home (halsey)

3

Ashley

I awoke the next morning on our bare mattress, my body shivering because Maya had taken the entire blanket. Stretching lazily, I climbed out of bed and furrowing my eyebrows at what I heard.

Down the hall, my family was screaming and arguing over something.

"Maya," I called over, waking her up. She sat up quickly and squinted her eyes, trying to see through her blurry, morning vision.

"What?" She groaned, rubbing her eyes.

"My family's obviously up," I sighed. "Let's go see what they're up to."

She mumbled something incoherently, and slammed the bathroom door shut. After a few minutes, she came out in clothes because she was obviously naked. You can't do what we did last night with your clothes on, if you know what I mean.

We walked to the living room and found Sevian and Dante fighting over the television remote, while my parents stood yelling over their constant complaints.

"Morning," I spoke up, instantly stopping the chaos. The replied with a quick good morning in unison.

"What are you all up to this early in the morning?" I asked curiously, leaning against the doorway with Maya beside me.

"Sev wants to watch Pimp My Ride, and Dante wants to watch Spongebob. You can figure the rest out," My mom said, rolling her eyes as she crouched down to pick up the towels they left on the floor last night.

I giggled, covering my mouth to hide it.

"Do you guys wanna go out and get some breakfast? My treat," I reassured them, smiling widely.

They nodded their heads, gathered their things, and we headed off to the diner down the block. After arriving, we were seated at a booth in the far end of the diner by the back exit. I didn't want to risk being spotted by anyone while I had family time. I rarely see them and when I do, I like to make it meaningful. We talked and joked over glasses of juice and plates of pancakes and eggs.

"So, Ash and Maya," My mom spoke up. "How did you two sleep last night?" She asked, earning a laugh from my dad and Sevian under their breaths.

My eyes widened and my cheeks heated up, now knowing that they were aware of what we did. I looked to Maya and she was blushing just as badly as I was, except she had her gaze down at her feet, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

"Uh, fine, thanks," I said awkwardly, reaching over to take a sip of my orange juice.

"I'm sure it was more than fine," My brother teased, sticking his tongue out. I rolled my eyes and threw a balled up napkin at his head.

"Mama, papa, I don't think they slept fine at all. Their walls were shaking and someone was crying again. Why are they always so sad?" My brother Dante asked, his innocence clearly showing. The whole table, besides him, bursted into uncontrollable fits of laughter. Guess we weren't so quiet last night.

"Okay, okay, that's enough," My mom said, her laughter dying down. She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath to contain herself. "Now let's change the subject. Ashley, Maya, how long have you two been together?"

I hadn't told my parents much about Maya. I only told them that I had a significant other, but I wanted to save the details and the excitement for them to experience it in person.

"Like, 7 and a half months. Getting closer to a year," I spoke up proudly, looking over to Maya lovingly and grabbing her hand, squeezing it.

"Wow, so this is the lover you've been waiting to show us. Maya, dear, your girlfriend always talked about having someone in her life, but she saved the details," My mom said to Maya, smiling at her in adoration.

"And she has said only good things, I hope?" Maya teased, laughing. My mom giggled and nodded her head.

"Oh, of course. She really loves you. I can tell," She said, her eyes becoming glossy from the tears that were building up.

"Ma, stop crying over everything. You cried when I got my driver's license last week," Sevian said, rolling his eyes and taking a bite into some toast.

"She can't help it, son. These things only happen once," My dad said, nudging his arm which caused him to roll his eyes even farther than before.

"I like Sissy and Maya. They're cute, but are two girls allowed to date?" My brother, Dante asked. He looked up at my parents with his youthful, innocent eyes.

"Of course, baby. Love is love. If you love a boy, that's alright. If you love a girl, that's fine as well," My mom said, pulling Dante into her side and kissing the top of his head.

"I'm glad you approve of us, Chris and Nycki," Maya spoke up to my parents, smiling sadly. "I don't have any luck with my parents."

My mom frowned and gasped, my dad reaching to the side to rub her back.

"Why not?"

Maya sighed and started playing with the edges of her napkin, tearing them off and letting them fall freely to the ground.

"They just don't believe that anyone could ever love the same gender. They're convinced that I'm going to end up marrying a rich, white guy with a big house or something. I'm not accepted for who I am in my own house, and that sucks," She took a deep breath, then continued. "It's nice to know that people accept us, though. Thank you for that," She said, her smile small but sincere.

"Nonsense, child. We should have a little talk with your parents," My dad said, cracking his knuckles jokingly as if he was preparing for a fight.

"Chris, that's actually a really good idea," My mom said, the pitch of her voice rising in excitement. Her eyes lit up and moved back to Maya. "How'd you like it if we visited your parents and spoke to them about you two? I know how much people want their parent's approval deep down, even if they don't want to admit it."

Maya thought for a minute, looking over at me. I shrugged in a way that told her everything was up to her. If she wanted to, I'd be there with her. No doubt about it. She grabbed my hand again, beginning to draw invisible shapes on my palm with her fingertips.

"I'd like that," Maya said shyly, her gaze still on my cold hand.

"Great!" My mom said happily, clapping. "Let us know the time and place for everything and we'll be more than willing to help you out. Anything for you beautiful people."

Maya and I looked at each other happily, our goofy grins raising our cheeks and displaying our evident happiness.

"Thanks, mom and dad. I love you," I said, reaching my hands out across the table to hold their hands.

"Mama?" Dante asked quietly, beginning to tug on my mom's sleeve.

"Yeah?"

"When are Ash and Maya gonna kiss? Couples do that, right?" He asked, pointing to us. We all laughed, my mom and dad rubbing their knuckles on his head.

"Not while I'm eating," Sevian said, jokingly pretending to vomit. I rolled my eyes and flipped him off. Turning my attention to Maya, we stared at each other for a few seconds before I shrugged and placed my hands on both sides of her face, pulling her in for a quick, but rough kiss.

I pulled away with rosy cheeks, biting my lip from shyness. Dante started clapping and smiled lovingly.

"Mama, they did it!" He said. "They love each other."

We all smiled, looking contently at each other because of the love that could be felt at the table. While my family broke out into a new conversation, Maya brought her lips to my ear, whispering words that never failed to bring chills up my spine.

She spoke lowly, her words coming out clearly, saying, "I love you. Forever."