Loved By You

Eleven

Maja

I looked up at Angelo then out into the crowd before I hopped down and headed out the building. "Maja!!" "Maja!!" I heard my sister yell as they jogged after me. "That was sexy," Arnell said. I shook my head. "Arnell!" Nadia said hitting her arm. "What!? It was like he was showing us what he wanted to do to Maja. Shit, a blind man could see the sexual tension between them." Arnell said. "I can't even lie you two look like yall were going to need a room if that song hadn't of stopped," Nadia said. I tuned them out as I walked to our apartment. I opened the door and I couldn't take them talking. "Shut up!! Damn! Since you two seem so worried about Angelo why don't you two date him." I yelled looking at the two of them.

"I know your tense and all but you better watch who the fuck you yelling at because I'm not the one," Arnell said. I scoffed rolling my eyes. "You ain't gone do shit," I said as we reached the door. I opened it as Nadia tried to calm us down. "You two need to chill the fuck out because yall are both doing too much," Nadia said. "Man fuck her," Arnell said.

My eyes narrowed as I mumbled some words under my breath. I turned heading for my door as they both followed me. "Speak up. Over there mumbling shit." She said as I opened my door.

"Oh. My. God." The three of us said. "Maja!" Rod yelled jumping up. My hand covered my mouth as I watched Rod climb off Haseem. "Maja we're so sorry," Haseem said. We all stood there speechless as we watched them rush to throw their clothes back on. I turned and walked out my room clutching my keys as I rushed to my door.

"Maja wait," Nadia said. I swung the door open seeing my mother and my father with his wife standing there with my four step-siblings standing behind them. "Mama?" I questioned as I felt my sisters join me. "Mama? Daddy? What are you two doing here?" Nadia asked. "Well you said you couldn't make it back for your birthday so we decided to come spend it with you." Our mother said happily. I rolled my eyes shaking my head.

Angelo

The talent show had ended and I was heading back to the house but I couldn't shake this nagging feeling to go check on Maja. I sighed making a U-turn heading to her apartment. I looked at her door before knocking on it. A minute or two passed before she finally answered the door. "Hi." She breathed out looking up at me. "I was just stopping by to say..." "Maja, who's at the door? Oh, hello. Who is this handsome young man?" I looked at this woman who looked like an older version of Nadia. "Mama this is Angelo. He's ... um... he's my..." She scratched her head looking confused. I chuckled looking at her. "I'm her boyfriend," I answered. "Oh her boyfriend, huh?" Maja's mother said looking at her daughter a look.

"Yes, ma'am," I said before Maja could answer. "Yes, this is my...boyfriend." She said giving me a look. "Well, I'm her mother Jaqueline. Why don't you come in?" Mrs. Jaqueline said with a smile. I smiled as well following her in. I glanced at Maja giving her a small smirk causing her to make a face while she shook her head as she closed the door.

I walked into the living room to see Arnell, Nadia, Haseem, Rod, a large black man sitting next to a small white woman and two white boys and two white girls. "Who is this?" The black man who I assumed was Maja's father, said. Mrs. Jaqueline and Maja both rolled their eyes before Mrs. Jaqueline spoke. "This is Maja's boyfriend, Angelo." She said. "Angelo this is the girl's father, Keenan."

"Although I don't know why he's here." She mumbled the last part before her mom pinched her. "It's nice to meet you, sir," I said as he continued to look at me.

Maja grabbed my arm pulling me to the couch with her. "This is a little awkward," I whispered to her. I saw the corners of her mouth twitch but her face remained neutral. I looked from her father to Rod and Haseem who looked disheveled. I raised an eyebrow at them as Mrs. Jaqueline spoke. "Alright so maybe popping over was a mistake. How about we do lunch tomorrow and maybe a little shopping?" Mrs. Jaqueline asked hopeful.

"Ooo I'm in," Nadia said. "Me too." Arnell chimed as they looked at Maja waiting for her answer. "That's fine I guess," Maja said. Mrs. Jaqueline stood up along with her daughters as they walked their mother to the door. "I'll see you three tomorrow and Angelo it was nice to meet you." She smiled looking just like Maja. "You as well Mrs. Lewis." She chuckled. "Please call me Jaqueline." I smiled nodding my head as Rod walked her downstairs. I noted the look he gave the girls as he walked passed them.

Maja turned to look at her father and stepfamily. "You can leave now." She said harsher than I had ever her speak before. Keenan walked towards her. "Can we talk tomorrow?" He asked. "Nope. Bye." She said holding the door open. "Please Maja." He begged. Nadia leaned over whispering something to her. Maja looked at her smacking her lips. "Fuck him." She said. "Goodbye." She said. When nobody moved she looked at him before her eyes went to his wife and kids. I watched as her eyes drifted over to Haseem before she grabbed my hand and walked out.

--

"I can't believe this shit." Maja rambled as she walked out of her building pacing back and forth. She started rambling to herself and I could see she was getting herself worked up. Suddenly she started grabbing her hair tying it into a ponytail before heading back to her door. "Woah! Woah!!" I said grabbing her hips pulling her back. "Calm down," I said softly pressing her back against me. She took a breath before turning around.

"I'm good." She said. "You sure because you have on the perfect attire to fuck someone up," I said looking down at her. "Ughh!" She groaned. Soon enough I heard her sniffing and I looked at her too see tears running down her face. She looked away from me roughly wiping away the tears as they fell. I hated to see women cry and seeing Maja crying made me feel some type of way. "Come with me," I said grabbing her arm. I led her to my car and started driving.

"The library?" She asked confused. "Sssh. Just come." We went inside and I led her upstairs and straight to the back. It was practically empty as we got to a door that had another set of stairs. We stopped at yet another door and I pulled out a key that led to a room where one wall was a window that overlooked the campus. There was a bookshelf and a projector and a bunch of my stuff sitting around. "I should have cleaned up," I mumbled to myself seeing all my canvases, paints, and other shit sitting around. I went over to my blue tooth speakers and turned on some music. "You come up here a lot I see." She stated rather than asked as she looked around. "All the time," I said clearing off a seat for her.

I took a seat on the other end of the couch. "Look I'm sorry about the talent show," I said scratching the back of my neck. Her face heated up when I spoke, "It's fine." She said. It fell quiet for only a minute before I spoke again. "I like your mom. She's really nice." I chuckled. "I see Nadia takes after her a lot." She looked up at me with a stale face. "What? I'm just saying from my view. Nadia looks like her and acts like her. While Arnell and Montae look like your dad, but they seem to have a bit of both their personalities from what I've seen so far. Then there's you who looks like a mixture of the both of them, but you seem to have your dad's personality more, but your mother's mannerism. If that makes sense." I said thinking about what I said. She looked at me genuinely surprised. "How very observant." She said tilting her head to the side looking at me.

I stared back at her and I saw this unreadable expression cross her face. "Um..." She said finally looking away. "So what are you working on?" She asked looking at a half-painted canvas I was working on. "It's nothing," I said moving the canvas. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't like to show my work until I'm done," I said. "I see." She said. I went to my projector setting it up to play a movie.

--

We were 20 minutes into the second movie when I looked down seeing she had fallen asleep on my shoulder. I went to move when she grabbed my arm. "Stay." She said barely above a whisper. I scooped her up lying on my back adjusting her so she was between me and the couch with her head resting on my chest. I grabbed my blanket throwing it over us as I continued to watch the movie before falling asleep as well.

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