Halo of Light Around the Moon | Rilaya

9: Nowhere to Go

[Awhile later at the local hospital.]

"I've prescribed a pain killer medicine for her two broken ribs, and she'll need to limit her physical activity for the next couple of weeks with her concussion. If anything new arrises contact us immediately. Besides that you're all free to go, and I hope to not see you again anytime soon," the doctor says with a smile before he leaves the room.

"Ready to go?" Riley asks Ayla, as he hops off of the hospital bed.

"Go where?" Ayla questions, knowing that she can no longer go back to her house.

"If it is alright with you, Maya and I can take you back to our apartment and you can spend the night there. In the morning I'll bring you with me to my office and we can figure out everything else then."

"Okay," Ayla responds, pursing her lips.

[Later at Riley and Maya's apartment. Ayla is taking a shower to clean up before she goes to sleep, while Riley and Maya are sitting in the bay window.]

"Maya, I need to tell you something, and I know it's not going to be easy for you to hear," Riley says, grabbing a hold of Maya's hand.

"After a day like today, Riles, I don't think it could be that bad."

"Ayla told me why her father beat her today."

Maya's eyes soften, as she waits for Riley to continue.

"He asked her why it took her so long to get out of school, and she didn't know what to say. He thought that she told you that he hurts her, and he got mad at her," Riley explains. "I figured you would find out sooner or later, so I thought I'd tell you now."

"I-I'm the reason she's hurt," Maya mutters.

"No you're not, Maya. Her father is he only one that did this to her. You're not the one to blame."

Tears form in Maya's eyes. "But he did this because of me. I shouldn't have kept her after school. This all could have been prevented if I hadn't talked to her."

"He would have kept hurting her, Peaches," Riley reasons. "This isn't the first time he has done this. Eventually it would have happened again."

"Then I should have went after her when she ran out of the classroom and found out what was wrong."

"Maya... she's safe now, and that's what matters."

"But I could have stopped this from happening one way or another," Maya cries.

Riley looks over at the blonde, as tears roll down her face.

"Maya..." Riley says, her voice trailing off.

Maya responds by hugging Riley and hiding her face into the crook of the brunette's neck.

A few minutes go by, and Maya's crying begins to lighten and she pulls away from Riley.

"Riles?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we adopt her?"

Riley takes a second to stare into the blonde's eyes to see if she was being serious, before a small smile forms on her face. "Really?"

"She has nowhere else to go. Plus she's good friends with Lily, Brandon and Danny."

Riley's smile fades. "Maya, just because she is friends with our friends' children and the fact that she doesn't have a home anymore can't be the only reasons we decide to adopt her."

"We've talked about adopting before, so why not now?" Maya asks.

"We've only talked about it. You've never actually said that you were ready to commit to having a child."

"I'm ready," Maya smiles.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. It's like Ayla was destined to find us. I believe that she is meant to be our child."

"You really think that?" Riley smirks.

"I do, Riles. I really do," Maya smiles.

"Okay, I'll see what I can do tomorrow at work."

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A/N: Next, Ayla confronts Maya.