SS 96

Maya woke with her neck aching. She was still curled beside Riley in the hospital bed, Riley sleeping on her back to avoid putting pressure on her incision site. Maya couldn't believe that hospital beds were so uncomfortable, it seemed counterproductive. Maya tried not to focus on the last time that she'd slept in a hospital room, her mother's failing body just clinging to life beside her.

This room smelled the same as her mothers had, the strange antiseptic cleaning solution mixed with musty linens. Just walking into the building had sent Maya back into an aesthetic memory of when she had spent weeks in the hospital with her mother. She'd only been back to a hospital once since the day her mother had died, and going to the emergency room on Halloween hadn't brought the same emotions back.

Maya did her best to push her emotions to the back of her mind. She needed to focus on why she was there. She needed to focus on being there for Riley. The morning was hectic, between pre-rounds, rounds, nurses coming and going, and a very unappealing breakfast arriving, Maya was able to keep her feelings at bay, and Riley was able to buy herself more time before Maya started on her about talking to Lucus again. The rest of the family was planning on bringing lunch over around 1, so the window for the conversation was narrowing.

Riley was poking at the cold scrambled eggs left on her plate when Maya finally decided to broach the subject.

"Did you think about what I said?" Maya asked carefully. Riley sighed ask she put down her fork.

"I know that you're right. But I have no idea how to make this call. What am I supposed to say?"

"Just tell him the truth. That's all he's ever wanted from you"

"But how do I even put this into words?" Maya took Riley's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Try to start at the beginning. Don't skip around." Riley's lip started to quiver as if she was about to cry.

"I don't know if I can. I mean what if he starts asking questions and I get confused and everything comes out wrong?" Maya could see that Riley was really struggling. Maya wanted to fix it. She wanted to lift this weight from her best friend, or at least ease it a little.

"Listen. What if I called" Riley looked at her skeptically

"Not to tell him" Maya hurried on, trying to explain herself better.

"Just set the stage. Let him know to hear you out and to keep all questions to the end, besides-" Maya continued, really fleshing out her thoughts.

" He's already on edge, so if you call him now, sounding as freaked out as you do, he'll think the worse and you'll have to talk him down. So if you want, I'll call first and then pass him over to you and leave you to it."

Riley bit her lip, considering what Maya had said, before finally letting out a nervous sigh and nodding.

"Alright, give me your phone" Maya held out her hand and Riley dropped her cell phone into it. Maya got to her feet. For some reason, she always felt the need to pace around the room whenever she made a phone call, especially a nerve-wracking call like this one.

Maya's heart sank as she saw the 12 unanswered texts and half a dozen missed calls from Lucus in the past few days. The guy was clearly freaked out, but she steeled her nerves as she pressed call on his contact. He needed to hear this, and Riley needed to say it.

"Riley, christ whats- Lucus's voice was tinged with a mixture of relief and irritation. Before he could say anything else that was meant for Riley, Maya cut him off.

"Lucus its Maya"

"Maya? What's happening? Is Riley ok?" Lucus had almost immediately turned frantic, as Maya thought he might, but she forged on.

" Riley is fine, but I need you to listen to me" Lucus took a moment to calm down, but when Maya was sure he was ready, she started to speak again.

" I'm going to put Riley on the phone in a minute. She's got, well, she's got a lot to talk to you about but you need to promise me something"

" Maya what are you-"

"Promise me something" Maya heard him sigh on the other end of the phone,

" I promise"

" Let her talk. Don't ask questions. Don't interrupt, just listen until she's got it all out alright?"

"Alright, but Maya what's going on?"

" You'll understand in a minute, just listen ok?"

" Ok. I promise alright. Just let me talk to her." He half begged.

Maya held the phone out to Riley who hesitated only a second before taking the phone from her. Maya gave her best friend an encouraging smile and then turned to leave the room. Maya didn't go far, just lingered outside the door, walking back and forth and waiting for Riley to call her back inside. She didn't want to stray away in case she was needed. She could hear Rileys mumbled voice through the door but she couldn't make out what she was saying. It didn't matter. She already knew the story and she couldn't be sure that if she heard Riley telling it, she wouldn't completely break down in tears.

It only took about 15 minutes before Maya heard Riley calling her back. Maya carefully peaking her nose through the door, making sure that she had actually heard her name, before re-entering the room.

Riley's eyes were watering and she was taking deep breathes in an attempt to calm herself down. Riley held out the phone.

"He wants to talk to you"

Maya took the phone. Confused as to why Lucus would want to talk to her again.

"Hello?" Maya answered, absentmindedly moving back into the hall.

"What hospital is she in?" Lucus demanded.

"She's at University. Why could you not ask her this?" Maya asked confused.

"Because she won't tell me"

"Why would she not tell you?" Maya asked confused. She suddenly felt a little sick at the idea that she may have just given up a secret that Riley didn't want to be told.

" Because she doesn't want me to come, which is complete shit. I'm going to the airport right now. I'm sure there's some flight I can get on or something but-"

"Lucus" Maya began carefully.

"I don't know if that's the best idea. Now, before you get mad-" She continued, knowing that Lucus was probably about to fly off the handle

" She's not ready to see you. She needs time. This is all so fresh for both of you. Your spring break must be coming up right?" She reasoned.

" In a few weeks"

" So come up in a few weeks, when you've both had a little time to process this all." Lucus was quiet for a minute.

"I can't have her shut me out again, not after this. I need to know that she's going to be ok"

"Even if she does go dark again, I'll be here. You can call me." Maya offered. Lucus was quiet again.

"She's really ok?"

"She will be" Maya promised.

…..

Maya walked back into the room to see Riley wiping the tears off her cheeks, wincing in pain slightly as she sat back in her bed.

"Hey" Maya placed Riley's phone back in her hands and sat back down beside her bed.

"Thanks for doing that" Maya smiled at her, hoping that Riley would feel a little better now that this was off her chest.

" He's not coming is he?" Riley asked quietly.

"Not right now" Maya promised. Riley let out a breath.

"Good. I mean I don't want him to miss school or-"

"Riles. It's ok. You don't have to explain yourself." Maya took Riley's hand and squeezed it.

"Thank you" Riley whispered before resting her head back against her pillow.

" I think I need to sleep" Riley closed her eyes and appeared almost instantly to drift off. Riley had always been the type of person who could sleep anywhere, and Maya had always been a little jealous of that.

Maya sat back in her chair and glanced down at her phone to look at the time. It would still be a few hours until the rest of the clan would arrive for lunch. Maya bit the inside of her lip, feeling uneasy. Now that Riley was asleep, Maya didn't have any distraction from the thoughts lingering in the back of her mind, and as she watched Riley sleep peacefully in her hospital bed, all Maya could think about was her dying mother laying in Riley's face and the minutes of her life slipping away like water down the drain.