Chapter Forty-Five
Riley Matthews
*Start playing "If I Lose Myself" by OneRepublic. Lyric vid of song is above*
I watched as sunlight slowly began to leak through the curtains that covered up the window, concealing Maya's and my hotel room from the rest of the world. I turned my head back around and began to sit up in the comfortable king bed that my girlfriend and I were currently laying in. I glanced over to the alarm clock which was sitting on the nightstand that was next to the edge of my bed. It was only 6:42 in the morning. I like to get up early in the morning, but considering the fact that I went to bed late last night, this is just way too early for me to be up. But instead of going back to sleep, I turned my head back around to see the large window behind our bed. I poke my head through the curtains to see the gorgeous yellow, orange, pink, and blue sunset.
I stared up at the sun
It has been two days since we left Venice, Italy and left for Paris, France. It was now Monday, April 25th. Last night, I could not sleep. I was too excited, thinking about how we were going to see the Eiffel Tower today. Our beautiful hotel was just twenty minutes away from it. We are going to leave at 11:30 since our tour is at 12:00 and we don't want to be late if there is traffic.
I removed my head from the window and looked at my precious Sleeping Beauty, Maya. I smiled. She looked so cute and peaceful as she slept.
I stared up just to see
Of all other faces, you are the one next to me
She looked absolutely gorgeous— more stunning than the sunrise that's right outside our window. Looking at her, knowing that she's mine and that she will always be there made me feel better. Not only was I excited to see the Eiffel Tower, but nervous. We were going to take an elevator ride up to the top and I'm afraid of heights. Now, I know that sounds silly coming from me, the girl who went to Europa Park, one of the largest theme parks in Europe, but rollercoasters are different. I'm scared more about how rollercoasters will make me feel than the height of them. If I am strapped into a harness, then I know that I will not fall and plunge a 100,000 feet downward.
I finally laid back down and close my eyes, trying to fall asleep. Unfortunately, there was not enough darkness to make me feel sleepy.
You can feel the light start to tremble
I sat straight up again and looked over at Maya.
"Peaches?" I whispered as I carefully poked her arm.
"Mmm?" She mumbled, half-asleep-half-awake.
"I can't sleep."
Maya did a huge stretch as she let out a huge yawn. She rolled over on her side so that she was facing me. She urged her eyes. However, when she finally opened them, I noticed that she was not looking at me; she was looking at the alarm clock.
"Riley, it's 6:49 in the morning!" Maya scolded, "Why are you telling me this just now?"
"B-because I didn't w-wanna bother y-you..."
Maya's eyes suddenly softened as she put her hand underneath my chin. "Oh, Riles, you could never bother me. Now tell me: why can't you sleep?"
"B-because the window..."
"The window?" Maya repeated, suddenly sitting up and turning around.
You can see your life out of the window, tonight
"Well, I get that the sunlight is quite bright, but how come you couldn't fall asleep last night while it was still dark?" Maya questioned, turning back around to face me.
"Because I'm excited," I answered truthfully.
"Excited to see the Eiffel Tower today?"
I nodded.
Maya smiled. "I am too, Pumpkin!"
I let out a sigh as I lowered my head. "But I'm also nervous."
Maya moved over closer towards me so that she could wrap her arm around my shoulder. "Aw, how come, Honey?"
"Because I'm afraid of heights."
Maya gave me a confused look. "But, Honey, you went on all of those rollercoasters."
"Yeah, but with rollercoasters, it's not the height I'm afraid of; it's the feeling of now knowing how it will make me feel or if I will like the ride or not. As long as I have a harness, the height doesn't matter because I know that I won't be able to fall out. I mean, what if I accidentally fall out of the Eiffel Tower? Or what if the elevator breaks?"
Maya removed her arm from my shoulder, then placed her hand underneath my chin, bringing my eyes up to hers. "I'm sure that there will be many thick, glass windows and tall, strong rails to make sure that there is no way that you could possibly fall of off it. As for the elevators, since the Eiffel towers gets a myriad of visitors per day, I'm sure that they do maintenance on them a lot to make sure that they are safe to ride. And if it does break down, I will be right at your side to keep you in check and make sure that you won't freak out. All we would have do is remain calm and press the emergency button. I am sure that someone would be able to get us out."
If I lose myself tonight
It'll be you and I
Lose myself tonight
I giggled. I felt a sense of relief throughout my body. I gave Maya a peck on the lips. A rosy-red color appeared within her cheeks.
"Thanks, Peaches," I told my girlfriend.
Maya just smiled and moved her hand from my chin to my own hand. She gave it a tight squeeze as our fingers intertwined.
"You have nothing to worry about, Riley," Maya assured me, "Now, about we get in a few hours of sleep before we actually have to get up?"
I nodded my head in agreement. Maya and I sank back down in our comfy bed and pulled the covers back over ourselves. Maya grabbed my sides and pulled me over closer to her. I smiled as I snuggled my head into her chest. Maya just giggled as she bent down to kiss my forehead. She then began to stroke my silky, brown hair. Before I knew it, I began to drift off to the sound of Maya's comforting heartbeat.
"BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!!!" The sound of the alarm clock went, awakening Maya and me from our slumber. My eyes slowly fluttered open to see that our hotel room was now even brighter than it was before. That's when I realized something: Maya wasn't in bed with me. She was now at the side of the bed, dragging the curtains apart.
I woke up with the sun
Thought of all other people, places and things I've loved
"Riley, it's 10:00 in the morning now," Maya announced, "Are you ready to get ready for our big day in the Eiffel Tower?"
Groggily, but yet excitedly, I nodded my head. Maya leaned down to give me a short kiss on the lips, which caused me to smile.
I woke up just to see
Of all other faces you were the one next to me
With that being said, Maya and I started to get ready.
"Are you guys excited?" Auggie asked, "Because I know I am!"
It was now 11:30 in the morning. Mom, Dad, Auggie, Farkle, Lucas, Zay, Maya, and I were standing outside of the hotel, waiting for a taxi to come pick us all up and take us to the Eiffel Tower. I noticed how beautiful it was outside. It was a very sunny day.
You can feel the light start to tremble
"Yeah!" Mom, Dad, Zay, Maya, Farkle, Lucas, and I replied in unison.
Before we knew it, a large, red taxi van pulled up to the curb. The seven of us all climbed into it.
Washing what you know out the sea yeah
As the taxi took off, I nervously stared out the window and into the beautiful city of Paris.
You can see your life out of the window, tonight
Maya, who was sitting right next to me, automatically knew that something was wrong.
"Nervous again?" She whispered.
If I lose myself tonight
I nodded. Maya reached out for my hand and gave it a squeeze.
It'll be by your side
"Just remember, it's going to be ok," she comforted me, "I'll be right here at your side the whole time."
I smiled as I laid my head on Maya's shoulder. She proceeded to lay hers on mine.
If I lose myself tonight (whoa, whoa, whoa)
Twenty minutes later, we arrived at the Eiffel Tower. It was so beautiful, yet terrifying. It's architectural structure was amazing, but the height of it frightened me. Last night, on Google, I found out that it is 984 feet tall...
"Whoa, look at that," Zay gasped as he gazed up at the gorgeous tower.
I felt butterflies of anxiety and apprehensiveness dancing around in my delicate stomach.
If I lose myself tonight
"Yeah, look at that...," I gulped.
I felt a hand grab onto mine. I looked up to see Maya. I smiled.
It'll be you and I
"I can't wait to go up there!" Farkle exclaimed.
"Yeah, this is gonna be so great!" Lucas cheered.
"Yeah...," I pretended to agree
Lose myself tonight (whoa)
Before we knew it, our tour guide was here. There were about twenty other people who were a part of our tour group. The tour guide led us to the elevator, which was quite large.
Take us down and we keep trying
The elevator was made out of mostly glass. I gulped as the doors shut.
40, 000 feet keep flying
The tour guide pressed a button on the metal side panel of the elevator. The elevator began to go up.
Take us down and we keep trying
I started to panic. I was in the middle of the elevator, so all of the side handles were out of my reach. I closed my eyes.
40, 000 feet keep flying
Suddenly, I felt a hand grab mine. I opened my eyes to see Maya.
Take us down and we keep trying
"It's ok, Riley, I'm here," she cooed, "I got you."
I felt a sense of sudden relief. I smiled as I squeezed her hand.
40, 000 feet keep flying
I finally got the guts to look out of the glass walls of the elevator. To my surprise, the view was quite nice.
Take us down and we keep trying
As the elevator went up, I could see the people on the lower floors waving at us. The houses and building became smaller and smaller. A river came into view. I watched as boats floated across it.
40, 000 feet keep flying
Before we knew it, the elevator came to a halt. The elevator doors separated from one another. In different languages, the tour guide started to tell us that it was time to get off.
Lose myself
I walked off of the elevator with a sense of pride. I did it; I was on the top of the Eiffel Tower.
If I lose myself tonight
I started to walk towards a white telescope that was right next to the glass walls of the top level of the tower. I closed one eye and placed the other near the looking hole of the telescope. The view that I got was quite amazing.
Hoo hoo ooh
Suddenly, I felt someone wrap their arms around my waist. I turned around to see Maya. I embraced her in a hug, and of course, she hugged me back. I then gave her a passionate kiss.
"What was that for, my love?" Maya giggled.
"For reminding me that I have nothing to be afraid of," I responded.
Hoo hoo ooh
A/N: Hey, guys! I'm finally back from vacation! 😀 I had a nice time, but it's nice to be back in the comfort of my own home! 😀 Anyways, how did you guys enjoy this chapter? And did any of you watch Girl Meets Bear last Friday? I kind of forgot that there was going to be a new episode of GMW and didn't remember until later on that night, so I just watched it Saturday morning On Demand. I was busy that day(I think), so that's probably why I forgot. I'm not going to give anything away, but it was a decent episode. It wasn't one of my favorite episodes, but I really, really liked the ending. 😃 I also wanted to announce that this book only has around 4-6 chapters left. Now, I haven't written the future chapters yet, so I could wrong. It definitely won't be any less than that, but there could be more chapters left, but not that much more. Yes, I am going to be very sad when this book is done, but I have another Rilaya book that is a work in progress. I will reveal details about the book(I.e. Title, description, release date, ect.) once I have written more chapters of it. Also, I am planning on releasing a Halloween-themed book(not GMW or any other type of fanfiction related) in October, so stay tuned to hear more about that too.
Anyways, enjoy the rest of your night/day, guys! 🤗🤗🤗🤗
-C77