Room 221 || Lucaya

Two Plus One

MAYA'S POV:

"What if she doesn't like me?"

Lucas, whose grin stretched from ear to ear, chuckled lightly while taking his daring eyes off the road for a moment to glance at me.

"Lucas! I'm serious!" I shout, giving my best attempt to stay serious in the midst of Lucas cracking jokes.

"Penelope... She'll like you. Trust me," he replies confidently before a concerned look slowly appears on his face. "And besides, if she doesn't, the worst she does is bite. But the bleeding usually stops within an hour."

A big, toothy grin is plastered across his perfectly symmetrical, tan complected face.

"Stop!" I giggle into the sleeves of my sweatshirt, careful not to look at what lies beneath.

Focus.

"And your parents! What are they gonna say when they see me?!" I whine in a rather concerned tone.

In all reality, I am a mess. Not the kind of mess that is so messy, people's perspective changes from a mess to a beautiful mess. Those types of things are only of rare existence. Rare existence in a form of art.

"You're not meeting them," Lucas mumbles carefully, each word cautious of the other.

His words soaked into my mind for a moment as a sudden shill crawls up my spine. "Lucas, I am so sorry."

His focused eyes do not leave the road, rather he speaks straight towards the road. "No, not like that. I was in foster care up until a few months ago. I left and got my own place when I turned eighteen."

"And Paisley?"

Despite the emotions running through his veins, Lucas cracks a genuine smile.
"We were put into foster care when she was one and I was twelve. For the most part, they separated us. But I promised her, after all those years with kids coming and going, I would take her home when I turned eighteen. So that's what I did."

Emotion shines through his voice as he speaks about this little girl whom I have yet to meet. Every word spoken in reference to her is full of compassion, meaning, and love.

The idea suddenly bestowed upon me that due to the chaos my life has been these past few months, I had not truly listened to Lucas.
Observing and participating are the keys to discovering; I had missed one of those.

"So, you like, have a daughter?" I snicker under my breath.

He raises his eyebrows and gives me a look that  sends a butterfly effect on my heart. "Legally. But, we don't really think of it like that. All Paisley thinks is: me and her."

"And now me..." I mumble, realizing my presence could possibly disrupt their new life.

"Hey," Lucas interrupts my thoughts as he places his hand on top of mine. "Paisley will love you. Plus," he chuckles, giving my hand a squeeze, "She needs an older girl to look up to. I suck at doing her hair!"

I manage to crack a smile underneath the hindering thoughts of Paisley not wanting me there.

The car begins to slow down in front of a medium sized apartment complex before Lucas hits the brakes to park. I scan the building through the car window, taking in every detail. Thankfully, the building was much larger than my dorm. Everything about it was perfect—not too big, not too small. Not too fancy, not too dreary.

"Ready?" Lucas questions as he opens up my car door, gesturing to the building.

I slowly step out and follow Lucas, still admiring the perfect little building in front of me.

After what seems to be flights and flights of endless stairs and silence, Lucas finally stops in front of a black door with the inscription "221" in golden letters.

"221," I breathe heavily, attempting to catch my breath as I glance over at Lucas in confusion.

His eyes grow wide as he realizes the meaning of the connected numbers. "I had got my apartment first. When Riley registered for her dorm room early, she got to pick what room. She chose Room 221."

Before I got a chance to respond, the door swings open from the inside, revealing a young, tiny, blonde little girl with the most beautiful blue and green eyes I had ever seen.

"Luc! You're home!" She shrieks with excitement, leaping into Lucas' arms as he steps into the apartment.

"I told you I'd be home soon, Pais!" He smiles face to face with her as their hug pulls back with Paisley sitting in his arms.

As Lucas and Paisley enjoy their reunion, I stand near the door while admiring the small but cozy apartment. The door leads to a small living space with a couch and television, and a few steps away is a kitchen with a four person table.

Paisley giggles as Lucas plops her down playfully onto the couch before she sees me, unsure of what to do, standing there. "Who is that?"

Lucas glances over to me with a grin. "That, Paisley, is Maya. She is going to stay with us for a few days."

"I am?" I stutter, furrowing up my eyebrows.

"You are more than welcome to," he reiterates before turning to Paisley. "Pais, when did Ms. Anderson leave?"

Paisley raises her eyebrows as she looks at the ceiling with her eyes. "Uh, not too long ago before you came, I think."

Lucas notices and responds the confusion on my face. "That's our neighbor who watches her when I have class and stuff."

I nod in response as I glance over to Paisley, whose resemblance of Lucas is far beyond a doubt. Although she shares few features, something about her reminds me of Penny.

"Maya, come sit," Paisley commands sweetly with her raspy, quiet little voice.

As told, I slowly plod over to the couch, sitting in between Paisley on the cushion and Lucas on the arm rest.

"Your hair is so long," Paisley whispers, mesmerized while running her delicate fingers over my hair. "And pretty."

I smile, glancing over at Lucas as he grins—he was right. Paisley and I did get along.

"Thank you," I beam while playing with her straight blonde locks, "But your hair is just adorable!"

Flattered with a compliment, Paisley giggles, making her face a tint of red. "Thanks."

"Pais," Lucas interrupts as he walks over to the door, "Help me get Penelope's stuff out the car, would ya?"

Paisley scrunches her face up in confusion, glancing over to me. "Who's Penelope?"

Lucas and I chuckle in unison. "Maya. I call her Penelope—just like I call you Pais!"

"Oh," she mumbles, processing the new information as she meets Lucas at the door. As they both step outside of the apartment, I hear a whisper from Paisley.

"I like her."

Lucas bends to her level. "Me too."