whisper | rilaya

three

My dainty hands reached into the back of my jean pocket to grab my phone. Since I left Topanga's, New York suddenly became a lot colder.

A bright light flashed up below me when I turned my phone screen on to look at the time.

10:48pm

Another gust of wind blew and I shuddered, not enjoying the change in climate. The grip I had on my jacket tightened when I pulled it closer against my body; shivering. It was an eerie night.

I paused for a second to wonder if my mom and Shawn were worried about me. The idea immediately dismissed itself. They were probably too focused on each other to think about me.

When I arrived at my house, it was already 11pm. The trip would've been a lot quicker if you ignored the fact that I had trouble navigating around the unfamiliar city.

Trying my best to be silent, I twisted the doorknob and creaked the door open as gently as I could. I silently whispered a prayer that would keep my mom from noticing my late arrival and grounding me.

"Maya!" Shawn's voice bellowed from the living room.

Knowing that I had already lost this imaginary game, I muttered a small "shit." to myself.

Before I knew it, I was being attacked with questions from the both of them, without even being given time to answer.

"Where were you? We were worried sick."

"Why are you back so late, don't you know how dangerous New York is?"

"You could've gotten mugged... or worse."

"Were you even thinking, Maya?"

The sound of nagging only grew while I stood there silently, rolling my eyes.

"I'm almost 17. I don't need you guys to baby me every second of the day." I scoffed.

Shawn took a step forward, trying to make himself seem intimidating. His chest puffed up preparing to take on the role of a father, "Maya, you know better than to talk to your mother like that."

All of a sudden, the built up frustration I've been holding in for the past few weeks exploded.

"No! I don't know better. You know why? Because I never had a father growing up. But that doesn't mean that you can just show up, make me move across the country, and then expect me to welcome you with open arms. You're the reason I'm not happy anymore. You took away the two good things left in my life Shawn. My friends and my home."

I paused to catch my breath and continued.

"Who cares anyways." I chuckled. "In two weeks you'll be gone just like everyone else and we'll be on a plane back to LA."

The words that exited my mouth were meaningless. I didn't truly believe anything I just uttered. In fact, the last ounce of hope I have left wanted Shawn to stick around for a while.

By now, hot tears were running down my face. Indistinguishable voices spoke in unison while I turned on my heel to leave the kitchen.

I hated crying in front of other people so much. It was unfortunate, really. Everyone knew that I wore my heart on my sleeve, no matter how hard I tried to conceal it.

Before I knew what I was doing, the door slammed shut and I found myself running down the empty streets. I didn't know what I was running from. Maybe it was myself, or Shawn, or whatever Farkle and Lucas were dealing with. All I knew was that something was haunting me and I needed to get away from it.

When my breathing became irregular and I couldn't handle the movement anymore, I stopped. I was on the edge of a sandy beach.

Everything was better at night. Especially beaches.

I stepped off the sidewalk and onto the beach, taking off my sneakers so that I could walk barefoot. The sand was cold in comparison to the warm water that splashed onto the shore. My mind began to slow down for the first time in a while and I found myself staring at the dark horizon aimlessly.

Deciding to enjoy the sound of the waves on the beach, I closed my eyes to focus on the peaceful noises. It was almost perfect.

A certain crunch began to grow louder and louder with each second. I assumed it was some sort of bird that wanted to accompany me. Opening my eyes gently, I turned around and saw a dark human figure.

Immediately, my hands started to shake and my breathing became irregular again. I wanted to scream, to ask for help, to run back into my mother's arms.

The figure hadn't seen me yet, it seemed to be wandering around just as aimlessly as I was. I wanted a closer look.

Tip toeing strategically, I crawled into a bush of green that was located behind the figure. They eventually settled on a large rock to sit on. My eyes squinted as I tried to get a better look in this dark lighting.

The person was humming. It was a girl.

My mouth formed an 'O' that I had to cover with my hands to prevent me from actually gasping out loud.

She was gorgeous.

The girl had long wavy brown hair that cascaded along her back and shoulders effortlessly. Her hair was naturally messy, like no amount of brushing could solve it. Yet each strand looked like it was carefully placed to accentuate her features. I was so tempted to reach forward and run my fingers through her soft hair to detangle it. She wore an oversized white hoodie that complimented her petite frame. My eyes travelled along her legs that extended for miles. They were long and tanned, only covered by the denim shorts she was wearing.

I recognized the tune she was humming. It was you are my sunshine. She made it sound different though. The way she hummed it, sounded angelic. It had a magic ability to attract someone who was scared beyond belief a second ago.

The humming slowly died down as she replaced it with her lovely singing voice instead. I leaned closer, trying to get a better listen.

However, being as clumsy as I am, I leaned forward an millimetre too much and fell through the bushes and right behind her. In retrospect, she probably wouldn't have noticed since she was so focused on her own singing. It was just that my fall caused such a loud thud and groan that it couldn't be ignored.

She whipped her head around, worriedly. "Who's there?" Her doe eyes wandered frantically around the beach before settling on me.

I laid there, motionless and stared back up at her. "Hi..."