The Fight For Love (Joshaya)

Chapter 41

  Maya sits on the bay window and holds one of her best friend's hands; she watches Josh grab Riley's other hand and he presses it to his lips. He says in a soothing tone, "My sweet sweet niece, you are so incredibly precious. You know one guy could never change that, right?"

  Looking at her shoes, Riley slowly nods. She hasn't said a word since Josh entered the room. Maya had decided to call him because he knows more about the spiritual things than she does, and she recognized that the situation was in dire need of it.

  Josh continues, "Niece, you are amazing. But guess what, I'm not the only one that thinks that. Maya thinks that as well. Your parents think that. Your brother thinks that. Your friends at school think that."

  That's when Riley puts a dent into Josh's compilation for encouragement. She asks, "What friends? I have Maya, and I couldn't even keep her. I ended up being a douche and wanted her gone. I don't know what was wrong with me, getting rid of the only thing I had."

  Josh squeezes Riley's hand and touches her shoulder. "Hey, Riley, Maya was not the only thing you had. And I know you have more friends than Maya."

  Maya then cuts into what Josh is trying to get at: "Josh, you don't go to school with her. You aren't her best friend. I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to say that everybody loves Riley, but she really doesn't have any other friends. She has me; that's it. Well, and Farkle on occasion." After correcting Josh, Maya turns her attention to Riley. "But Riles, even though you did push me away at one point, I came back and you came back. We're still best friends. We still have each other. Aren't you happy about that?"

  Riley only shakes her head and lets a few tears spill from her eyes. Breaking off the grips on both of her hands, she uses them to sob into.

  Maya takes the hand that was holding Riley's hand and uses it to rub Riley's back instead.

  Staring at the wall in front of him, Josh takes a deep breath before saying, "Riley, can you tell me a little bit about this guy? How do you know him?"

  Her sobs subside and a slight smile appears on her face. "His name is Connell. He is so cute. We met during that period when Maya and I weren't best friends. We got to talking, but I told him I wasn't interested in dating him since I had feelings for Maya. For some reason, he was super attracted to me because of this. So he kept pursuing me, but I kept telling him we would only be friends. However, when Maya and I became best friends again, I started gaining feelings for him. I mean, we were spending so much time together and after praying and getting my life right with God again, I didn't have any more feelings for Maya. So as my feelings for Connell progressed, we ended up..."

  At that point, Riley presses her hands onto her face again and releases all of her sobs. Maya keeps on rubbing her back and lays her head against her friend's shoulder. She says, "It's going to be okay. You don't have to tell us if you don't want to. That's between you and God."

  Still sobbing, she manages to utter a few words, "Josh, I would like to speak with just Maya."

  "Alright," Josh says and glances at Maya. "Just let me know if you need anything, Maya."

  "I will," Maya assures him.

  After Josh exits the room, Riley sits up in the window seat, which causes Maya to sit up as well. Before either of the girls say anything, they just sit in silence and have time to think about situations and how God fit into all of them.

  Riley looks into Maya's eyes, "You are my best friend. Thank you for staying here with me. I really appreciate you."

  "Riles, I appreciate you more than you will ever realize." Maya meant it. She thinks back to when she didn't have Riley in her life. She only had Josh in her life and whatever Carla was trying to get at with her. She wonders what would've happened if Riley hadn't wanted Maya back, and she had became best friends with Carla; the only thing running through her mind with that is D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R--disaster.

  "Maya," Riley whimpers. "I know you're a Christian and everything now..." Her voice trails off.

  Maya places a hand on Riley's knee. "Nothing you've done, nothing you could say would ever make me think of you any differently. I promise."

  Riley bites her lip, "Okay. Well, I'm not a virgin."

  Closing her eyes, Maya nods. She recalls when she almost gave up her virginity to someone she barely knew; how glad she was knowing that she didn't end up giving her something precious. She looks back at Riley and says, "You remember when I told you that I cheated on Josh? Riley, I frickin' made out with that guy and almost got naked in front of him. There are times when I still beat myself up about that. You have nothing to be ashamed about. At least you and Connell were friends when you had sex. I couldn't even say that about this guy."

  "I'm sorry, peaches," Riley places a hand on Maya's knee.

  Maya looks down at her friend's hand and allows one of her tears to fall onto it. She removes her hand from Riley's knee and places it on top of Riley's hand. She tells her, "I'm going to pray. For both of us." After seeing Riley nod from her peripheral vision, she begins, "God, my God, my bestie and I are such screw-ups. But you don't see that. You don't see our mistakes. Because we have you, you only see your son. We are clothed in righteousness. You only see him in us. That is so amazing. Let us always remember that. And let us always remember that no matter who in this world loves us, you always love us. Thank you for that. We love you so much. Amen."

  The two girls let go of each other's hands and look into the eyes of the other one. They smile at one another before Maya rests her head against Riley's shoulder, and Riley rests her head against Maya's head. Prayer really does do wonders.