The Age Of Seventeen

Chapter 19

M A Y A

After dinner time, Riley and I said our good nights, and I headed black upstairs to my apartment still in Riley's cozy pijamas. It smelled sweet just like Riley, which was a bonus.

"Hey, kiddo" Shawn smiles as he opens the door.

"Hey," I give a small smile. "Where's mom?"

"Mom is in our room, fast asleep," Shawn tells me as he shuts and locks the door after me. "She's pretty tired, and I'd promised I'd stay up to wait for you."

"I stopped by Riley's."

"I can see that," he chuckles at the large rainbow and unicorn printed on the oversized tee I was wearing. "Help yourself to pizza in the counter, I'm going to head to bed."

"Goodnight,"

"Goodnight." Shawn embraces me, and I take his comforting scent in. I hugged him longer than usual, and he hugged me back no questions asked or anything. I already felt better.

"I love you, Dad." I whisper into his chest.

He squeezes me a little harder. "I love you, Maya."

"Everything's going to be alright," he adds then I see him make his way to his and mom's shared bedroom.

                               ______

It was around 12 am when I heard tapping sounds in my window. They were light, but they still woke me up. I stood up from my bed, flicked on my bedside lamp, and lazily walked over to my window as I rubbed my puffy eyes. I push my black curtains aside, and see Farkle in the other side of my window. My heart leaps with joy, but my throat tightens as I remembered what happened earlier yesterday.

Before I began to close my curtains, I saw his lips trembled, and huge clouds of white coming from his parted lips. He shook as well.

I sigh, and lift the bottom glass window up, allowing him in. I helped him, and when he took my hands electricity ran though my warm hand from his much colder one. His fingers felt like ice.

"M-Maya," his lips tremble as my name escape his pale looking lips. "I've...Ive been looking a-all over...f-for y-you."

"What?" I try to keep my voice down, since my parents are sleeping across the hall. I rush over to the door, and lock the door. "Farkle explain later. We've got to get you into new clothes now."

As awkward as it sounds I helped Farkle get undressed. His fingers were numb and he flinched at the touch. I'm guessing he had spent quite some time out there looking for me. I felt bad, seeing how his pale body is covered in red patches in all different places, and he shakes even though it's pretty warm in my room. The snow hasn't ceased, it's still snowing, the temperature dropping pretty fast.

"Farkle, how much time have you spent outside?" I ask as I fumble with his belt. "You're freezing cold."

It takes him a while but he holds up three fingers. Three?

"Three hours," I say almost to myself, and he nods slowly. I begin to help him undress a little faster, realizing that he needs to get warm and he needs to get warmed up NOW.

When Farkle is left in his underwear, I look as fast I can through my closet without making much noise. I find an oversized sweater from middle school and walked over to him sliding it on. I went back to see if I could find some sweat pants, and I grab some grey ones I had. They were a few inches above Farkle's ankles so I then take two pairs of fuzzy socks, placing them both on Farkle's feet, stacking them on him. For gloves, mine don't fit Farkle since his hands are much, much bigger than mine, so I grab a third pair of fuzzy socks and place them on his hands. To top it all off, I take a fuzzy knit scarf Riley's grandma had made for me and slid it around Farkle's neck.