Chapter fifteen,

you've reached the phone of Dewey Riley

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Amaya just walked past everyone. 'Cause all she wanted to do was just take a walk before going back inside the apartment, though she could already hear her boyfriend calling out for her name, and walking right behind her.

"Maya, wait."

Without even realizing that Ethan was attempting to follow until Mindy grabbed his shirt sleeve, "Nah - Uh. Where do you think you're going?" She raised her eyebrow at him.

"Were we not supposed to go with them? What if they began to argue to the extreme?"

Mindy scoffed at his poor excuse on going to snoop at there conversation, "Amaya and Chad never have fights. She just needs a tiny breather right now." Mindy retorted. Though, keeping the part when her brother and Amaya broke up, but after knowing the truth, it wasn't Amaya's fault.

She knew that now.

Already entering inside the building, and noticing Anika was waiting for her by the steps with a soft smile displayed on her face. It was quiet just a for a little moment, all while Anika was hugging her body, biting her bottom lip anxiously.

"Will Amaya be okay?"

Mindy nodded her head, "Yeah, she will be."

Anika simply nodded her head at her girlfriends response, "Can't believe she would do that to her. Fucking bitch." Anika bitterly commented.

Mindy nodded her head, disappearing from the staircase view with her girlfriend, all while Ethan Landry remained standing by the stairs, a smirk displayed on his lips.

Everything was going according to plan.

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"Hi, you've reached the phone of Dewey Riley, If you can't reach my number at this moment please try, again later otherwise leave a message."

Amaya already felt a few of her own tears falling from when she heard his voice. It has been a year since his death, and she somehow couldn't accept that still. She really missed her Padrino, so much. Amaya, had quickly heard the beep, sighing a bit before she could speak.

   Amaya had quietly whispered into her cellphone, sitting down in a bench from a far distance from people who can accidentally hear her phone call, "Hi, Padrino. I'm Just calling 'cause I miss you." Amaya slowly began, biting her bottom lip anxiously before continuing.

   "I thought that I would finally be getting a fresh start in life, but. . ." She had inhaled and exhaled her breath, "It's too hard when the entire world kinda knows about my assault back home, and assumes I'm a liar." She had sniffled before whispering this part, "Why'd you have to go into that damn hospital. Why'd you do it!?" She pleaded, but knew that there would be no response given back to her, 'cause he was dead.

She had placed her hands on the bench, softly soothing it before she continued speaking to him just one last time, "I'll call you later." She had quietly mumbled into the phone, it was her way of not accepting his death. So, instead of saying goodbye to him it was an 'I'll call you later'.

She had felt a glimpse of quietness with the breeze hitting her face, slightly closing her eyes and admiring this peaceful moment until she felt someone appearing from behind her, softly mumbling, "You finally found me." She had cautiously opened her eyes, and recognizing that it was her boyfriend.

   Chad simply jumped over the bench, and sat right beside her, a soft smile appearing on his face, "Hey, Maya." He had softly whispered, intertwining his hand with her hand.

   It had taken him over twenty minutes to find his girlfriend, but he simply knew that she needed some time alone for herself, it was why he was just barely making his presence to be known. He noticed the dried tears around her cheeks from her crying.

   "It's – I'm sorry if I was being a buzzkill towards the end." Amaya had said quickly to him, "Though, I'm really sorry for pushing you away earlier." She had played around with his fingers, glancing up at him.

   This constant habit of pushing people away when things suddenly get hard is her biggest enemy. It was something she had developed almost three years ago, and attempting to not push people away from her is difficult, but she's really trying her best. Maybe not enough.

   Chad had offered his girlfriend a soft smile, "It's okay. I'm not upset at you, Maya. We've spoken about the boundaries we established, and I kinda intervened when you were in that frozen state, and just wanted to help you, that I didn't realize I'd terrify you when I approached you." He had stroked her knuckles with his fingers.

A sense of physical contact with him grounded her from all the sense of emotions she was feeling at this moment. Eyes simply glancing around at all the people who were walking around from a far distance until Amaya had broken the silence.

   "Why is it so difficult to move on?" Amaya had simply began to ramble, "I thought that attending therapy would actually help with moving on, but then I leave the place, and it quickly hits me, again. I was assaulted, and them getting a slushy thrown by some random girl tonight and getting called some attention seeker, it just makes things worse." She questioned her boyfriend.

   Chad simply sighed, letting this information sink in before speaking and wanting to say this right, "The process of healing takes time, Maya. The more you speak with Dr. Bennett, it'll help you process your experience, and within time things will get better." He softly told her with a small smile appearing on his face, "And, I know it's difficult to ignore people's words, or when they throw a slushy at you, but you can't let him or anyone have this much power on you."

   Amaya had slowly nodded her head, "I know, but it's really hard to ignore people's vile words, or sometimes I see what people say about me on the internet." She had accidentally exposed that last part, closing her eyes that now her boyfriend knows.

   "Amaya, do you search for yourself on the internet?" He had received no response from her, "Amaya?" He said once more.

   Amaya had avoided eye contact with him when she had revealed this to him, "I mean sometimes, I do." She had confessed.

   "Maya. . . you shouldn't be doing that to yourself."

   "I know, but it's so hard not to look. Do you know that there's some women and men who are praising Richie for what he had done to me, and comment on how I asked for it." She had shook her head in complete astonishment, "But, that's not true. I never asked to be raped by him. Chad we could've been happy with Paloma two years ago, but– but it got ruined, and it was also partially my fault." She felt her eyes blur having no response left, moving closer to her boyfriend, and curling up beside him.

   He had instantly wrapped his arms around her, leaning his head on top of hers while he felt some of her tears landing on his sweatshirt.

   "It's not your fault, Maya." He had reassured her, "You had no fault into what happened, Maya. Do you understand that, you are not to blame for what they did." He said once more to her, simply pressing a soft kiss on top of her head.

   Amaya had simply nodded her head at his reassuring words, "I understand, but it's going to take me time to accept that this is still my reality, but I'm trying my best. Really, really hard." She had retorted.

   Chad softly smiled at her, "I know you are, but please stop searching for things that you know aren't good for your mental health. It's damaging you." He whispered.

   Amaya nodded her head at his words.

    "Can we just stay here for a bit more before going back to their apartment, I just want a moment of peace with you."

   She loved her friends, she really did, but the only time she has ever felt a moment of peace, or felt grounded back to her right head space during times like these ones were with her boyfriend. 'Cause he understood everything, and has been there for her every given of the moment. Day or night.

   "Yeah we can."

   Though, it didn't take long for them to start suddenly receiving urgent text messages to go back to the apartment by Mindy.

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𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞, hope you liked this chapter. This book will have to be split into two.