Courage

Chapter Twenty-Seven

[Francesca]

Maya kept a tight grip on the steering wheel the whole way to her house.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little nervous," she said and finally let one hand go to stroke the back of my hand.

I rubbed her knee to try to ease her nerves.

When we arrived, an older woman who looked a little like Maya opened the door.

"Maya!" she squealed.

"Hey, Mom. Good to see you again," Maya said.

"I'm Tia," Maya's mom introduced herself, holding out her hand for me to shake it.

"Francesca," I said, and shook her head.

We stepped inside, I was greeted by more family members.

"Franny, this is my dad," Maya informed.

"I'm Jacob," Maya's dad said. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too."

"Oh! And Franny, this is Brandon, my brother. Gigi his wife. And Zack and Axel." Maya gestured to the little boys playing with cars.

"You guys are just in time, dinner's ready," Tia announced.

Zack and Axe sat at the "little kid's table" in the kitchen. I sat next to Maya in the dining room, she gave me a small smile before we sat.

We then began eating, and questions started flowing.

"So, Francesca, where do your brothers go to college?" Jacob asked.

"Eliomar goes to Columbia and Leonardo goes to Yale," I answered.

"How come your brothers go to ivy schools but you and your sister go to Lehigh?" Brandon asked me rudely.

"Well, Camila and I actually got into a few Ivy schools, such as; Dartmouth, Columbia, Princeton, and so on and so forth. But, my sister wanted to go to a non-ivy school, so I joined her so she wouldn't have to live alone," I explained, controlling my tone.

"Huh, nice," was all Brandon said.

"You know, Maya, if you had applied yourself during high school, then maybe you could've gotten into an Ivy college," Jacob chided.

"Dad, it's not that she doesn't apply herself; she's just not smart," Brandon whispered loudly.

I opened my mouth to say something, but quickly closed it when I felt a cutting pain on my thigh. I looked down and Maya's nails were nearly lacerating my skin. She clearly didn't want me to say anything and I didn't want to upset her. So I kept quiet.

"Sorry," she muttered and moved her hand away from me.

"Francesca," Jacob began. "What's your major?"

"Art History, Interior Design, and Architecture," I replied.

"How's school been for you two?" Gigi asked Maya and I.

"It's good," Maya and I said together, we laughed lightly after.

"What college did you go to?" I asked Gigi.

"Oh, Brandon and I attended Brown together," she said.

"Yep, and after that, we got married," Brandon added, putting his arm around Gigi's shoulder and kissing her cheek. Maya dropped her fork and muttered "Oh, god."

"Which reminds me, Maya . . ." Jacob started, but was cut off by Maya.

"Uhh, not now, Dad!"

"I was just going to ask about your love life," Jacob defended.

"Ooooh, does Maya have a boyfriend?" Brandon teased.

I scowled at how disrespectful he was. Surely, he had to know Maya and I were dating, and he has the audacity to ask if she has a boyfriend. Just plain disrespectful!

"Brandon!" Maya warned.

Brandon put his hands up in mock surrender. "Don't be mad at me because you're single."

"Leave your sister alone," Tia chided Brandon.

"Go to hell," I hissed at Brandon.

"'Scuse me?" He looked me up and down.

"Go to hell," I repeated. "I'm tired of hearing Maya this, Maya that, Maya, you suck and blah, blah, blah. I'm over it!"

"This has nothing to do with you," Brandon retorted.

"Well, don't expect me to just sit quietly while you all, with the exception of Gigi, verbally attack my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend," Tia said in a questioning way.

"Maya, you have a girlfriend?" Jacob asked calmly.

"Y—Yeah," Maya whispered.

"Francesca's your girlfriend," Jacob stated this, it wasn't a question.

"Yeah, she it," Maya whispered again. Jacob sighed.

Pain shot through me. Maya lied to me, worst of all, she was ashamed of me . . . of our relationship.