Chapter Thirty

Maya was enjoying her spot as a spectator at a pickup game of soccer on the outskirts of campus. There was a barbecue welcoming new students and remembering alumni. Maya's hair was out of the traditional braids and in fluffy pigtails that hung by her neck. She was sporting a baseball cap that Tim had found in his trunk that had "Kiss me, I'm a cop" printed across the stained blue fabric. Tim was participating in the soccer game and Amy was playing with a dog a few yards away. She was obviously missing her two giants.

"Need anything else?" Lisa popped up next to her silently. Maya was less easily startled since she had about ten different shadows always lurking.

"Thanks, but I'm good. I've had three hot dogs and that was two too many. You guys are lucky that your gym is your campus."

"Except when we get up at six to do drills. I don't see you doing that anytime soon." Maya grimaced and nodded. It was definitely July now and the sun was glaring down on the group. Maya mentally thanked Tim for finding the hat. Maya wasn't a big one for the sun. Her hobbies didn't really bring her into contact with the outdoors much, but she was enjoying herself. She wasn't much for painting people she knew, but if she had time she'd sketch the soccer game and paint it back at the flat.

"I hear you were doing some face paint for a while," Lisa added.

"Yeah it's my life calling to put lions and hearts on kids' faces." Maya looked fondly at the groups of children chasing each other. She thought of Riley and straightened up. "I have to make a quick call. Just a second." Maya ducked away and found Tim's bag with the burner phones in it. She found a new one and turned it on and dialed Riley.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Riles. How's fatty cake?"

"I hope you mean the baby and not me," she pouted.

"Of course." Maya paused and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I haven't called sooner."

"Lucas said it's getting harder for you to contact people. I want you safe so that's the important thing."

"You talked to Lucas?"

"Yeah, this morning. You guys were so right. He needed to go back. He sounds so much lighter. Like he could just fly and-"

"What did you talk about?" Maya hoped he hadn't shared the previous night's conversation with Riley. Because Riley would side with Lucas and lecture her once again on everything wrong with her current line of thinking.

"Well we talked about the baby. Lucas thinks it's a boy. I think he said that just to bug you. Then we talked about Charlotte and how she's pregnant now too."

"Yeah it's great."

"Yeah it sounds like you think so," Riley replied with sarcasm. "Why have you never liked Charlotte?"

"It's not that I don't like her. She sounds perfect. Kind of like you." Maya spoke the words before she realized what she was saying and they hung there in silence.

"Maya, is this another-"

"No. That's not what I meant."

"Because I thought you were over the whole 'Lucas needs the perfect wife' thing."

"I don't even think about Lucas having a wife. I'm a little preoccupied."

"Well don't get all snappy about it," Riley defended.

"Sorry. In spite of how I sound, I'm actually having a good time too. Though I didn't have to fly all the way to Texas to do it."

"Leave it to you to make it a competition. But I'm glad. What's all the noise?"

"Soccer game. We're having a barbecue before we leave this evening. Which reminds me, are you free tomorrow?"

"Yes and that's perfect! Farkle and I are going to start looking at apartments soon and we'll be able to have a nursery with the new space. I need to start picking decor and stuff. I'm assuming you want to help."

"Of course. And we will be buying pink. For a girl."

"We will buy all colors because we have no clue who this kid is."

"True. It could be half robot. You know, from Farkle's side of course." Riley giggled at her friend's joke.

"Maya, I don't want to pester you, but Lucas told me you guys had a tense conversation last night."

"Traitor."

"He didn't tell me specifics. He just wanted me to make sure you didn't go do anything stupid to shake it off."

"Well I had a drink with one of the officers. In a hallway. Not talking." Maya turned and caught Tim's eye as he came off the field for water. He located her and nodded.

"I wish you would talk to me about him."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"I'm not stupid, Maya. Naive, sure. But I'm not stupid."

"I don't think that."

"I know that you still liked him even after you said you didn't. I know that you liked him all through high school. And I know that even though I am married to Farkle and pregnant with his kid, you still have some delusional idea that Lucas and I are soulmates or something."

"I don't think that! I'm not gonna lie, your relationship pissed me off more than I'd like to admit, but I didn't ever consider dating him. Even after you guys broke up. All of senior year I had a chance and I didn't take it."

"I know. Because you were being a good friend and protecting my feelings. But you can't use that excuse anymore. Now you're just scared."

"What do I have to be scared about?"

"You're scared," Riley's voice punched at Maya's chest, "that there is nothing stopping you from being with him. And that you'll get together and end up like your parents and then you'll have no one to blame but yourselves. First you could blame me, then you could blame him for leaving, then this case. But you're gonna run out of excuses and then you'll have to tell him to his face that you won't be with him because you're scared."

"I'm not scared of love, Riley."

"You're scared of love. And you're terrified of Lucas." The minute she heard her friend's response, Maya felt tears spring to her eyes.

"Hey, didn't want to join the-" Tim walked over and stopped when he saw Maya's face.

"I have to go. I'll call you when I get home tonight. See you tomorrow." Maya snapped the phone shut and handed it to a surprised Tim. "Soccer isn't really my thing. Cotton candy is. I'll be over there." Tim watched her walk away and moved back to his bag to discard the phone.

"Who was she talking to?" Amy jogged over and hugged her husband.

"I'm not sure. I thought it might be Riley but she looked upset when I came over."

"Did you ask her what was wrong?"

"She's scary. No way."

"Men." Amy rolled her eyes and threw a tennis ball that one of the dogs was offering to her.

0000000000000000000000000

Lucas looked around the apartment. It was cold. It still had Maya's scent everywhere, though. He set his suitcase down and switched on the lights. He was going to make the place as comfortable for Maya as possible since he had beaten her home. He walked his stuff down the hall and hit the light for her art room. The bed was made and some of her supplies were missing. He hated how pleased he was that she was drawing on her free time. He walked across the hall and lit up her bedroom. He glanced around it and moved to check the closet and under the bed. Just as he was about to stand back up he saw something. It was white and wadded up like it had been there for centuries. He grabbed it out and his eyes softened. It was his Thompson High football jersey. He had taken his home jersey off in the locker room after the first high school football game he'd played without Riley wearing his away jersey. His white away jersey was still in his locker. Riley hadn't even come that night.

"Friar, someone's waiting for you," his teammate had called.

"Coming."

"Sorry. Not fast enough." And Maya had showed up in the boys' locker room like it was totally ok to be there. "Good game, Cowboy."

"Maya, what are you doing?"

"Well, I realized that you'd be feeling sorry for yourself and skip out on a much needed party and so I decided to take you as my charity case and make sure you didn't go home."

"Touching. Go away."

"Hey," she knelt down in front of him, "you can only be perfect for so long." It was those words that screwed it all up. He had grabbed her and kissed her, standing up and pushing her against the lockers. She had cussed and broken away to spit her grape gum on the floor. And that night he had driven her home in a silent car. But when he pulled up in front of her apartment building, as uncomfortable as they were, she still had the nerve to reach into the back seat and take the white jersey for herself.

He had never asked for it back. In fact, he had forgotten all about it. He felt the roughness of his name printed on the back. Though, he would much rather have had her leave the white jersey and keep him instead. Of course, that wasn't how Maya rolled.

His phone startled him out of reverie and he dropped the jersey on her bed.

"Hello?"

"You obviously care about her, so you'll listen carefully." Lucas froze. The voice wasn't familiar. "You and your buddies have been on my tail now for a while and if you knew what was good, you wouldn't do that."

"Jared," Lucas perceived.

"Don't involve Levi again. He doesn't know where I am. You shouldn't be worried about that either."

"And why is that?"

"Because I'm like her, Ranger. I know stuff that I wish I could unknow. Difference is, they made a mistake with her. With me, I wouldn't stand a chance. So do me and her a favor and let us move on with our lives."