skinny love- rilaya

the confrontation

I run faster than I've ever run before, back to Lucas's house. I know Riley doesn't want me to get involved, but how can I not? He hurt my girl and I can't just step back and accept that.

When I reach Lucas's apartment building, my body is practically shaking from pure rage. I've never been one for physical confrontation, but there's always exceptions. This is one of them. I storm up the stairs and stop in front of his door.

Regaining my composure, I knock on the door but move out of the way so that he can't see me through the peep hole, because if he knows it's me I doubt he'll open up.

A few seconds later the door swings open, and before he can even react I step out from the side, pushing his chest and making him move backwards into the apartment. I kick the door shut with my foot and then push him up against the wall. He's a whole head taller than me but when it comes to protecting Riley, I can't be stopped.

"Maya?! What the hell are you doing here?!" Lucas shouts, as I grip his t-shirt, keeping him pinned against the wall. He hasn't really done much to fight back yet but I don't loosen my grip, in fear that he'll retaliate as soon as I let my guard down.

"What, you thought you could hurt my best friend like that and just get away with it?" i snarl, but it just makes him laugh. I try not to let it get to me but I'm slightly offended that he isn't taking me seriously.

"You thought I couldn't?" With one swift movement he flips us around, so that I'm up against the wall and he has my arms pinned up
above me. Completely infuriated now, I spit in his face, causing him to scoff, but not let go of me. This is a side of him I've never witnessed before, but not one that surprises me in the slightest. I'd heard some stories about him from back when he lived in Texas, and what I could gather about him from other's accounts assured me that he wasn't the good guy he wanted everyone to think he was.

"I knew you couldn't."

I'm not saying I'm a professional MMA
fighter, but what I do next I'm pretty proud of. The way he's holding me makes me unable to move my arms, so instead I make use of my legs and knee him in the groin , causing him to howl in pain and stumble backwards.

I step away from the wall and walk over to him as he sinks to his knees, and I'm feeling pretty accomplished. I've made this tough boy cry for his mommy in a matter of seconds.

Standing over him, I cross my arms over my chest. My tone is dead serious as I explain how this is going to go down. "If you wanna be able to have children in the future, you stay away from Riley. Don't touch her, don't talk to her, don't even look at her. You got that?" I growl, as he slowly begins to pick himself up off the floor.

He nods, but he can't even look at me. "Just get out." His voice cracks, and I can tell it's because he's absolutely humiliated that he's been beat by a girl.

With a sense of deep pride I start heading towards the door, not even noticing that Lucas is following behind me. As I'm nearing the door  he pushes me, hard, and my head smacks against the door frame.

Stumbling backward, my vision blurs for a moment, and I have to blink repeatedly before it clears. My head is literally throbbing from the bruises I already know are starting to form, but that's not my main concern.

I try not to let my emotions get the best of me. I try not to let this side of me come out because I know it's not good for anyone, but at this point.. There's no holding me back.

I run over to him, basically tackling him to the ground, repeatedly punching him square in the face.

I may be little, but I know how to fight.

He takes about 10 more blows before I can control myself enough to stop.

My hands shaking, I look down. Lucas isn't unconscious, but clearly too hurt to move, his face badly bruised and bloody already. I'm not so proud of myself anymore, but when me or my friends are in danger, I'm going to do whatever I can to protect them.

"Don't mess with me or Riley ever again." I warn, picking myself up off the ground. He just groans in response, and that seems good enough for me.
Slowly, I head towards the door and out of the apartment building. I stuff my hands in my pockets for the walk home, to hide the blood. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea.

I know I should be going to Riley's house because I'm sure she's worried sick, but I don't have the heart to face her. I know she'll be disappointed in me, she hates violence. What she doesn't understand is some things can't be solved with a hug. People like Lucas deal with things their own way, and if I had to give into his little game then so be it.

My knees are wobbly as the cold wind hits my face and I trudge up the steps to my apartment.  Blood keeps trickling from my nose, so every so often I have to wipe it away, and now my sleeves are stained red. Sighing, I reach into my pocket to grab the key, fumbling with it in the key hole until the door swings open.

As soon as I walk in the front door, a familiar voice worriedly calls my name. At first I think it's my mom, but that wouldn't make sense because she's working late tonight, and she doesn't really care enough to worry about me.

Of course, it isn't my mother. It's Riley. And I should have been expecting this, because she has a key to my place.

"Maya." She whispers, and I quickly wipe the blood from my nose again, wincing at how much it hurts just from a gentle touch.

"Riles, I'm fine." I assure her before she can freak out. Of course she's not having any of that, though.

She just sighs, and luckily she doesn't ask exactly what happened with Lucas. I don't want to talk about it right now.

"Let's get you cleaned up, peaches." She murmurs, walking over to me. She intertwines our fingers and then leads me to the kitchen, where all our medical supplies are located.

I stay silent as she directs me to hop up on the counter, most likely because I'm so much shorter than her and me being higher up will get us closer to eye-to-eye.

I climb up, sitting on the edge as I watch her gather up anything she can find. Walking over with her make-shift first aid kit, she sets it down and then stands between my thighs, our faces just inches apart.

She examines my injuries closely, and then tells them to me. Black eye, bloody nose. Could be worse. Lucas definitely has it worse.

"Thank you." She says out of nowhere, as she begins cleaning the blood off of my face. I'm confused, because I thought she would be furious that I resorted to violence.

I furrow my eyebrows, watching her closely. "But," I start, and she immediately cuts me off, already knowing what I'm about to say.

"I don't like violence Maya, but I know you just wanted to protect me. And I think violence is the only way Lucas knows." She whispers, as she wipes the dried blood off my chin. I reach for her hand, grabbing it and holding it tightly.

"Lucas is never going to hurt you again, okay?"

We're standing so close I can feel her warm breath against my skin. She just stands there, one of her hands on my thigh, the other in mine.

"Riles?" I ask since she hasn't responded, and all of a sudden she's leaning in, crashing her lips onto mine.

And all of my thoughts or worries are washed away.

Her lips move in perfect sync with mine, as I snake my arms around her neck, pulling her body closer. This time she doesn't pull away.

This time it feels real.