya to finish brushing her teeth and changing into her pajamas. He sighs and wonders what he could do to help Maya.
The next day, Lucas, Maya, and Sadie meet up with Riley and Farkle. Riley and Farkle are going to her parents' house to support Lucas and Maya while they discuss their plans with Topanga.
"Riley has to pee again," Farkle says.
"Sorry, Lucas. Pregnant lady problems," Riley explains for the fifth time this trip. Maya looks beside her at Lucas and giggles.
When the opportunity is given, Lucas gets off the interstate to a restaurant to allow Riley to go use the bathroom. Seeing that Sadie has to pee as well, Maya takes the four year old with her and Riley to use the bathroom right quick. Farkle and Lucas get out of the car to stretch their legs after this very long drive. And they still have quite a bit more miles to go. Cory and Topanga moved a few hours outside of the city after Auggie went to college. It wasn't an easy transition for Riley and her brother, but they had to come to terms with it.
"So...are you and Maya back together?" Farkle asks.
Lucas gives him a 'where did that question come from?' look. "No. What makes you think that we are?"
"I heard Riley talking on the phone with Maya yesterday, so I heard what happened between the two of you the other night," Farkle explains.
"First of all, did you really hear everything? Or did Riley tell you everything? Second, that was drunken mistake. We shared a bottle of wine and things escalated from there. But we agreed to pretend that it didn't happen," Lucas says.
"Keep telling yourself that, freak. But you won't be able to pretend that it didn't happen. Even if you can barely remember what happened, you can't pretend that it happened. Because you love her too much for that to happen."
"Maya and I already established that we still have feelings for each other, but she doesn't want anything to happen between us. She just got out of a long relationship with shithead, and she just can't bring herself to trust me again after what I did to her. I can't blame her," Lucas explains.
"If it's meant to be, you'll find your ways back to each other. I hate to sound so cliche, but it's true. I'm not just a man of science anymore. I'm a man of feelings as well. So, don't give up the hope of you two being together again. It can still happen. But if you break her heart again, I will have to resort to an even harsher punishment," Farkle says.
Lucas remembers how angry Farkle was when he found about Kaitlyn. He remembers how he hung his head low while Farkle was yelling at him about how Maya is a special girl and how she didn't deserve what he did to her. Lucas hung his head in shame that whole time. Farkle really cares about Riley and Maya.
"That was the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life," Lucas explains.
"Yea, but one of the best things came from it. Don't ever forget that. You got a blessing from your screw up," Farkle says pointing at Sadie, who has just come out of the bathroom with Riley and Maya. Lucas smiles and nods in agreement. Farkle pats his shoulder and gets into the car with the girls.
And they set off to Topanga's and Cory's house. Again.
"It's nice to see that the two of you have become such successful women. I'm very proud of the both of you," Cory says giving Riley a hug and then Maya.
"Thanks, daddy," Riley says.
"Yea. Thanks, Mr. Matthews," Maya agrees.
"I still talk to Shawn about the two of you. He tells me to keep him updated, and I try my best, but my daughter won't ever come down to see me anymore," Cory fusses, making Maya laugh.
"That's because I live on the other side of the city. It took us five hours to get here. I can't do that everyday. My car and my wallet can't handle that," Riley teases.
"I know. I just wonder how we're going to keep tabs on you when you have my first grandchild," Cory says.
"I've been wondering that too. But I'm only eight weeks along. We still have plenty of time to figure things out. I know I want you guys to be there when I find out the sex of the baby, and I want you guys to be there when I'm having the baby. I've planned a lot of stuff out," Riley explains.
"It's nice to know that you're still planning stuff out," Maya says. Riley smiles.
"It's nice to know that you girls are as close as you were when you were little. And with everything going on with the two of you, I can't say that I'm surprised. You two are always there for each other. Never forget that. I know you two lost touch with each other after high school, but it's never to late to pick back up where you left off. Shawn and I have had to do that many times. Don't lose touch with each other," Cory lectures.
Maya locks her arm with Riley's, "Never again. We've been through way too much to let each other go."
...
Lucas and Topanga are sitting at the Matthews' kitchen table. Topanga is reading over the paper work that Kaitlyn dropped off at Lucas's penthouse. She sets the letter down and looks at him.
"This might be a stretch, but I think we have a good case here. It will be difficult because custody battles usually always end up with the mother winning. We don't have actual proof that Kaitlyn hasn't been around since Sadie was an infant, but yet she files a complaint one hundred twenty days ago. And she hasn't dropped by to see Sadie until a few days before she delivers the papers. The only way we can get the judge to hear us that Sadie is best kept with you is to have Sadie testify," Topanga explains.
Lucas doesn't say anything. What can he say? No? He's working with one of the best lawyers in New York, of course he has to agree with her.
"You did tell Sadie that her mother dropped by to see her, right?" Topanga asks.
Lucas shakes his head, "No. I haven't. I haven't had the heart to tell her, but I will. Do you have any advice for me?"
"Tell her the truth. Don't tell her things that aren't true about Kaitlyn because that will definitely backfire on us in court. And just remind her that it's okay if she wants to see her, but remind her that you will always love her," Topanga explains, "Custody battles can be very hard for children to go through, especially in Sadie's case where the child doesn't even know their other parent. Let her know that she's not alone, and that you support her. It'll be hard, but Sadie loves you. And just remember everybody that is here for you."
"Thank you, Mrs. Matthews. I really appreciate all of the help," Lucas says.
"Anytime, Lucas. Will you please send Maya?" Topanga asks. Lucas nods and walks out of the room. A minute later, Maya walks into the kitchen and sits down in front of the fierce woman.
"Lucas said you wanted to see me?" Maya asks.
"Yes. I know that you are having a hard time recovering from your recent attacks, and I am going to try my best to help you keep your distance from Tony. Like I said before, it would be hard to press charges because most of your wounds are cleaned and healed, so we can't get any DNA evidence against him. But that doesn't mean that you have to be afraid. The best thing that I can do as a lawyer is tell you that you need to get a restraining order filed against him. This will be delivered to him personally, and it will state that he has to keep a distance of 100 yards. If he breaks this then you can call the cops and have him put in jail," Topanga explains.
"Okay. But I know that he won't be in there for a long time," Maya adds.
Topanga nods, "Correct. But he will have to court over it. He already has to take anger management classes. His boss already had a court draw that up. What he did to Lucas is going to affect a lot of things, especially if we can get this case in front a judge."
"Do you have any advice for me as Mrs. Matthews' instead of lawyer?" Maya asks.
"I think you're doing the right thing by staying with Lucas. And I think you're doing the right thing by telling Riley about your nightmares," Topanga begins.
"That girl can't keep a secret to save her life," Maya jokes.
Topanga laughs and continues, "Isn't that the truth? But she only tells because she loves and cares about you. Some advice I can give you is to go talk to a therapist. And if your nightmares don't start going away or get worse than they are, then I would go for a sleep study. This all sounds dreadful, and I hate that that man is causing you so much grief, but if you want to get back to normal, then you have to do these things to help."
Maya sighs, "I know. I'm not looking forward to it, but I know that it will help in the long run. And maybe informing Shawn and my mom of what's happening would be helpful too."
"I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told Lucas. Just remember everybody that is here for you. You aren't alone so don't shut us out. Let us know when there is a problem," Topanga says.
"Thanks, Mrs. Matthews. I love you," Maya says giving the woman a hug.
"No problem you fierce amazon warrior."
I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. Sorry it took me so long to write it. I wrote something, then I deleted it. And that happened about five times, but I got it. It's not the most exciting chapter, but things will get interesting the next chapter.
I will say that the next chapter will include a small time jump.
Also, if you haven't seen it yet. I have a new story called Two Way Door with pretty much every sort of emotion that I can think of when I write it. But it will still be a lot of emotions. Hope y'all like that as well.
Love y'all!