Fire Escape Visits

Anxiety

Maya's POV

Riley stood there shocked at the alcohol I had just retrieved from my bag. Her eyes were so wide I thought they were going to pop out of her head.

"Is that all?" Mrs. Matthews asked.

"Maya?" Riley asked warningly when I didn't respond right away.

I went back into my bag and pulled out a water bottle.

"It's actually vodka," I explained.

Mr. Matthews looked at me disapprovingly before taking it.

"Now, is that all?" she threateningly looked at me.

"That's all," I said.

"Ok, now for the other rules," Mr. Matthews began. "No having people over, you must ask before you leave the house, and you have a seven o'clock curfew."

"Dad!" Riley exclaimed. "That's insane."

"This is how it has to be, Riley," Mrs. Matthews said. "Dinner will be soon," she walked into the kitchen.

"It's okay, Riley. It's fine," I told her grabbing my bags to go upstairs. "Thanks you, Mr. and Mrs. Matthews."

"I'm sorry, I don't have an air mattress or anything," Riley apologized.

"I can just sleep in the floor," I said.

"No way, you can take the bed."

"No, you should get the bed because it's yours."

"How about we share the bed," Riley suggested.

"Fine, we'll share," I agreed to the compromise.

"Girls, dinner's ready," Riley's mom calls up.

Riley's POV

We went down and ate with my parents and little brother Auggie.

Maya barely ate any of her food though. Maybe my parents were making her nervous or something.

My suspicions only grew when I woke up at one in the morning and Maya wasn't next to me. I found her smoking a cigarette out on the fire escape in nothing but a hoodie and sweatpants.

"Maya, you know you're not supposed to be smoking," I said stepping out next to her.

"What? Cigarettes count?" she asked genuinely.

"Yes, Maya, cigarettes count."

"Sorry, I'll give them to your parents tomorrow," she assured me.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked bringing her back inside.

"I couldn't sleep. I can never sleep," she says shaking her head.

"How can I help?" I asked.

"Can you get my water bottle back? Or my flask?"

"No, Maya. I can't do that."

"Please, it's the only thing that will help," she begged.

"Maya, my parents would kill both of us. Plus, I'm pretty sure they dumped all of it anyway," I said causing a look of defeat on Maya's face.

"What about your parents' liquor cabinet?"

"Maya, no," I said sternly. "Do you want to talk about it instead?"

"I'm so anxious," she quietly stated resting her head on my shoulder. "I can't stop thinking about my parents, all of them, your parents, school, all the shit I'm in."

"Maybe you should see a doctor about it."

"I have, he gave me some medication for it."

"Do you have it with you or did you leave it at your house?"

"I brought some with me, but I don't want to take it."

Maya's POV

"Will it help you get to sleep?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, but it makes me feel like a zombie," I told her.

Riley pleaded with me to take it and after deciding that feeling like a zombie was better than the state I was currently in, I took my meds.

Soon after, my mind was cleared and a sheet of calm and darkness came over me.