T H R E E

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

'For your own safe keeping,

Everybody got demons.

And whenever you're around I'll feed 'em

Tell me are you down this evening...'

_-_

M A Y A

Maya pushed herself to run faster, the cold wind of Spring hitting her in the face. She had finally forced herself to leave the comfort of her house when her grandmother had demanded she come over after her classes that she had left 2 hours ago.

She turned up the volume on her AirPods so the melodic voice of Ne-Yo serenaded her as she slowed down to a slow jog. Ralph ran beside her, his ears flapping behind him like two small parachutes as his little legs became a small blur. Maya slowed down further; making the boxer look up at her in confusion as his tongue stuck out of his mouth.

She shook her head at him as they crossed a road. Many people thought that because she was a big girl she didn't like to exercise but that was far from the truth. Maya loved her smoothies, yoga classes and her afternoon jogs with Ralph. She even loved to go to the gym whenever she could fit in.

She hated that people had a negative image of bigger sized people and thought they only lazed about gorging themselves in whatever food they could find because most of the time that wasn't the case. 

'Did King think that way?' She couldn't help but think as she passed through a nearby park so that Ralph could do his business.

Ever since meeting him; Maya couldn't help but think about questions to ask the man she had met yesterday like did he like pineapples on his pizza or did he not like pizza at all? Every question that went unanswered came back in the form of a different question and it was slowly driving Mayalika insane. She had only known the guy for less than 24 hours so why did he affect her so much.

Then a dark question came to her mind that made her brows furrow as her right hand clenched around Ralph's lead.


'Did he think she was fat?' She thought, 'Or undesirable?' 

Ralph lowered his leg as he finished doing his business and gazed up at his owner once more, cocking his head slightly as if he was thinking about it. Seeming to have made up his mind, Ralph rubbed himself on Maya making sure to give a bark of reassurance. Maya smiled weakly before tugging slightly at Ralph's lead - urging him to continue on walking.

She knew her way on from here.

Maya had only lived in Brooklyn for a moth yet she felt far more at home here than she did when she lived in Manhattan. It had been the first time she had ventured out of the nest despite the fact that she was still being watched under the weary eye of her grandmother she felt more at ease than she had ever felt in her life.

Her apartment was cost with two bedrooms which one of them had an en suite and a conjoined kitchen and living room Maya could say she was more fortunate that most college kids were. Though that was mostly due to the fact that her parents had enough money to burn through. 

Her parent's had made a compromise so that she could live in Brooklyn she had to work at her grandmother's shop while studying psychology which meant had been cut off. Not that she was complaining she had a stable income.

After a heated row with her mother, Maya had left Manhattan and the betraying people that lived within it. There were too many people in her past that she hadn't wanted to confront so moving to Brooklyn (where her grandma had moved when she had left Manhattan) seemed to be the best option for her.

Walking back to the entrance of the park, Maya patted Ralph on the head as she slowly began to jog in the direction of her grandmother's house. For the first time since yesterday, King wasn't on her mind but the heavy past she had left behind.

/@/

"Granny!" Maya yelled slamming the door of the bungalow. She took off her shoes and Ralphs collar; smirking as he bounded through the house in search of the beloved elderly woman. Maya followed the hushed voices that seemed to be coming from the kitchen. She paused at the living room when she saw her nephew watching the TV a joyful Ralph rubbing on him. 

"Hi Luka." Maya smiled, ruffling the boys curls. Lukas smiled at his aunt muttering a hello as he went back to watching TV, running his hand over Ralph who had settled by his side.

Slipping into the kitchen Maya was greeted by the sight of three adults sitting around the island; each holding a steaming cup of their own preferred beverage.

Malakai, her oldest brother, immediately caught sight of her, a grin graced his face as he beckoned her over. His wife, Tabitha was speaking to Maya's grandmother who was chatting animatedly with light eyes.

"I didn't know we were having a family gathering." Maya joked, slipping into an empty chair as she picked up a biscuit from the bowl at the centre of the table.

Her grandmother rolled her eyes, "It isn't a family gathering if your two brother's aren't here." She stated simply, twisting her wedding ring around her finger. Maya had never seen her take it off; even after her husband had died she still wore it proudly on her finger as if he were still here.

"You know their work means a lot to them but I'm sure Javion will be here for dinner on Sunday," Maya tried to reassure her but she only got a grunt in return. Her grandma was very set in her ways; just like her brother Javion. They were both pigheaded. Javion ran the family's multi-billion dollar car company her father had put him in charge of three years ago. Her father was still involved in the company but only really as a chairman.

All together, Mayalika had four siblings. Three brother's and one older sister. Malakai was the eldest followed by the twins, Javion and Jerome the twins and then her sister Xamilia who acted as if Mayalika didn't exists. She was partly the reason why Mayalika had moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn.

"So Maya are you travelling to Manhattan with us? We're going to have a dinner at mother's apparently dad has come back from work." Malakai stated, emphasising on the word work as he raised his mug to his lips.

All the Wilkes children knew their father never had any long business trips but only the desire to get away from his wealth driven wife. It was an arranged marriage and they had grown to love each other. At least that's what they claimed. It was very clear to everyone that their father was having an affair.

She shook her head, "I don't think I would be able to stomach going back there." She whispered, looking down at the marble counter. Tabitha placed a gentle hand over her's sending a sympathetic smile in her direction.

Her grandmother shifted in her seat as she turned to look at her eldest grandson, "So when can I be expecting you to give me more great- grandchildren?" She questioned innocently. Tabitha's eyes widened in shock as Malakai choked on his drink, spilling it's contents all over his shirt.

"Shit!" He yelled jumping up from his seat. Tabitha quickly grabbed a wad of towels and began patting down her husband.

"I think Luka is good enough for us for now." Tabitha said evenly as she gently sat Malakai back in his seat before returning to her's. Her grandmother hummed not believing a word they said as the kitchen fell into an awkward silence.

"I'm going to go check up on Luka," Tabitha said gently. She placed a gentle hand on her husband's shoulder just before she slipped out of the room.

"Why did you have to bring that up?!" He groaned, rubbing his temple tiredly. 

Maya tried to intervene before anything blew up, "I'm sure grandmother meant nothing by it-"

"Well it meant something!" Malakai protested, shooting up from his seat as he became flustered. Her grandmother kept her composure as she watched him fume.

"I'm sterile." He stated. Maya's eyes widened in shock at the information whereas her grandmother just stared at him blankly.

"I'm gonna go." He said calmly as he stood up to leave and get his wife and son. They both heard the door slam and the faint sound of tyres a car pulled out of the driveway and away from the house.

"What a bitch." The grandmother mumbled as she picked up a biscuit. Maya's eyes widened in shock as she stared at her grandmother.

"What? He is. There was no need to storm off in anger." She said calmly. Maya rolled her eyes at her grandmother. Ralph padded into the room; rushing towards her grandmother as he greeted her by licking her hand.

Her grandma smiled, petting the mutt's head as he curled up around her feet. Despite seeming harsh and brutal, Maya's grandmother was a soft woman at heart who showed tough love to her family. 

Ever since their grandfather had died, their grandma had been alone. It didn't help that her son barely spoke to her due to his wives demand. So when Maya had asked moved here so she could study and escape the watchful eye of her mother. She had been allowed under the condition that she worked at the bakery which lightened the load a great deal for her.

Even though she would never tell her Maya's grandmother, Abba was secretly glad that she had someone as a companion - even if it was her 23 year old granddaughter.

_-_

VOTE | COMMENT | FOLLOW


You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net