Hello everyone, this is the new version of Chapter 6, the old version can now be seen as Chapter 21 with a few minor edits. This was done mostly so it would fit the timeline better. I didn't want to remove the chapter all together because then I would lose your lovely comments and thats the last thing I want.
Thank you all for your patience and to Sandy for editing as usual :D
Walk Me Home
Chapter 6: Laundry Night
Maya was sitting in her room sketching and putting off homework when Katy came in, an empty laundry basket hanging from her hand.
"I need to go to the café; one of the waitresses quit out of the blue."
"Okay, Mom."
"Could you get the load out of the washing machine while I'm gone? It should be done in about half an hour."
"Sure."
"Thanks," Katy said, settling down the basket. "Make sure to separate the sweater and t-shirt the Friars loaned you the night of the storm, so you can give them back."
"Of course," Maya said, thinking of the sweater Mrs. Friar had loaned her and the t-shirt she had stolen. One was definitely going back, but the other would live in her closet forever.
"Thank you, Babygirl," Katy said. "I'll try to be home soon."
"Don't worry Mom."
Half an hour later, Maya went down to the laundry room of her building for the load and since homework was still pretty unappealing, she decided to help her mom by folding and sorting the clothes.
She found the sweater Mrs. Friar had loaned her and folded it neatly, and put it on a paper bag so she could take it tomorrow when she went over for Chili Night. And then she took the purple "Lucas the Good" t-shirt and put it with her own pjs and other nightclothes. That puppy was never, ever going back.
The next day, Maya went home with Lucas after school (he had baseball practice and she had art class).
She returned the sweater with a thank-you note her mom made her write the night before and which she had decorated with colorful doodles during math class. Then Maya and Lucas did homework in his room for a while and waited for Mrs. Friar to call them to set the table.
After almost eating their weight in chili and cornbread, Lucas walked Maya home as he usually did.
She never mentioned the shirt, and he didn't bring it up either, but Maya didn't forget. In fact that t-shirt entered permanent rotation among her sleepwear (because it was really very comfy, even if it didn't smell like him anymore), and Maya was careful not to let her mom see it and that usually meant volunteering to do a load or two of laundry whenever the shirt ended up in the hamper.
And she was almost getting away with it. Almost.
"Babygirl," Katy called from the door as she brought in the laundry.
"Yeah?" Maya asked from the kitchen.
"Can you tell me what's this?"
"My t-shirt!" She said, rushing out to grab it but Katy held it out of reach. "It fell on the hamper by mistake."
"Your t-shirt?" Katy asked, pointing to the gold lettering spelling LUCAS. "I thought you had returned it weeks ago."
"I returned the sweater. But that's mine."
"Does Lucas even know you still have it?"
"I don't know, and it doesn't matter because it' M.I.N.E."
"It has his name on it."
"It could be any Lucas, pretty common name, you know? And Possession is 9/10ths of the law."
"I'm not sure that's how it works, Maya," Katy said. "And would you even be interested in it if it belonged to any other Lucas?"
"Well… no, but Mom, it's just too much fun to taunt him with it. It's our game."
Katy sighed. "Sometimes you make no sense to me at all." Then she added, "But now it's not one of those times.".
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You'll figure it out."
"You're not implying I have some sort of undue attachment to the shirt because it's Lucas'?"
"I thought it was yours."
"It is."
"Then what's the problem."
"That you are implying-"
"I haven't said anything," Katy said, surrendering the t-shirt. "But if it means nothing to you, you might as well return it."
"I will!" Maya said.
But she didn't.
