#emma-wrote

[writingmilo]

A Beginning’s End

stage 9

@honestlyitsjustkennaswriting, @goldenoceanarps, @thelunarmasquerade, @phoenix-risen87, @samariah-keeper, @jackandmarksavedme88, @theluckoftheclaws, @bitchschnitzel

The room had been prepared, and the three had told Chase and Jamie what was happening. Together, they decided that it would be done tomorrow. Overnight, Anti had been watching over Maya as she slept, listening in to the conversation that was happening downstairs. When he heard that they were going to put her in a coma, not only was he furious, but amused. They thought that they could beat him that easily? A simple coma and he would let go. No, he wanted Maya, and he was not planning on letting her go without a fight. When she woke up, it was late morning, two hours before they were planning on putting her in the coma. It took a minute for Anti to tell her, and after that, he comforted the distraught child, weaving strings of their hatred through her mind. "It's okay Stray, I'll protect you, I won't let them hurt you." He pet her hair, letting her cry into his chest. It was getting close to the time; in less than half an hour they would be here. "I can help you Stray. If you want me to?" Tentatively he asked the question, and she looked up from his chest. "Yes, please, yes. I don't want to be in a coma, I want to be awake and with you." Tears stained her cheeks. "I know, I know you do. But we can't stay here, they'll find you when they come. You can't be here anymore." He paused for dramatic effect. "But I couldn't do that to you, maybe it is better that you stay here and lose me." "No! No, please, I don't want to lose you. I don't want to go into a coma, I want to be with you!" She was frantic. All of his work, everything had paid off. "Well if you insist Stray." Pulling his knife out of the air, he took her hand. "This will hurt Stray, do you still want it to happen?" A quick glance at the knife hovering over her hand, and a nod of the head was all it took. She was nervous, but a cut on her hand was nothing compared to a coma. Just as he was about to flood her with static, there came a knock at the door. They had come early. Maya looked at Anti in panic. "What do I do?!" Pulling her hand away, she signed. "Get rid of them!" His voice was back inside her head, but he was still sat next to her. They knocked again. "Maya, it's Jack. I've got Hen and Jackie with me, can we come in?" Anti shook his head violently. How had they figured out his plans?! "N-no, go away. I don't want to talk to you." "I am sorry Maya, but you do not have a choice in this matter." Henrick's thick accent pushed through the door with him, and Anti disappeared just in time. "Maya, we need to talk to you about something," Jack started, "Something serious." "Okay, what is it? This isn't about Anti again is it?" She couldn't let them know that she knew their plans. "Sadly, yeah. It is about Anti, because we know that he's here, and we know that you are protecting him." This time Jackie continued, not looking Maya in the eye the entire time. "As your guardians, it is our job to protect you Maya, even if that is against what you want." "What do you mean? You're really scaring me now guys, what's happening?" Her eyes were flicking from one man to the next, back and forth, back and forth. "What Jackie is trying to say Maya, is that we have decided that it is best for us to put you in a coma until Anti leaves you alone." Jack's bluntness took her by surprise, Maya half expected them to not even tell her and just sedate her, that's what Anti had told her they were planning. "No, no no no you can't do that! I don't want that!" Strings pulled at her, helping her to her feet. The first few steps were shaky, but by the time she was confident enough to get away Jack had grabbed her, and Henrick was jabbing a needle into her neck. "I am sorry Maya, but it is for your own good." Henrick lamented as Maya started to fall limp in Jack's arms. 

Together, Jack and Jackie carried Maya through to the room Hen had set up, and laid her on the bed, leaving Henrick to set up the machines that would keep her sedated. "I can't believe we just did that to her Jack," Jackie hadn't taken helping them well, especially with Ocie in such a bad state. "I'm a hero, I'm meant to protect people, not put them in comas!" "You are protecting her, Jackie, did you not hear how panicked she was before we went in? He was about to take her. You saved her life, even if she didn't want you to."  He patted Jackie on the shoulder. "Now stop worrying about Maya, she's in the best possible hands, and go look after your kid."

[writingmilo]

Non-Canon Angst

Very much non-canon

@honestlyitsjustkenna, @thelunarmasquerade, @samariah-keeper, @ashphoenix06, @goldenoceanaart, @theluckoftheclaws, @jackandmarksavedme88, @bitchschnitzel

“Kenna?” Maya sat up, looking around the strange room. It reminded her of where Jack had brought her after saving her from Dark. Except this time, instead of Tyde and Ocie standing over her, there was only Anti.

“Finally woken up Stray?” She nodded, still hazy from the long sleep.”I guess it’s time for some home truths since they are adamant I’m not going to take you.” He grinned, and Maya shrunk back into her covers, suddenly afraid of her friend.

“Do you remember all those years ago? When your mummy dearest was taken? How your daddy” she flinched subconsciously at the word, “was so distraught he forgot you existed?” Maya nodded, letting the tears well in her eyes as she thought of all the firsts her mum had missed out on. She hadn’t even been there on her first day of school. Neither of them were there, just Rowan. Rowan was all she’d ever had as a parent.

“Stray, back with me.” Anti clicked his fingers in front of her face. “Seeing the pain in Freakshow’s head everyday as they looked after you, resenting you because you never got the chance to miss her. You never lost your parents according the them, you never had any.” The tears were heavier now, rolling down her cheeks in fat drops, and Maya struggled to follow what he meant.

“Ro-Rowan would never think anything like that. They love me, they said that they love me, just like Kenna does.”

He chuckled. “And you think she means it either? You’re useless, even more so now that you’re in a coma. She’s not alone anymore, she’s met someone new.” He cast an image of Kenna and another girl in front of Maya, before she could reject what he was saying. Kenna looked so happy, so free.

“N-no. No, she loved me. She loves me!” Maya cried out.

“She did Stray, but she got bored of waiting for you. You weren’t strong enough to save yourself.” Now curled into herself, Maya was sobbing; she had lost everything, everyone.

“Oh Stray, you still have me.” A broad smile, menacing and cruel erupted from his smirk.

“I don’t want you, not anymore. This is all your fault, you caused all of this!” Her screams were louder than anything she had ever heard, they deafened her. But above her screams, she still heard his no-longer-calm voice laced with static and poison.

“We’ll see if you’re saying that in a few days.” Grabbing her shoulder, she screamed and disappeared.

As she laid in the hospital bed, Kenna felt Maya twitch in her sleep.

[writingmilo]

Better

stage 7

@honestlyitsjustkennaswriting, @goldenoceanarps, @thelunarmasquerade, @phoenix-risen87, @samariah-keeper, @jackandmarksavedme88, @theluckoftheclaws, TRIGGER WARNINGS: TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS, INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS @bitchschnitzel

One of the nurses wheeled her down the corridor, and Maya smiled slightly when she saw Jackie sitting with Jack in the waiting area. Jackie on the other hand was beaming when he saw her, as was Jack. As the nurse signed her out, the two men chatted to him, asking about how she had been, and if there were any warning signs they should look out for. When they finished talking, they both shook him by the hand, and thanked him a final time for looking after her.

Jack wheeled her out of the building, and Jackie walked next to her, asking how she had been and how she was feeling. The conversation seemed very light for the severity of the subject, but they laughed over her state before leaving, but neither man wanted to bring her mood down.

In the car on the way home, Maya heard the familiar static buzz that the hospital had been void of, and let out a small sigh of relief. He had come back for her. In only a few more seconds, he appeared on the car seat next to her, putting his finger to his lips telling her not to tell the others, his other hand laying on her shoulder, allowing the familiar static feeling to rush through her blood again.

Slowly, her head started to fill with it, and her thoughts became soupy as she struggled to stay awake. In the distant state she had entered, it took a few minutes until she realised he wasn’t sat next to her anymore. Panic started to permeate the dopiness, and she sat up straighter, marginally more alert.

“Don’t worry,” hearing his voice, along with the static, helped her calm down, and the voice continued in her head, “I’m here now, I’ll always be with you.” A brief worry flashed through the fog in her mind that she wouldn’t be able to see him anymore. “Don’t worry Stray, I’m always there, always watching. Even if you can’t see me.” A soft cackle rang through her mind, and she gazed out of the window, thinking about how lucky she was.

“Maya?” Jackie called behind him. “Maya? You awake?” He turned in his seat and waved his hand in front of her face, breaking her trance. “We’re going to get some food, do you want anything?” She shook her head, returning to gazing out of the window.

When they got home, Maya spent the needed time with the boys, being welcomed home and being suffocated with hug after hug. She swore that Jamie cried slightly, but he hid it well if he did.

“So, do you want to come play Mario Kart with us? I’ll give you a rematch for last time.” Chase beamed, putting on a brave front.

“I…” She didn’t know. Yes, of course she wanted to play video games with the boys, but at the same time there was a voice in her head telling her that they were dangerous, and that they only wanted to play with her so they could keep an eye on her. “I’m really tired, if I’m honest, I’m going to go for a nap.” Everyone looked towards her, worried. “But definitely later.” She flashed a quick smile before turning out of the room.

She heard murmuring from the kitchen as soon as she left, and half way down the hall Marvin caught up with her. “How about we have a movie day in the theatre? You can choose the first movie. We’ll all chill out together.” She eyed him suspiciously.

“What do you guys want Marvin? Why can’t I just go to my room for a nap?” Scrunching his face up, he sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

“We’re just worried about you kid, we don’t want you isolating yourself again.”

“I know, there’s just…” She paused, trying to think of a way to say what she wanted to without sounding completely crazy. “There’s a lot in my head right now, and I’m not sure what’s trying to help me and what isn’t.” Marvin stayed quiet for a minute, and the whole house lay in anticipatory silence.

“He’s going to take you back there. They’re going to get rid of me again.” The voice in her head spoke, alerting her to the danger, and she started to panic as she voiced it to Marvin.

“I don’t want to go back there though, I can’t go back there.” Her knuckles turned white as she clung to the wheels of her chair, trying to stop her hands from shaking or fidgeting.

“Okay, it’s okay Maya. You don’t have to go back if you don’t want to. I’m going to go and set the theatre up for us all, and we’ll just chill in there for the day okay? No pressure, just chill.” He stood up and walked back to the kitchen, likely reporting back to the rest of them in case they missed something.

Too tired to fight, Maya continued through, at least going to get the best seat if she had to spend the day with everyone.

[writingmilo]

Repeat

stage 8

@honestlyitsjustkennaswriting, @goldenoceanarps, @thelunarmasquerade, @phoenix-risen87, @samariah-keeper, @jackandmarksavedme88, @theluckoftheclaws, @bitchschnitzel

TRIGGER WARNINGS: TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS, INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS, MANIPULATION

When she came home, the boys had insisted that she spent the night in the theatre with them. That, however fun it was meant to be, was not fun. At all. Everytime she looked away from the screen she had seen him in the corner, watching her, but she could never talk. Not out loud, at least.

Thirteen hours later, she had been able to escape to her room, after everyone had fallen asleep. She presumed that they had all slept once the sleeping pill they watched her take kicked in, but it didn't matter; she got out.

In her room, she napped. She napped, and then she read, and then she napped again; he insisted she looked after herself and got the sleep that she needed.

After that, everything had gone wrong. Oce had come to see her, bringing Willow, Blank, Darka and worst of all Dark with her. Maya knew they were just worried about her, but there was nothing to worry about.

And then there was the visit to see Kenna. Could that have gone any worse? Not only was Kenna now worried about her, but Chase knew about the voices, and no doubt the rest of the house had also learned by him.

Since then, she hadn't left her room. She was provided for by him; he brought her food sometimes, supported her when she wanted to walk around. Not only did she not leave her room, but she hadn't spoken to anyone except him since Chase had brought up antipsychotics on the way home from the hospital.

That was until there was a knock on her door. "Maya, it's Jack. Can I come in?"

"Yeah, go for it," he entered, smiling at Maya and closing the door behind him. "I thought you weren't back from Japan for another few days?" Jack sat on the edge of the bed, Anti having disappeared before Maya let him enter.

"Well I wasn't, not originally, but Henrick called. He said there was a lot going on with Ocie and Kenna." In her lap, Maya had started wringing her hands together, she knew where this was going. "And, well I'm not going to lie to you Maya, he also said that Anti's hanging around you.  And from what Dark said, it seems like you trust him."

"No. What are you talking about, why would I trust him? He's hurt me and the people I love. Why would I keep it a secret if I knew he was here? He could hurt you guys."

"Well done Stray, you've learnt what I told you. Keep it up and he should believe you soon." In her head, she heard the encouraging whispers.

"Because he's twisted, he knows how to get inside your head. He'll do anything to get to us." Jack reached forwards, taking Maya's hands in his.

"I hate this, why do I have to lie?"

"Maya, please, if he's here, you have to tell me. I can help, we can all help."

"Because they'll hurt us if you let them know I am here. They'll take you away from me. You don't want that again do you?"

"We only want what's best for everyone, I promise Maya, we want to help."

"N-no."

"We can't do anything if we don't know."

"Then convince him."

She pulled her hands out of his. "I respect how hard you're trying to get me to admit to this Jack, but I swear I have no idea what you're talking about. I haven't seen him for a long time, and if I did see him again, I would sure as hell let someone know. I'm not being a danger to this family."

"Maya, I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I just need to make sure you're completely okay. I promised the others that I would look after you, and I am not going to abandon my word because you're being stubborn."

"Stubborn! Is that what you think this is?!" She leant forward and pushed his shoulder. "I can't believe you! You say you want to help me but all you're doing is trying to hound me into admitting to something that isn't happening. Just go. Get out, I don't want to talk anymore." Jack stood up, walking out of the room, giving a final sorrowful glance back at her as she sulked on her bed. He knew what he needed to do.

After the door was firmly closed, Anti reappeared cross-legged on the bed next to her. "Well done Stray, you did well."

"I hate lying to everyone, I feel awful Anti-" Hearing his name, he clamped his hand over her mouth.

“Don’t say my name.” Snapping, his hand tightened over Maya’s mouth, and he relished the fear in her eyes that she tried to hide. “They won’t hesitate to blame you for lying, and they’ll probably throw you out.” Tears were welling in Maya’s eyes at the prospect. “You don’t want that do you?” She shook her head below his hand, and he released her jaw. “No? Good.” Maya wiped at her cheeks. “Now now, don’t cry, I’ll always protect you Stray. Come here.” He glitched towards her and she hugged her arms around his torso, whilst he used his thumb to wipe away the tears on her cheeks.

“You’ll never leave me, you promise?”

“I do Stray, I promise I’ll always be here.”

"A- can I... nevermind, it's stupid." She trailed off, looking at her hands that rested in her lap.

"What is it Stray? Go on, I promise I won't mind."

"Okay, can I have a hug?"

"Of course, you only ever have to ask." He opened his arms, letting her wrap herself around him. As soft sobs shook through her body, he reminded himself that he wouldn't have to put up with her for much longer.

Meanwhile, Jack had found Henrick and Jackie and was filling them in. "He's definitely got her. She really trusts him." He rubbed his hand over his face.

"So what do we do? We can't just leave him to whatever plans he has!"

"I know Jackie," he glanced at Henrick, "We know. There's only one thing we can do, though, and it's not going to go down well."

"I will go and prepare a room for her." On his way out, Hen avoided eye contact with Jackie, who was looking frantically between them.

"What does he mean, prepare a room? Jack what are you going to do?"

"Jackie, it's the only thing we can do. We need to put her in a coma until he leaves her alone."

[writingmilo]

Passing Time

stage 6

@honestlyitsjustkennaswriting, @goldenoceanarps, @thelunarmasquerade, @phoenix-risen87, @samariah-keeper, @jackandmarksavedme88, @theluckoftheclaws, @bitchschnitzel

Time in the hospital passed, but Maya had no idea of the rate. Over her first three days, she had been on isolation, deemed a danger to herself and the other in-patients. Doctors and professionals spoke to her and spoke to her, but they didn’t understand. They couldn’t see him stood in the corner, so they couldn’t understand why she would start screaming; why she would start crying and trying to run away. Because of him she got sedated time after time.

He hadn’t been around as much as her time in the ward lengthened. Despite the overwhelming sense of relief that Maya felt when she was able to walk around without the feeling of being watched by him, she also missed his company, not that he pretended to care.

She was his, she knew that, but he had lessened his hold, and she sometimes wondered if he had forgotten her completely. Of course, her carers saw this as a good thing, and started to talk to her about her family, and say if she continued getting better it wouldn’t be long until she could go home.

To her, all the talk of going home didn’t make sense, he was still there, looking after her. Why would she need to go home, especially when he was fading away? Wasn’t she getting worse, less aware of his presence?

The last time she remembered seeing him properly was after she woke up from them sedating her the millionth time. He had been waiting for her to wake up, snarling at her when she did. He told her that he would be back soon, and to not worry, if she remembered right; also that he couldn’t wait to see her again. At the time it was endearing, he would be counting the days until he could see her again, but when she told the nurses, they said it was concerning. She would miss him too, but as the days passed by, she never felt without his presence.

Eventually though, the time came when she was told that her family would come and pick her up to take her home. It was a bittersweet day, she knew in her heart that she wasn’t ready, that since he had left she had only declined, but she had learnt not to talk about it. If she said she was okay, he might come back sooner.

[writingmilo]

Paranoia

stage 5

@honestlyitsjustkennaswriting​, @goldenoceanarps​, @thelunarmasquerade​, @phoenix-risen87​, @samariah-keeper​, @jackandmarksavedme88​, @theluckoftheclaws, @bitchschnitzel

Maya hadn’t slept for a week and exhaustion clung to her like smoke. Every attempt at sleep would play terrifying visions on her closed eyelids; now she could barely blink without the fear of seeing something. Not that having closed eyes mattered, even with her eyes open she would see the creatures, or see something watching her from the corner of her vision. Sometimes he would disappear if she rubbed at her eyes hard enough, or if she completely ignored him, but that was hard to do, and was generally pretty hit or miss.

To use the same analogy, smoke hung to her like exhaustion, her spending time burning sheets of paper and drawings of the visions she would see.

After a few days of these visions coming and going with little warning, Maya started to become more on edge. She had been leaving her room much more since the visions had started, scared of being alone, but still scared of everyone.

Once, when she had her back facing to the entrance to a room, Jack had come in, and she almost jumped out of her chair when he said hi. And it wasn’t just that one instance, the number couldn’t be counted on her hands, and she knew everyone in the house had noticed her change in character. Several of them had spoken to her about it, but every time she would deny anything being wrong. What if they thought she was crazy? She had gone through a lot, and she knew they had all thought it before, there had been moments when she had doubted her sanity.

But despite their obvious concern, she continued to cover up her disturbances, scared of rejection.

There was one final incident that caused Maya to take action on her deteriorating state. Playing video games with Chase and Jackie, she had seen the same staticy figure who had been following her for weeks approach her. Not only did he approach her, but he approached Jackie and Chase, grabbing Jackie by the throat when he reached him, and stabbing him in the chest. Seeing Jackie attacked like this made Maya hysterical, and it was almost half an hour before the two men managed to calm her down. When she had become more sensible, she saw Jackie alive and well, sending her backwards once again into a state of hysteria.

Whilst they calmed her down the second time, she would murmur, to herself or to them they weren’t sure, “Help, help, I need help.”

Every time, Chase would rub her back and reply, “We’re here, we’ll help.” By the time she was calm enough to talk normally, Chase and Jackie were still saying they would help however they could.

“Help me?” She was meek, still shaking.

“What do you need Maya, tell us what you need and we’ll do it.” Jackie had seen Chase becoming more panicked, and he took over completely once she was vocal.

“Hospital, no more people, alone, help.” She took a gulp of air as tears started to roll down her cheeks again.

“Okay, okay, stay with me Maya. Are you hurt?” She shook her head, but he pushed up her sleeves to check. “Okay, can you tell me more what you want?” Nodding, she started trying to say what she wanted.

“Alone, doctors, iso-isolation,”  She stumbled over the longer word, but it told Jackie what she wanted, much to his dismay.

“Okay, okay Maya, we’ll get you into an isolation ward.” He made eye contact with Chase, neither of them knowing what to do. Chase, having calmed himself down without any incident, stood up to go and find the others, needing to discuss what Maya had said. Meanwhile Jackie stayed with Maya, trying to keep her half-calm.

“She said what?!” Jack exclaimed when Chase had found him and Marvin.

“She said she wanted isolation, like in a psych ward. We can’t put her in isolation can we?” Marvin was pacing the kitchen, and Jack was drumming his fingers on the table.

“If she said it’s what she wants then what else can we do? She’s been getting worse and worse these past few days, none of us can deny it. Maybe some time with professional help would benefit her.” Marvin stopped pacing, instead wringing his hands together as he spoke.

“You should have seen her today,” Chase resumed, “She sounded like something possessed, said she saw ‘him stab Jackie’.” He made air quotes, telling them exactly what she said. “Jackie is completely fine, there was only us three in the room.” Jack rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

“Fuck!” He slammed his hand on the table. “We can’t deal with this ourselves, she needs proper help. I’ll take her to the hospital later.” Standing up, Jack walked out, going to see Jackie and Maya in the sitting room.

***

Jack pushed Maya up into the psychiatric wing of the hospital, stopping at the desk.

“How can I help you?”

Gesturing to Maya, Jack replied, “She wants to sign in as an in-patient. Is that a thing she can just do?”

“It’s a lot of paperwork, but that is how it works.” The receptionist stood up and walked out from behind the desk. “Follow me, we can get her checked in.”

[writingmilo]

Distance pt. II

stage 3

@honestlyitsjustkennaswriting, @goldenoceanarps, @thelunarmasquerade, @phoenix-risen87, @samariah-keeper, @jackandmarksavedme88, @theluckoftheclaws, @bitchschnitzel

Maya shot up, panting. The bed was drenched in cold sweat, and her hair was plastered to her face. It was just a nightmare, just another nightmare. Exhausted after her tumultuous sleep, she curled back up on the damp bed and tried again.

Kenna was still in the hospital, and Rowan would be settled in England by now, so Maya felt even more isolated than usual; this wasn’t helped by her barely leaving her room. Every now and again, she would hear a knock on the door, or wake up to see breakfast on the desk.

She barely ever touched it.

Of her waking hours, she would spend many of them drawing, or doing school work. Even her exercises seemed to be a welcome release from the boredom. As well as these menial tasks, sleep was a frequent passtime, despite it bringing no rest whatsoever.

Eventually, sleep’s grip dragged her under, and she lost consciousness once again.

***

“Now, young Maya, I am sure that you have been waiting eagerly for me to come and make my end of the bargain known to you, isn’t that correct?” Maya tried to resist him, but ended up nodding anyway. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now, I want you to-”

“And what the fuck do you think you’re doing? Stray is mine.” Without warning, Anti appeared behind Dark, cutting him off.

“I am simply holding up my end of the deal with Maya here. What, may I ask, are you doing?” He gave Anti a sharp look before approaching Maya, his steps matched by Anti.

“I’m coming to get my favourite puppet, I know how much she’s missed me.” He took a step in front of Dark, placing himself between him and Maya.

“Well, this is a rather problematic predicament. I understand that as we both have claim to her, we should perhaps let her decide who she would like to go with.” Dark grinned, Anti following suit as they both moved to be within inches of her.

“Who do you want to be with Stray?”

“Choose carefully Maya.”

They both tried to coerce her into choosing them, all the while Maya’s mind racing to find an answer that would get her out.

“N-no.” She hugged her knees to her chest, and let them continue to argue around her, trying to suppress her sobs.

“That is not an answer Maya, you must choose one of us.”

“I-I d-d-don’t want t-to.” She whimpered, moving her hands over her ears. Anti giggled maniacally, ripping her hands down and forcing her to look at him.

“You don’t get to say no!” He screamed, his form glitching sporadically. Maya felt the glitching travel through her body from where he held her wrists.

“Anti, brother, calm down.” Dark still seemed as cool as ever, and at his word Anti’s glitching subsided slightly. “If our dear girl won’t decide for us, then you must agree that sharing her is the next best idea.”

If Anti hadn’t been holding her in place, she would’ve scrambled as far away as she could from the two plotting demons.

“No, please, no.” She started to shake her head, rocking back and forth slightly as the two demons watched on in vague amusement.

“If you insist on sharing her,” Anti’s grip on Maya tightened again, “I am taking my turn first.” He started to drag Maya to her feet, strings playing on his fingertips. “Well Stray, this will be fun.” The strings started to snake up her arm from his touch.

***

Maya woke up, her eyes shooting open as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. That had been one of the worst nightmares she’d had, never had both of them been there before. Instead of falling back to sleep, she decided to crawl from her bed, the uneasy feeling still lingering in her stomach.

[writingmilo]

Crises and Chocolate - Rowan & Maya (OCs)

A/N I’m not sure if you can tell, but I’m really getting into creating some OCs!

Tagging: @honestlyitsjustkenna, @nekob00, @nerdy-sam, @3dchocolate, @i-am-parsec, @lifeofthesepticeye, @inked-septic, @misstakebunny, @eternally-internaly-screaming, @iwritesinsnotqualityposts, @maybalator. Let me know if you want to be tagged/untagged.

Summary: Jackie has to face his one weakness, upset girls. Rowan and Maya have a heartfelt conversation.

Trigger warnings: implied abuse, implied suicidal thoughts, depression

Maya was laying face down on the floor when Jackie entered. "Wow, dude, that bad?"

"Mmmhmmm." Her arm twitched slightly as he approached, but still, her face was smooshed into the carpet.

"What is it, cramps or head?" Jackie knew the drill by now, there were only two reasons Maya would be found on the floor; the floor was her place of refuge when period cramps struck and when her mental health took a plummet.

"Mmmmmmhhhhm." She lifted her head slightly, bouncing it on the carpet to signal the answer.

"Shit, that bad, huh?" Despite having dealt with Chase for many years, Jackie was unusually inept at dealing with Maya's crises. After inspecting the scene one final time, he spoke again. "Is there anything you want?"

She shook her head to the side.

"Should I get Rowan? Or Chase?" His normal confidence gone, Jackie stumbled to find something to do which might help the young addition to the family get off the floor.

And she nodded, at least a little. "Okay, I'll go and get Rowan. Let me know if there's anything else you want, kay?"

Halfway up the stairs, he met Rowan. "Hey Row," he stopped and pointed at them, "Maya, floor," he pointed behind him, down the stairs, "Help?" Rowan chuckled at the helpless hero.

"Sure thing, Jayboy, I need to pee, but I'll be down in a sec."

"A: tmi, B: thank you so so so so much, I owe you one dude!" He moved to the wall, letting Rowan past.

"No probs, Jay. But yeah, get me chocolate. I'll need chocolate." They continued descending the stairs, turning into the toilet on the left as Jackie followed.

"May, I'm going to the shop, do you want anything?" After a few seconds with no reply or movement, he continued. "Rowan'll be through in a sec, I'll be back soon." He grabbed his coat from the hook and glanced back at Maya before he shut the door.

Rowan entered the living room to find Maya laying on the floor in front of the sofa. "Hey May," they sat down on the floor next to her, leaning on the sofa. "You wanna talk?"

At first, there was no reply, which wasn't unusual. There had been other times when Maya had only wanted reassurance when she couldn't talk. But she moved her head, looking at Rowan. Slowly she sat up, crossing her legs underneath her once she was sat next to Rowan.

"So, mum and dad?" It was a sore subject, but Rowan approached it without caution, as usual.

"Yeah, a bit. No, a bit, I don't know, it's just, everything feels like it's just got on top of me. You know?"

"Maybe, I can't say I had it as hard as you have. At least I got to finish school before... You, you've had to move to the other end of the city, start a new school, all while making a new family. I never had to worry about any of that. But you've handled it so well, you've just got on with it. I am so proud of you, May, you know that? I am so, unbelievably proud of you, and honestly, you are so amazing."

"No, I'm not. I've gone through the last five years of school without making a single friend, getting detention every day, screaming at teachers. I've acted like a brat, I've made your life a living hell, and now I annoy everyone in the house by acting like a stroppy teenager."

Hearing their sister talk so belittlingly of herself made Rowan realize how much their parents had fucked her up.

"I don't know how you tolerate me, any of you. Hell, half the time, I can barely tolerate myself, so props to you, I guess." Rowan didn't know how to respond, so silence sat in the air once again.

"I think about them a lot, mum and dad. I think about what they would do if I just went home. Sometimes I wonder if they would open their arms and let me back into the family; whether we would be happier if we tried again. But sometimes I think they would just kill me straight up." She wiped a few tears from her cheeks with the sleeve of her hoodie. "Sometimes I think I should just take my chances and- and find out. Just go home and see, cos, I mean, nothing could be any worse than what's already going on in my head, so I might as well just take my chances."

Maya was sobbing, and tears were welling in Rowan's eyes. They wrapped their arm around Maya's shoulder, pulling them into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, May. You're my little sister, it's killing me to see you like this. I want to help you, please, tell me something, anything that I can do to make this go away, to make you happy again. I love you May, if you go, I don't know what I'd do, you're my rock."

The door opened, and Jackie walked in. Walking in to see two kids crying in the living room was not something he was used to, and he was even more lost than before. "Hi, I'm home. You guys okay?"

Rowan looked at Maya, they couldn't respond for her. In the end, she did it herself, "Yeah, I think we are — we will be. I think."