It was only June. She'd been enduring her parents for just a little over a month, and already Maia felt like dirt on someone's shoe. How was she supposed to survive another two and a half months?! The only thing that helped was her mantra. When that crushing feeling tried to convince her she was worthless, Mia would repeat the same phrase over and over in her mind: 'I am important, and I have nothing to prove.' Repeating it seemed to be helpful, though Maia knew the best solution would be to get out of the house more. She thought maybe getting a job would help, but her parents didn't want her to do that.

"And what will you do when you go back to school," her mother would say. "Just abandon the job? No, it's best not to create false expectations."

Maia so wanted to tell her mother that lots of students worked over the summer then quit on short notice, but she knew it was no good. Next, Maia had tried to volunteer to get away, but there wasn't much in the way of volunteer work available. It had been different here before she'd really learned how great it was to be away at school. It was like when you're lactose intolerant and you haven't eaten dairy for almost a year, then suddenly you are force fed three bowls of iced cream. Some days she thought that if it wasn't for her cell phone, she would have actually lost her mind.

'Please please distract me!' Maia texted Simon.

'I think I'm moving in with Clary and Jace,' Simon texted back.

'Oh that sounds interesting,' Maia texted back. 'Details please.'

'They can't afford their place, and Jordan and I are living in a tiny box with fleas, so we thought, why not?'

'That isn't enough details,' Maia explained. 'What part of distraction did you not understand?'

'Jordan's thrilled to be paying basically the same rent for a billion times better living conditions, even if we have more roommates.'

'That's great,' Maia typed. 'Is the problem you living with Clary then?'

'Kinda,' Simon texted back. 'If Jordan was dating someone new, and you had to move in with him and his new girlfriend, how would that make you feel?'

Maia stared down at her phone thoughtfully. She honestly wasn't sure. The biggest problem with this was that she couldn't imagine Jordan finding someone else. Jordan wanting her felt like such a core part of who he was, she'd never once considered how she'd feel if he moved on.

'Weird I guess,' Maia replied.

'Weird's a good word for it,' Simon texted back.

'So have you seen Izzy?' Maia asked, trying to keep the conversation going so she didn't have to focus on anything else. Like the fact that she was currently hiding from her mother at the top of the stairs.

'Not since Malec's engagement party.'

'Malec's?'

'Magnus and Alec,' Simon explained. 'Don't ask. I blame Clary.'

'Alright,' Maia replied, adding a laughing emoji to the end and smiling down at her phone.

"Maia!" her mother called from the bottom of the stairs. "Come down here please."

With a sigh and some mental preparation, Maia answered the summons. Hiding her phone in her pocket, Maia went downstairs to find her brother at the table with both her parents on either side him. She sat down in the available seat and prepared to not be seen.

"Your brother was just telling us about the girls fawning all over him at school," their mother began, smiling as if the pride she had in her son could actually light up the room.

"There were only a few," Daniel replied, pretending like he didn't love the attention.

"And he's doing so well in his classes," her mother continued. "Tell her darling."

"I got into advanced placement," Daniel said. Maia wanted to explain that if she was only here to listen to bragging, she'd rather be cleaning the bathroom, but she remained silent. She wanted to say that she'd been doing well in school too, even if she wasn't in advanced anything. Maia however, said nothing, as she knew it would only make things worse. She felt her phone go off in her pocket, and inwardly cursed herself for not putting it on silent.

"No cell phones at the table, young lady," her father reminded her.

"It just went off," Maia said. "I'm not checking it."

"You should have left it upstairs," he disagreed. "Who's texting you anyway."

"Just Simon," Maia said, but regretted it instantly.

"Oh and who is this Simon," her mother inquired.

"Just a friend," Maia replied quickly.

"I don't know," her mother continued. "We thought that Jordan was just a friend for ages."

"Sorry, I meant Izzy," Maia said quickly. "Izzy is texting me. She's my dorm mate from school."

"She is much better," her father replied, instantly happy with the situation. Maia wanted to roll her eyes and tell her parents that she and Izzy were doing it like bunnies just to piss them off, but again she didn't. Maia's parents were under the false assumption that she was still a virgin. Maia wasn't a party girl by any stretch of the imagination, but she was no blushing innocent either. She'd dated Jordan for years back in high school. She could remember perfectly just how badly she'd wanted him back then, and no silly expectation of her parents could have stopped her. Despite how they ended, she didn't regret it. Jordan had been kind, and Maia could forever look back on that day - or rather those days, since it was more than once - with a smile. Maia regretted her rebound guy more than anything else. Depressing sex was nothing if not depressing, but she'd been safe for all of it, and there was no way her parents could learn the truth, unless too much tongue guy showed up at her parents place one day to tell them.

By the time Maia tuned back into the conversation at the dinner table, they had moved on to Daniel's exciting opportunities after graduation. It was at times like these that Maia wondered if it was worth it for them to pay for her school. She could take out student loans, and never speak to them again, but she knew if she could endure it just a little longer, it meant no debt later.

"Don't you agree Maia?"

"Huh?" Maia said, trying and failing to remember what they were talking about.

"When you are here, be here girl," her father said. "Don't tune us out. It's rude."

"Sorry," Maia mumbled. She tried to listen after that, even if all she wanted to do was leave. When dinner finally ended, Maia went up to her room and back on her phone.

'If it makes you feel any better, Magnus nicknamed Jace and Clary as Clace,' Simon's message from three hours ago read. 'As a sort of revenge I think.'

'Sorry for the late reply,' Maia texted. 'My parents demanded that I eat dinner.'

'Long dinner,' Simon answered a few minutes later.

'It was more like eat dinner, and listen to the Daniel is perfect monologue,' Maia corrected.

'Urg your parents suck,' Simon replied, and Maia loved him for it.

'I had to pretend you were Izzy so they wouldn't be upset I was texting a boy,' Maia explained.

'I bet they didn't like it when you were dating Jordan,' Simon replied.

'They didn't know about most of it,' Maia explained. 'At least at the start. I tried to pretend he was just a friend for ages.'

'You know, that might have something to do with why they are suspicious of your other guy friends,' Simon texted.

'Stop making sense,' Maia told him. 'Your job is to distract me remember?'

'Right,' Simon replied. 'So Jordan and I are learning the finer arts of coffee and sandwiches as part of our minimum wage employment adventure.'

'Why is Jordan doing that?' Maia asked. 'Between scholarships and his parents, I was sure he'd be set.'

'Ummm,' Simon texted. 'So he didn't tell you?'

'Tell me what?' Maia asked.

'Jordan and his parents had a bit of a falling out,' Simon explained.

'Over what?'

'Stuff,' was Simon's only answer.

'You really aren't going to tell me?'

'I am not sure I'm supposed to,' Simon texted. 'Why don't you ask Jordan?'

'Maybe I will,' Maia replied with a determined emoji.

'Why are you steaming from the ears?' Simon replied.

'It's determination,' Maia corrected him.

'No it's not,' Simon texted back with a laughing so hard you're crying emoji. 'Girl you gotta get your emoji's straight.'

'Oh whatever,' Maia texted back. She left his texting screen to open up Jordan's, when she got another message from Simon.

'Don't ask him over text Maia,' Simon said. 'Save it for when you're both back at school.'

'Why?' Maia asked.

'Trust me, okay,' Simon replied.

'Fine,' Maia texted back with what she hoped was a sighing emoji.

'Are you crying now?' Simon replied.

'I hate emojis,' Maia texted. Simon replied only with a laughing emoji again.

Leaving Simon's texting window and opening Jordan's again, Maia just sent a casual hello. She was surprised to get an answer so quickly.

'Hi back Maia,' Jordan texted. 'How's your summer going?'

'The usual,' Maia replied. 'How about yours? Simon says you're working.'

'Yep,' Jordan answered. 'At Timmies.'

'Oh, they have good coffee!' Maia texted back. She wanted to ask why Jordan needed to work, but decided to listen to Simon and wait to do it in person. Simon wouldn't have told her to if it wasn't important.

When Simon replied again, Maia found herself texting two people at once. It was a wonderful distraction, and kept her mind happily off her circumstances until she fell asleep that night. The next day, between being ordered around by her mother, and hearing about her brother's brilliance, Maia texted her old roommate. She was pretty sure they'd agreed to get a place together for the coming school year, but wanted to confirm just in case.

'Oh yeah totally!' came Izzy's replied. 'I'm sick of dorms. Aren't you?'

'I'd say I'm more sick of them than you,' Maia texted back. 'I've been living in them a whole year longer.'

'You crazy third year student you,' Izzy texted. 'Why would you ever stay in dorms a moment longer than you need to?'

'Convenience?' Maia replied. 'I didn't have anyone to room with.'

'Ah well fear not, I shall fix that,' Izzy replied with a big smiling emoji.'

'Great!' Maia typed. 'Oh and I gotta finally get a job this semester, if we're going to be paying went.'

'Yes jobs,' Izzy texted. 'I have heard of those things. They sound really boring.'

'They are,' Maia agreed. 'Useful though.'

'I was thinking, maybe I should just stay in school forever,' Izzy texted. 'Then I'd never have to get one.' Maia sent back just a laughing emoji.

'Why are you laughing?' Izzy texted back.

'Oh shit, were you serious?' Maia asked, trying not to snigger at her phone so her mother wouldn't hear her.

'...' was all Izzy's message read.

'Damn girl,' Maia texted. 'Well more power to you. Get yourself a PhD.'

'But in what though?' Izzy asked.

'Shopping,' Maia replied.

'I WISH THAT WAS A THING!' Izzy texted back in all capps.

'So how's things?' Maia asked, again trying to keep the conversation going. 'How's your brother?'

'Good,' Izzy replied. 'I think so at least. I'm at home for the summer, and he stayed back with Magnus.'

'Have they asked you to plan their wedding yet?'

'No,' Izzy replied. 'I think they are doing the long engagement thing, or at least waiting till they talk to mom and dad about it, maybe.'

'My parents would be the last people I'd tell if someone proposed to me,' Maia replied.

'Well no offense, but your parents suck,' Izzy stated. Maia could just imagine her saying these words in a toneless serious way, like she usually did.

'No offense taken,' Maia replied, then her mother demanded her attention, proving Izzy's words perfectly accurate.

Maia didn't know what it was about her parents that made her feel so small and pathetic. Well, okay she knew they were biased towards her brother, but it wasn't like they were cruel to her in an obvious way; so why did she always feel like shit around them? How could she be one person at home, and a totally different, more function person with her friends? After one particularly self-esteem crushing evening, Maia went up to her room and buried her face in her pillow, finally letting her tears fall. She didn't like to cry in front of her parents, since that always made it worse. All she wanted in this moment was someone to comfort her, but all she had to work with was her cell phone. Wrapping herself up in the blankets, Maia opened her texting app and decided who to message.

'Hey,' she typed. There wasn't an answer right away. She tried to remember that he could be working as she got more comfortable under the covers, taking off her socks.

Then her phone went off. The message just read 'hey back.'

'What are you doing?' she asked.

'Just got off work,' he texted. 'You?'

'I'm in bed,' Maia replied. Maia had a system with her parents, a system for survival. When she was talking to them, she tried to give up as little about herself as possible. They didn't know her hopes or fears, her dreams or aspirations, because she just couldn't trust them with her heart. Usually Maia shifted the conversation to Daniel somehow, and everyone forgot to inquire after her, but tonight she'd failed. She'd let her parents ask her about the things that mattered to her most, and just like always, they'd somehow made her feel like nothing.

'You okay?' he texted back.

'I will be,' Maia replied. 'Just wanted to chat.'

'I'm all for chatting,' he texted.

'How's moving in with Clary and Jace going?'

'Good so far,' he answered. 'Though, I think it's confusing Simon.'

'Which is to be expected,' Maia texted back. 'I mean, what if you were dating someone else, and Izzy and I went and moved in with you two?'

'I can't even imagine it,' Jordan replied.

'I know right!' Maia texted. 'It's crazy.'

'Definitely,' Jordan agreed. Maia wasn't sure how to respond right away so she just let the message sit there.

'You know you can talk to me about whatever is bothering you right?' Jordan's next text read.

'It's nothing new,' Maia texted. 'Just my parents.'

'Ah yes,' Jordan replied. 'There is no one who can mess you up quite like your parents can.'

'Ain't that the truth,' Maia typed back.

I must confess that this chapters has been finished, returned from my beta and completely ready to be published for days now... I just wasn't feeling very generous. I have been more excited to update my KlaineAU called 'Must I Imagine You There' and Her Early Bird on FictionPress because even though only a very small fraction of people read those stories compared to the views I get on R&S... I get more reviews on those ones.

That last chapter got hundreds of views and only two reviews both of which are friends of mine who I could have just texted. :( It makes me sad... I don't know what to do about it though since I have invested too much in this story to be okay with just giving it a quickie ending and moving on. Not sure what made me update now... Just 'cause I guess...

Sneak Peek Chapter 95

"It's your turn to live in my world," Magnus had said.

This was how Alec had learned how very uncomfortable busses were after about four hours. He could not remember when he'd last been this uncomfortable. His butt hurt from the hard cold seat and there weren't any seat belts so he kept sliding down whenever the bus hit a bump on the road.

"Are we almost there?" Alec whined, but Magnus just chuckled.

Next chapter is barely started so yes that sneak peek was crazy short...