Chapter 18- Trouble in Austin
Maya woke up to a quiet room. Riley was nowhere to be found and looking at the clock on the nightstand, it was 3:45pm. Maya sat up straight in the bed, searching for her phone.
'Riley, whre r u?' she frantically typed.
'I'm on the way back up now. sorry. lost track of time.'
'we were supposed to go shopping, where did u go?'
'tell u in a minute.'
Maya rubbed her eyes and yawned loudly. She heard Riley scan her keycard at the door and turn the handle. Riley walked in with a wide grin and dream-like eyes.
"What happened? Where did you go?" Maya asked. Riley sat on the edge of the bed and flopped backwards with a heavy sigh.
"I had an errand I had to run." Riley explained. Confused, Maya asked again.
"Where did you go? You don't have errands here." Riley flipped over, so she was lying on her stomach.
"I met with Lucas." Riley replied. Maya's eyes widened.
"Lucas? It didn't take you long to find him." She observed, sarcastically. Riley was oblivious to Maya's sarcastic tone.
"Yeah. I met him at his job. He works at a sandwich shop about 4 blocks from here. He took me to his apartment, and we played video games. Sorry I lost track of the time. We were just…catching up." Maya raised an eyebrow.
"Catching up, huh?" Maya said, knowingly. Riley giggled and turned red. "Mmmhmm." Maya shook her head.
"What?" Riley asked, defensively.
"I don't want you to fall too deep and get hurt again, okay?" Maya replied, concerned. Riley nodded in understanding. There was a knock at the door and Maya got up to answer it.
"It's probably Shawn." Maya said. Before she opened the door, Riley grabbed her arm.
"Don't tell Shawn about Lucas, ok?" Riley whispered. Maya acknowledged with a nod. She opened the door and gestured Shawn into the room.
"So," Shawn asked, "you girls have anything going on tonight?" The girls looked at each other and shook their heads.
"No, not really. We were going to go shopping before dinner, but other than that…" Maya explained.
"Well, I have some old friends of my own that I would like to meet up with." Shawn began, "Do you think we could have a rain check on our dinner. You guys can order room service from up here?"
Maya shrugged and looked at Riley and back at Shawn.
"I suppose we can watch movies and order food up here. That's fine." She agreed. Shawn grinned and gave two thumbs up to the girls.
"Awesome! Thanks guys! Dinner for sure tomorrow!" He ran back to his room and disappeared behind the door. Maya closed the door and turned to Riley.
"Well, we are on our own tonight. What do you want to do? Chick flicks or Disney?" Maya teased. "Call Lucas and see if he is doing anything. I haven't seen him in forever." Riley called Lucas and invited him to the room. He was only too happy to come for a visit. Riley hung up the phone and jumped up.
"I am going to take a quick shower before he gets here. I will be out in like 15 minutes." She gathered her things and ran to the bathroom. Maya watched hotel tv until there was a knock at the door. Getting up to answer it, she knocked on the bathroom door.
"Riley, I think Lucas is here. Get out of the bathroom. You have been in there like 25 minutes."
"I'm almost done." Riley shouted from behind the bathroom door. Maya opened the door and saw Lucas, standing in the doorway, in all his countrified glory. He did not seem surprised to see Maya with a slight belly bump. Riley must have told him.
"Howdy, ma'am. How are you, this fine afternoon?" Lucas smiled his Texas grin and leaned against the doorframe. Maya rolled her eyes, amused.
"Ranger Rick, it has been a while. How have you been?" She teased back and laughed. "Get in here." As he walked in, he warned her.
"I hope you guys don't mind, but I brought my own guest." He moved to the side so Maya could see who was hiding behind him. Shocked, she gasped.
"Farkle?!" She exclaimed. "Where have you been?" She grabbed the two of them in a tight hug. "Come on, let's get out of the doorway. Come sit down." The boys sat on the edge of one bed and Maya sat down on the other. Farkle could not take his eyes off of Maya's belly.
"So Farkle," Maya continued. "What have you been up to lately?"
"Well, after my father acquisitioned over 95% of the tech company he started, they wanted him to relocate. Because of my stellar academics in public school, I skipped 2 grades. I will be a senior this year. I have already been offered a scholarship for the college of my choice. Literally, any school that I choose and because I will have to move to whatever college that I decide, I had to get my license. But all that pales in comparison to what you have been up to." Farkle explained gesturing toward her belly. Maya looked equal parts surprised and embarrassed as she subconsciously touched her bump.
"I will explain that later, but more about you. Two grades, huh? Impressive." She replied and turned toward Lucas. "How about you, Huckleberry? What have you been up to in the last six months?" Farkle could not take his eyes off Maya's belly.
"I also have my license; I have a job and I live in an apartment with my mom." Lucas replied, dryly. Maya nodded, approvingly. Riley came out of the bathroom and almost screamed when she saw Farkle on the bed. She attacked him with a hug and made him fall off the bed. As she helped him up off the floor, she apologized.
"What a surprise. What have you been up to lately?" Farkle explained the whole situation again to Riley, who was pleased that he was doing so well.
"Hey guys, I have an idea." Farkle suggested. "Let's go out tonight. I have connections with a couple of bouncers at this 18 and over club. My dad gave them some stock tips and made them a fortune. And as long as we don't drink, we can stay." They all looked each other and agreed to meet at the front of the hotel at 8:45pm where Farkle would pick them up. Everyone said their goodbyes and Lucas and Farkle left.
"Riley," Maya asked, "are you sure this is a good idea?" Riley looked at her quizzically. "I just mean that we don't know anyone here and anything could happen." Riley nodded emphatically.
"Exactly! That is precisely the point. Anything can happen. We have never been to Texas. Live a little! This might be your last chance to really get out of the house, you know?" Riley pointed to Maya's growing belly. Maya nodded slowly, agreeing with Riley's logic.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right, Riles. Just promise me we will be careful tonight. If you drink anything, make sure it is water. In a bottle." Maya raised her eyebrows at Riley.
"Okay, 'Mom'. I will make sure anything I consume has been officially inspected by the FDA, all right?" Riley replied, sarcastically. Maya rolled her eyes and ignored Riley's last comment. Maybe Riley had a point, though. This would be the last big trip she would be able to take before her baby was born. She should relax and enjoy herself for the rest of the week.
About 3 hours later, there was a knock on their door again. Riley answered it. Shawn was standing in the doorway. She glanced back at the clock. 8:35. The boys would be here in just a few minutes.
"Soo, what did you girls get up to tonight?" Shawn's eyes were slightly glassy and he was slurring his words, slightly. Riley whipped her head around to face Maya. She mouthed the words, 'He's drunk.' And turned back to Shawn, smiling innocently. She shook her head.
"Nothing much. We were going to explore the hotel and then head to bed." Shawn took a step back and nearly stumbled. Riley jumped in and stopped him from falling. "Where's your key, Uncle Shawn? I will help you to bed. You should sleep this off." Riley placed his arm around her shoulder and braced him with an arm around his waist. He fumbled in his pocket for his keycard and handed it to Riley without argument. As she placed the card in the slot, she heard the beep of acceptance from the door handle and the light turned green. She turned the door handle and, in the dark, she helped Shawn stumble to the bed. As she turned on the light, she was met with the sight of mini liquor bottles, everywhere. She groaned, sighing in disappointment. Not this again, she thought. She wondered how long he had been hiding this secret. As she covered Shawn up with a blanket, she turned out the light and placed the keycard on the nightstand. She was almost to the door and she changed her mind and grabbed the keycard before exiting the room and quietly closing the door.
As she made her way back to her own room, she stopped outside the door and contemplated what she was going to say to Maya. Taking a deep breath, she slid her keycard in the slot and opened the door.
"Maya, we may have a problem." Maya looked concerned.
"What is it, Riley? Are the guys okay?" Maya looked frantic. Riley shook her head.
"No, Maya. It's Shawn. He's drinking again. There are mini bottles everywhere in his room." Riley flopped down on the bed beside Maya.
"Oh, boy." Maya hung her head in disappointment. Riley handed her the keycard.
"I figured I would let you hang onto this so he doesn't lose it. If he wonders where his card is, you can give it to him. I'm sorry, Maya." Maya's face went from disappointed to angry.
"He promised my Mom when they got married, that he would not do this again." Maya's eyes were filling her eyes. Riley hugged Maya tightly.
"I know Maya. We will figure this out tomorrow. Do you want me to call the guys and cancel?" Maya shook her head.
"No. I am not going to let him ruin my night. Let's go." In a huff, she got up and started out the door with Riley following right behind her. She caught up to Maya and linked her arm through and they walked down the stairs together, and out to Farkle's waiting car.
