Page 89 of These Rough Waters

Maya laughs, “Well since you’re her uncle now, you have duties to uphold.”

He rolls his eyes, “Fine,” he says and gets up, “Oh, I thought you guys should know…”

Maya’s brows pull in confusion, “What?”

“These walls are very thin…while Maya sings very prettily,” His eyes flare knowingly and Maya’s cheeks bloom with color immediately, “not everyone needs to hear you railing your girlfriend, brother.”

I grab an apple from the fruit bowl on the table and launch it at his head which he dodges effortlessly and jogs from the room, his chuckle following him out.

“Oh my god,” Maya covers her face with her hands, shaking her head, “Do you think Harper heard? Oh god, this is so bad!”

“Maya,” I laugh, “I doubt she woke up, Rett’s just being an ass.”

“Is that his default function?” She asks seriously.

“Pretty much.”

“Harper loves him.”

“As fucked in the head my brother is, he is a good person,” I say, “Mostly.” I add at the unconvinced look Maya gives me.

Silence falls between us and I know she’s thinking about what I said. I open my mouth to tell her it’s okay, but she gets up, walking towards the sink with a concerned expression.

“What is it?”

“How could you want this?” She asks.

“What?”

“Me. After everything I told you with my ex and the trouble it’s going to cause.”

“Because your past isn’t what I fell in love with, Maya and you don’t just stop because things become complicated.”

She blows out a breath, “You’re the second person in my life that has ever told me that they love me.”

“And that in itself is a crime, little doe.”

“Harper tells me every day.” She breathes.

“I’ll tell you every hour if you need me to.”

“How do you know it’s real?”

I gently grasp her hand, “Because before you, I thought this was dead.” She stares at her hand as I place it on my chest, “But then I realized it was just waiting for you because I can assure you, Maya, this heart beats for you. Only you.”

Tears glisten in her eyes and she opens her mouth to speak but then Harper skids into the room, throwing her schoolbag down, “I’m ready!” She announces.

“Later, Maya,” I assure my girl, “We have all the time in the world.”

Maya finishes helping Harper get ready for school while Rett lingers, prepared to take her and even though I think it’ll take some convincing to prove to Maya that I meant what I said, I can see a sense of comfort lining her shoulders, she wasn’t so tense and when she looks at me now, I see the same feeling reflected back, even if the words scare her.

“Have a good day, baby,” Maya says to Harper, “make sure you beat Rett in that race to school!”

“Of course, I will,” she answers, a little smug, “Rett’s old. He’s slow.”

“Hey!” Rett gasps, “I didn’t know you were mean!”

“Not mean if it’s true,” Harper throws back.

---