Deeper • Rilaya

5: He Knows

Maya's POV: I wake up and I'm instantly met with a wave of pain in my head. I sit up, wincing at the pain as it begins to get more intense and soon I see a hand in front of my face with two pills in the palm. I look up and see that it's Zay and he's giving me a comforting smile. I stare at the pills for a few seconds and then I take them and put them in my mouth. Zay hands me a glass of water that was on the bed side table and hands it to me. I bring the glass up to my lips and swallow down the water, the pills going with it.

I give Zay the glass back and he sets it on the bed side table. I'm still being held close by him and the physical contact is a little too much for me, but its comfortable and familiar. I snuggle a little more into him and I hear him chuckle.

"What's so funny?" My voice is hoarse and raspy. I hate it.

Zay looks down at me and grins a little. "Normally you would break my arm if I ever got this close to you."

He wasn't wrong, but this felt good. Being comforted was something I hadn't experienced in a while and it feel nice to experience it again. I start feeling a motion on my back and realize that its Zay's hand making circular patterns. The gesture almost puts me back to sleep until I hear Zay's voice again.

"We have to talk about what happened today."

I really hoped that I wouldn't have to face this topic this soon. I didn't want to deal with it. Maybe I could skip town for real this time.

"Maya."

I switch my attention back to Zay. "What butt licker?"

"For your information, I don't lick butts and we gotta talk about you running into Lucas today."

I get up and start making my way to my closet and grabbing some clothes and a duffel bag. I start to stuff them inside angrily.

"Maya!"

I snap. "What?! What Zay?! What do you wanna talk about?! About me running into Lucas? Yes I get it. It's a big deal. Woohoo! But that doesn't change anything. It just makes the situation harder. And I'm not about to stick around to find it." I continue shoving clothes into the bag and then I grab my paint brushes. Zay catches my wrist when I'm about to put them in the duffel bag along with the rest of my stuff.

"Let go of me Zay." I saw firmly.

"No. Look, Maya. I think you have to stop hiding."

"I'm not hiding shit now let go of me!" I try to tug out of his grip but he doesn't let go. I look up at him and he has a look on his face as if he's tired.

"Maya.....I think you should meet with Lucas."

I immediately lost all the color in my face and looked at Zay as if he was a lunatic. "Are you crazy?" My voice is calm and smooth, but there's hint of bitterness in it and I know its making Zay uncomfortable. "Your not actually thinking about that are you?" The question was rhetorical.

Zay let go of my wrist and placed his hands on his waist. I can tell he's trying to pick his words carefully to avoid irritating me. As if he's walking on eggshells he hesitates but then his face is rock hard with determination and he moves his attention to me.

"You don't understand Maya. You never did." He utters and I'm quick to speak. "What are you talking about?"

"Your always running. Running from everyone that tries to help you. Aren't you tired? I know I am. And I'm sick of the awkward silence that's present whenever I hang out with the group now. I'm sick of feeling like I have to walk on eggshells around Farkle and Riley whenever somebody brings up your name or something that reminds them of you. I'm sick of lying to them!" Zay's outburst made me step back a bit. He saw this and his face softened. He put a hand on my shoulder and spoke quieter. "I'm sorry. I just feel like I'm going against them."