The Reunion (Part 1)

chapter 54

On Wednesday evening, Maya was at the barracks when Charly came to see her.

- "hey Beautiful?"

- "yes Uncle Charly?" Asked the blonde as she removed her earpiece and stopped running, hopping onto the sides of the treadmill with her hands on the handles.

- "your, your dad is downstairs"

- "oh! ... Uh okay, I'm coming."

She had gone downstairs following the fireman and Lane was at the front desk.

- "good evening" she politely said her father.

-"Good evening, Maya."

- "you wanted to see me?"

- "I don't like ultimatu-"

- "I think I'm doing what I'm asked to do, I'm running, I'm winning, and I'm even pretty well placed since I'm dating Carina, the best female hopeful for the next Olympics, you must have seen it, the ranking came out yesterday... Is that why you're coming back ? Because I was voted best hopeful?"

- "Can I finish? I don't like ultimatums but I'll accept your... Proposal, that you, that you come home... Both of you" Maya could see that he was saying this without much desire and that it was almost burning her throat to do so.

- "Really?!"

-"Yes" he said in a very stuck up way.

- "and I can... Sleep with my girlfriend? I can hold her hand, kiss her... You don't mind?!"

- "you said something about..." He had clenched his teeth and spread his nostrils, exhaling harder. "sleeping in the same room. You didn't talk about kissing or holding hands in front of me..."

- "it's okay, I was kidding" she quipped without an ounce of a smile. "But you are aware that it can get away from us?! It's been almost three weeks at Pruitt's, that we don't have to hide, that I can kiss Carina, that I can sit on the couch and hold her."

- "Maya, you're only sixteen!"

- "so what?! I love her and I don't see how, whether I'm sixteen or forty, my love can't be the same. You know what?! To tell you the truth, I don't even think you've ever loved anyone the way I love Carina. I don't think I know anyone who loves the way I love Carina and she loves me."

- "You know that after July this story will be over?!"

- "No matter what July, Carina is the woman of my life, I know it. I don't know how long it will take me to finish my life with her, but I will prove it to you."

- "we're not going to get into this debate again. Are you coming back?!"

- "I'm going to check with my girlfriend."

- "Can't you call her by her first name?!"

- "she's my girlfriend, so I can call her that or Carina, the choice is mine"

- "Maya you're being cheeky!"

- "I just didn't like you raising your hand on me and Carina! Do you realize that the only time you hit me was for something I didn't do? You decide to steal a car, you decide to sneak out, you decide to hit someone.... You don't decide to fall in love".