whisper | rilaya

eighteen

Actions will always speak louder than words.

As soon as Lucas uttered those words, my legs were already travelling. I pushed both of the boys out of the way, sprinting out of Farkle's house and down the street. I barely knew the way back home, but my adrenaline was too high for me to stop and pull out my phone as a GPS.

The sound of my footsteps echoed in the street mockingly. No matter how fast I ran, she still seemed too far away.

"MAYA! MAYA! WAIT!" Screamed Lucas from down the street. His footsteps grew louder as he got closer since his athleticism allowed him to run much faster.

Within seconds, he had caught up to me. Farkle was no where to be seen. I panted tiredly as we turned the final street corner, I couldn't stop running, no matter how tired I was.

My heart shattered into a million pieces when my house came into view. Police cars flashing red and blue lights blinded me as I approached my home. Slowly, the pounding in my head stopped and I could begin to hear the obnoxious sound of police sirens and muffled shouts.

Shawn and my mom stood on the porch, clinging onto shock blankets that had been offered to them by the police. Both of them were physically shaken and distraught. My mom had been crying, her pale skin somehow seemed even lighter when I saw her up close.

"Maya, please-" she started, pleading with her Southern accent that only came out when she was emotional.

Shamefully, I ignored her gaze as I ran through the police tape that barricaded the front door. A handful of voices, some I recognized like Lucas' and Shawn's, as well as some other unfamiliar ones screamed at me to stop and let the police handle it.

Coming from the basement were several indistinct shouts and cries. I felt so defeated. I wanted so, so badly to just curl up into a ball and cry.

With no regard for my own safety, I ran down the stairs. No matter how much running I seemed to be doing, there always seemed to be something keeping me away from her.

"RILEY!" I shouted, hearing only a muffled whimper in reply.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the scene in the basement, all of my biggest fears came true.

Riley stood fearfully in place, her soft hands that she used to cup my cheeks with were now wrongfully trapped inside a pair of handcuffs. A large man with an NYPD badge stood behind Riley and held her still, placing one hand over her mouth and the other over her shoulder.

Surrounding her, were dozens of police officers, all pointing their guns at Riley. Hot tears began to flow down my cheeks when I saw the way they were treating the girl I loved.

"But...but she's innocent." I stuttered, my voice was so quiet you wouldn't have heard it unless all of the shouting and cries that were previously ringing out had stopped. I tripped over my own words because I was in too much shock.

Slowly, as if I were in a trance, I walked towards Riley, reaching my hand out because I wanted to touch her just one last time.

Before I could reach her, I felt a pair of hands place themselves on the small of my back and the side of my arm, trying to escort my out of the scene. "Let the professionals take care of it, honey." A female police officer tried to coax me.

Her force gradually increased as I continued to struggle out of her grasp. "Let! Go! Of me!" I yelled, elbowing her side weakly, although that didn't do anything.

"SHE'S JUST A KID, WHY ARE YOU POINTING GUNS AT HER?" I screamed at the other officers, as the lady hold me back. I watched them carefully, looking for some sort of sign of guilt in their emotions- there was none.

The policeman who was holding Riley stared at me sternly. Ignoring my pleas for mercy, he glanced at his coworkers and nodded.

As if on cue, like the nod was a universal sign that they understood, the police started to pull her away.

Wordlessly, I watched them take Riley away from me right in front of my eyes. All the while I was being held back by a police officer and pair of handcuffs that I didn't even realize had been placed on me.

It's hard to explain the amount of pain anyone receives when they lose their lover and there's nothing that they could do about it. I never understood why characters in movies and books would get so heartbroken over things like this. Not until today.

Taking one last look at me before being led up the stairs, Riley smiled sadly at me, her dimples forming in the centre of her cheeks. 'I love you.' She mouthed

And then she was gone.

~

The next day

Lazily, I shoved the scrambled eggs around my plate. My chin rested in my hand, showing my clear lack of an appetite.

"Maya, I know you're upset but we need to talk about what happened. You can't leave Shawn and I in the dark like this." My mom pleaded with me, putting her newspaper down.

Since I woke up, everybody has been pretending like it was just another ordinary day. They blatantly ignored all of the events of last night and I couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing.

I shook my head stubbornly and shoved my plate aside. "I'm sorry. I can't talk about it right now. I can barely eat mom, how do you expect me to pour my heart out to you and Shawn?"

Shawn placed a hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me. "We just want you to be safe-"

I shoved his hand off my shoulder and pushed my chair out, standing up at the same time. "None of you understand." I muttered. "And the worst part is, that you never will."

"I'm going out." I said over my shoulder while I twisted the doorknob.

I guess I'm heading to the police station today.