My one and only Love

chapter 27

Maya started back at the high school and was immediately recognized even though she'd only attended the school for a short while the previous year. At lunch a girl from Maya's math class named Sarah broke away from her table of friends and moved to sit with Maya, directly across from her at the table. "Is it true?" The girl asked and Maya looked up curiously.

"What?"

"That you ran away with a boy last year and the police caught you trying to get married and arrested him and brought you home?" The girl asked as seriously as if she were asking about someone's poor health. Maya burst out laughing and shook her head.

"No, that's not what happened."

"So, what happened?"

"I, uh, I just moved away for a while, now I'm back."

"Yeah but you left with a boy, heard you two drove off late at night after your daddy said you couldn't see him."

Maya snickered slightly, sitting up a little more. "Not exactly." Maya said softly, the girl's smile was kind and Maya truly sensed she wasn't trying to gossip or run back to her friends with new info on the new girl. After a few minutes of talking Maya felt comfortable enough to tell Sarah some truth, maybe it would get around and stop some of the gossip. "I used to live in New York with my mom, never spent much time with my dad. And my mom died so my dad came to get me, but I didn't want to go so I took off back to New York and he came to get me again. The guy who was here was my boyfriend from New York, he came to visit and when my dad and I got in a fight and he told me to go back to New York if I wanted, I did." She shrugged a little, it wasn't that exciting to Maya but Sarah was on the edge of her seat.

"You ran away to New York? That's like something out of a movie." Sarah told her and Maya just laughed.

"It's really not, is it?" But Sarah nodded, the two became fast friends after that day. Sarah was fascinated with Maya's life. She'd never been to New York herself so hearing all about the big city was. They spent a lot of time together but it was more than two months before Maya had invited Sarah to the house, she needed time to trust her new friends, time to know she was a real friend and not just someone looking for dish on the new girl. But Sarah was a sincere friend from the start.

Maya hadn't told anyone about the pregnancy yet, she was small enough and the winter weather had been accommodating to keep her covered, but the bedroom with a crib would be a giveaway and she knew it. When Sarah came home after school with Maya that Friday afternoon in February. "So, I wanted to tell you something." Maya began as they walked. "About why I came back."

"You told me why you came back." Maya had given Sarah the same line she'd given the Matthews, she'd realized after dealing with the loss of her mother than she needed to know her family and needed time with her father to do that. But as Sarah caught Maya's expression she stopped before climbing the steps to Maya's front porch. "You lied?"

Maya looked almost guilty but shrugged it off. "Kind of, but...you'll understand in a minute." She told her and started up the steps. Sarah followed, curious and confused. Maya led her friend down the short hallway and then into her room. She closed the door behind Sarah and waited for her friend to say something.

"You've got a big room." Sarah began and then her eyes settled on the crib. "Oh do you share with your baby sister? Is it okay for me to sleep over?"

Maya took a deep breath, sitting on the side of the bed. "I don't have a baby sister. Well...I have sisters, but not babies."

"Then why?" She motioned towards the crib and Maya caught her eye.

"I'm pregnant." She told her friend softly, not really sure what to expect in return. This was a small town, everyone seemed to know one another all their lives, they went to church and she'd been gossiped about last time she was here. If just spending the night with a boy had made her a slut in the eyes of this town, what would being a pregnant teenager make her?

Sarah's eyes went wide, this was not what she expected to hear. She blinked a few times but kept her shocked expression on Maya. "You're...really?" She asked, this was clearly news she'd never been told before from a friend. Maya stood and raised her bulky sweatshirt, revealing her stomach, it wasn't huge, but at four and a half months in it was a noticeable swell. "Woah...."

Maya lowered her shirt and sat back down. "Sorry I lied to you before, I just, no one knows." Sarah gave the crib a noticeable nod. "Okay, I mean my parents know and my sisters, but...no one else, it's why I left New York."

"You left because you were pregnant?" Sarah asked as she sat down on the floor and kicked off her shoes. Maya just nodded. "But why? I mean, you went there to be with people you love right?" They had talked a lot about her life in New York, about the Matthews, about Riley and Josh, about the life she used to have and how much it all meant to her.

It wasn't until later that night when the house was quiet that Maya told Sarah everything. "I love him, I think I'll always love him, but...I don't want him to know. I told my dad we broke up, that I needed help and wanted to come home they didn't ask me any details or anything, just let me come home and said they'd help me. They even gave me a crib already, they're really supportive. I don't think they'd be happy if they really knew that I never told Josh at all." Maya spoke softly from her bed, leaning over the edge to where a pallet of blankets and sleeping bags was made on the floor for Sarah. Maya had offered to take the floor, but Sarah refused to take the bed. "Josh is gonna be a doctor one day, he's so smart and dedicated. I want that for him, I want him to have his future, he deserves that. If I told him he'd quit school start working all the time and want to get married. I can't let him do that."

"So you never told him? You just left?"

"Nope, and I ended it over the phone. Seriously the worst thing I've ever done." Maya frowned thinking about the awful conversation telling Josh they didn't have time for one another, that they both had school and they should take a break. She'd cried for hours after hanging up the phone and hadn't spoken to Josh since. "He's going to have a perfect life, I'm not." She shrugged a little.

"Maya, that's awful..." Sarah said, sitting up as she frowned. "I mean, it's just so sad." She gave Maya a hug before they both laid back down, slowly drifting off to sleep.

In the basement, Kermit and Jules lay awake, listening to Maya and Sarah talk through the vents as she had once done to them. Kermit sat up, ready to go upstairs and have a talk with his daughter. "Don't." Jules said softly, putting a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"Did you know she never told that boy?!" He whispered with a furrowed brow.

"Of course not, but it's not your place to decide who knows, it's hers." He began to object but Jules shook her head. "No, Kermit, listen....she needs to make these choices, she's going to be someone's mother, you can't do this for her. I know you want to help her, but you can't." Kermit let out a huff and laid back down with his arms crossed, glaring up at the ceiling, frustrated that he couldn't do anything to fix this.