Green [Chaelisa]

forty three

Lisa's heart dropped.
Before she could say anything, Maia quietly slipped back into the house. Biting her lip and looking at the sleeping girl in her arms, Lisa hurried back inside as well.

She heard movement in the kitchen, and quickly laid Presley's sleeping figure beside Chaeyoung so she could slip into the other room. Her eyes then met Maia's, and she tilted her head to the side, almost in a silent question.

All she was met with was a soft nod from the other girl, to which Lisa immediately opened her arms and looked at Maia hopefully. Moments later, she wrapped her arms around the distraught girl in a hug, feeling her heart break for her friend.

"I am sorry," Lisa whispered, unsure of what else to say. Toby, who was on his phone by the counter, gave Lisa a sad smile over his wife's shoulder. Lisa would never point it out, but she could tell he had been crying as well.

"It's okay," Maia's voice wavered slightly when they pulled away from the hug. She wiped her eyes, shaking her head. "She handled it better than any of us."

"You did not lose her," Lisa spoke up following a few moments of silence between them. "You... you may think you did, but you will see. You can not lose people. Love.... it can not be broken. Trust me."

"Thank you," Maia whispered, pulling Lisa into another hug. Shocked, the girl quickly wiped a tear that had fallen from her own eye.

"What the fuck are y-?" The moment was interrupted by a groggy Chaeyoung, who wandered into the room and quickly cupped her hands over her mouth when she saw a distressed Maia and teary eyed Lisa in front of her.

"What's going on?" the blonde girl rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times to let them adjust to the light. When Lisa met her eyes pleadingly, Chaeyoung furrowed her eyebrows and turned to Maia, which was when she realized.

"Oh," the blonde girl whispered. "Oh."

"Yeah," Maia mumbled, glancing back at Toby who was watching their interaction. "We just got back... I-I... you guys can head home now."

"No," Chaeyoung and Lisa spoke up at the same time, surprising one another. They had both seen how stressed Maia had been before. Shaking her head, Chaeyoung stepped forward and pulled the girl into a hug.

"You've been through a lot today," the blonde girl said softly, comforting her friend. "Sleep in tomorrow. Both of you," she pulled away and pointed towards Toby. "We'll take care of Lucas." Lisa nodded softly in agreement.

"Thank you," Maia whispered, biting her lip. "Was he okay tonight?"

"More than okay," Chaeyoung laughed softly and glanced back into the living room. "Presley seemed to take a liking to him."

"Presley," Maia's eyebrows raised. "You guys having a kid is going to take me some getting used to."

"Where is she?" Toby asked, coming up behind Maia and placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Asleep," Chaeyoung nodded, glancing at the clock. "It's almost midnight."

"Yeaaaah," Lisa nodded, mid-yawn. Chaeyoung laughed and nudged her side softly.

"Get to bed, yeah?" Chaeyoung gave Maia a stern glare. The girl nodded, glancing up at Toby, who kissed her temple. "We'll see you in the morning."

After saying their goodnights, Chaeyoung collapsed back onto the couch in the living room, being careful not to disturb Presley. When Lisa didn't join her, though, the blonde girl sat up once more.

"Lili?" she raised her voice slightly, but not enough to disturb anyone else. There were a few moments of silence, and then a small voice echoed from within the other room.