Your Heart Or Your Past

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"There were times where I was so mad at Cory, there were times where I felt like screaming and giving up, ready to throw in the towel and walk away. But even in the worst time throughout our marriage, I never once wished I had gone to Yale and left him behind." Maya stared at Topanga, almost as if she didnt believe her. "Because I loved him, and he loved me. Neither one of us wanted to risk giving that up."

"Mr. Matthews, did you ever feel like you were taking her future away from her? Yale had been everything to her, but instead she chose to stay here and be with you." Maya asked.

"Your turn." Topanga said as she looked over at her husband's smiling face.

"Nope." Cory answered. Maya raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief. "I never once felt bad about it. Because I knew that we were each other's future. I knew that the love that Topanga and I had for each other wasn't a normal kind of love. I loved her so much that it was hard to breath when she wasn't around me. I still do." Topanga smiled sweetly at her husband. "And I knew that if I let her walk out that door, It would be the biggest mistake of my life."

"But how could you be so sure that things would work out between the two of you? How can you know that something like that would last? Ten-fifteen years down the road, you may not have felt that way." Maya asked them both.

"Maya, nothing in life is guaranteed. You could have something today that might not be here when tomorrow comes around. That's just the way life works." Cory told her.

"And life is too short to let things or people just walk out of your life." Topanga continued. "That's why if you know you have something special with someone now, then you need to fight for it, for both of your futures."

"If I had let Topanga walk out of my life and to Yale. We wouldn't have the life that we have today. We wouldn't have Riley or Auggie. We wouldn't have you." Cory stated. "Risking anything in life is a gamble, but sometimes its worth it."

"Maya, risking something and then failing is one thing. But not risking something at all, just because you're simply scared, that's completely different. You and Josh have something special, and I know you know that. And you know its special when he's willing to give up everything, just to be with you." Topanga and Cory both smiled at her.

"It's time to stop letting your past with your father control you, Maya. You need to start living for yourself. What is it that will make you happy?" Cory asked her.

Maya looked down at her hands and twiddled her thumbs as she soaked in everything that was being said to her. Suddenly, a white envelope came into her line of sight and was sat down in front of her on the table.

"I figured you might be ready for this now." Riley's voice said quietly. Maya looked up at her best friend with unshed tears in her eyes and smiled. She grabbed the letter and opened it up, her hands shaking.

The letter wasn't very long, but she could tell it was Josh's handwriting. She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes clear of the tears that were threatening to fall.

Dear Maya,
If you're reading this then it means that things didn't work out between us and I'm probably already half way to California by now.
It sucks, because I was really hoping that things would have turned out different between us. But I wrote down some things that I knew I couldn't get on that plane until I knew that you knew them. That you understood just how I felt about you, and how much you mean to me.
For the longest time I tried so hard to find the type of love that my brother and Topanga found in each other, and for the longest time I had looked in all the wrong places.
I never realized that the person I needed, that I would soon come to want more than anything or anyone else in the world, was right under my nose the entire time.
I fell for you, and I feel hard.
That's why, even if I'm here in California, and you're over there in New York, I will never be able to forget about you.
You may refuse to see it now, but I know that we belong together. And if it takes three years or thirty years for you to realize it, I'll wait. I'll wait as long as I need to, because you're worth it. You can go ahead and guard your heart for as long as you want, but I've already given you mine. And I hope that one day you'll be able to give me yours.
Yes, my dream was to go to California, become an FBI agent and settle down there, but none of that meant anything to me if I didn't have you by my side. My dream has always been, and always will be you. No matter what.
I love you.
Josh.

Maya felt her heart clench and her breathing speed up. He was gone. Really was gone. She brought the letter down and looked up at her best friend and her parents.

"What time did his plane leave?" Maya asked them. Cory looked at his watch.

"Actually, I think take off is at ten." He stated. Maya's head snapped up at Cory. She looked over at the clock that was hanging on the wall. It was nine thirty, she had thirty minutes.

"I have to go!" Maya exclaimed as she got up from the table, the letter laid forgotten.

"Go where?" Riley asked her, confused. Maya bit her lip.

"I got to get to the airport. I got to stop him from getting on that plane!" Maya told them.

(Que the dramatic applause and cheering. Because we extra like that.)

Topanga looked at Cory with wide eyes and Cory smiled big.

"Seriously?" Riley exclaimed excitedly. Maya nodded her head vigorously.

"I have to go!" Maya told them as she raced to the door.

"Wait! You'll never get there in time, let me drive you." Cory said as he got up and grabbed his keys from the table.

"Good luck!" Topanga called out to them as Maya, Riley and Cory all raced their way out the door.
~

The ride to the airport was more than just frustrating. Maya and Riley both were trying Josh on their cell phones as Cory practically broke every single driving law for them to get there on time.

"It's going straight to voicemail." Riley said. Maya nodded as her led bounce up and down in anticipation.

"So are mine. He must have already turned his phone off." She stated with a sigh. Cory glanced at her.

"Don't worry, Maya. I'm going to get you there." He told her. Maya bit her lip and looked out the window. Clutching her phone in her hands tightly. She wished that she had taken the letter with her, but she was in too much of a hurry to get there, watching the time slowly go by on the clock.

It was five minutes until ten when they finally got to the airport. Maya didn't even wait until the car came to a complete stop when she was out of the car and running as fast as she could into the airport.

"He's supposed to be on flight 135!" Riley called out to her through the window so Maya would know which plane she was asking about.

Maya ran into the middle of the airport, looking around frantically to see if she could see any sign of Josh. Maya started to feel worried, hoping that he hadn't already boarded the plane.

"Excuse me, I need information on flight 135!" Maya exclaimed as she came to the receptionist desk. The lady looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Sorry, hun. The doors on that flight just closed a minute ago, they should be getting ready to take off." She told her. Maya shook her head.

"No please, there's someone that's on that flight that I need to talk to. It's really important!" Maya exclaimed. The lady shook her head.

"I'm sorry. But there isn't anything I can do." The lady pointed out towards the window behind Maya's shoulder. Maya looked over and noticed one of the planes starting to move down the landing strip.

She walked over towards the window, and her heart stopped. Just as the plane was taking off into the air, Maya noticed the flight number on the side.

American Airlines
New York
Flight 135
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One more chapter left! Thanks for reading everyone!

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