Maya's Hart

Chapter 45

Maya's POV:

I was worried about Riley, very worried. I had no idea what to do with her. She refused to eat. She would only drink a few sips of water everyday. Why did I let the guy run away with the bag? Why did I drag Riley into this running away mess? She actually had a sweet family that cared about her, why would she run away from that?

I decided not to steal for the next couple days. If I kept stealing everyday, then people would start being more and more protective. Plus, if Riley could go this long without food, so could I.

I stayed with Riley today. It was hard seeing her thin, empty body, sleep all day. She was always shaking, sometimes she twitched. She wheezed in every breath. I hated seeing her like this. She looked so helpless.

After she woke up, I forced her to gulp down at least half a bottle of water. She barely cooperated. She tried not to gulp it down. I forced her, tears streaming down my face.

After an hour, she looked somewhat better. She was able to walk a little (with support). But she still denied food. She always complained about stomach and head aches.

We sat outside near a small pond. I wanted her to have a little fun. I teased her a little. She smiled and carefully pushes me into the pond.

"Oh my god! This is fucking freezing." I shout.

"Maybe you should've thought about that before you teased me!" She giggles.

"Oh yeah?" I grab her leg and pull her in. She shook like crazy and quickly crawled out.

"Don't do that..." She got up and slowly limped back to the house. I watched sadly, still in the lake. Hey, at least she walked, right?
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Topanga's POV:

Weeks passed by after the call. I grew more and more depressed again. I always had to force myself to go to work. Everyone would grow quiet when I walked in. I always looked as if I've been crying all night and got no sleep (because I did).

You'd expect my boss to at least act sympathetic, right? Well no, my boss was the opposite of sympathetic. He never said "Oh Topanga, I wish you good luck with your kid's case." Or "I know you've been feeling down lately, why don't you take a day off?"

Nobody at work would even talk to me. They just sadly stared at me. The only thing my boss would say to me was "Oh suck it up Topanga it's just one damn kid!"

Things at home weren't any better. Auggie had completely stopped talking. He always had a frown on his face. Cory would try to comfort me, but he should really comfort himself first. No one in the house was ever happy. Riley was basically our happiness, and now it's gone.

I just hoped Riley was still happy herself.