Girl Meets Scars

Chapter 3 - The Truth.

Just an FYI, the POV will switch ever 5 chapters
⚠️SLUR WARNING⚠️ (dont worry, these are slurs I have reclaimed)
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Maya's POV
As we shuffled onto the crowded subway car, the throbbing in my head subsided. "You okay?" Riley asked. "Yeah, my headache just stopped," I said. "Great. Anyway, I just love Lucas so much and he's-" Riley's voice drowned out of my mind and I slipped into a daydream. "So yeah. My dad beats me and I have depression." I said, head in my hands. "Why didn't you tell me?" Riley said. "I thought I was your friend!" "I know but-" she cut me off. "No! I told you you could trust me, but you choose not to!" She screeched. "Riley I-" "NO! ITS OVER! I WISH YOU WOULD JUST KILL YOURSELF!" That's when I snapped out of it; i found myself sobbing. "Riley," I sniffed. She grabbed my face. "Maya, are you actually okay?" she whispered. "I- no." I wiped my face. "Can we just... skip school today? I'm not feeling it." "Okay, I can get my dad to write you a note," she said. She grasped my hand and began rubbing up and down. We sat in silence until our stop arrived.

We walked the rest of the way home, hand-in-hand, my face still stained with mascara. I wish this moment would last forever. As we walked, I heard a shout in the distance. "FAG!" It said. Jesus. I visibly flinched, and Riley was instantly concerned. "Are you okay?!" She said. "yeah," I sighed, "that word just really bothers me." "Okay, but let me know if anything is wrong, okay?" Riley said, rubbing my hand again. "Yep, will do." We arrived at the apartment and opened the door. "Girls! You're back?" Topenga said, clearly confused. "Yeah, Maya needs a day off." "Uh," she said, "did your mom say it's okay?" I shrugged. "She's probably fine with it." "Okay, I'm going to the store if you girls want anything," Topenga said, grabbing her keys. "I'm good Mrs.Matthews, but thanks." I said, plopping down on the couch. "Alright. Don't get kidnapped!" She said as she closed the door.

We sat in silence for a moment, then Riley stood up. "Okay Maya, What actually going on?" Riley said, facing me. "I'm fine, okay? It's just school." I said, staring off into space. "Are you sure? Or are you lying?" She said, hands on her hips. "IM FINE OKAY?" I yelled. Shit. I just yelled at Riley Matthews, the most sensitive person on Earth. She was visibly shocked. Her eyes flooded with tears and she skittered to her room and closed the door. "God dann it. I can't believe I just did that." I said to myself as I got up. I tiptoed to her room and put my ear to the door. shit. I made her cry. "Riley," I sat down on front of the door. "I'm sorry. I screwed up, I didn't mean to yell at you." "And you were right. I lied; it's not just school." I said, tears beginning to form. I choked them down. I can't let Riley see me cry. "Can I come in? I can tell you about what's actually happening." I heard a sniffle, and a weak "yeah", so I carefully cracked open the door.

She sat by the bay window with the curtains closed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell, I just-" Why is she staring at my arms? I looked at her, then back to my arms. SHIT! My scars! "No, it's not what you think! I'm not-" I was cut off when Riley embraces me into a deep hug. She began crying again. "Maya, why didn't you tell me?" she whispered. "I didn't want you to-" "I could've helped you!" she said, angered, stepping away . Oh god. It's happening. This is the part where she's gonna get mad and tell me to kill myself. "I-" I could feel tears start to well up and cloud my vision. I began hyperventilating and my vision went blurry. "Maya?" Riley said. "MAYA!" The last thing I saw before I passed out was Riley balling.

(First Draft: 3/23/20)
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Yay we love anxiety attacks
In all seriousness, this is a forewarning for the rest of the book; there will be mentions of suic*de, self h*rm, ra*e, and abuse.
Let me know if you have chapter ideas!