After lunch with Jason, Maya retired back home earlier than she'd planned. No one was in so she had the whole space to herself, when she called Gab, her friend told her that she was on her shift already and Jason had a frat thing he had to get to. After taking a quick shower, she edited some of her videos and photos before uploading them. She'd face timed her parents and they talked for a long time with her mom promising to drop by since she was heading in that direction for work. She made a quick dinner and then returned to her bed where she picked up her anatomy textbook. She didn't have another exam until next week but it wouldn't hurt to read, or rather re-read in her case. She had her reading glasses on, her face propped by both her palms. The dim light of the room provided an eerie atmosphere, the only bright illumination was the reading lamp hung overhead. Maya wiggled her legs in the air before rubbing her socked feet together, she had chosen her favourite pair of mismatched
Maya was awed by two things; one was the fact that the pool was above the ground with a deck and the other was that it was jacuzzi-styled. She floated around the pool, flapping her arms around as she played with the water. "So this place is open 24/7?" She turned around to face him. Alex was leaning against the wall of the pool, watching her intently."Yes." He answered simply and she scoffed in amazement.Maya began doing a backstroke, resting her head against the water. The fairy lights adorning the entire space made everywhere seem magical and she sighed, "If I lived here, I would make good use of this place." She heard a wet plop and cracked her eyes open, but before she could turn her head, he had already wrapped his arms around her. "Hey!" Maya squealed, kicking her legs in the water as she struggled to break free. Alex casually turned her over so that she was now facing him. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his torso and flung her arms on his shoulder,He didn't s
"Yes."He turned away from her, his back facing her agonized face. The first tear rolled down her face, shaky gasps escaped her parted lips as she fought to keep her emotions in check. She itched to reach out to him, to touch him. But he didn't spare her a glance so she squared her shoulders and swivelled around.She shrugged on her sundress ignoring its wet state, she gave him one last look before rushing out the door. Her heavy footsteps padded on the ground, leaving wet trails as she walked. Maya slipped into the elevator, relieved that she was the only occupant. Her trembling fingers managed to press the ground button before clutching the straps of her bag tightly. Once the doors closed shut, she allowed herself to fall to the ground, her chest racked painfully and she heaved for breath,Maya sobbed until she felt like she couldn't breathe anymore, her vision was obscured by glittering tears and her entire frame shook. If she closed her eyes, she could still vividly see the emotio
"Here." She quietly watched as he placed the glass on the table, the red liquid sloshing slightly from the motion. He settled on the space beside her, taking a sip from his glass. The living room was dark, their only source of illumination was the fairy light adorning the walls.After the whole scenario, Alex walked her back to the penthouse where he suggested they grabbed a bottle of his favourite wine. Maya patiently waited for him, whenever he looked at her, she would offer him an encouraging smile, "Can I hold your hand?" His request startled her a bit but she quickly blinked it away and nodded. He took her hand and squeezed gently, "I don't even know where to begin." He did an awkward laugh, shaking his head from side to side.Maya sighed softly and squeezed his palm, "Start from where you feel comfortable.""You might need a drink for that." He said in a joking manner and she chuckled alongside, "I mean it, Maya. Drink," He motioned to her untouched glass.Maya looked between
Maya gaped dumbfounded at the door, unable to move from her spot. She didn't know what to do at that moment, Then it hit her! Alex!He would surely have a solution for this. Just as she scrambled to her feet, the door leading to his room flung open and a shirtless Alex walked out. His eyes still looked bleary and his hair was flying all over,"Maya?" He looked surprised to see her but the expression quickly turned into concern when he saw her wide-eyed state, "Shit! What happened?" He rushed towards her, cupping her face,She silently lifted her phone, positioning the screen in his direction. She watched as his eyes grew dark and his lips turned down slightly.He threw a wary glance at the door before releasing her. Maya grabbed his arm when she noticed that he was heading for the door and gently shook her head,"What if it's them?" He smiled reassuringly and pried her fingers off his arm before heading towards the door. She watched with bated breath as he gazed into the peephole be
Air whooshed out of her lungs, eyes wide with surprise. She fumbled for what to say, her gaze darting between Gab and her angry-looking mother. She took another step forward, hesitantly going towards her mother. "What are you doing here-" She shook her head, realizing how wrong it sounded, "I mean it's a surprise to see you!" Her mother chuckled softly, rushing to embrace Maya tightly, "Oh, mija¡ I've missed you so much." She pulled back to properly look at her, "Look how thin you've become and why did you dye your hair!? I think you're studying too hard and this town is giving you strange ideas, you were better as a brunette. Gab told me everything about it." Maya instinctively patted the ends of the wig and then gave her friend a skeptical look. Gab shrugged carelessly, "What do you mean?" "She said you spent the entire night studying at the school's library." She patted Maya's cheek lightly, "I know you care a lot about your studies cariño but you care for yourself better, oka
"Thank you!"She gracefully accepted the large plate of pork ribs and placed it on top of the table. Her mother made a moaning sound as she sniffed the air and Maya rolled her eyes at the childishness. "What!" Her mother flared defensively, "This smells good." She rubbed her palms together and licked her lips.Maya found the whole situation hilarious especially how last year, her mother was adamant about never eating pork because she grew up on a pig ranch and considered them her family. And now,She shook her head in amusement, unable to hide her smile. Ever since Derek showed up yesterday, her mother kept bugging her about him. Asking if he was he was her future son-in-law and complaining about how skinny he looked. Maya had told her like a billion times that they were just friends but her mother didn't buy it.According to her, friends didn't hug each other. Maya shrugged her off, deciding to take her out to dinner since it had been a long time since they had some girl's time. T
Her mother had fallen in love with Esther Grey. She wasn't kidding, at first, the two women were quite reserved and spoke quietly to each other, sometimes speaking through Maya but after a few glasses of root beer, all three of them had loosened up and they were partying like a bunch of high school girls.They had booked a private room since Esther didn't feel comfortable being in the public eye, which she understood, and sang to their heart's content. After about an hour of jumping, drinking and screaming their lungs out, Maya decided that she had had enough and chose to lounge on the couch, rather preferring watching the two older women. She took a sip from her glass and sighed in satisfaction, her fingers were already buzzing and her vision was starting to double. She blamed the bottle of tequila that they'd added to their glasses."Maya!" Her mother called, swaying her hips lightly, "Are you sure you don't want to join us!?" She giggled drunkenly, the microphone in her hold almos