Their World | Rilaya

41: Say Yes

"Maya?" Riley asks.

"Yeah?"

"I think we need a break."

Maya jumps up from the girl's shoulder. "What?" The blonde's voice cracks.

"I think we should see other people for a while."

"Why? Why would you say that? Why would you even think that?"

"My therapist suggested it to me. She thought it would be good if I didn't rely on you as much as I do. At first I thought she was crazy, but I've thought this over, Maya. I think she may be right."

"How could she be right, Riley?" Maya angrily spats. "Do I mean nothing to you?"

"Maya, I know you are mad, but please just listen. You mean the world to me, but she's right. I couldn't even sleep without you... I need to be able to live my life without having to be attached to you. A healthy relationship needs some space, right now we don't have any."

"So you just want to try throw our relationship away?"

"That's not what I said. I said we need a break. During this break we will see other people and see where that leads us. If it leads us back together, then it leads us back together."

"So you're going to date other people and you want me to date other people?" Maya asks, slightly less mad.

"That's the plan."

"And we'll see where that takes us?"

"Yep," Riley answers.

"What about the bracelet you gave me? It has our names on it."

"Maya, you are the best thing to ever happen to me. I hope that even though we are no longer dating at the moment we can still remain best friends. It's still you and me until the end. How exactly we end up will only be revealed with time."

"So we are no longer dating and you plan on going out with someone else, because we need some space?"

"For now, yes," Riley confirms.

Maya takes a minute to think about what just happened. "It's late and my mom and Shawn come home in the morning, so I think I'm going to head back to my apartment. See you later, Riley."

Maya gets up and heads down stairs, while Riley stays put on the roof.

[First day back to school after winter break.]

"Huckleberry, I need to talk to you and I need to talk to you now."

"Maya," Lucas says, "is everything okay?"

"Have you seen Riley yet?"

"Uh, no. Why?"

"She's going to come ask you out and I need you to say yes."

Lucas nervously laughs, "this is some kind of test, right?"

"No, I need you go out with her, for real."