Glad you guys enjoyed the last chapter! Now that Riley and Maya have reunited, Maya has a lot of suspicion in regards to the Rucas breakup.
The Art of Letting Go
Chapter Ten
The next morning, Cory, Shawn, and Katy woke up at 4:30 am to knock on everyone's doors to wake them up. The first activity of the day was a morning hike that took place at 6 am on a trail that led to the top of one of the mountains.
Riley was already awake when Katy knocked on the door. Maya, on the other hand, was still asleep. Riley opened the door to see Katy, and promised that she would wake Maya up. Katy thanked her before moving on to the next room.
Riley reluctantly walked over to Maya's bed and started to shake her awake.
"Peaches, it's time to wake up," Riley said softly. She knew using a loud, aggressive voice would just piss Maya off, and she needed her in a good mood today.
"Five more minutes, Mom," Maya replied sleepily, turning over to her other side.
"It's Riley," she corrected. "And since when did your mom start calling you Peaches?"
Realizing her mistake, Maya slowly sat up with her eyes still closed. She could barely keep her head up.
"Ever since that time my mom imitated you," Maya answered. "She's been calling me Peaches a lot lately because I told her that you've been distant."
"That's sweet, I love your mom," Riley gushed. "Now get up. We're going on a morning hike to see the sunrise from the top of the mountain."
"Ooh, that sounds pretty," Maya commented, finally opening her eyes. She suddenly seemed fully awake. "That could be my next painting!"
"It could," Riley nodded. "Now go get dressed so we don't miss the sunrise!"
"Let me take a quick shower, Peaches," Maya requested.
"Fine."
After Maya showered and got ready, she was towel drying her hair while Riley put her hair into two Dutch braids.
"Hey, Riles," Maya began, standing beside Riley in front of the mirror.
"Yes, Maya?"
"You know I respect you, right?"
"Yes, of course," Riley answered. "I'd be offended if you didn't."
"Alright, so don't get offended with what I'm about to say," Maya said.
Riley nodded, gesturing for Maya to continue.
"I know you don't want to talk about Lucas and you want to avoid him—"
"You've been doing a good job from keeping me away from him, by the way," Riley interrupted.
"Yes, right," Maya continued. "But you know we have to talk about it sometime. And I think that time is now."
"I don't wanna," Riley whined.
"I know it's bothering you," Maya pointed out.
"Not really," Riley shrugged.
"Are you sure?" Maya raised a brow.
"Well…" Riley's voice trailed off. "What did Lucas tell you guys?"
"That you broke up with him," Maya answered.
"That's it?" Riley assumed that Lucas would've told their friends everything.
"That's it," Maya confirmed, nodding her head. "He gave us no details. So why did you break up with him, Riles?"
"I just don't feel the same anymore," Riley shrugged, securing her second braid.
"What changed?" Maya pressed, putting her hair up into an effortlessly messy ponytail.
"I dunno, I feel like things changed," Riley shrugged again, biting her lip. She wasn't technically lying.
Maya didn't buy it. Riley was so invested in her relationship with Lucas, and Maya knew that. There was no way Riley just lost feelings unexpectedly like that.
"Riles, I don't believe you one bit," Maya announced, squinting her eyes at Riley. "But I'm not going to force the truth out of you. The truth has a funny way of revealing itself, y'know."
"Maya…"
"You know I love you, Peaches. But you're being ridiculous. You love Lucas. I think you're just scared because you guys are getting serious. What happened to hope? Hope's for suckers but you're an exception."
"That's what you think? That I'm scared?" Riley questioned.
"It's the only logical thing that makes sense to me in this situation," Maya confirmed. "Although I could be wrong, it's what I think right now. It could change, depending on how much more information I get."
"You're not getting any more information from me," Riley said.
"Like I said, the truth has a funny way of coming out," Maya repeated.
Following the morning hike, everyone got free time before the next activity. They all stayed outside, admiring their surroundings. Zay had invited Riley to collect leaves with her. Farkle and Smackle were identifying different trees while Maya channeled her inner spider-monkey and climbed them. Lucas sat on a bench, watching his friends. He shifted his gaze on each of them from time to time, but he seemed to focus his stare on Riley and Zay mostly. He thought about the promise he made to Zay last night, to not get jealous. But he couldn't help it. Seeing Riley that close with another guy angered him, and he didn't care that Zay was one of his best friends.
He could feel his blood boil. He clenched his fists. His breathing got slow and heavy. Whenever his anger got to this point, that was when he learned to calm himself down. So that's what he did. He used the trick Riley had once taught him. Once he was somewhat calm, he decided to go back inside. He figured that being in their presence would relapse his anger.
Lucas stopped at the entrance of the lobby, where he could see Evan checking in some guests. He reluctantly walked over to the front desk and waited in line. He couldn't believe he was going to ask Evan for advice. Evan, the guy he was jealous of two years ago because he stayed up all night talking to Riley.
Once the guests in front of him had left, he stepped forward.
"Um, hey, Evan," Lucas awkwardly greeted.
"Lucas," Evan said.
"Can we talk?" Lucas asked.
"Yeah, sure," Evan replied. He walked around from behind the front desk and led Lucas to the couches.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Evan asked.
"You still want to be a Sherpa, correct?" Lucas questioned.
"Yes, of course," Evan nodded.
"So then help me get somewhere I need to be," Lucas requested.
"Well, where do you want to be?" Evan pressed.
"With Riley," Lucas pursed his lips.
"I figured," Evan commented. "I haven't seen much of you two together. And even yesterday during the hike I took you guys on you seemed distant."
"Well, yeah, we broke up a bit ago," Lucas admitted.
"What? Why?" Evan was surprised to hear of the news. With the way Riley had talked about Lucas the first time they met, Evan was sure that they would stay together forever. But things changed, he figured.
"I dunno," Lucas shrugged. "She said it didn't feel the same anymore."
"That sounds like a bunch of crap," Evan remarked. "What did you do wrong?"
"That's what I wanna know," Lucas sighed. "I've been the best boyfriend in the world. I mean, how could I not be? Especially with a girl like her."
"Yeah, she's something special, I'll admit," Even agreed.
"Mmm, no, don't talk about her like that," Lucas scrunched his face.
"Geez," Evan said. "If you didn't do anything wrong, then what's the problem?"
"I have no idea!" Lucas replied. "But now on this trip she's been spending a lot of time with Zay."
"And that makes you jealous and angry?" Evan assumed.
"Furious," Lucas corrected. "I can't believe he would do that to me!"
"So, let me get this straight," Evan said. "You think Riley broke up with you because you think she may have feelings for Zay and that Zay might like her back?"
"That's the only thing that makes sense to me," Lucas confirmed. "I mean, doesn't it seem suspicious that they're spending so much time together now that me and her are over? They were never this close."
"I don't think you should be jumping to conclusions," Evan said.
"And why not?" Lucas retorted.
"Remember what I said two years ago, when we played Who Belongs with Who?" Evan asked.
Lucas nodded and replied monotonously, "You mean that fake game you tricked us all into playing?"
"Yes, that one," Evan confirmed. "Conversation is the most important part of any relationship. Relationship of any kind, romantic or platonic. I mean, how are you going to know somebody or see eye to eye with someone if you don't talk and listen?"
Lucas didn't answer.
"Just food for thought," Evan added with a shrug before getting up and returning to the front desk.
Lucas drowned in his thoughts for a while before returning outside. Instead of joining his best friends, he went to go join Yogi, Darby, and Sarah, friends he hadn't seen much of.
For the rest of the trip, Lucas couldn't shake his thoughts out of his head. His trust in Zay seemed to decline by the second. Sure, Zay told him that he'd get him and Riley back together. But it sure didn't seem like Zay was making any progress. From Lucas's standpoint, it seemed that Zay was flirting with Riley, and Riley didn't seem to hate it with the way she'd react.
I thoroughly enjoyed writing the conversation between Lucas and Evan. I liked their interaction in SL2, and I wanted to see what it'd be like if Lucas was civil with him.
Next: Riley confesses. But to who?