The next day around lunch time, there was still no sign of Ryan. She had been inside her room for a long time now. Maya and Carina were worried.
Carina had at one point decided to knock on the door, receiving no answer put yet still she pushed the door a little bit open to make sure she was full there. She closed the door again and went downstairs. Maya playing with Joel on the floor.
"I tried to talk, she's just sleeping" Carina explained, sitting down on the floor right next to her son and wife.
"Mama" Joel babbled excitedly, happy to see his mama again, after all she was gone for a couple of minutes but for the boy, that seemed like a lot of time.
"Come here, love" Carina placed the baby down in her lap which still allowed him to continue to play but also for Carina to have some comfort.
"I will go give it a try" Maya said, getting up from the floor and making her way towards Ryan.
Joel, who was now preoccupied with the little Spider-Man toy, dropped the little action figure and leaned down to grab it. When he couldn't reach it he used his strength in his tiny arms to pull himself up from the floor and stand up. Carina didn't dare to make a move, she watched as Ryan took a step towards the toy, wobbling and barely being able to keep his balance.
"Oh wow, you did such a great job bambino!" Carina squealed with joy, opening her arms so the little boy could hug her.
"What did I miss?" Maya asked, joining the two in the living room.
"Go show your mommy what you learned, such a cleaver boy" Carina encouraged the boy to stand up again and then he took a couple of steps towards Maya.
Maya picked him up, spun him around, being so proud of their little boy. Once the little celebration quieted down, Maya joined Carina on the couch.
"How did it go?" Carina asked her. "She is going to take a quick shower and then she will be downstairs, she didn't say much but I'm happy she agreed on sitting here with us" Maya explained.
Ryan had finished showering, getting dressed in comfy clothes and then joining the others in the living room. "Come sit here" she sat down right next to Maya.
"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Maya asked gently, letting the teenager rest against her shoulder. She didn't receive a verbal answer and that's when she noticed that the brunette girl had tears formed in her eyes that she tried to blink away. "You know, it is okay to cry in this house, you don't have to hide it, big emotions are a lot to handle on your own" Maya spoke, remembering what Carina had kept repeating to her when they were in the beginning of their relationship.
"I'm sorry" Ryan hid her face in Maya's shoulder, not wanting to feel exposed. "I'm not like they said- I- I promise" she rushed out. "I'm not like that an-anymore, I try- try to be as they want" she continued.
"Ryan, take deep breaths" Maya reminded the girl, letting her calm down before she tried to talk again. "The only thing Carina and I want is for you to be yourself, you are not any of those things that they told you" She said quite sternly. "There is nothing wrong with you, you do things in a different way and react in a different way they want but that does not mean that it is a bad thing" she explained.
"Being different is not a bad word or a bad thing, Ryan, you are special and I want you to see that too"
"What they did is not okay, even if you never want to talk about it, you need to know that it is not okay what they did" Ryan leaned in to Maya's open arms, letting herself be vulnerable and hugged.
"I miss my mamma" the teenager whispered, the first time she admitted that out loud since she lost her mom. It took a lot from her to be this vulnerable with someone but her emotions had just kept bubbling up and she couldn't hold them in anymore.
"I know, It's okay" Maya kept hugging the girl, glancing over at Carina to make sure she was okay to. Maya was very aware of that Carina had days were she could barely get out of bed because she missed her mother so much and this would certainly bring her to tears because it would remind her of herself.
Joel decided to make himself heard so Maya gently grabbed the boy and swapped places with Carina. She left the two of them downstairs while she went up to the little boys room.
"I think they need to have some girl talk, why don't you and I have play time instead" Maya said, making the boy happy again.
Downstairs Ryan was clinging to Carina while the older Italian woman just kept hugging her and whispering sweet things. "You know, I lost my mamma too, when I was just a little bit older than you were" Carina shared. I'm hopes of making the girl feel a little bit less alone.
"R-really? Don't you miss her everyday?" Stella asked, sitting up a little bit.
"I do, there's not a second passing where I'm not missing her" Carina admitted, stroking the girls hair. "But I don't feel as sad all the time anymore, I believe that she is looking out for me somewhere, just that I can't see her" she continued.
When Ryan didn't say anything back Carina thought for a moment before asking "What about your pappa? Did you have a good bond"
Ryan nodded. "He was very protective over me and he could get pretty upset too but when he wasn't either of those things, he was be best pappa. I-I got this from him" Ryan shared, taking the necklace out that she had around her neck. A small silver chain.
"That is very beautiful" Carina smiled. "And he sounds wonderful" Carina would never want Ryan to think Maya and herself were going to take her parents places so she was going to be very open and talking.
While the two of them sat in a comfortable silence, Carina's phone started going off. She went to see the message, a one from her brother. Andrew was aware of that Maya and Carina had taken Ryan in under their wing so he hadn't seen his sister in quite a while, just to let the teenager settle in.
Andrew asked if they needed anything and if they were okay to which Carina replied that they were alright.
"What do you think about starting school? Maya and I were wondering if you felt ready to start on Monday. If not, then it is okay if you would like to wait a few more days" Carina gently asked.
"I can start on Monday" Ryan nodded. She liked school, maybe not all of the people there but most of the subjects was actually alright.
"Awesome, you'll do great" the Italian reassured her.
A/N
I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!
