The Fight For Love (Joshaya)

Chapter 46

  Maya waits at the entrance of Josh's university. She checks her phone over and over again, but still no messages or calls from either Josh or Riley. She hopes that Riley doesn't chicken out on her and become a no show. 

  After several more minutes, Maya checks her phone one more time. With no notifications  on her home screen, she tucks it in her back pocket and starts walking past the main college entrance. She doesn't get very far onto the campus before hearing her best friend's voice.

  "Maya! Wait up!"

  Maya turns around to see her best friend running towards her. When she finally catches up to Maya, she pants before speaking. "I'm sorry I was so late. It was hard convincing my parents to let me go and see you."

  "You're a 15 year old girl. They should trust you."

  "And they do. But they are a lot more cautious at night."

  "Makes sense." Maya starts walking towards Josh's dorm and changes the subject. "So, are you ready to help me out?"

  Riley looks puzzled. "What am I doing?"

  Maya releases a sigh and stares straight ahead as she continues to walk. "I made Josh break up with me earlier today."

  "Oh my gosh! Maya! Why'd you do that? You loved him!"

  "I know, but he really thought I needed to talk with my mom. I did not want to talk with her. You can see where the problem is."

  "That sounds like an argument, not something break-up worthy."

  Maya stops walking and looks Riley dead in the eyes. "Well, now that I'm telling you it does sound like something pitiful to break up over." After another second to wrap her mind around that, Maya continues walking again. "Well, Josh said he doesn't want me to be stuck on some street corner, so he offered me his room to stay in even though we broke up. He also wants to try and make things work between us."

  "How do you plan on doing that? Are you going to talk with your mom?"

  Almost shouting, Maya says, "No!" She quickens her pace, not caring that she's leaving behind Riley. All she wants right now is to make it to Josh's room where she can feel safe once again.

  Riley tries to convince Maya that the best option is to talk with her mom as she's jogging along beside her. "Maya, you need to talk with your mom first. If that's why you two broke up, then nothing else will get you guys back together. You need to talk with her. If nothing else, do it for me. Do it for your best friend."

  At this point, Maya sees his dorm just twenty feet away. She starts sprinting and makes it inside the door before Riley has a chance to say anything else. Maya quickly finds Josh's room and pounds on the door. The door opens and she assumes Josh pulls her inside, shutting the door as he does.

  He tosses her towards his bed and says in a somewhat harsh tone, "Maya, you can't go pounding on my door like that. It's quiet hours. The RA could come in here and if they saw you in here, I'd be screwed."

  "I'm sorry. I just had to get away from Riley."

  Josh's eyes go wide at her name. "Riley's here?"

  "Yeah, I asked her to come."

  "Then why were you trying to get away from her?"

  "Because she's persistent in wanting me to talk with my mom. And I swear if you say anything about me needing to do that, I'm out of here and I will never speak to you again."

  He breathes out a sigh and takes a seat next to her. She leans back and relies on her elbows to hold her up. He places a hand on her knee, but she avoids doing anything about his touch; she doesn't even look at his hand or in his eyes.

  "Maya." He says her name, but he can't make himself say anything else. Instead, he props her legs up onto the bed and makes himself cozy beside her. He avoids trying to touch or cuddle with her in any way, though.

  She takes her arms out from underneath her and turns her body on her side, facing the opposite direction as Josh. As she attempts to fall asleep, all thoughts of Riley being stuck outside the dorm and the awkward tension between her and Josh keep her mind fully occupied. 

  She hasn't lost God. She still has him, and she is perfectly aware of that. She knows that he would want her to talk with her mom eventually, but she also knows he is understanding of her needing space and time before that talk happens.

  Turning over on her other side, she notices that Josh is facing away from her. She places a hand on his upper back in hopes that he'll turn around or at least say something. But no response emits from him. She takes her hands off of his back and turns herself to lie on her back. Since she can't sleep with all of her many thoughts swirling around, she may as well think through some things as she stares up at the ceiling.

  Maybe praying will help her think through and process what her next step should be. She whispers into the air, "God, what am I supposed to do? The two most important people in my life want me to talk with my mom. They haven't even considered the fact that I need time before I begin a conversation like that. Please help them to understand, Lord. And please help me not be so harsh about their advice and comfort."

  She tries to think of something else to say, but she just closes her eyes and drifts off to sleep. She doesn't stay asleep for long, though. 

  When she opens her eyes to the darkness in Josh's room, she feels warm lips leave one of her cheeks and turns to see one of the last people she expected.