"Riley," Maya whispered in her ear, "What are they saying to you besides that I apparently hate you?"

Riley looked away."I don't wanna talk about it."

Maya didn't push any further. She understood.

Riley looked into Maya's eyes, finding comfort in them.

Maya smiled warmly, then softly asked,"Are you okay, Riles?"

Riley shook her head. "I'm really tired, Maya..."

Maya smiled a little and got Riley off of her lap.

Riley laid back in her bed and sighed.

Maya got beside her and softly kissed her on the forehead. "I'm right here, Riles."

Riley leaned into her friend and replied in the same, genuine tone, "Thanks, Maya." Riley fell asleep in Maya's arms, but Maya stayed awake.

She couldn't sleep, Riley was in pain. Maya heard Riley phone ding, indicating that there was a text message. Even though Riley told her not to, if that was the bully, Maya needs to find out. Maya carefully untangled herself from Riley and got up, trying not to wake her. She then slowly walked over to Riley's phone to see if it was from the bully. Sure enough, it was from a blocked number. The text read,

'She doesn't like you, she never did. Nobody ever did.'

Maya's heart hurt. Riley didn't deserve any of this. She looked over at her peaceful sleeping friend with a sad smile. It pained her that someone would hate Riley. She decided simply to cuddle with Riley again, being that there was nothing she could do. She careful got into the bed again and gently kissed Riley's cheek. "I'm sorry this is happening to you..." Luckily, she didn't wake her up by doing this. She took Riley hand and continued, "But I'll always love you, I promise." She thought she felt Riley squeezed her hand but she put it off as her Imagination. Maya leaned against Riley's cheek and ended up falling asleep next to her.

Riley woke up with a start, which startled Maya.

Maya looked up at her and noticed a scared look on her face. A nightmare, it has to be. "Are you okay, Riles?" Maya asked softly.

Riley shook her head."It was bad Maya..."

Maya smiled sympathetically, then leaned in and softly kissed her forehead. "I know, Riley, I know. You're gonna be okay," Maya whispered in her ear.

Riley snuggled into her, trying really hard not to cry.

Maya held her close and hummed quietly, then kissed the top of her head and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too... so much. These texts are hard to deal with, Peaches..."

Maya hugged her closer. "You have me, I'll always be there to protect you."

Riley smiled a little. "Thanks, Maya."

Maya smiled back and rested her chin on top of Riley's head. "No problem." She started running her fingers through Riley's hair as she thought about if she should tell her about the text she had read. She decided not to because then Riley could possibly be mad at her for reading her texts.

Meanwhile, Riley was thinking about if she should tell Maya what the person was saying to her. She didn't want to tell her because she knew Maya was really protective. But was that really a bad thing? "Maya?"

"Yeah, honey? "Maya replied softly.

Riley took a deep breath, then muttered, "I think I should show you the texts..."

Maya was surprised that Riley was actually going to show her because Riley never wanted her to worry. Maya lifted her chin off of Riley's head, then promised, "We can get through this. Together."

Riley nodded slowly and got out of her bed. She walked over to her phone and brought it back to Maya. Riley sighed and said, "Here. Just promise you won't go crazy."

Maya sighed. "Fine, I promise I won't go crazy."

Riley showed her where the texts were, then sat down next to her, saying nothing.

Maya began looking at the texts and was hurt by what they were saying.

"You're nothing more than an annoying little nobody."

"You're just a brat who gets everything she wants."

"You're not appreciative of what you have. You're not worthy."

"Your family doesn't love you."

"Your best friend doesn't even love you."

"Oh, Riles," Maya breathed out in shock.

Riley looked at her with tears in her eyes.

Maya gently kissed both of her cheeks, then whispered, "Your family loves you... I love you. You're not a brat, you're are an amazing person."

Riley leaned against her shoulder. "How do you know?"

Maya smiled a little. "Because I've known you since forever and I know you better than anyone. Besides, don't you think I'd know if I loved you or not?"