I do not own Girl Meets World or anything you may recognise
Hi guys,
Thanks for all the reviews last chapter. I'm getting a lot of different responses on the custody of Aubrey. I had an idea in mind of what was going to happen, but I would still like to hear your opinions so I know what most people would prefer. I hope you like this chapter
hintofmint
Riley's POV
What?
I'm consumed by the sudden feeling of hate. My body trembles and my hands curl up into tight fists. My breathing becomes erratic and my mind is in a dark place.
No one tears my family apart.
I hardly recognise my voice when I speak "Lucas I have to take care of something, I'll be back soon" I stride out the door, determined that I'm not going down so easily.
I pound on Josh's apartment door, only stopping to try and detect footsteps. I begin to kick it when no one answers.
"Hey,hey! I'm coming alright" he shouts from the other side.
The door slides open and his mouths hangs slightly when he sees me.
He quickly recovers and scratch's the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Hey...Riles" he stammers
"Don't hey Riles me" my voice is filled with venom, he recognises this and backs away slightly.
"Riley.. listen, please" I shake my head violently before hitting his chest. I continue hitting him, each punch harder every time. My knuckles become bruised but I shake off the pain, angry tears slip down my face and I give him one last shove, causing him to be thrown against a wall.
"How...could...you?" I scream in between sobs. He only groans in response.
The room begins to spin and it becomes harder for me to breath, my chest tightens and I grip onto the sofa arm.
Don't panic my mind screams
But my body has other ideas. My breaths are now small and desperate, and my chest burns with the desire for oxygen.
Breath Riley.
"Riley, are you okay" Josh asks, limping towards me
My breathing is slowly returning to normal, and I glare at the 26 year old in front of me.
"You're a jerk, you know that Josh? You only care about yourself, did you ever think about how this would affect me, Lucas or even Aubrey? I never knew what it was like to hate someone, but I think I have some idea now"
"Riley, you don't understand. Maya, she risked everything for me. I have to pay her back, I owe her my life. She grew up without a father and I know she would never want the same thing for Aubrey" his eyes plead me to understand, but I don't. And I don't think I ever will.
"You fail to see what's right in front of you. Lucas is her father. He loves her more than anything, more than you ever could. This is killing me, but it will destroy him, Aubrey is his world" my voice drifts into silence as I think about how this will affect Lucas.
"I loved Maya" I look at him as he says this "She never knew it, but I did. It kills me everyday thinking about what we could've been. All Maya ever wanted was a real family, and I crushed her chances at it. My dreams blinded me from what was truly important, and I can never go back. But I can change the future, Aubrey needs to know I care, she can't grow up broken because I wasn't around. One of the last things Maya said to me was, sometimes when it seems like things are falling apart; they might actually be falling into place. And I believe that's what's happening now"
I'm lost for words at what he just said, how are you supposed to respond to something like that?
"Josh, I understand. You want to make things right, you don't want Aubrey to grow up broken. But hurting people in the process isn't how to deal with this. We're family, going to court isn't necessary. We can deal with this together, as uncle and niece, not enemies okay?" His frown turns into a smile and he nods.
"Okay. I'm so sorry Riles, I wasn't thinking. I guess the guilt was stopping me from thinking straight" I laugh and hug him, everything's going to be okay.
"Can..I meet her...sometime?" he asks hesitantly
"Of course, but I was thinking that you could meet her right now"
"Lucas I'm back" I yell
"Oh, hi Ril..." his smile fades as he notices Josh behind me "what is he doing here?" he must have seen the letter, I probably should've hid it before I left.
"It okay Luke, he changed his mind" Josh gives him a faint smile, and Lucas automatically tightens his hold on Aubrey.
An awkwardness lingers for a while until I interrupt the silence.
"Josh wants to meet Aubrey" I say to Lucas. His eyes narrow, and his grip tightens even more
"Luke, please. Let's not do this, Josh has a right..."
"No, it's okay" Josh stops me "What I did was wrong, I understand why you would be protective of her"
Lucas simply grunts in response and slowly hands Aubrey over to Josh.
"Wow, this is incredible" an awe struck expression is on his face as he grabs hold of her
"She has your hair" I laugh, referring to her dark curls
"But she has Maya's eyes. She's perfect" his face lights up as she grips his finger with her hand.
"I think she's getting tired. I need to put her to bed" Lucas cuts in from a distance.
I give him a death glare, which her ignores and takes her from Josh anyway. I give Josh an apologetic smile as Lucas leaves the room.
"Sorry about him. He's just super protective of her"
"I get it, I would be too" he chuckles "anyway I've got to go, I'll see you later. Thanks for letting me meet her"
I wave as he leaves, happy with how this turned out.
"Is he gone?" Lucas questions from behind me
"Yeah. But like I said he has rights Luke, you can't stop him from seeing her"
"I don't trust that guy" he mutters
"I promise Josh will never replace you. He just wants to get to know his kid"
For a moment we are absorbed in our own thoughts before Lucas speaks up.
"Do you want to go out tomorrow night? There's a carnival and I was thinking we could go. Not as a couple or anything... just as friends" he scratches the back of his head nervously before letting out a nervous laugh
"What will happen to Aubrey?"
"Farkle agreed to look after her... so what do you say?"
Why am I so worried, we're just going as friends. No harm done, right?
"I would love to go"
I hope I don't regret this...
Could Rucas finally be happening? Until next time,
hintofmint xxx