accidentally meeting you [rilaya au]

13

waking up the next morning was hard for the two girls, but it was much harder for riley. she was never the one to do anything like that or even think about doing that, but she felt safe enough around maya to try it at least once. if anyone were to look at them, they would be able to tell who did this as a part of their weekly routine.
maya and riley seemed to wake up simultaneously, but maya was the first one to sit up. she rubbed her forehead, inhaling sharply. riley laid with her eyes barely open, watching as maya massaged her head.
"you okay?"
"yeah, i would blame it on a hangover, but we didn't even have that much to drink. i have too heavy of a tolerance to get a hangover from a few drinks. are you?"
riley nodded softly. "yeah, so far. i haven't sat up yet so maybe i'll be able to tell then." as her sentence finished, riley slowly pushed herself up. "i was right. i feel like shit."
maya snickered, rubbing the top of the brunette's head softly. "maybe topanga will let us stay home today and maybe go hang out?"
   riley looked over at maya with a confused look on her face. "i'd sure hope so. it's saturday."
   "wow! i can't believe myself. i really forgot that it was saturday."
   "yeah," riley replied, pointing to her alarm clock. "that's why that thing says it's 9:56. we would have been extremely late which could never happen because mom would wake us up."
   maya just shrugged. "not used to waking up on time for anything. don't blame me."
—————
   riley pulled her phone out of her back pocket, going into her favourites and quickly tapping on maya's contact. she had been searching for maya for about 15 minutes, and she was starting to get worried. the girl's had gone to two different stores within the mall, and now they couldn't find each other. riley knew deep down that she shouldn't have separated from maya, but maya insisted. now here they were.
   the phone rang.
   straight to voicemail.
   riley tried calling again.
   straight to voicemail.
   "fuck," the brunette muttered under her breath.
   she didn't know what to do. she didn't want to bother her mother while she was working, but she knew that, no matter what, she would help her and maya. of course she would because of her daughter loved someone, she loved them. it was a bit different when it came to maya. it seemed she loved maya like she was her own daughter. she spent hundreds of dollars on clothes and shoes for the girl. she made sure she was fed constantly as if she wanted to fatten her up for a thanksgiving dinner. she offered to become maya's guardian if the relationship between riley and maya didn't sail. it was sweet. maya really needed a mother, and topanga was taking the role. knowing this, riley dialled her mother's number.
   "hello? are you okay?" muttered topanga through the phone.
   "mama, i'm really sorry to bother you at work, but maya isn't answering me. i haven't seen her in almost an hour. she had gone to the store across from the one i went into, and then she disappeared. this is really out of character. her phone went straight to voicemail. i know that there is a possibility that i'm overthinking, but i'm scared. i know she's got enemies, and maybe her dad started looking for her and somehow knew she was here. whatever it might be is unsettling," riley babbled, her voice shaking and cracking as she held back tears.
   "give me twenty minutes, okay? i'll talk to dad and see if he's seen her around the school today. i just need to get my things together, and i'll come get you. if dad offers you a ride, say i'm coming. he should know. it'll be okay. we will find her. just search around the area. i'll call you when i'm close."
   riley let out a sigh of relief. "okay."
   "and honey?"
   "yes, mom?"
   "i love you."
   riley smiled. "i love you, too, mom. bye. i'll see you soon."
—————
   topanga had already called riley, telling her that she was five minutes away. riley had to have called maya over thirty times in those twenty minutes. she was on her way back from the empty lot that had been next to her school. she knew she would have no luck looking there, but she thought that the shouts of the girl's name would echo and allow for maya to hear them and come back.
   riley's worry flooded over all of her other thoughts as it began to make her physically sick. she couldn't get the thought that maya was kidnapped by someone who was out to get her out of her head. it seem like a plausible explanation to the girl's disappearance.
   a honk came from a car, snapping riley out of her thoughts as she looked over to see who honked. it was her mother.
   topanga called out, "riley! come on!"
   riley quickly turned around, changing her direction as she jogged to the car. she swung open the passenger door as she collapsed into the leather seat. the worried in her mother's eyes was a perfect reflection of the distress and apprehension that riley had felt. being in this car unleashed the emotions building up inside. her hands were compressed against her face as she began to weep. she was shattered into a million pieces. she couldn't allow herself to lose maya. she had to find her, and as dramatic as it sounded, riley would find her girl even if was the last thing she did.
   topanga had one hand on the wheel and the other upon her daughter's back, rubbing circles into it with her thumb empathetically. "where do you want to go first?"
   "her father's," riley said flatly, looking out the windshield through her trembling fingers. "he has to know something."