Variables | Joshaya ✔︎

Panic

𝕛𝕠𝕤𝕙

I start to freak out as I quickly open my laptop to check the time; 10pm. Okay, this isn't good. Nothing's open right now. I am now fully and utterly panicking as I run and grab my phone from charging on my bedside table and going into my contacts, trying to think of who I can call.

I decide that I should at least try to call Maya. I press her name and press call, and it goes straight to voicemail. Shit.

I panic and call the first person I can think of on the spot, Cory.

Ring.

Good sign, right? Right?

Ring.

Ring.

"Hello?" says a grumbly voice. I woke him up.

"Ma brotha," I breathe out, and I hear the rustling of his covers, so I'm guessing he just sat up. My thoughts prove correct when I hear a door close.

"Josh? What's wrong? Is everything okay?" he asks.

"Not really, did Topanga tell you about my situation at the moment?" I ask.

"Yeah, you're living with Maya to help her out, right?" he clarifies, and I nod, but then remember that he can't see me.

"Yeah," I say.

"What about it?" he presses, and I stay silent.

"Josh...." he says, "I know you. You wouldn't call at 10 o'clock at night if you weren't having at least a mini panic attack, so something's up."

I breathe out, "Maya's gone."

"What?!" he says, a little louder than he wanted to, so he then whispers, "What?"

"Well, I had Maya go to bed early, since she's had a long week, and she was excited for tomorrow. I just put the kids to bed, and when I closed their door, I realize that Maya's door is now open, so I went to her door frame and she wasn't in her room anymore," I start, nerves filling me more by the second, "I went into the main area to find her and the door to the apartment was open."

"Oh god," he breathes out, "I'll get Riley."

"Are you sure? You know her, she hates to be woken up," I point up.

"True, but remember, she still has that half of her that's Topanga; She'll kill me if she finds out what's going on and realizes that I knew and didn't wake her up," he replies.

"Okay, you win; Wake her up, but keep me on the line, you're probably the only thing right now that is keeping me from freaking out entirely," I admit honestly.

"Okay Josh, just stay calm, control your breathing," he says, and I does as he says, focusing on my breathing patterns to make sure that I don't freak out. I hear a door open, and I figure that Cory just went into Riley's room.

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𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕪

"Riley," I whisper, gently shaking her with my free hand, my other one holding my phone.

She groans and stretches, "What?"

"It's Maya, Riley," I say, making her immediately stop rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and shoot up.

"What happened?" she asks.

"Josh? I have Riley," I say, putting my phone up to my ear. Riley looks at me with a confused look on her face, but then she understands and nods to show me.