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All he had to do was go to the drugstore, but no. His dumb self told Maya to do it. Now his world was crashing down on him.
It all started when Katy woke up to run to the toilet to throw up. She knew that she wasn't pregnant as she was on her period currently. So she checked her temperature, and sure enough, she had a fever.
When night came they realized that they were out of NyQuil, which Katy needed to sleep without horribly suffering. Not wanting to leave his very sick wife, Shawn sent his daughter to quickly pick up a bottle. What could be wrong with Maya going to buy a bottle of medicine after all?
The closest drugstore was in a shady spot. A bad feeling stirred in the pit of Maya's stomach, but she ignored it. No way was Maya Penelope Hunter going to be afraid of walking to a store. She was a Hunter. She was an amazon warrior.
As she walked up to the building she noticed that the lights weren't on inside. The sign in front read that the store closed at eight pm, over an hour ago. "What kind of place closes at eight on a Saturday?" she grumbled.
New York was a pretty bright place even at night, but of course, the stupid drugstore just HAD to be in a place where there were no lamps or lit-up signs.
Nobody was around, adding to the creepy feeling Maya had. The blonde turned around and headed towards another shop. She panicked when a hand roughly grabbed her arm. She told her body run but couldn't seem to move.
A gun was placed on her abdomen. "Give me your money and don't say anything."
Maya's mind raced. What do you do in this situation? All of her parents' warnings and instructions flew out the window; her mind was blank. Maya let out a scream and tried to release herself from his grip, but she couldn't. Maya attempted to push him, only for the sound of multiple gunshots to ring in her ears. She shrieked as she fell to the ground. The man snatched her purse and ran away.
Maya sobbed and brought her hands to her side. It was sticky, wet, and smelled metallic. Blood.
The girl felt herself slowly slipping away until everything went dark. Oh, why didn't she just give the man her purse?
...
"Maya? Maya?!" yelled Shawn. Thirty minutes had passed, and it only took about two minutes to go to the drugstore and back. Something had to be wrong.
Shawn tried calling her while he looked for her, but she didn't pick up. He nearly dropped his cellphone when he saw his passed out (possibly dead) daughter lying in a pool of blood in front of a convenience store.
He immediately dialed 911. While he waited for the phone to pick up, he bent down to check her pulse. No sign of a heartbeat.
"Hello, 911. What's your emergency?" the lady asked.
"My daughter. She's been attacked. There's blood everywhere..." He held back tears that threatened to fall, but his voice still cracked.
"Is she breathing?"
"I don't think so." The operator got more information and sent an ambulance to pick them up. He looked at her no matter how much it pained him. Hoping she was alive to hear, he said, "I...I don't know if I can ever forgive myself for letting this happen. I'm sorry. I should've gone to the store, not you. New York is dangerous at night. What was I thinking?"
Shawn remembered that Katy was at home, sick and worrying about their daughter. He called her and told her the situation, which wasn't easy to do. Her sobs made him finally cry. He didn't even notice it until he felt his cheeks start to become wet.
The ambulance ride was hard for him. Shawn stared at Maya's lifeless body the whole time. He tried to focus on something else, but his eyes kept leading back to her.
As they rushed her to the hospital room, he said a prayer, begging God to let her live. "Please," Shawn whispered with a slight crack in his voice.
Some time had passed. Katy arrived along with Cory, Topanga, Auggie, and Riley. They sat in the chairs waiting for what felt like years.
A male dressed in scrubs walked up to them with a grim expression. "Please, Father," Shawn whispered with his teary eyes shut.
The man spoke softly, "I'm sorry. Your daughter has passed away. She lost too much blood. We couldn't save her."
Shawn didn't know he could be in more emotional pain than he was when his dad died. He thought that was the most depressed he could feel. Now he knew he was wrong.
Shawn couldn't even think straight. His vision was cloudy from a mix of shock and tears. He instinctively hugged Katy as they cried together.
"What is it with us?"
"Yeah, what is it with us?"
...
Maya's friends and family, all dressed in gloomy black, sat in rows of chairs. Kermit made sure to sit away from Shawn and Katy, not wanting to stir trouble. Shawn invited his half-brother Jack, who sadly never got the chance to meet his niece. The Matthews also attended (including Alan, Amy, Eric, Morgan, and Josh). Finally, Maya's four friends came with their parents.
The area was decorated with a few of Maya's art pieces. One big picture of her was next to her casket. It was one Shawn took of Maya days before the tragedy had occurred. She looked so happy and carefree, unaware of what was to come.
Katy was originally going to do the eulogy, but she couldn't bear to do it, so she asked Shawn who hesitantly accepted.
His hands shook as he placed them on the podium. "Ladies and Gentlemen, uh, today we are mourning the loss of and celebrating the life of Maya Penelope Hunter. Someone that all of you," he awkwardly glanced at Kermit, "knew well. I met her when she was thirteen on Christmas Eve. We bonded over our similar personalities and home lives. Years later, I'm now blessed to call her my daughter. She's the most spontaneous and creative person I've ever met. She brought joy to everyone around."
Shawn looked down for a moment, remembering how much she affected his life. He remembered quickly being a father-figure to her, and then actually becoming her father. As cheesy as it sounds, making her happy made him happy.
"The happiest moment of my life was seeing her wide smile when I handed her the adoption papers." He choked back on a sob. After a short pause, he began again, "Maya was someone who didn't hope for things, but eventually learned that hope was not for suckers. That it can actually pay off. And she took everything life gave her and made the best of it. She never let the roadblocks stop her."
Shawn was glad that he was at the end of the speech. He knew he couldn't go on longer without breaking down. "We were all very fond of her and loved the person that she was. May God rest her soul."
He stepped down the podium. Once he reached his seat, he put his head in his hands. Tears fell and his breathing was shaky. He felt his wife wrap her arm around him and his best friend put a hand on his shoulder.
Eventually, time had healed some of the family's wounds, but nothing would ever be the same. Not a day would go by that her friends and family didn't think about her.
Shawn and Katy Hunter got out of the car. In Shawn's hands were yellow roses. They went up to the gravestone that bore their daughter's name and placed the flowers down.
"Happy birthday, baby girl," Katy said. "Your little sister's due date is soon. I wish you would be here to see it. She would've had the best big sister ever."