A/N: Soooo... hi!
I've decided to finally finish this story. After 3 1/2 years of no updates.
I'M SO SORRYYTHFRUOE
I was just rereading it and felt awful leaving everything unresolved... ohhhhhh
So I wrote all of this tonight in a desperate attempt to bring this complex story to a close. I hope I did it justice considering how long it's been.
For those who've never read this story before now and have made it this far... please note that I started this story at 13 and my last update was at 15. I'm 18 now. In saying this, just be aware of it. I don't really know where I was going with this. lol
Nonetheless, thank you for reading this story and finishing it off with me! I'm delighted that you've made it this far and hope you enjoyed the story!
As soon as Cory returned home that day and saw his daughter bruised and broken, he immediately knew something was very wrong.
Of course, he had been catching onto whiffs of conflict between Riley and Maya. He suspected that Maya had been hurting Riley somehow. As a dad, he wanted nothing more than to be there for his daughter; as a teacher, however, he decided to, instead, teach.
He gave his lecture on the influence of evil, knowing fully well that it would be the last thing Maya needed to let go of her own hatred. He was sure this would completely resolve things.
And he wasn't entirely wrong. When Maya entered Riley's bedroom that afternoon and held her best friend tightly, her part of Riley's hurt had begun to mend itself.
However, Cory knew nothing of anything else happening to his daughter. So when he came home to see Riley scarred beyond belief, he knew something had happened to her far beyond what Maya was capable of.
"Honey…" was the first thing he said when he opened his door to see Riley sitting at her bay window, encompassed by the arms of Maya and Lucas.
"Daddy," Riley said shakily, standing up and flinging herself into her father's arms.
As Cory held his trembling daughter, he sternly asked Maya and Lucas, "What happened to her?"
Maya looked down at her shoes, and Lucas hesitantly met his teacher's gaze. "It was Kameron, sir," Lucas said.
"Kameron?" Mr. Matthews said, anger immediately flooding through his veins. He let go of Riley, who stepped back to sit between her two friends, tears beginning to well in her eyes.
"What did he do to you?" he asked as calmly as he could in spite of the rage welling up inside of him. Riley, in response, began to sob. Maya glanced over at Riley longingly, wanting to hold her again, but realizing that may not be what Riley needs from her right now. Instead, Lucas reached over and draped his arms around Riley's shoulders as Riley wiped the tears from her face.
"I'm so embarrassed, Daddy," Riley said as tears rolled down her face. "I'm so ashamed."
Cory didn't have time to connect the dots about what could've been done to his daughter before the front door opened and closed and an overworked Topanga entered Riley's room.
"What's going on here?" she asked, initially wondering why so many people were in her daughter's room. But upon seeing her daughter's state, her face shifted to a sympathetic expression.
Riley's heart was heavy, full of pain and hurt and shame. But she mustered up the courage to release her heavy heart from being the only one to know about what she had just endured.
"Kameron raped me."
The tone of the room immediately changed. Lucas stood up, biting the inside of his cheek and balling his fists. Topanga rushed to take his place, putting her arms around her sobbing daughter. Tears began to roll down Maya's face too as she eyed her best friend, shameful that she caused some of Riley's pain.
"Where is he," Cory stated, anger heating up his voice. "WHERE IS HE!"
"I don't know!" Riley cried, holding on tightly to her mother.
"He left a couple of hours ago. He could be anywhere by now," Maya choked out.
"Topanga, call the police. I'm going to go out looking for him," Cory snarled.
"I'm coming too," Lucas growled, following Cory.
"No… please don't…" Riley whimpered. "He didn't mean to…"
"What do you mean, honey?" asked Topanga.
"He hurt me… but it's only because he got hurt too… please…"
Cory's harsh expression softened momentarily.
"Riley, that's no excuse. Being in pain yourself doesn't mean you have the right to inflict that pain onto others," he said.
Maya gulped and looked down, recognizing that what Cory said, despite referring to Kameron, also applied to her, too. Ashamed, Maya murmured, "He's right, Riles. That's exactly what I did to you, and I am so, so sorry. But what I did was so wrong. It doesn't matter what I was going through. I was wrong to try to make you feel that pain… and so was Kameron."
Riley nodded sadly in response to Maya's comment. Cory turned to Lucas.
"Let's go, Lucas," he said, exiting the room. Lucas snuck one last glance at Riley before following Cory out of Riley's room.
Topanga stood, nearing towards the doorway, pulling out her phone.
"Are you going to be okay for a few minutes, honey?" she asked Riley, to which Riley nodded lowly in response. Topanga tried to give Riley a small smile before exiting the room, closing the door behind her.
Maya looked at Riley's broken form, trying her best to stuff away her own shame in order to focus on Riley's feelings. She placed a hand on Riley's shoulder, causing Riley to glance up at her.
"I'm here for you now," Maya said softly. Riley nodded rapidly, trying to muster a sad smile before directing her eyes back towards the ground.
~.x.x.x.~
That night, Cory and Lucas returned empty-handed. The police arrived to receive a testimony from Riley about the situation, which Riley was somehow able to bravely deliver before retreating to her room, crawling up under her covers.
The police left to begin their search for Kameron shortly thereafter. Maya and Lucas left shortly after the police did, not wanting to overstay their welcomes. Cory and Topanga shut off Riley's bedroom light that night, getting no response from Riley after wishing her a good night.
As soon as they reached their room, Topanga began to cry. Cory held her tightly.
"You hear about it sometimes, but you never think it will happen to your own kids," Topanga cried. Cory nodded solemnly.
"I just can't believe we didn't see that something deeper was going on here," Cory said, running his fingers through Topanga's hair.
"What happens next?" Topanga asked.
"I don't know," Cory responded.
~.x.x.x.~
The weekend approached slowly.
Kameron was gone now. Thinking about the situation, Maya knew that the hard part was over. Riley would no longer have to endure any sort of pain from anybody. Still, Maya couldn't help but reflect upon everything that had transpired in the last few weeks.
Deep down, Maya knew that she was the root of everything that had happened to Riley.
Maya was aware that Riley had forgiven her. Somehow, after all of this, she was sure Riley was finally able to understand her motives for causing Riley so much pain.
Still, Maya knew that she didn't deserve this forgiveness. She wasn't sure if she could ever deserve Riley's forgiveness.
So, for the first time in a long time, Maya put her own feelings aside. She stopped holding onto her feelings of resentment, of envy, of hurt. Instead, she put herself into Riley's shoes, attempting to understand Riley's pain instead of focusing so much on her own.
Ever since Kameron's departure, Riley hadn't left her bed. Maya would visit from time to time to check in on Riley, but it almost seemed like Riley hadn't moved an inch between visits. As the weekend passed, Maya didn't see much change in Riley's state.
From all of this, though, Maya knew one thing: it was time for her to be a best friend to Riley. At first, she resented Riley's happiness, but now… Maya would give anything to see Riley happy again. And that's exactly what she planned on doing: whatever necessary to make Riley happy again.
~.x.x.x.~
Two weeks passed.
Riley's seat remained empty in school. Rumors spread around the school like wildfire, but if questioned about the situation, Maya, Lucas, and Farkle would always refuse to comment. Mr. Matthews claimed his daughter was sick whenever asked, and he refused to give any further details.
Lucas and Farkle visited Riley every day. They would tell her about their days at school, their days at home, all of the highlights of their days and none of the drawbacks. Riley never responded, she just stayed curled up in bed; still, the boys didn't give up.
Maya skipped school some days to be with Riley. Unlike Lucas and Farkle, Maya wouldn't talk, other than a "Hey Riles" upon entering and a "See you, Riles" upon exiting; she would instead bring her art supplies and paint.
Maya herself saw the world as dark and bleak, but when painting, she tried to imagine the world from Riley's perspective. Bright. Happy. Beautiful. She made painting after painting of the vibrant greens, sunny days, hand-holdings and smiling faces of the world. After each and every painting was finished, she could swear that her own world was becoming a little bit brighter.
She placed each painting around Riley's room when she finished. Her first went on Riley's dresser. Second, on her bay window. Third, at the foot of her bed. Each painting found its own unique spot in Riley's room so that no matter where you looked, you would see the beauty and the bliss of the world. The butterflies, the chirping birds, the sunsets and sunrises, the warmth, the love.
Eventually, Riley would begin to turn and look at her friends. She would look at Lucas and Farkle as they talked, and even though they were right there in front of her, she still felt like there was a distance between them.
Riley would also watch Maya paint. She couldn't tell what Maya was painting, but watching her best friend paint relaxed her somehow.
On the Friday three weeks after the incident, Maya, Lucas, and Farkle all decided to visit Riley after school.
Maya crawled in through the bay window. "Hey Riles," she said.
"Hey, Riley," Lucas said, following after Maya.
"Hi, Riley," Farkle said, coming in after Lucas. As he crawled in, he accidentally misplaced his hand and fell flat on his face. Maya and Lucas began to laugh.
"Farkle!" Maya exclaimed, grinning.
Today was an especially beautiful day. The sun was shining bright and warm, creating sun spots all around Riley's room. The three friends sat on Riley's bed, prepared to begin conversing, when suddenly, they heard a small whimper come from Riley's crouched form.
"Riley?" Lucas said, immediately moving nearer to her.
Slowly, Riley removed her covers, lying flat on her back and facing the ceiling. She turned slightly to look at Lucas. Her face was wet with tears.
"Hi, Lucas. I missed you," she said.
She glanced at Lucas's side and saw Farkle smiling down at her.
"Hey, Farkle… I missed your smile."
She turned over and saw Maya. She sniffled and grabbed her best friend's hand.
"Oh Maya…" she said softly. Her expression was difficult to read, but her friends were sure that something in her had finally begun to come back somehow.
"Can you sit up?" was the first thing Maya asked her best friend. Shakily, Riley nodded, letting go of Maya's hand to prop herself up in bed. The moment she sat, her eyes widened.
All around her room were beautiful paintings. Paintings of life's treasures, life's beauty. Paintings of blooming flowers, paintings of the sunshine. Paintings of the little things that made Riley happy.
A reminder of these little things was all it took to make Riley smile.
Seeing this smile for the first time in weeks nearly brought her friends to tears as they matched Riley's smile with even wider grins of their own.
Riley leaned forward to hug her three friends tightly for the first time in a long time. Rays of sunshine hugged the four friends as they hugged one another.
As she hugged her friends, Riley thought about the sun. She thought about how sometimes, the sun gets covered up with clouds and rainy days, but the sun is always still there. She thought about how she was just like the sun now and how excited she was to shine her own rays of sunshine again.
"Welcome back, smiley Riley. It's been a while," she told herself.
~.x.x.x.~
The end of the school year came quickly. On the very last day of school, Riley, Maya, Lucas, and Farkle sat alone in Mr. Matthews's classroom, chatting about. The school day was over and the school was empty, but the four decided to stick around and enjoy their last moments of 7th grade together for a little bit longer. Riley, in her daffodil-plastered sundress, radiated the same light as her dress did, which made her friends grin. They were ever so grateful Riley was herself again, and they never wanted to ever even think about losing her again.
Cory entered the room slowly, knowing the four friends would be there waiting for him. He smiled softly.
"Hey, guys. I have some news for you."
The four friends turned their heads to listen.
"The authorities finally found Kameron. I just got the call. He's being locked up for now and should see a court date in the near future. He's been charged with multiple counts of First Degree Assault and Battery. Just know, he will be punished for his actions."
The friends gave a sigh of relief. Riley smiled sadly. She was overjoyed that Kameron had finally been found and that she was finally achieving justice for what he had done to her, but… a part of her still empathized for him.
Still, the friends knew this news would start their summer off right. Riley stood and hugged her dad. She then left the room to begin unpacking her locker.
Maya, Lucas, and Cory began to chat about, while Farkle stepped out of the room to meet Riley at her locker. "Here, let me help," he said, picking up some books and placing them into her bookbag.
"Thanks, Farkle," Riley beamed at him.
"So… how are you feeling?" he asked nonchalantly.
"I'm not entirely sure," Riley responded truthfully, "I have mixed feelings. But I think, overall… I really am happy."
"I'm happy to hear it," Farkle said, grinning at her. Riley smiled back. She put down her books and reached down to hug him, a feat which he returned enthusiastically.
As soon as they broke apart, Farkle said, "So, are we still on for Friday?"
"Yeah," Riley beamed. "This is going to be an awesome end-of-year party!"
"Great," Farkle said. "Then I guess I'll see you then."
Farkle and Riley waved to one another as Farkle left the building. Riley continued to empty her locker. Riley saw a picture of herself and Lucas smiling brightly at the camera. She grabbed the photograph from her locker and looked down at it, smiling. She really did love Lucas.
"Who's that?" a voice from behind her said. She jumped a bit and turned to see Lucas smiling down at her.
"Oh, hi," she said, butterflies filling her tummy. "It's us!" she remarked, pointing at their smiling faces.
"We look good together, don't you think?" Lucas said, wrapping an arm around Riley's shoulders.
"Yeah," Riley blushed, turning and facing him. As Lucas looked into Riley's sparkly brown eyes, all he could think about was how beautiful she was. He began to blush himself, a feat that Riley didn't see too often.
"What's wrong?" Riley said, deciding to call him out on his blush.
"Oh, uh, nothing," he stammered, "nothing. It's just… you're amazing, Riley."
Riley blushed even harder at this comment, feeling herself get lost in his eyes. She knew she shouldn't stare, but she just wanted to be in this moment forever.
Lucas moved his hand from Riley's shoulder to Riley's face, cupping it in his hand. He began to move closer to Riley, inch by inch. Riley, realizing she was about to have her first kiss, became ecstatic, jumping up and down on the inside. Although she wanted to cherish this moment, she didn't want to wait a second longer.
Taking initiative, she moved towards Lucas quickly, meeting his lips with her own. She delighted herself in the softness of his lips, beyond overjoyed that this was actually happening.
After a few seconds, she backed away, grinning widely. Lucas touched his lips, not wanting the lingering feel of Riley's to disappear.
Lucas, tomato-faced, said, "so… I'll see you Friday?"
"Yes, you will!" Riley said, nodding enthusiastically. She blushed deeply and waved goodbye to Lucas as he exited the school.
Riley, still smiling, finished packing up her things, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. As if it was on cue, Maya exited the classroom, walking to stand in front of Riley. Immediately, her eyebrow shot up upon seeing the blush on her best friend's cheeks.
"Uh, Riles… what just happened?"
Riley, in response, began to bounce up and down, grinning widely.
Maya chuckled.
"Well, you can tell me all about it on the ride home. Ready to go?"
Riley nodded, putting her arm around her best friend's back. Maya hooked her arm around her best friend's shoulders in return. Together, the pair walked arm-in-arm out of the building.
No longer were they clouded by the past.
They had the future to look forward to.
THE END