And Then She Stopped

chapter ten

A little over a week passed, no Maya. Riley fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat, folding and unfolding her hands, crossing and uncrossing her legs. She watched the door more than she payed attention to the lesson, something about Marie Antoinette, France, who knows. The bell had rung and they were over half way through class already, but it wouldn't be the first time Maya Hart would've made a dramatically late entrance.

Everyone was seemingly moving in slow motion without her, Maya was the gravity that kept everyone grounded, she kept them all from floating away. Riley tried not to notice Lucas looking at Maya's chair like a sad puppy, Farkle keeping his head low in class and not answering any questions, and Zay looking at Lucas like he was worried he might break at any given moment. It was selfish but seeing everyone so torn up about Maya made Riley wonder if they'd even react to her leaving.

One, two, three classes past and still no Maya. Four, Five, six. Towards the end of her last class of the day Riley put a tally in her planner to mark another day with no Maya. The bell rang and she rushed out to her locker, she shoved random notebooks and papers in her backpack not even paying attention to whether or not she was bringing the right ones home for her homework. She ran down the steps to the commons area and she spotted him right away, on the way out to his car, head hung low.

"Lucas!" Riley yelled running up to him, "Lucas, I need to talk to you."

He stopped and smiled at her, it was the same smile he had after their first kiss and on every single one of their dates and Riley tried not to focus on how fake it was.

"Lucas I'm really worried about Maya, I think something might be wrong." I looped my thumbs underneath the straps of my backpack. He knit his eyebrows together and nodded along.

"I don't have to be home until later, I can drive us over to her apartment."

They walked out to his car and he drove over to Mayas neighborhood. Riley shrunk down in her chair slightly as they turned onto the street, she was still very much afraid of this place. It was easy to find parking right outside of Maya's building so they two side-stepped some drunk people asleep on the steps and walked up to her floor.

Riley was standing in front of the door, her hand raised like she was preparing to knock on the door, Lucas was standing more in the back watching with anticipation. She was stuck in the moment, who knows what tragedy was hidden behind the door. If Riley turned and left, Maya was fine. Maya would be sitting right behind that door smiling and surrounded in books she got so involved in she didn't come to school. If Riley left that door closed, Maya would be home and safe. But what if she wasn't? Riley finally worked up the courage and banged her hand on the door three sharp times. No answer. She tried the handle, unlocked, just the way it's always been. The door was almost too big for the frame it was crammed in so Lucas was the one to actually push through the door, and then they walked into disappointment.

There are worse things to see. Riley expected to see her there, right on the couch, Lucas feared the worst. After what happened about a month ago he always thought to fear the worst. She wasn't in the living room. They looked in the kitchen and the bathroom, then they turned to her bedroom door. Riley pressed through. She sighed what could easily be classified as the heaviest uplifting sigh. No Maya- which yes was upsetting to say the least but once again, there are worse things to see. It was intrusive, but Riley began to dig through her drawers.

"Riley what do you think you're doing?" Lucas said, grabbing hold of her arm and holding her back from the desk. Riley hung her head low and leaned into Lucas.

"She's got to be somewhere, Lucas, she wouldn't just leave." She wrapped her arms around him, "Even if we were fighting she wouldn't just leave."

"You don't know that-" She pulled away.

"I do." She went over to Maya's bookshelf and started flipping through the books for something, anything. "It's what her father did to her, it's what everyone does to her, and that's why she wouldn't do it to me." He nodded and started to help her look around.

They must have been there for hours because when they finally left it was dark out. Lucas dropped Riley off up front at her building and waited until he saw she was safely in the elevator to drive away. Riley walked into the apartment prepared and ready for a scolding.

"Riley," Topanga started, "Farkle was looking for you at the café today." She was setting the table and Auggie was helping.

"Oh, well... I was out." She said slowly walking to her room, waiting for a reaction. Topanga smiled,

"That's alright, you'll see each other at school tomorrow. Would you mind grabbing your father for dinner?"

Riley nodded and set her stuff down in her room, then called Cory out for dinner. They all ate together – as always – except today Riley kept quiet. She answered all of their questions with one word answers. "Good." "Fine." "Eh." When they finished up she went into her room and checked her phone obsessively in case Maya texted. The only new texts she had were from Charlie, which of course she was ignoring.

She had just finished getting ready for bed and had turned off the light when she saw something out the window that she hadn't noticed before. Riley got up from the bed and walked over, the window which was still closed had a pink post-it note stuck on it from the outside. Without hesitation Riley opened the window and grabbed the note, smiling as she read:

I WAS HERE

– M.H.