Page 77 of How We Loved

I hear her sniffles and can tell she’s calming down slightly.

“Ben …”

“Yeah, Sunshine?”

“Thank you. Thank you for coming to get me. Thank you for always being there for me.”

I glance at Eli, knowing if he wasn’t here, I’d break down like a little bitch, crying for this girl. Doesn’t she know that?

I know Eli knows exactly what I mean, so I don’t hold back even though he’s here with me.

“Maya, there’s nothing you could do or say that would ever change me being there for you. Especially in a time like this. I will always be wherever you need me.”

She cries again. “Thank you.”

I let out a long breath. “You have to stop crying, sweetie. You’re breaking my heart.”

“Okay,” she whispers, but I can tell it’s just because she’s trying to hide more tears flowing down.

I let out a chuckle under my breath. My sweet Maya is trying her hardest to make me happy when she’s the one who’s in dire need.

“I have Eli with me,” I say, just so she knows it’s not just me who is here for her.

“What’s up?” Eli says in his same tone as always, like we’re going fishing and not going to save her.

“Really?” Maya’s voice picks up. She seems surprised to hear I have him in the truck with me.

“Yeah, Natalie and Dalton are behind us in his truck too. You know he can’t keep up though, so Eli had to send him our location because I dusted his ass.”

She laughs again, and I swear I hear angels singing from above.

“How did they know what was going on?” Maya asks.

I let out a sharp laugh. “They don’t. They don’t have a clue where we’re going. They just saw me running from the barn and followed, knowing it had something to do with you.” I turn to Eli. “Why don’t you text them, saying she’s okay but to continue following us? I think we have some business to attend to.”

Eli picks up his phone and starts sending the text.

When he’s done, I hand him mine. “Put her exact location in my map, so I can follow on my screen up here.” I point to my dashboard.

He does as I asked, and within seconds, her exact location is on my screen, saying I’ll be there in eight minutes.

“I’m almost there, okay?” I say, trying to reassure her.

“Okay,” she says, obviously still afraid, judging by the way her voice shakes. “Hurry. I’m so cold.”

We drive in silence until a memory of us pops up in my head. “Hey, remember when I taught you what to do if you ever saw a bear?”

“What?”

“Remember when we all went camping together a few years ago, and I had you practice what you should do if you ever saw a bear?”

“Oh jeez,” she says, and I laugh out loud.

It was the funniest part of that entire trip, when my very tiny Maya walked around, stomping like a sumo wrestler and waving her arms in the air, trying to act all big and mighty so she’d scare the bear off. I teased her, saying she looked like Timon from Lion King.

“I’m not Timon!” she argues, making me smile.

“You totally were. All I needed to do was put a grass skirt on you, and you’d play that part of the movie perfectly.”

---