peaches n' huckleberry

i'll hold you when you're crying

prompt: in which maya is with josh but lucas doesn't care

/

Two minutes feels like a long time when you keep track. It's Maya's birthday and she's surrounded by all of her loved ones. She looked very happy in the beginning when Riley was serving the meals. But of course he had to call and ruin everything. I watched her smile slide off of her face when she glanced at her phone, her shoulders tense.

"I have to take this." Her smile returns for a second, but the sincerity is lost.

We all sit at the table, quietly passing around the food. Her voice is muffled but we can tell that she's yelling into her phone. I shake my head and look down at my plate, piercing the chicken with my fork.

"Um, I'm just going to go check on her." Riley springs up from her seat and before I can think on it further, I shoot up from mine as well.

"N-No. I'll go." Silence ensues.

"Oh?" She tilts her head, hesitating for a bit before sitting back down with a curt nod. "Okay."

I slide off of the bench and I feel everyone's eyes at the back of my head as I make my way to Riley's room. The air fills with apprehension when I near the door.

"No, Josh. You don't get to play the victim here." Maya's voice trembles. "You hurt me." My heart begins to race and I ball my fists.

What the hell did he do to her?!

I know it's an invasion of her privacy but I stand there a little longer, listening in on her conversation. I hear her breathe shakily and I know she's about to break. My eyes fall shut, feeling my heart lurch painfully in my chest.

"W-Well, fine." Maya speaks after a long pause, which I assume is her response to whatever Josh said. "Okay bye." Her words rush out before she ends the call. She doesn't want him to hear her cry.

I swing the door open and I find her on the floor. She's getting smaller and smaller. "Maya," I whisper, kneeling in front of her. The sobs get louder when she lifts her head from her knees and throws herself onto me, her tears wetting my shirt. I hold tightly onto her quivering body, as if I were afraid that she'd fall apart if I didn't.

"Lucas," she whimpers against my chest, her shoulders wracking with sobs. Her arms tighten around me and I allow her to deepen the embrace. Not that I want to let go, anyway.

Maya knows how I feel about her. I told her a couple months ago.

.

.

.

"I care about you, a lot."

"I know. I care a lot about you too."

"Not just as a friend though. More than as a friend. I care about you. So much."

"I'm with Josh. Lucas, you know this. You can't be saying these things."

"Do you love him?"

"I don't know... but I'm with him."

.

.

.

When all the tears have been shed, we sit side by side at the foot of Riley's bed, her head on my shoulder. "Is it... really bad?" Our hands are doing this dance; where I gently trace the back of her hand and I feel the soft strides of her fingers doing the same against the palm of my hand.

"He doesn't take me seriously." Maya sighs, I feel it travel down my neck. "It's partially my fault—I keep coming back, no matter how many times he..."

I close my hand over hers and our eyes connect. "He, what?"

"Cheats, on me." Maya frowns. "He blames it on the alcohol, but if he really wanted to stop—he'd stop."

I shift so I'm completely facing her and I'm holding both of her hands. "Fuck... Maya, you shouldn't be with him." I don't care anymore. My hands drift upwards and I cup her face.

"I know, I know." Her fingers are caressing the nape of my neck as our foreheads touch.

"Be with me," I say. "Be with me."

Her lips brush against mine.

"Okay."

/