Love Me Anyway

Chapter Six

Maya

"Andy, can you take over at the station today?" I asked through the phone as I sat at my dining room table.
"Of course. Is everything okay?"
"Everything's... fine. I'll explain later."
"Alright. Call me if you need anything."
"Will do." I hung up the phone with a sigh, and rested my head in my hands.

"What's wrong bambina?" I felt Carina's hands start massaging my tense shoulders.
"I'm just tired. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night. I kept waking up."
"Go lay down bella, I'll make breakfast and bring it to you. Then you can take a nap until lunch.
"I'm okay. Really, I'll be fine. I just need a kiss from my beautiful girlfriend to wake me up."

She smiled and leaned down, pressing a long kiss to my lips. I pulled back and leaned my forehead against her's.
"See? All better." I whispered.

"I never thought I'd see the day Maya Bishop became a softie."

I pulled back from my girlfriend, and smiled at my brother. "Look at this face. How can I not love this woman?"
"I'll make breakfast." Carina gave me one more quick kiss before she skipped off to the kitchen.

"How you feeling?" I asked as he sat down next to me.
"A little sore. But better. Thank you again for everything... I really appreciate it."
"You're my brother Mase. I wouldn't have it any other way."
"I should get going here soon though, I have to go find a shelter that has an opening."

"You'll do no such thing!" Carina shouted from the kitchen.
"Carina I can't-"
"Mason Bishop, you can stay here as long as you need or want. Isn't that right Maya?" Carina marched into the dining room and put her hands on her hips.
"Yes. One hundred percent." I nodded with a smile.
"I can't ask you two to do that for me."
"You're not asking. We're offering. And you'the saying yes." Carina raised her eyebrows at him, waiting for him to respond.

"Uh, yes?"
"Grazie." She flashed us both a smile and walked back to the kitchen.
"She's kinda scary." Mason whispered to me.

"I heard that!" Carina shouted from the kitchen.
"Very." I mouthed as I stood up from the couch.
"Where were you staying before here?" I asked as I led him into the kitchen.
"Uh... down by the camp." He looked down at his feet.
"Do you still have your stuff there?" I handed him a cup of coffee.
"No. My stuff got stolen about a week ago." He shrugged.
"We need to go grocery shopping, why don't you come with us and we'll get you some stuff?" Carina offered as she handed him a plate of French toast.
"I'll pay you back." He quickly said.
"Mase-"
"No. I'm not backing down on this one. As soon as I get a job I'm paying you back for everything." He stood his ground.
"Okay, okay." I held my hands up in a surrender.

Carina

We walked through Target, getting items for our meals for the next week. Mason hung back a little bit, not picking anything up.
"Mase, grab some stuff. You're not gonna like everything we cook." Maya said.
"I don't eat much." He shrugged.
"You don't have to pick anything if you don't want to. You're more than welcome to eat whatever we cook." I smiled back at him.
He nodded and put his hands in his pockets.

Our next stop was the clothing section. We got him new everything. Underwear, under shirts, T shirts, button ups, jeans, a nice pair of black pants for job interviews, and a few pairs of shoes.

"Hey, I'm gonna go grab shampoo and stuff. I'll be right back." Maya quickly walked off before we could say anything. I caught Mason staring at a beanie, and I grabbed it and threw it in the cart.
"Thank you for doing all this. I know I'm a lot..." He trailed off.
"You're not a lot. You're my girlfriend's brother. You're her family, and that makes you my family. If my brother was in the same situation, I'd hope Maya would have done this for him."
"You have a brother?" He asked as we walked to the front to wait for Maya.
"Had. He uh... he was murdered almost four years ago."
"Damn. I'm really sorry Carina. I can't imagine losing a sibling..."
"It's been hard. But he's with our Mamma. That's the only comfort I have." I smiled at him as I saw Maya walking towards us out of the corner of my eye.