A/N: So I'm sorry I'm a liar. I know I promised some new chapters, but the writer's block I've been having has just been so terribly bad. I've also been writing some of the chapters because my computer was broken, so now I have to retype all of them. It's been working, but I think that it will be worth it when you guys read the next one. Also, this might make me a lazy writer, but because I've been having so much writer's block, I've decided to time jump two weeks, because I don't know what to write for them. So happy Reading! 3, Dev.
(Two Week Time Jump)
Maya's POV
Today's gonna be my first day back at school. I'm a little nervous, but also not. I just want this to be a regular day, but of course that's not going to happen. I wake up with a text from Riley that says 'Are you sure?'. I quickly texted her back that I am, and continue to get ready. I get dressed in an outfit that I try to make cute, even though half of it is a pair of sweatpants. I've been living in sweatpants the past few days. I even do my makeup. I know that after everything Josh doesn't care, but I still feel bad. Since the accident I haven't exactly cared what I look like. I even put on my favorite boot, but only on one leg.
I walk downstairs to see my Mom and Shawn talking in hushed tones. "Everything alright?" I ask lightheartedly, maybe if I'm super calm they'll actually tell me their adult problems for once.
"Yes honey, everything's fine." my mom says, even though I can tell it's not.
"Is this about me going to school today? I really want to." I say.
"No it's not, but I am a little nervous. Text either one of us at any time and we'll come get you in a heartbeat." She says.
"Thanks mom." I say giving her a loving smile. I start walking with my crutches towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Shawn asks. "You haven't even had breakfast yet."
"I'm going to pick up Riley, and I'm not hungry." I say.
"I know you want today to be normal, but I already talked to Riley. You won't pick her up today. Shawn is gonna drive you to school."
"But mom!" I say frustrated. Everyone's treating me like I'm some fragile little doll. I'm sick and tired of it!
"Sorry sweetie, I just think it's safer this way And I also don't want you to go on the subway by yourself in crutches."
And that's the end of that argument. Since I don't have to leave early, I make myself some oatmeal, or actually my mom makes me some oatmeal, and I watch t.v. for a few minutes. Some sort of t.v shows about cops in Hawaii. I like it, the leader is pretty hot. After the second commercial break I get Shawn, and we leave for school.
He helps me into the front seat and we're off. The car ride is quiet, and filled with random songs from the radio. Travis Scott is popular nowadays. So is Post Malone. He's Riley's favorite.
We finally get to school, and I hop out of the front seat. Just as I'm about to shut the car door, Shawn says, "Hey Maya. If you need anything just let me know. I'm sorry about this morning, I know you want things to go back to normal. We just want you to be safe." He says.
"I get it. I love you dad." I say. I smile and shut the door. Here goes nothing.
Riley's POV
I get into school a little late, or actually a lot lately. I accidentally fell back asleep after I texted Maya, I didn't get much sleep last night, and then my mom had an early meeting with a client, so she wasn't home to wake me up. Usually on a day like this I would just play rookie, but It's Maya's first day back so I wouldn't dream of it.
I rush to class, which just happens to be my father's. I sigh, he's gonna make a big deal. I open the door, and see curious eyes from my whole friend group. I quickly sit down, right in the front, and feel people's eyes tear into my back. "Nice of you to show up, Ms. Matthews." My dad says in a harsh tone.
"Sorry, dad." I mutter under my breath.
"Now where were we…" My dad starts talking about the American Civil War, but I'm not paying attention. This is my favorite part of US history, so I already know everything I need to. I grab my extra notebook, and start plotting against A. I realize it's been weeks since I've actually payed attention in class, and my grades are starting to slip. Riley Matthews with bad grades? Add a little bit of A and even the extremely unlikely possibilities are possible. I make a mental note to do some extra credit later and continue with my work.
When the class is over, I don't notice. It takes a bell, the noise of everyone getting their stuff, and Lucas standing next to my desk for me to stop working. This hour I've created a list. Of everyone who hates me, maya, Lucas, and everyone else in the gang. I even added Vanessa for Zay. "What have you been so into the past hour?" Lucas asks.
"I just made a list of the possible A suspect's and why." I say nonchalantly.
"Riley. I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you again. You gotta let this go, it's unhealthy. I'm worried about you."
I sigh, I know he's right. Maybe I should just tell A to fuck off and be done with it. I'm just worried A won't take it the right way. "I know and you're right, but I can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen soon. We can't hide forever, and I know A will be there. The way I see it, is that the only way to fix it is to get rid of A's power over us altogether."
"I know, babe." He takes my hand and helps me up. He pulls me into a hug. "Just don't stress too much. We can figure this out, okay?" I sigh, and keep moving. Just like I always do.
Josh POV
She looks good. It takes everything I have to not jump out of these clothes and attack her with my body. But she's too frail right now. Her hair flows down the sides of her face and the beautiful wavy way they always do. Her neck looks sexy. It peeks through her golden locks. I wanna kiss it. But she's just leaving my dad' classroom, and I wouldn't want him to see that. She walks out of the class, hobbling on her one leg and crutches. She didn't deserve this. All I can do is help make it suck a little less. I surprise her by hugging her from behind, being careful with her leg and metal attachments.
I scared to touch her, to hold her. I'm scared I'm gonna break her. How could this even happen?
"Good Morning." I say, burying my face in her neck. Everything seems so small compared to her. It's like I forget my football plays around her, and that's something I will never forget, I didn't even forget about them around Mia. Not even during sex. That's weird. I haven't thought about her in the longest time. Whatever.
"Good morning." She says, pulling me in close while still trying to hold her crutches. I missed hugging her. People have been around her all the time helping her with her leg lately, we haven't had a second alone. The people brushing by us in the hallways remind me of that.
"Where's your next class?" I ask her.
"Ugh, physics. I have Missy in this class." She says, a hint of annoyance tugging at her face.
"Well then I'm definitely taking you." I tell her. She smiles. Before she even knows what's happening, I am picking her up and carrying her bridal smile. She laughs.
"My knight in shining armour." She says, while staring at me with heart eyes. I love this girl. Although it might be extremely selfish of me, I'm so happy A hasn't tried messing with our relationship yet. It sucks what they're doing to Lucas and Riley's though.
Lately they've both been so on edge. Whenever they say goodbye you can hear the fear in their voices, it's traumatizing. Riley is my sister, and Lucas is my best friend. I know he just wants what is best for her, and in his eyes that's him always being around to protect her. Him and I have that in common. Since Riley's attack both of us have been on edge. Maybe that's what A wants.
I get to her classroom and plop her in her seat. I kneel down and bend over so our faces are just centimeters apart and I kiss her. She tastes amazing. "I love you Maya Hart."
"I love you too, Joshua Matthews." She says smiling. And with that I walk out of the classroom, but not before I peak back in to see her staring at me, smiling. Damn, that is all mine.
Lucas's POV
"Riley, please talk to me." I say pleading, begging at this point. She hasn't slept more than 20 hours in the past 2 weeks, she hasn't been eating, her grades are slipping, I'm beyond worried about her.
"Lucas. Please don't worry. You're making me sad." She says staring up at me with her eyes, grazing her hand against my neck. She always does this. She's gotten so good at pretending everything is okay.
"You haven't been sleeping, you were even late to school because of it, and your dad's the teacher babe. I want to help you, but you're making it so difficult." I say back. Her phone buzzes. Great. "Saved by the buzz."
"Maybe not." She says face hardening.
"What does it say?" I ask her quietly. She turns around and looks over her shoulder. I hate that she's so paranoid now. I pull her closer to me and wrap my arms around her. She relaxes.
"You know how Missy was supposed to throw a party last weekend, but she changed it to this weekend just so that you could go?" She asks, and I don't like where this is going.
"What about it?" I say through clenched teeth.
"Well I guess she wants you there again, with a girl that is not me." She sighs. I pull her down to a bench so that we can talk more. I hold her hands in mine and she leaned her head on my shoulder.
"These two weeks were awful, waiting for the hat to drop." I say, wondering how she'll take it.
"Yeah, I know." She says. She's quieter than I thought she would be. She's definitely thinking about something.
"What are you thinking about?" I ask. And I hope to god that it's something good and none of the bullshit from the past month.
"I'm just thinking about breaking up." She says.
"Nope. We're gonna fight this, and we're gonna figure out who the bitch is before Friday." I say. How could she even say that? I'll never let he out of my sight again after what happened to her.
"Lucas. It's not worth it. Maya got hit by a car just because we took a flash drive. This person's gonna be way more mad now that this is the second time they're having to ask us. I'm not sure we can do it anymore."
"What are you saying?" I ask. "Do you wanna break up?" I know I sound tough when I say it, but deep inside I know that her words might just break my heart.
"No. Not at all." She says quickly. "It's just what other choice do we have?" We are definitely gonna be late to class. "I have to go." She says.
"I'll walk you."
"I'm not sure that's a great idea." She says sadly. She stands up, squeezes my hand, and starts to walk away.
"Riley?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
"I love you more." She says back, and I'm scared she actually means it. She starts walking away again. Seeing her walk away from me is the saddest picture I've ever seen.
Riley's POV
I get up and turn in the other direction, towards where I'm actually supposed to be and I see something weird going down. Missy is on the phone with someone. I look back, and Lucas is far out of range, so I'm not worried about him.
"She isn't cooperating." Missy says angrily. It really sucks that I can't hear the other end of the line right now. And who is she talking about? I always thought she was somehow involved in all this. I mean, how could she not be? She hates all of us, except maybe Lucas.
"I know, I know, but she's just so in love with him. It's annoying, especially when he can do better than her." She says angrily. You can obviously tell she's talking about herself. Are they talking about me and Lucas? Now I'm sure she's involved, but still I hope not, I'll kill this bitch.
"What do you mean?" She continues. She smiles, and it makes me nervous. "I agree . If we break him enough, she'll finally do what we say." This scares me. Now I know they're talking about me. Im deep in my thoughts when I see Missy hang up. I quickly turn around and run in the other direction. I need to get to class, I need to get to Maya. I decide to send her a text. 'Meet me in the bathroom right outside Mrs. Pierre's class.' I hope she gets it.
I get into the bathroom, and I wait. I really hope Maya got my text. My phone buzzes, and thankfully it's just Maya telling me she's on her way. I didn't want her to have to go far, so I picked the bathroom closest to her current class. I'm waiting for about 2 minutes. Still not here. Then those two minutes double, and triple. Now I'm worried. She should've been here by now. The bathroom is only a few doors down from her class. I get a call. Maya.
"Riley." She sounds scared. "I was in my wheelchair, and A pushed me into the janitors closet and locked me in. I think they're still outside." Oh. No.
"I'm on my way."
"Don't come alone, I want Josh." She's almost crying.
"I'm getting him on the phone right now and I'll be there in two."
"Riley, A pushed me out of the wheelchair, I couldn't get away." She starts to cry.
"Maya, don't worry about it, you're safe now, A is gone, and Josh and I will be there soon. I Love you." I hang up. Josh is probably in class right now so I texted him and hope he gets it. He does and meets me there right away.
Maya's POV
I'm on the floor in the janitors closet, when I call Riley. She answers right away. After she hangs up to go get Josh and help me, I decided to turn on my flashlight. There are rats everywhere. I scream, and I start to cry. "Maya?" Josh says loudly.
"Josh help." I say desperately. "I can't get out, I'm scared."
"Damnit, the door is locked." Riley says. Oh no, I'll never get out, not to mention rats are running around me.
"Maya, move back" I try to scoot back, and put my hand on something furry. I scream, and start to cry again. I can't breathe, there are rats running all around me. Grazing my legs, or my fingers. I curl up in a ball, and wrap my arms around myself. I can't breathe. They're everywhere.
There is light, then there's touch. Josh's arms are suddenly around me. I hold onto him so tight that I'm sure he can't breathe, but he doesn't protest. He just holds me tight, and I never want him to let go.
"Oh my god. Peaches." Riley gasps, as she slams the semi-broken door closed. She must've seen the rats. I still can't breathe. Those things were all over me, and all around me. I hate rats. They've been a fear of mine ever since my dad locked my in my wall-hole. It too had rats. Josh's arms remain around me tightly, and I still can't breathe.
"Oh my god, Maya." He says. "It's okay now, I got you. You're safe with me. I'll protect you." He whispers. I wipe my eyes, and breathe again. I don't know how my anxiety got this bad, I never cry. I'm weak if all it took was a few rats in the dark to crack me. I need to get over it. I sigh. I wipe my eyes. I get over it.
"Don't worry about me," I force a smile. "It was scary at the time but I'm fine now." I give another smile to try to convince them… or maybe it's to convince myself. We start to walk. "Riley, what did you want to meet about?"
"Nothing." It's not important compared to A.``she sighs. "Maybe we'll talk about it later." I know it's something more, but I decided not to push her. She needs a break of pushing, and quite frankly, so do I.
Josh and I decided to ditch the rest of today and go home. Riley tells us she'll inform all of my teachers, and that she knows they'll understand.
Josh's POV
So we're at Maya's house. In Maya's bed. With Maya's body right next to mine. Thinking, breathing. This is hard. It's hard to be so close to someone and want them so badly but know that you just can't. She's still in pain from the car accident, and she's weak right now. But I really want her. I want to feel her body sync up with mine. I wanna hear her breathing heavily, and know that it's because of me. I want that, all of it. So. Damn. Badly.
Maya moves, "Josh. I don't like this." She humphs.
"You don't like cuddling with me?", I ask, but I'm pretty sure I know what she's getting at, and it's not about the cuddling.
"No, I love that. But there is something else we could try." She smirks at me. She gets up and starts making out with me. It feels good. Her lips on mine, her tongue moving my lips aside for entry. The way she bites my lower lip…
"Maya, if we go there, we go there. I won't be able to control myself." I say, even though I really don't want to. She moans, and starts moving down my neck. I clear my throat. "Babe, are you sure? I wanted to do something special for you… And you're still a little hurt." I say pushing her off of me a little so I can breathe.
"Yes, I'm sure. You don't need to do anything special because as long as it's with you, it will be. I love you, ``Joshua."
'I love you too, sexy." She laughs at my attempt at sexy flirting, and comes in even stronger. She starts tugging at my shirt, and before I can convince her to take the time to unbutton it, she rips it off. I don't even care.
Her hands snake all over me, feeling my skin and everywhere else. She wiggles my pants off and starts sucking from where she was at my neck, all the way down to my hemline. Wait. She's the one that should be in MY mouth.
I push her away a little bit, but I'm still careful with her. How could I not? She's my baby. She slides back, and we switch, so that I'm on the top and she's on the bottom. I leaned over her and she gasps. I've never been off her so fast. I push myself off the mattress, and I actually fall off the bed and onto the floor. I'm up in two seconds to check on he though. "Maya? What is it? Did I hurt you?"
"Um. No, maybe? I don't know. The doctor said I would have these shooting pains when I put pressure on my leg, but it was fine all day." She looks down. I pick up her chin.
"Hey, don't worry about it. I want our first time to be amazing, I don't want you in pain for all of it."
"I know, it's just I really want you. It's hard for me to be so close to you and in love with you all the time. Maybe we could just do it anyways?"
"Maya. You are still hurt. I can't. It's killing me too, but the thought of me hurting you just for sex? Maya, it'd kill me inside."
"Joshua Matthews, you're a great guy. Literally, all the time. Very great. Just this once could you be a douche?" She smiles.
"Never." I smile back. She laughs. "But I do have another idea." I smirk.
"And what is that?" She says seductively.
"Maya, take off your fucking pants already." I say, more serious now.
She smiles, "Why don't you do that for me?" She looks up at me, with wider eyes than normal. Damn.
I lean closer in, careful not to touch her bad leg, and I wiggle her pants off with my free hand. I lay next to her, keeping my hand on her bare thigh. I kiss her gently. Then passionately as I slip my fingers in. She moans, and leans into me, as I continue to move my fingers around. Tonight is going to be a great night.
Riley POV
I'm in the middle of physics, my last class of the day and my foot won't stop twitching, or shaking, or tapping. I need to get out of here. Three minutes till the bell rings. I somehow keep thinking back to that one conversation with Maya at the hospital. I did end up going to the camera store, but I didn't find what I was looking for, or any information on A at all for that matter.
Flashback:
We sat in the car, watching, waiting, just hoping something would happen. We were parked across the street from the camera shop. "Ready to go babe?" He asks optimistically.
"We can't both go together." I say. I just wanna know who we're up against first before I tell Lucas. Also this person seriously fucked me up, figuratively and literally. It's one thing for me to be around this person, but I don't want Lucas to be. I know he'd turn into Texas Lucas and I wouldn't be able to get the information I was looking for. "If we both go in it will tip off. We really need to figure out who A is. I promise, if you stay right here you'll be able to see everything. And we're not even sure A works there, or if the person who does even knows about A."
He sighs. He looks like he's contemplating something in his head, although I have no idea what it is. "Okay. Keep your phone on you at all times, and I'm not leaving this spot."
I smile. To be honest I had no idea he was gonna say yes to that. "Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes. ``I love you."
"I love you too." He says back, and leans in and kisses me on the cheek. I open the door, and it's cold and raining outside. I get out and feel the ground squish beneath me. I slowly walk across the street, going carefully to avoid cracks so I don't slip. I'm a very clumsy person. I get to the entrance of the store and pull the glass door open. I look back at Lucas and he's watching me; it makes me feel a lot safer, even just knowing he's nearby.
I walk into the store as the customer bell goes off. The store is full of photographs, books, cameras, even old fashioned ones. It smells very vintage in here. If A hadn't led me here, I would've thought it was pretty cool. A young man, who I'm assuming is an employee walks out of the back. They don't seem to recognize me at all. "Hi. I'm Rose." I shake their hand. I don't want to give him too much information, for all I know he could be A. Or atleast working with him.
"I'm Brian. What can I do for you today?"
"Actually I'm here about a gift I received. It was anonymous, but I really wanted to send a thank you note to the person. If I tell you what was in it, can you help me figure out who sent it?" I smile at him a flirty smile, I really need his help.
"Technically we're not supposed to disclose previous orders, but since you seem so genuine, I'd love to help you. Let me just go find our workbook in the back." I smile him once again, an actually genuine one this time. I feel bad for lying. He stumbles into the back, and I'm sure he'll be back any second. I turn around and lean my waist on the counter. As I'm looking around the store, something catches my eye.
A book is leaning on the counter. "New Deal Photography". I turn around. Brian doesn't seem to be coming back yet. I take out a pen I keep in my bag and gently right 'yes' on the book. I do it as fast as I can, and I hope A gets the message. If they're as smart as they seem, they will. I get back to the counter just as Brian brings a thick notebook out.
"That looks heavy." I say, trying to be friendly. My phone buzzes. It's Lucas. All Good? I quickly texted him back: Yes, getting the customer records now, be out in 5.
"So… do you know what was in the gift?"
"Yeah. It was multiple cameras and some recording equipment. But like a lot of it."
"Do you know what kind of recording equipment? We have microphones here as well." Microphones?! So A could've been listening to all of it? So watching me wasn't enough! They had to hear every detail of what I've said before too!
"As far as I know there were just video cameras." I say. I try not to sound too bitter, but the idea makes me sick.
"We have an order for 76 cameras dating back to 2 months ago. Could that be it?" We got them.
"Yeah! I'm sure that's the one."
"Okay. It was purchased by a…. Riley Matthews. Does that name ring a bell?"
"It sure does!" I say probably to eager, but I feel sick.
"I'm glad you found what you were looking for, Rose."
"Excuse me? Oh… Well thanks for your help." I've never rushed out of a store so fast in my entire life. I cross the street, thankfully there's no traffic, and make a beeline for Lucas's car.
"What's wrong? You're so out of breath." Lucas says. He sits calmly in the driver's seat. He calmly reaches for my hand. "Do you know who A is?
"I am."
"What do you mean?" He suspiciously looks over at me, with worried eyes. I look into them and suddenly feel the courage to do anything. They're so emerald green, they're so pretty.
"A purchased the recording stuff in my name." I sigh.
"So a deadend?"
Without saying anything about me wanting to make a deal with A I sigh, "A deadend."
End Flashback.
So now it's been about two weeks, and that poor video shop guy thinks that Riley Matthews is a crazy spender on video cameras. I would've almost forgotten about trying to make a deal with A, but before this class, during passing period, I got a text. It read: Meet me in the park next to school, right after class. Be there, don't be square, A. I know I have to go, but how am I going to get away from Lucas for that long? He always takes me home from school, and I know it will be hard to convince him not to, especially with A around right now.
Think Riley, think. How could I get out of seeing Lucas? I could tell him I have a makeup test. That would give me enough time to get away, see A and then get back before he noticed I was gone. I hated lying to him. Absolutely hated it. It made me feel terrible. Like I was taking the best thing that ever happened to me and I was pushing it away. Maybe I was. And maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.
Since physics was my last class of the day, I met Lucas right outside like normal. Wow, I wanted to kiss him. I did. I usually try to avoid pda, but with everything going on, I wanted to feel the safety he gave me. Especially when I was close to him. I kissed him passionately, holding him close to me. I wanted to do more, but we were at school. I pulled away quickly.
He looked at me confused, and almost like he wanted to say something. But there was nothing to say. "I have a spanish make up test today after school. I need it to get my grade back up. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you about it earlier."
"No problem" He replied, and I felt guilty for it. He was so caring, and always supportive, and I was lying to him.