Troublemaker | Station 19

25. Too Soft

"We're home," Maya quietly said as she stopped the car's engine once they had pulled up outside the apartment. Maya turned to look at Carina who was staring out the window with silent tears rolling down her face. Maya looked through the mirror in the back, Maddie was clutched up in the back seats, fast asleep with dried tear-stained cheeks. "Carina... Carina, we're home beautiful," Maya spoke to her girlfriend who was still continued to stare out the window.

"Okay," Carina spoke quietly, not unphased as she unbuckled her seatbelt to climb out of the passenger seat of Maya's car.

Maya felt helpless that she couldn't do much more to be there for her girlfriend, she looked into the back of the car again and realized that Maddie was going to be asleep for the majority of the night and it would be cruel to wake her daughter up. 

Gently coaxing the teenager into her arms, she headed up to the apartment easily with her in her arms and went to lay her in her bed.

"Mom," Maddie stirred in her sleep.

"Shh baby I'm here. Go back to sleep," Maya comforted her daughter as she gently took her shoes off.

"Where are we?" Maddie asked, half-asleep.

"We've just got home but it's pretty late so just try and sleep," Maya insisted as she tucked Maddie into bed. Maddie lay on her side and stared at her mom.

"Zio is dead..." Maddie spoke sadly, feeling the tears well up in her eyes again.

"I know he is kiddo," Maya said agreeing, she took her daughter's hand in her's and squeezed it tightly but was careful to not hurt her knuckles, which she still needed to sort out tomorrow. "But even up there he is going to be looking down and watching you, he will be watching all of us and he will be making sure that you're behaving because we all know you're a troublemaker," Maya teased which caused Maddie to giggle for the first time in a few hours, "So I need for you to now close the eyes and get some sleep because today's been a very long day and I know that you're tired," Maya said as Maddie tried to argue, "Even if you try and say you're not, I know you and you need to sleep," Maya said. Maddie pouted but nodded.

"Okay. I will sleep," Maddie spoke as a yawn escaped her mouth.

"Goodnight baby girl," Maya spoke, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her daughters head before she stood up to walk out of Maddie's bedroom.

"Mom?" Maddie spoke. Maya turned around to linger in the doorway and look at her teenage daughter.

"Yeah, kiddo?" Maya wondered.

"Can you tell Carina that I said goodnight and I love her," Maddie said with a yawn. Maya smiled and nodded.

"Of course I can. Night princess," Maya said, blowing a kiss before exiting the teenagers' bedroom.

Maya sighed before she headed towards her own bedroom to find Carina lay on the bed, still awake with tears rolling down her cheeks. Slowly getting ready for bed, she slipped the covers back and climbed into bed beside Carina who had yet to make a move.

"Maddie's just woken up, she told me to tell you that she said goodnight and that she loves you," Maya told her girlfriend.

"Mm," Carina said, nodding a little. Maya sighed and felt helpless, all that she wanted to do was wrap her arms around her girlfriend and comfort her but something told her that Carina wasn't going to allow her to do that. Maya went to hug her girlfriend but Carina turned away. "No, too soft," she denied the comfort.

It wasn't even a full five hours since they had been home and Maddie woke up in her bed, until that second when she woke up, she forgot that her beloved Zio Andrea was dead, that she would never get the opportunity to see him again.