AN: Hey, I'm still doing the '1000 reviews' thing so be sure to review if you want a sequel! But over 750 reviews? That's so unbelievable. You guys are awesome. Love you all! So yea, here's a new chapter.
Beep... Beep... Beep... Maya's phone kept making irritating vibrations as Riley continued to spam her with phone calls and text messages. For four hours straight. Maya sighed as she leaned against the brick wall of the alleyway in which she was killing time. It was the most unknown part of the tremendous New York City; no one would be able to find her.
"Riley..." Maya whimpered as the thought of her best friend came across her mind. How was Riley dealing with her taking off again? Maybe she was actually suffering, maybe she wasn't. What if all of the texts were rants on how she shouldn't have accepted Lucas's invitation. Although she strongly doubted it, Maya refused to read the messages. Either way, she wouldn't forgive Riley. She had grown too strong to fall back into her little trap.
But as her pride was building her emotional stability was just collapsing. She had regained her physical strength but she just couldn't pull her thoughts together. How could she? She was a runaway again. She was all alone in a dark alleyway and no one was there to comfort her. No one would ever comfort her again. She didn't want to see another human face for as long as she lived. All people ever did was hurt her.
She could just picture the Matthews household. Everyone was happy and excited for Shawn and Angela's wedding. Topanga was cooking a fabulous as Cory poured the champagne, celebrating the long life that would await the couple. Then Riley would look into Maya's room to see no one there. She would tell Cory, they would throw arguments back and forth at each other and the night would be ruined. They would spend the entire night looking for Maya and they wouldn't even find her where she was.
"Shit," whispered Maya, burying her face into her hands as she slowly sat down. "What have I done?"
She couldn't help but feel awful, like she was ruining everyone's lives. In all honestly, she was ruining everyone's lives, but that was far beyond her control. As a matter of fact, it was really Riley. If she hadn't been such a bitch then maybe Maya wouldn't be lost in Yew York City, shaking and wanting to die.
No, I won't look at them, Maya reminded herself as she felt the urge to read Riley's text messages. Maybe they would change her mind, but then what? She didn't even know where the hell she was and she couldn't go crawling back to the Matthews. She just couldn't.
She heard footsteps from a distance and that only meant one thing; someone was near. They swore under their breath and it seemed as if they were only a few feet away from Maya so she quietly scurried away. She didn't go too far but far enough to maintain her safety.
But something struck her. It could be Rick. The chances were on in a million, but with him on the loose, it was better to be safe than sorry. And that meant stripping from her newfound ego, swallow her pride and simply read what Riley wrote to her.
Maya checked her phone and her heart nearly jumped. 673 message notifications and 28 missed phone calls. But she was slipping under a panic attack and only wanted to read the last 20 or so texts her friend had sent.
From Riley:
Maya, I'm sososososososo sorry. I really am.
PLEASE ANSWER ME.
I'm going crazy.
I need my best friend.
WHAT IF "HE" CATCHES YOU? THEN WHAT?
Omg WHAT IF HE ALREADY DID?!
MAYA
PLEASE. I LOVE YOU.
YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND. ILYSFM.
...Maya, I swear to god, I'll kill myself if you don't come home soon.
And I'm not the only one. My dad, mom, Auggie, grandma, grandpa, Uncle josh, uncle Eric, Shawn, EVERYONE. WERE ALL LOSING OUR MINDS.
All of the guys are looking for you and it's my job to hear from u.
MAYA NOELLE HART.
WE NEED YOU.
I NEED YOU.
I just called you 7 times and you didn't answer. Wow.
If Rick has you and is reading this, YOURE AN ASSHOLE.
PLEASE CALL. RIGHT NOW.
I WONT GIVE UP. I NEED MY BEST FRIEND BACK. AND YOU NEED ME. MAYA, I REALLY NEED YOU. DONT THINK I HATE YOU. IF I HATE ANYONE, ITS MYSELF. IM A FUCKING BITCH, ASSHOLE, SHALL I GO ON? I PROMISE ILL CHANGE. PLEASE MAYA, PLEASE. I WONT GIVE UP ON YOU.
Maya... Let me know you're okay. Please... Please don't leave me.
Maya gulped heavily as more and more tears slid down her cheeks. And they kept pouring down. Please don't leave me. Riley wouldn't lose her best friend, not this time. She felt the same way that Maya felt whenever she would snap at her, only worse. This time, guilt was attached. A guilt that would haunt her forever if she didn't reconcile with Maya. No matter what they've been through together, Maya wouldn't wish that pain upon anyone, especially not Riley. She looked back at all of the happy times they had and would do anything to have those days again. And she could. Riley was willing to change, she already changed. Within those four hours of her withdrawal from Maya, she had a full on transformation. Maya needed to go back.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to redeem herself from her anxiety. At that moment she realized how much Riley loved her and went from crying to full on bawling. She meant so much to that girl and it was an amazing feeling to be loved so much. It was incredible. She wanted to feel that way for her entire life.
Maya looked and found some other texts from Cory, Topanga, and even Shawn. In fact, Shawn's were the most heartfelt. He really was losing his mind. It almost surprised Maya; they had only known each other for such a short period of time. He really wanted to adopt her. And if he was so willing to do so then how could Maya object? She was wanted there and would go to live with anyone who truly cared about her.
Just as she was about to call Riley, she spotted something through the corner of her eye. The person had moved closer to her and Maya could make out him muttering "that stupid bitch... Now she's dead. I told her to keep it a secret, but no, she was just a retarded little bitch."
Maya bit her lip and tears flooded to her eyes. She could recognize that voice anywhere. It sounded an awful lot like Rick... What if it was him.
No, don't be stupid, Maya told herself, trying to snap herself out of believing that. That's just crazy... It can't be him.
But then she went from trying to deny it to fully believing it in a split second when the man lit a cigarette, revealing his menacing face. His menacing, menacing face.
It was none other than Rick Daniels.
Fortunately, to her advantage, Rick was unable to spot Maya. She quickly ran away without making it obvious that she was there. The alleyway made one turn and then there was a dead end so she was stuck. Luckily, there was a garbage dump nearby so she could hind behind that.
"Shit shit shit shit," murmured Maya as her heart began beating like a drum in her chest. Rick was right near her. There was a 99.9% chance that he would get to her and the other .1% was that he would somehow leave. He knew that Maya was there. He was just pretending he didn't; that was how he played his game. That's how he's always played it.
She frantically rummaged through her phone before calling Riley. She just had to speak with her; she was the only person who could talk some sanity into her. If she was the old, loving Riley. And Maya knew she was.
The phone didn't have to ring once before Riley answered. "Hello?" she nearly barked, worry evident in her tone. "Maya? MAYA!"
"Shhhh, Riley, it's me," Maya whispered, keeping her voice down. "I'm okay."
"Oh my god, Maya, don't do that to me! God, I love you so much. I can't believe it... I hate myself so much right now. I was so scared!" cried Riley as tears streamed down her face on the other end of the line. "Mom! Maya called me!"
Maya took a shaky breath and wiped the tears away from her eyes. "Look, Riley, I know you're happy that I called, but I have something important to tell you."
"Maya, where the hell are you?!"
"I... I don't know. But I have something to tell you. It's important."
"What is it?"
"I... I saw Rick."
Riley's eyes bulged. "You saw WHO?" she yelled. "IS HE NEAR YOU RIGHT NOW?"
Maya swallowed hard, nervously looking around to make sure Rick was out of sight. "He's not breathing on me at this very second but he's pretty close," she explained. "I don't even know where I am... How are you gonna save me now?"
"Okay... don't panic, that would make it worse," directed Riley, her voice trembling. "I'll call my dad and- and he'll find you. Go on your phone and you can figure out your location and then call me back, okay?"
"I'm so stupid," groaned Maya, smacking her forehead. "How couldn't I think of that?"
"You aren't stupid," said Riley. "I am. I'm stupid for treating you the way I did. Maya... I love you more than anything. You know that, right?"
Maya nodded as she started bawling again. "I know," she croaked. "I love you too... And I need you to know that if something happens to me. I don't want you to feel guilty your whole life because of me."
"Please be careful," Riley said immediately as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I can't lose you. Please don't leave me again, you can't leave me. Not now. Not ever."
"Riles, no matter what, I'll never leave you," Maya reminded her. "You'll always have me in your heart. You'll never forget me and the memory of me would live on forever."
"Maya, now you're making it seem like you're gonna die. You won't die. The guys will save you in time... You aren't going anywhere."
Maya sighed, facing reality. She was gonna die. Or get kidnapped or raped again, but most likely die. She had to be mature and say goodbye.
"Telling you goodbye isn't easy, Riley," she wept. "And I wouldn't do it unless I had to."
"Maya, no, don't say goodbye... I'm not ready. You aren't either."
"Riley."
"...Maya, no, please... No..." said Riley meekly. This couldn't be happening to her. Maya wasn't gonna die. She couldn't die on her. Rick couldn't kill her. Riley knew very well that he would, but he couldn't. If he did, she would brutally murder him herself. And she meant it.
"Fine, I'll find my location and you can tell your dad," Maya said, finally giving in. Riley was a dreamer; she had hope. Maya wasn't one, though. She knew that she would just get disappointed if she hoped for things. In this case, she could die. But she needed to restore that innocence in Riley. "And then he can come and save me before it's too late. But if we need to say goodbyes, here's your chance, okay?"
"Maya..."
"Riley, shh," whispered Maya in alarm, placing her phone on her pocket but not hanging up. She heard someone approaching her and she nearly had a heart attack; Rick found her.
"Why, why, why, looky who we have here," he chuckled, surrounding the grief-stricken Maya. "I believe we had, what was it, 25 minutes left on the clock from the last time I saw you?"
"Rick, no," growled Maya, trying to show some strength towards the monster standing before her. "I won't let you ruin my life any further!"
"Aw, sure, I'll listen to you," Rick frowned sarcastically before cackling loudly. He was obviously drunk. "Wanna go on a car ride? I've got candy?"
Maya tried to make a run for it but Rick seized her shoulders before she could escape. However, Maya didn't lose eye contact with him and the tough look on her face didn't fade away. She wasn't the same, meek, easily controlled girl that Rick remembered her to be.
"If you're gonna kill me," spat Maya, "at least tell me where we're going."
Rick raised his eyebrows before picking Maya up, who struggled but couldn't manage to break free from his grasp. "Fine, I'll tell you," he gave in. "I'm taking you it your mother's old apartment. We can end this where it all began."
After tying his victim and throwing her into the same trunk of the same Ford compact car he had driven the first time he had kidnapped her, Rick happily drove off. He knew that Maya would be dead this time.
What he didn't know, however, was that Riley had not yet hung up the phone and had heard the entire conversation. And she knew where to find her best friend this time.
So if you're confused, Maya didn't hang up the phone before Rick found her so Riley could still hear everything they were saying. And since rick told Maya where he was taking her... Maybe Riley could do something to save her. Yeah, that might have seemed confusing. But thanks for reading and please review!
