the only exception, a maya hart story

s i x

         

All sense of time had left me with Lucas, so when I got a text from Riley at 11:08 at night saying she needed me to come into her bedroom right then, saying I was startled was an understatement.

    "Oh my god," I rambled with worry.

    "What! What is it?" Lucas asked intensely and urgently, his face showing he was as worried as I.

    "Riley.. I totally forgot.. Look I'm sorry, but-" I said with true regret and sorrow I had to leave Lucas.

    "Maya.. Go be with your best friend. I will never ever be mad or disappointed at you for being an amazing friend," Lucas said with a smile that warmed my heart. "Hey, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

    "Definitely," I sighed deeply as I walked out the door.

    I broke into a sprint when I realized how much I needed to be with Riley. I had to tell her everything. There was no way I could keep this from her, she knew everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. As I dashed into her room, Riley was turned facing the wall away from me, so I couldn't see her expression. I began to babble.

    "Oh my god, Riley. You'll never guess what happened today. Lucas and I-" I stopped mid-sentence when I saw Riley's tear stained cheeks.

    "Maya..." Riley began, but stopped as if she didn't know what else to say.

    "Riles, what's wrong?" I questioned as I rushed over to sit next to her on her bed, and wrapped my arms around my clearly broken best friend.

    "Maya, I was on the phone with Auggie earlier. Andrew's parents were killed in a house fire and.." Riley choked up at this point and needed to let out a good cry.

    I offered her my shoulder, and she gratefully took it and cried her sad soul out. Wow, I hadn't met Andrew's parents very often, but I knew Riley considered them family and they were extremely close. I couldn't imagine how Auggie felt.. Or how terrible Andrew must feel.

    "I'm so sorry, Riley.. If there's anything I can-" I said pitifully before Riley cut me off.

    "Maya.. that's not it. I'm sorry, but I.. I'm going home for the funeral. And.. after that.. I'm staying home with my family for the rest of the summer," she said with a sob as she covered her face with remorse.

    "What?" I said with pain in my voice. "How can you be leaving? This was supposed to be the best summer ever! How am I supposed to have the best summer without you, Riley! We've dreamed about traveling the world together since we were 8!"

    "MAYA, I DON'T HAVE A CHOICE!" she yelled in return to my insensitive response.

    I backed off at her heated response to me. I realized how wrong I had been to say what I said. Here my best friend was grieving for those she loved, and I had acted like a complete brat in return..

    "Riley, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" I began my sentence but stopped midway.

    "Maya, I have to go home and grieve with my family. This is not something I can pass over. I'd be a terrible guest here for the rest of the summer. We can talk everyday, okay?" Riley said with an attempted smile.

    "Okay.." I said with a forced smile.

    I knew if I broke down, she would too, so I had to stay strong for her. No matter how much I wanted to tell her about Lucas, she could only handle so much at one time. Plus, I still wasn't sure what Lucas and I were.

    "I leave tomorrow at 4:00 for my flight, but I'll miss you so much, Maya. Make this the best summer ever," Riley said gently.

    "I don't know how I'm gonna do that without you... but I'll try. Promise me you'll talk to me everyday?" I said sorrowfully, but with the slightest hint of hope that maybe, just maybe, things would turn out like they were supposed to.

    "I promise. Promise you'll stay out of trouble? You are the only girl here now..." Riley said with a smirk on her delicate face.

    Oh yeah. I didn't even think about that. I had no worries about Farkle; he knew his place and was a complete and total gentlemen, but I was slightly worried about Zay and Lucas. I didn't expect them to, but on the off-chance that they tried something, a sharp knee in the groin would show them who they're messing with.

    "No worries, Riles. None of the guys here are like that. We should probably head to bed now.." I said as I glanced out her window seeing all of the bright lights from houses earlier had been turned off, and I could hardly see a foot from her window.

    "You head off to bed. I need to do some packing," Riley said, as she grabbed her suitcase out of the closet, struggling to speak as she focused on holding the heavy suitcase up.

    "Alright.. Get some sleep tonight, okay?" I said with a yawn, and walked down the long dark hallway to my room.

    The hallway reminded me of something you would see in a castle, with regal paintings and carpet, the windows elegant but gleaming, lights glowing but not with intensity. The soft hue of light cast by the small lamps lined up on the wall with small intervals in between set the perfect mood for something. I wasn't sure what it was. But I could feel it. A warmth creeping through my body, convincing my brain that things would be alright, that I would be okay.

    And I slipped into my too-big room, slipping into my too-big t-shirt, and opened my window to take a glance at our world that was all too-big. After trying to fathom the vastness of such a place and failing, I defeatedly hopped into bed and pulled the incredibly soft comforter over my head and tried to drown out the world for a while. Sadly, I didn't follow my own advice for Riley that night and rejected even a wink of sleep. For I was much too tired to fall asleep.