𝒎𝒂𝒚𝒂
"Maya, come on, what's wrong?" Mom urges from behind my door.
I groan and open the door and tell her I'm fine.
"Mom, nothing's wrong."
"Baby, I know something's wrong," she sighs.
"I got in a fight with Riley."
"A fight?"
"Well, it wasn't necessarily a fight, but..." I pause and sigh. "I don't know."
"What happened?"
"She wanted to help me get over my fear of heights and I said no, but she went closer to the edge to show me that it isn't that scary. I was terrified, Mom. I was terrified that she'd fall like Joey and-"
I feel tears running down my face and she wraps her arms around me.
"Oh, Maya, I'm so sorry. But she couldn't have known why," she tells me. "She just wanted to help you, she would've never done that if she knew why you were so scared."
"I know, it's just, I-I can't even look at her without being reminded of the pain I went through and I..."
"You what?" she asks.
"Um," I hesitate, wondering if I should tell her about us. "I don't want you to be mad or disappointed or anything."
"Come on, you can tell me anything, baby."
"I like her, Mom. Like, more than a friend."
She looks confused for a second but quickly smiles after. "I could never be mad at you for liking someone. You can like whoever you want, Maya. And Riley is such a sweet girl, she's probably devastated that you're not talking to her."
"How do I talk to her, Mom?"
"You don't have to right now. Give yourself some time and feel whatever you need to feel. Just don't leave her hanging and worried forever."
"I don't like when she's worried, I want her to be happy."
"She probably didn't like that you were terrified of heights, too. Keep in mind that she wanted you to be happy as well; she wasn't expecting you to react the way you did."
I nod and hug her. "Thank you, Mom. I love you."
"And I love you, Maya," she says and kisses my cheek and walks out of the room.
I ponder about what I should do. I can't really go out with my terrible French vocabulary, and I know like, two people. I sigh and decide to go on a walk, hoping it'll calm me down.
The fresh breeze hits me and I mindlessly walk down the sidewalk. I consider going over to Riley's, but I don't think I'll be able to say a word without breaking down. I just need a few more days.
I could talk to Farkle about this, but Riley probably already told him. I text him anyway, deciding that I should still vent my feelings in hopes of getting over whatever's going on.
He sends me his address after I ask if I can come over. He lives in the neighborhood, so I don't bother returning home.
"Hey, Maya," he smiles and lets me in.
"Hi," I reply as he leads me to the couch.
"So, um, what's up?"
"Did she not tell you?"
