A New Beginning (Adopted by Ariana Grande and Jai Brooks)

51

• Maya •

Kelsey clicks her pen, ready to write.

I take in a deep breath and then exhale, pushing away all my bad thoughts as best as possible.

"So starting from the beginning. Amelia and I were hanging out in her room and Amelia thought it would be fun to go to the park. I agreed, I mean it was a really nice day.

"So we went downstairs and Ari wasn't home at the time. Ironically she was here getting a check up. But Jai was home so we asked him and he said as long as we were home at 3 o'clock and that Amelia had her phone and would call if anything went wrong, then yes we could go. We promised Jai we'd call right away if anything happened and I promised him I wouldn't leave Amelia alone.

"So we left and we talked the whole way and then we got there and we sat on the swings and talked until Amelia whispered that she felt like we were being watched. I looked around and told her that no one was around watching us and that she was just paranoid and that I'm here to protect her.

"So we went back to talking until a few minutes later, we heard something move in the bushes. That's when we both ran at the same time and these boys in all black clothes and black ski masks started chasing us. We had no idea who they were or why they were chasing us. We kept running for a little bit, but then Amelia fell. At first, I thought she tripped. But deep inside, I feel like there's another reason."

"What do you think that reason is Maya?" Kelsey asks, writing down a few things.

"I don't know... I just... I feel like she didn't trip... or at least not on purpose..." I drift off.

I see Ariana looks worried and I feel her grip my hand a bit tighter.

Kelsey finishes writing something down and then looks back up at me.

"Okay, we'll come back to that later. Please continue." She tells me, ready to keep taking notes.

"Well once Amelia fell, I turned around and I ran over to her but the boys were already there. I remember they said something like 'oh she's down now we just have to get the blonde.' I didn't run or anything because I would never leave Amelia there like that. I just told them they weren't going to get me.

"Then Amelia was about to stand up, but the taller boy put his foot on her back and I told him to get off her and he wouldn't. Then the shorter boy grabbed my wrist and we were put into this black car. Literally put into the car. They had to lift us into the car because we were trying to get out of their grip.

"Once they got us in, I kept telling them to tell us where we're going but they wouldn't. So I decided to do what I do best. Be annoying. So after singing at my worst for a good five minutes, the shorter boy got mad and annoyed and blurted out that they were bringing us to Nash's.

"Then I noticed Amelia had her phone in her free hand and was secretly texting someone. Obviously it must've been Ari or Jai because they showed up later. But anyways, we got to the house and they once again picked us up out of the car because Amelia kept trying to run. I eventually gave up at trying to run because I knew it would only make it worse.

"Then after we were out, the driver took off and we were dragged inside. I tried to smart mouth the shorter boy and he slapped me across the face. I stood in shock and I heard Amelia going crazy because she was so mad he hit me but the taller boy just put his hand over her mouth.

"Then they dragged us down the basement where there was almost no light, but enough to see decently. As soon as we got down there, we were slammed up to a brick wall. I remember hitting my head hard and chills running through my body and feeling dizzy. I rubbed my head with the palm of my hand to make the pain go away.