Loved By You

Twenty-two

Dimitri

"Damn, she looks good," I said staring at Maja as she sat with my little girl in her lap. "She always looks good, but that attitude she got..." Zachary said with a scoff. "Shut up you're just mad she punched you," Christoph said. I chuckled. The three of us all had a crush on Maja, but when it came down to it she chose me. I watched as she spoke to her mother before she walked to the back. I took this as my chance to talk to her and followed her to the back. I watched as she walked out of Sami's room and headed down the hall to her old room. I stood there for a minute looking at her before I closed the door. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me.

"I think we should talk now," I said as she stared at me. She was so caught up in her thoughts she hadn't noticed I was walking towards her. "You can talk from over there." She said. I chuckled. "Am I making you nervous?" I said once I finally reached her. "No Dimitri, nothing you do gets to me anymore." I clenched my jaw when I heard her use my name. "What have I told you about calling me that?" I said caressing her cheek while looking down at her. She pushed my hand away before taking a step back. "What do you want?" She asked. "I want a lot of things," I said taking in her body before licking my lips. I clenched my jaw seeing a light hickey on her neck snapping me out of my thoughts.

"But we need to talk about Samiya." She looked at me before crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. "I want joint custody." She snorted. "What?" She asked looking at me. "I joint custody, it's been four years, Maja. She's my daughter and I'm tired of having someone watch over me like I'm going to hurt her." She held her hand up stopping me. "That's because you will. The only reason you're even in Sami's life is because of your father. If it was up to me she would know nothing about your family." She said with a sigh. "My family?" I questioned. "News flash Mj you're a part of my family." She scoffed. Between my parents, my father and I were closer. He was always there looking out for me even though I fought him at every turn. I will forever be grateful for what did so I could have my daughter and even Maja in my life.

"He knew after I got my shit together I would want a relationship with my daughter, and I do. You need to get over being mad at me, we have a child together. I just want the chance to be a good father." She shook her head. "You lied to me, for years. Your mother is married to my fucking father. You got involved with me knowing you were my step-brother!!" She yelled. "I already told you. I didn't know anything until we were already together and at that point, I didn't care you were my girl." I said truthfully.

"What about all the other shit you did and said. You didn't want to be a father back then as I recall you didn't care if I kept her or not, remember?" She paused. "Not mention you're a criminal. You're literally in a fucking gang and you've been arrested too many times to count." She said with frustration evident in her voice.

"I was scared, I wasn't ready to be a parent. I could barely take care of myself, but after spending time with Sami, I can't imagine not being in her life. I've been work day after day to make up for the things I did and especially for the things I said." I was hit with a wave of shame as I remember what I said when Maja told me she was pregnant.

"What about the gang activity?" She questioned with her arms crossed. I shoved my hands into my pocket looking at her. "I was never in a gang," I said. Her eyes narrowed as a scowl graced her beautiful face. "Nig... not in a gang!? I was fucking shot at because of you. Hell, I was shot!!" She said raising her shirt showing the now fading scar. I've never forgiven myself for that night. "I can't put Samiya in danger or myself for that matter. So, the answer is no." She said. I walked towards her causing her to back up into the nightstand. "She's my daughter too Maja. If anybody should be raising her while you're at school, it should be me. She needs at least one parent." "And what is that supposed to mean?" She questioned looking at me coldly. "All I'm saying is if you're going to go to school then she should be with me, not your mother. I should be the one to take care of her while you're away."

"When was the last time you were arrested huh? Or shot at? Or in a fight?" She questioned. A scowl sank on my face. "That's what I thought. I don't trust you with my daughter. You ha..." "That's where you are confused. She's not just your daughter." She scoffed rolling her eyes. "Clearly we're not going to agree I guess we're going back to court then," I said. She stared up at me and I watched as her eyes began to cloud. "You can't do that." She whispered. "I can and I will if you won't even consider it," I said hoping she wouldn't make me take her court. I couldn't help but feel bad when I saw tears well up in her eyes. She looked away and heard her sniff before she pushed passed me and walked out. "Shit," I mumbled running my hands through my hair.

I walked out the room and down the hallway just in time to hear Maja say something. "Why are they here?" She questioned. I walked a little farther to see her dad and my parents along with my sisters. "Well considering how Nadia's birthday dinner went your Richard suggested we have a makeup dinner," Keenan said. We all knew that if my dad suggested anything it really wasn't a choice. Maja stood silent. "I also thought we could talk after dinner." Maja narrowed her now red eyes at her father. "We don't have anything to talk about Keenan." Maja didn't want anything to do with her father and you could tell he was hurt. "Daddy?" I turned when I felt small arms wrap around my legs. "What's wrong mamas?" I asked picking her up. "I'm hungry." She said rubbing her eyes. I chuckled. "Alright," I said before she laid her head on my shoulder. I stepped forward making my presence known.

"I think dinner is a good idea. It's been a while since we had a family dinner, especially with Samiya here." I said motioning towards my baby girl who was watching the scene intently. My eyes went to Maja and she closed her eyes before taking a breath. "Fine, okay." She said before she turned heading to the dining room. Everyone followed her and I looked at Sami as she looked at me. "Well, this should be fun," I said making Sami giggle before we joined everyone.

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