With A Snap Of His Fingers / Joshaya

Hello, niece.

Josh's POV

He woke up by the subtle light coming from the window.

He looked around. Maya was sleeping on her bed, very calm.

It seemed to Josh that everyone looked calm in their sleep. Even a girl like Maya, that was always full of fire, found her rest while sleeping.

He looked away. He slowly got up and headed to the bathroom. He looked at the mirror. His bruises were pretty bad but at least his face looked like his face again. 

When he was done he went to the kitchen. And there she was. She was sitting in a chair and staring at him. Her hands were folded on the table and her dark eyes were not letting him go.

"Riley?", he asked surprised.

Riley took a deep breath but she didn't wait another second.

"Shawn called dad last night, saying that you were sleeping at theirs. And that you were injured. I didn't believe him."

Josh just raised his eyebrows.

"I do now.", she added.

Josh took a sit beside her.

"Why didn't you believe him?", he asked, his mind running back to the fact that Shawn had seen him in Maya's  room.

Riley shrugged.

"You said once that you would let Maya go."

Josh looked down. He had said that once. Was it his first day? His second? In Cory's house, in the kitchen. He never guessed it would be this hard.

"But mostly, I'm dissapointed because of something else.", she continued.

Josh knew it was coming. He decided to let Riley finish, before starting to explain.

"You said, no, you promised  that you had nothing to do with these guys anymore.", she seemed to lose her words but it didn't last a lot, "Why did you lie to me? I could have helped you!"

"No, you couldn't!", he yelled. Then he remembered that Shawn, Katy and Maya were sleeping, so he managed to keep his voice down. "Riley these guys only stop when they want to. Since I defended that girl, all they wanted to do, was" -he gestured to his face- " this."

It started a year ago. Kathrin and he were in their favorite bar. They were talking quietly when they walked in. Seven boys, tall, muscular and exactly the type of guys your parents would warn you to avoid. They had walked up to the couple (they were a couple back then) and offered them, come on, you know, drugs. Obviously they resisted. They left. When Josh and Kathrin decided to leave too, the were waiting for them outside the door. Josh was in front so when he walked through it they waited until it was Kathrin's turn to walk through. They all attacked at once. Josh turned around quickly. He punched the guy that was holding her in the face and he fell on the floor. His friends turned to Josh. Josh had his way. He could easily avoid getting hurt by them and he attacked whenever he could. Katrhin had picked up a branch and hit a guy in the face. The two of them fought the seven guys off.

Now that he recalled it, it sounded impossible. But it did happen. Since then, every time they saw him, they tried the best to (who knows?) kill him? The last time they had found him with Andrew and four other friends of his. Josh was never the guy to show off, but they had really kicked those guys asses.

He shook his head quickly, to bring him back to reality. Riley's face was sad and dissapointment was all over it. Dissapointing Riley was always his least favorite thing. His niece was a dreamer and letting a dreamer down was something Josh hated to do. Dreamers were dreamers and if they didn't exist the world would be in a much worse position.

"If it happens again, please tell me. I can always ask Lucas to help.", she suggested.

Josh smiled at her.

"So, does the dinner still hold?", he asked, changing the subject.

"It better do! I've already found clothes for me and Maya. And Lucas is coming too, so I need to..."

She blushed and Josh laughed quietly. To look amazing.

"Wanna go?", he asked, "I don't really feel comfortable staying with Maya."

Riley smiled a little and then nodded.

"Yeah. I'll write her a note.", she said. She got up and grabbed a paper.

She quickly wrote some words with big round letters. She left it on the kitchen's table and turned to look towards Josh.

"Why really? Why is that? Why don't you feel comfortable?", she asked.

Josh shrugged. Riley wasn't blind and Josh knew it.

"You still like her.", she said with a dreamy look on her face.

"No, that's not it.", Josh rushed to explain, "I don't like her, I just know that we will never be able to be friends."

Riley smiled at him.

"You like her.", she continued
"I don't!"

"You do! And that's not a bad thing! You know why? Because she's great. She is amazing. And you are too. You deserve her. I know you do.", Riley said.

That was Riley. She believed in everyone. She believed that people could change. She believed that everyone could be good people. But that wasn't true at all. He remembered one time some years ago, when Riley and he were talking about that.

"People can change, Josh. Don't you believe that?", Riley was asking

"I do, Riley. But it doesn't make the things you did go away."

Josh returned to reality.

"She liked me. At first she did but I didn't see it. And then we tried and you saw how it ended.", he said.

"It didn't. It didn't end. If it had you could be friends right now. But you can't, the way I never felt comfortable with Lucas. And my dad was talking nonsense. Really. But there are always those people. Those people who will say "that affair is against my better judgment.". But who cares about their better judgment?! The only judgment that should count is your own."

Josh pressed his lips into a thin line. She was right. She was right, she was right, she was right. She was absolutely right.

"You can't tell anybody.", he said, shaking his head.

Riley frowned but Josh knew that she was happy that he had at least accepted the fact that she was right.

"Don't keep it a secret Josh. You already have too many of those. Open up.", she advised him.

Josh didn't expect her to understand.

"I have found a way to survive my secrets. Everyone else should find a way to survive my secrets, too. My secrets, my business."