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AMAYA

15 Years Old

S ammy sighs again. It's getting on my nerves. I don't know what his dang problem is. I just want to be left alone. It's not my fault he dragged me to his house and demanded we have our usual biweekly friend date.

We do the same thing every time; he makes us nonalcoholic margaritas and we sit by the fire in his parents’ living room, catching up on the days in between Sam and Maya time.

I'm not sure when we started doing this, but these are nights I treasure. It's a constant, and one I've avoided since Nana died. Nothing is the same anymore, so why should the world keep moving?

I didn't want to come tonight, knowing that each friend date with Sammy is just another way to prove time is passing me by. The world is moving on, but I… I'm stuck and I don't want to fix it. I want to stay in my space where all I can think about is my nana, even if it hurts.

Staring into the flames, I can still picture her face and mischievous smile. She was a force to be reckoned with. Who will be the cheerleader and champion in my corner now?

"Here."

I jolt, not having noticed Sammy moving to sit closer to me. His eyes are concentrated on my lap, so I follow his gaze and find his arm stretched over me.

"Sam!" I hiss. "What are you doing?" Oh my hell, his dads are going to kill him if they find out he stole tequila from their cabinets.

"Shush," he huffs and screws the cap back on after making our margaritas real ones. Dumbfounded, I watch him nudge the bottle under the couch and lean back without a care in the world.

"You're gonna get us in trouble!"

He gives me a bored look and takes a sip of his drink. Mine weighs heavily in my lap, a temptation I don't know if I should give in to. "The one who’s going to get us in trouble is you if you keep talking about it."

My lips purse with a comeback on my tongue, but I bite it back and bring my glass to my mouth instead. Gingerly, I take a sip and my eyes widen. "That's so much better," I whisper in awe.

Sammy smirks, making my cheeks heat. "Happy to be of service," he teases, clinking his beverage against mine.

We drink silently and slowly together and soon I feel a little extra warm. My butt feels like it's pressing into the couch a bit more and I finally relax into my time with my friend. The silence allows me to think, and I don't find myself thinking of Nana. No, I'm wondering about the boy next to me.

"Sam," I murmur, pulling my legs up on the couch and curling toward him. He hums without looking at me. "Why did you do that?" I ask, gesturing to the margarita.

He shrugs. "You needed some adventure."

"What?" What's that supposed to mean? "You could get into trouble for this!"

Finally, he looks at me with a serious glint in his eye surrounded by a warmth he rarely allows others to see. "It would be worth it. For months I've hardly seen any emotion beyond your pain, Petal. I'll gladly be grounded just to see your eyes widen in wonder and excitement over a splash of tequila in your drink."

Tears burn my eyes for the millionth time this year, but this time it's an overflow of appreciation and love for my friend. He would get in trouble for me just to battle the pain festering in my soul for a moment.

"And, Maya?"

"Yeah?" I whisper, peeking over at him again.

"I will always be in your corner. No matter what you need, Petal, you can count on me."

The damn breaks, my meager wall of numbness splintering into pieces as emotion crashes through on a watery sob. Unable to hold myself up, I collapse against his side and press my forehead into his bicep. Heat on the crown of my head soothes me, then Sammy drops a kiss on my hair.

"Anything, forever and always."

I soak in his words, allowing his declaration to give me strength and support. I know I can't do this on my own and I need to remember that I don't have to. Silence stretches on with me leaning against him, the crackle of the fire our background noise with a frequent sniffle from my tingling nose.

"Sammy," I whisper. “Can I have more tequila?"

He snorts, shifting around until his arm around is around my shoulder and my face rests on his chest. "No, you delinquent. I'm not getting you drunk, so you'll just have to settle for cuddles."

I sigh, but not out of disappointment. Snuggling into him further, I rest my eyes and give him the weight of my sorrow.

My warrior .

My sweet, thoughtful, protective warrior.