"Emaya Forever Done Right"

Maya told her story, sad but true. Now it's Emily's turn to explain why she sent that email and why she keeps letting misunderstandings come between them…

Rated M for Mature Content.

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My arms find their way around her torso, "I'm really glad you told me. I feel closer to you than I've ever felt before."

"Our relationship puzzle is looking pretty good. That first piece fit perfectly. Don't cha think?" she nuzzles my cheek with her nose, I think needing to lighten the emotional burden between us.

"Yeah, yeah I do," I say quickly, needing her to reassure me through her actions.

Her lips reach up to mine gently pressing together. She parts them slightly as do I giving me a firmer kiss with her tongue in search of its mate. We find each other's and it feels better than ever. I tighten my hold of her as she does with me and our kisses become longer and deeper and forever…

Chapter 42: Emily's Turn

Emily POV

I want her to make love to me right this second but I know if we did it wouldn't be what it could be because I have yet to explain myself…

I reluctantly pull away, "Maya, we can't. You know we can't."

She still has me in her arms, "Yeah, but I don't want to let you go."

My arms find themselves wrapped around her neck again, "And I don't want you to let me go, ever."

Our eyes connect and it's as if we're having this conversation with our souls. I could probably say nothing and we would end up with a mutual understanding of why I said what I said. But the distant rumblings of thunder snap me back to reality making me feel lightheaded, that's how connected we actually are...

"Maya, no. I have to get this out. You have to hear this. It's the only way you and I can be us again," I release her.

My hands take hers removing them from my hips so she doesn't distract me with her touch. But still, my mind wants her touch more than anything. I feel trapped in my own emotions. I have to get it out! I can't, we can't be together until everything is out in the open…

"Do you want to walk a little further out while you talk or do you want to stay here," she tilts her head to the side, squeezing my hands, just letting me know she's there no matter what.

"Let's walk for a bit. I think it might be easier for me to talk if I'm moving about," I smile with a sigh.

"Emily, I'm not going anywhere. I'm here by your side. I just think what you have to say will make us that much stronger so when we finally get back to Rosewood we'll be good as new, actually better than new," she caresses my cheek lightly with the back of her hand.

God I love her!

We walk without a destination. We just walk and I say nothing until I look at the sky and realize the day is almost gone as the sun begins to lower itself and will soon be out of view. Those clouds don't look all that promising either. I take my time before it gets too dark to head back and that's when I begin explaining my hurt to someone who was hurt far worse than I was and that's why this is so difficult. My words are trivial compared to what Maya went through a few short years ago and what she went through a few short weeks ago. And then it hits me, she needs this so she can heal, so she can heal back to that girl I met right before the start of our junior year…

I take a wicked deep breath letting it out slowly, "Okay, so…"

"Soo…"

"I was really mad at you Maya, so pissed about Chelsea," my fists clench.

"Tell me how you really feel," she smiles trying to help me through this but I'm not in a laughing mood.

"Maya, you made me look the fool for not telling me about her. You had every chance to say something but you didn't. That was a pretty big secret to keep from me. Yet you're always on me about keeping secrets from you. That made it even worse. You held me to a higher standard with my secret keeping Maya and it made me question us. It made me wonder how you could act so superior when you, too, were keeping secrets and they were pretty big ones as well," I say practically in one breath, wanting it to be over with as quickly as possible.

"Wow. I hadn't even thought about it like that. I guess I did hold you to a higher standard but only because my secret would change us and it has, hasn't it?" she sadly replies.

"No. I won't believe that because you haven't heard everything. The fact is Maya, my ego was bruised. My mother was right and it's so annoying that she was."

"What do you mean?"

I stop walking so I can look into her eyes when I say what my heart has been holding onto, "I was blindsided by this whole Chelsea thing and I wanted to give you a taste of your own medicine by holding you accountable for your secret. Maya, my insecurities convinced me to create all these scenarios of what else you could be keeping from me. I was feeling jealous and petty."

"Are you still feeling that way?"

"Insecure? Yes. Wanting to make you feel how you made me feel when you held my secrets against me? No. I won't be that person but at the time, I wanted the upper hand so I took it and I'm so sorry Maya," I cover my face with my hands, if only, to wipe away my shame.

"Emily…"

"Wait, I have to finish. My mom thought maybe finding out about Chelsea was the universe's way of telling me that I needed some time to mature. She thought that being away from you would help me to really see what's in my heart."

"And did you? See what's in your heart?"

"I didn't need time away from you to know what's in my heart. I know its worth. You, Maya are priceless. You, Maya, are irreplaceable. You and I are mature enough to get through this. We have to be. We're gonna make this right. Even my mom said you would do anything to make this right," I'm looking at the ground, not feeling brave enough to look at her after having said that.

"So, Mrs. Fields is a believer but are you?" She lifts my chin wanting to see my answer through my eyes.

"Yes, of course I am. In my email to you that you didn't get I said, 'I don't pretend to know what love is but in my version I feel my true heart is love. You are my truth. You are my heart. You are my love,'" tears begin to stream down my cheeks.

"You know you're all those things to me too," she takes my face in her hands wiping away my sadness.

"But then I said, 'I need you to know that because right now I can't be with you. I fear there is more you're not telling me and I can't be with you until I become your truth. I hope you will embrace your destiny and I hope your destiny is me. But until you know for sure, I need to say goodbye,'" I collapse in her arms.

"Em, baby, you know everything. And yes, my destiny is you," she holds me close caressing my back, giving me sweet tiny kisses on the top of my head.

I gain the courage to look up at her, "Maya, it's because I know everything that I feel like shit for thinking those things, for being jealous and for wanting you to feel my pain. I wish I had known what you went through. No one should have to go through that alone, least of all you."

She pushes my hair behind my ear, "Em, I can understand why you would feel those feelings. But are you sure you've had enough time to lick your wounds?"

"Maya, everything that I was mad about was so petty compared to the loneliness you felt. I'm kind of in shock that you felt no one could ever love you and to be brought back to that place of feeling unloved breaks my heart. I love you more than anything Maya. Actually, I don't know how not to love you," I say with firmness. I need her to know that she can be loved.

"I'm glad you got that out cuz I have a feeling it would have manifested itself even though you wanted to forget about it, because petty or not you made the right choice to get it out in the open," she brings my lips to hers for kiss. "I don't think I know how not to love you either."

"I've never doubted our love. It was these other stupid things getting in my head with assistance from –A. I have this keen sense of doubting us because sometimes we feel too good to be true and it's scary," I'm entranced by her. Those eyes are like a mirror to my soul setting my truth free and it's time for Maya and me to finally heal.

"Baby, it scares me too. We're gonna be eighteen this year and graduate high school. We're going to college and we're most likely going to be separated for four years. But what I feel for you, I don't have any desire to give to anyone else. I want to move in with you after college. That's how sure of us I am."

I'm full on crying now yet smiling at the same time, "That's the most beautiful thing you could have ever said to me at this moment. I want us to be forever Maya. Can we be?"

BOOM!

"Oh shit! Look at the sky! Maya, we better get back to our stuff."

The sky grows darker with booming sounds of thunder and bright flashes of lightening! Giant raindrops fall upon us as we race back to the caves for protection.

"Emily! We're not gonna make it back to our parents! We have to get to the caves and wait this out!" She yells over the wind and rain!

BOOM! BOOM!

"The cave is just passed that log! Go! Go! Go!"

The rain is like a wall of water blinding us from our path. But the flashes of lightning help us with our bearings as we slip into the only shelter we know of on that side of the island. We're panting and we're soaked. We need to dry off. We need to start a fire. We are so fucked!

"Thank god we put our stuff in here," we pull out our towels and wrap up in them.

"Em, use your cell phone flashlight so we can find stuff to burn."

"And what are we gonna light it with if we find anything?"

CRACK! BOOM!

"Did you see that! The lightning just hit that tree!"

"Shit!"

"Wait! The lightning hit the tree! I'm going out there! I bet there's something burning out there!"

"Maya! No! Haven't you risked your life enough!"

She doesn't listen. She drops her towel and runs into the storm anyway!

"Maya!"

But before I can go after her she's back holding a branch with orange and yellow embers ready to break off.

"Get out of the way!"

She brings it to the back of the cave where there's a slight opening so the smoke can get out without harming us. We gather all the dry stuff we can find, branches, small logs, some of our extra clothes and let the embers catch.

"This should burn for a couple hours I hope."

"Then what Maya? How will we stay warm?"

And that confidence I miss so much transforms her body language, "We'll think of something."

She's back! Maya's back!

"Let's find some rocks to put around the flames to contain the fire."

"How do you know how to do all this stuff?"

"Did you forget I spent three months at Tru North?" She winks. She winks!

She arranges them to look just like a fire pit as the flames continue to burn.

BOOM!

I shriek, startled by the noise.

She quickly gets up making sure I'm alright.

"Are you okay?"

"It was so loud that time it really scared me."

"That's probably because the storm is really close."

"Normally, I like storms but this is a bit terrifying."

"It is, isn't it. But luckily we're not alone."

I smile shyly, "So now what?"

"Soo, I think we need to distract ourselves from the storm."

"And how do you propose we do that?"

"Well, first, we need to get out of these damp clothes. Then we need to wrap up in that blanket you brought, smart girl you are. And then we need to give more thought to us then to that storm."

She really is back! I need strong, confident Maya. I know I'm being kind of selfish but I think she wants to be strong, confident Maya again too!

I start to undress but she stops me, walking me gently against the cave wall. My breathing changes, I feel like that shy girl bumping hands as I walk her home from school. I don't say anything.

She has one hand flat against the rock and the other gently stroking my belly sending tingling sensations throughout my body.

I think she's going to kiss me but instead she gets quite serious for a moment, "I don't want to be the girl who tried to end her life. I want to be the girl who…"

I finish for her, "Saved mine?"

"Something like that."

"Cuz you did save me Maya. You saved me from society's finger pointing. You saved me from living a life meant for someone else. You saved me by keeping me honest with myself. You saved me by showing me how to follow my heart. You saved me by loving the real me."

"And you saved me."

I look at her quizzically until she nuzzles my nose with hers.

"I needed to leave that girl behind in California. I needed to start over in Rosewood. And you, with your welcome basket and beautiful smile helped me to forget about that girl. I'm more the Rosewood Maya than I am the Point Loma Maya because of you. You made me feel confident and strong. And I really liked how that made me feel. Just being there for you was what I needed to not have what happened to me in California define me. Just being there for you boosted my confidence with who I am. Just being there for you made me who I'm supposed to be, strong and unfazed by what others' think or do. Just being there for you made me realize that I can be loved. Our paths were meant to cross Emily because we were meant to love for a lifetime."

More tears stream down my face as her lips delicately kiss them away.

"I feel so stupid," I laugh through my tears.

"But why?"

"Because I feel like that girl you met almost a year ago. I feel like I can't think straight when I'm around you."

"Is that a bad thing? Cuz I think it's cute," she kisses my cheeks lightly.

"It's just that, I thought that girl was gone but she's still a part of me."

"Just like the girl I left behind in California is still a part of me, but the love I have from my family and especially from you, keeps her safe. And because of that I can be my true self."

"Maya, you are more your true self than you could ever imagine. I need you so much. I've missed you," I say dipping my head to the side waiting to be hers once more.

She leans in to me, "Em, our forever starts now…"

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To Be Continued…

I want Maya back too and I hope I was able to bring her back in this chapter. I think I did…

Yes, you'll get you're reunion next chapter and then back to Rosewood to be Emaya Forever Done Right! ;)

To answer your question, I don't plan on ending this story anytime soon, same with "Bianshay by Request."