Hey :) Sorry I've been so long updating! I have trouble commiting to my stories sometimes, buf I have a clear picture of where this one is going so the next update will be sooner, I promise!
An hour or so later and they were standing at the bottom of Riley's apartment building. Maya turned to Riley.
"See you round, I guess." Riley blinked.
"You're just going to leave?!" It was well after ten now, and despite the fact her neighbourhood had the lowest crime rates in the city, the streets still weren't particularly inviting.
"Uh, yeah," Maya said, looking confused. Riley bit her lip and glanced up at her apartment. Maya groaned.
"There's no way I'm walking you to your door. You can get there yourself."
"D'you want to come in for awhile?" The words tumbled out of her mouth in a rush, stumbling over one and other.
"No," Maya said immediately, shoving down the shock that Riley, of all people, would ask her that.
"My parents will want to thank you, though!"
"Tell Mr Matthews I owe him, anyway." Riley had no idea what she was talking about. All she really knew was that her parents had not raised someone who'd leave a fifteen year old girl alone on the streets of New York, no matter how proficient the said girl was with a knife.
"Please?" Riley asked desperately. "We could have a midnight snack? Well, a ten o'clock snack I guess, but you know what I mean." Maya started tapping her foot, clearly irritated.
"No."
"Maya..." Riley grabbed the blonde's arm. Due to the baggy sweatshirts she always wore, Riley was surprised to find that her arm was painfully thin.
"Get off," Maya grumbled, wrenching her wrist out of Riley's grip.
"We have cookies," Riley said tantalizingly. "And chocolate cake my grandma brought over. It's legendary in our family." Maya sighed, and Riley braced herself for rejection again.
"Fine, but it better be damn good cake."
"Yay!" Riley squeaked, grabbing Maya's wrist again and tugging her towards the door. Maya scowled at her until she released her hand, but still followed Riley through the lobby and up the stairs to the Matthew's apartment.
As soon as Maya saw the smooth, fancy looking oak door she knew this had been a mistake. She didn't think she'd ever entered a room with such a nice door.
"My mum and dad might be mad at me," Riley informed her as she fitted her key into the brass lock, sounding a little nervous. Maya nodded, and braced herself for some major yelling and perhaps a few threats of physical harm. The door creaked open and Riley audibly sucked in a breath. Maya caught a glimpse of a very modern, yet homely looking living room, before her vision was obscured by two adults. Startled, she took a step back.
"Where have you been?" Mr Matthews exclaimed. He didn't sound particularly angry though, just relieved and upset.
"You have a curfew for a reason, young lady," the woman, who could only be Riley's mother, said. She didn't really sound angry either and Maya felt slightly disconcerted.
I'm sorry," Riley said sadly, hanging her hand in shame. "I stayed for dinner at Lucas', and then the subway was really late. I would've called, but my phone is out of credit..." Riley's parents stared her down for a moment, then at the same time they both enveloped her into a hug. Maya had to work to keep her jaw from dropping open.
"It's alright, Riles, but please don't scare us like that again." Mr Matthews said gently, stroking his daughter's hair. With her head tucked neatly under his chin, he noticed Maya for the first time. His eyes widened a little.
"Maya? What are you doing here?!" Maya cleared her throat. She was right, this had been a terrible idea. She felt like an intruder; she didn't belong within a hundred meters of this happy, perfect little family.
"I, uh, walked Riley home, but I'll just be going now." She turned, but Mrs Matthews darted around her daughter and blocked Maya's way to the door.
"Nonsense!" She reached for Maya, and Maya took another couple of hasty steps back, flinching inwardly. However, Mrs Matthews just pulled her into a hug. She was squeezing tight, her flowery smelling hair tickling Maya's nose and it was unbearable. Maya felt completely and totally vunerable, like all her armour had suddenly been ripped away. Her breathing turned erratic and her nostrils flared. She had to get away, now. She started to push Mrs Matthews pff her, but before she could get herself free Mrs Matthews stepped back. Maya let out a long breath, trying to calm her pounding heart. It felt like her brain had just short circuited.
"Um," she said, blinking in confusion. Mrs Matthews gave a good natured laugh.
"Corey used to react to my hugs that way." She shot a look at Mr Matthews, who grinned sheepishly. "But these days he takes them for granted far too much for my liking."
"I do not!" Mr Matthews gasped. "I would never take you for granted, honey." Mrs Matthews winked at her husband, then turned back to Maya.
"Would you like a drink, Maya? Tea, coffee, juice?" Maya faintly remembered a TV program she'd seen once, in which a hostess had offered a guest a drink. If she remembered correctly, she was pretty sure the polite thing to do was just ask for water.
"Ah, could I have some water? Please?" The last word was really weird to say, and somehow burned her tongue a little.
"Sure thing," Mrs Matthews beamed, and went off immediately into the kitchen to fufill her request. While she was busy, Mr Matthews rounded on her.
"Thank you so much for keeping Riley company," he said earnestly. Maya shifted awkwardly. She was way out of her comfort zone in this setting. Dimly, she marvelled at the irony of the fact that she'd rather be sleeping next to a dumpster in some seedy alleyway than be standing in a high-end apartment with thanks being thrown at her.
"She made me," Maya explained, hoping that they would stop being so nice to her. "I was going to leave." Mr Matthews smiled.
"But you stayed, and for that we owe you."
"I promised her a piece of Grandma's chocolate cake," Riley piped up. Maya felt her cheeks heat up and internally sighed, ordering herself to get it together.
"You don't have to-" she started, but Mrs Matthews had heard and was already cutting a slice.
"Sit down," Mr Matthews instructed her, gesturing to the plump, comfortable looking couch. Maya hesitated. Her clothes weren't exactly clean and she didn't want to stain it.
"Sit," Riley instructed her somewhat fiercely, jabbing her thumb at the couch. Maya obeyed the order, gingerly sinking into the couch. Is was quite possibly the most comfortable thing she'd ever sat on.
"Woah," she muttered to herself. God, if only her mattress were this comfortable. Mrs Matthews came flittering back to the living room and handed Maya her water and her cake. She took both with shaking hands. Riley sat next to her, and Mr and Mrs Matthews stood before them.
"So, tell us about your adventure," Mr Matthews said, a little too enthusiastically for his wife's liking. "Did anything exciting happen?"
"Maya totally scared off this creepy guy. Well, two creepy guys actually, but the first one was really creepy," Riley said brightly, bumping shoulder's with Maya good naturedely. Maya couldn't help but flinch at the sudden contact.
"My gosh Maya, you really are a hero," Mrs Matthews said brightly.
Maya tried to think of something to say, but her brain wasn't working properly. She felt claustrophobic suddenly. She could no longer see the door, and her hands were occupied by the cake and the water. Riley was way too close to her, but she was wedged in the corner of the couch and couldn't move away. Directly in front of her Mr Matthews was blocking her from getting up. He wasn't a particularly tall man, but since she'd sunk so low into the couch he looked like a giant towering over her. He was saying something, but there was buzzing in Maya's ears and she couldn't make out what it was. He reached out towards her suddenly, and Maya recoiled sharply. The plate with the cake on it crashed to the floor and the water was only prevented from spilling all over the couch by a quick save on Riley's part. Mr Matthews' hand retracted, but all she could do was stare at his face. His short, curly hair was morphing into blonde, oily, shoulder length strands. His smooth chin was growing a rough beard and, worst of all, his eyes were changing from warm and brown to blue, beady and bloodshot. Maya shot to her feet and pushed past him, wrenching the front door open and taking off at a sprint down the hallway.
Hope you enjoyed reading! If you've got time, make aure to leave a review! They motivate me to update sooner!