MAYA
"Are you sure you're okay?"Violet asked as she drove us home from school later that day.
"Yes I'm fine."I assured her for the umpteenth time.
She had been fussing over me ever since I ran into Elijah. She was just being concerned but I was really okay except for a sore forehead that wasn't throbbing anymore.
"Good so you finally met Elijah huh, what did you think of him?"Maya asked and I frowned.
I had a lot of thoughts about him and they were all confusing but the one that kept haunting me was the hateful look he got when he confirmed my identity. I didn't want Elijah to hate me but I also understood why he did. He hadn't even spared me a second glance when he knew it was me. But I wasn't going to despair, I had to fix things.
"He's tall."I mumbled remembering I had yet to reply Violets question.
"Of course he's freaking tall, the dude is 6'8 but is that all you noticed?"Violet asked fishing for more.
"Well between trying not to break my nose and him running off I didn't see much."I replied a little bit too defensively.
Violet was butting her nose in my business and I wasn't exactly comfortable with that. I didn't know if I was ready to open up to her yet about my history with Elijah.
"Well yeah you're right but I thought I saw you guys have a moment. Like the one in the movies where the guy and the girl run into each other and when they look into each others eyes for the first time they fall in love."Violet gushed.
She couldn't have been more wrong about what happened. We didn't fall in love, quite the opposite since I realized just how much Elijah hated me.
"Definitely didn't happen."I mumbled sadly.
"Too bad, you guys would make a cute couple. Sure he's a giraffe and you're a gazelle but it would work."Violet added.
I rolled my eyes at her weird comparison and didn't bother replying. She was already shipping us yet we were barely friends. I couldn't even think of Elijah like that until I'd fixed our friendship. He was handsome no doubt but thinking that was would only confuse me. I had to deal with one thing at a time.
Violet got us home and thankfully neither my aunt nor uncle were there otherwise they would have fussed over me too much. I grabbed an ice pack from the freezer before running to my room to take a shower and start up on my assignments. It was only our first day but we already had a butt load of work. It also helped to distract me from my current dilemma with Elijah. I needed to fix things with him but I had no idea how to do it.
Later that night after dinner my aunt came into my room to talk to me.
"Congratulations again about making the track team sweetheart."She said taking a seat at the foot of my bed.
I'd made the announcement at dinner and everyone was happy for me. I loved running and now that I was part of the team it would help me during my college applications.
"Thanks aunt."I smiled gratefully.
"I know you swore her to secrecy and it took me a lot to get her to talk but Violet told me all about why you two were exchanging weird glances during dinner. Why didn't you tell me about running into Elijah?"My aunt asked and I groaned.
What was the use of swearing to secrecy if you couldn't keep your mouth shut? Violet had betrayed our bond.
"Don't hold it against her, I'm very convincing."My aunt pleaded.
"Fine."I grumbled.
"Good, so why didn't you tell me?"Aunt Gloria asked again.
"Because there's really nothing to tell. We ran into each other, I fell, he turned around to help me up and when he recognized me he cussed me out and marched out of the field."I expressed in a sad tone.
My aunt hummed and nodded looking lost in thought for a minute. I had to raise an eyebrow to demand that she tell me what she was thinking.
"His reaction was much calmer than I expected. I actually thought he'd react a bit more aggressively than that."She pointed out.
"Why?"I asked her.
"Because you abandoned him Maya
He was only ten, you were his only and best friend who left without a goodbye. He's entitled to whatever reaction he dishes out."She explained.
"But I miss him so much and I want us to be friends again."I expressed.
"Then apologize like you mean it and don't give up. It might take time but the fact that you being back made him that angry means he still cares. Just be patient love."My aunt advised.
"That's aunt."I mumbled.
"You're welcome sweetheart and don't forget, you have to be completely honest with him from the beginning about everything."She reminded me her words having a deeper meaning.
"I know aunt and I will."I assured her.
"Good, good night Ada."She said kissing my hair.
"Good night Auntie."I replied.
She left my room and I was alone again. I was exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally so it didn't take long for me to fall asleep. I dreamt about him that night like I did most nights only this time it was a replay of his rejection as he walked away from me over and over again.
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When I woke up in the morning I was distraught but my mind was made up. I needed to fix things with Elijah and fast. I couldn't keep feeling like that, it was too depressing. I made a whole plan in my head on how to mend my relationship with Elijah.
For my outfit of the day I chose a cute short black skirt that hugged my figure perfectly and reached mid thigh, a long sleeved white full neck top and a spaghetti strap cropped body con tube top over it. I put my locks in a pony tail and completed the look with my Dr Marten boots. The skirt was a little out of my comfort zone but it made me look cute and I was going for cute, made me less rejectable.
"You look hot, why do you look hot?"Violet asked looking at me confused as we met at the stairs while going down for breakfast.
I'd expressed my dislike for the skirt when we'd first bought it due to its length yet I was wearing it voluntarily.
"Nothing, can we pass my somewhere before school?"I requested her changing the topic.
"Sure we still have the time and I ask again, why do you look hot?"Violet repeated.
"Thanks."I replied skipping away as a ignored her second question.
Thankfully she didn't get to ask my anything invasive during breakfast as the boys were talking our ears off with kindergarten tales. My aunt gave me a subtle nod as we said our goodbyes after breakfast because only she knew what I was about to embark on.
"So where am I taking you?"Violet asked.
"To a florist, I need to buy flowers."I informed her.
"What for?"She asked confused starting the car.
"An apology."I replied honestly.
"To who?"She insisted dishing for more information.
"Elijah."
"Dude, he ran into you, you don't need to buy flowers to apologize."She pointed out.
"I know but the flowers have a deeper meaning than our small accident yesterday."I answered.
"Oh."Violet mumbled confused.
"I know you want to know more but the only thing I can tell you is that Elijah and I have history. We used to know each other as kids before I left. A lot of stuff went down and I need so say sorry to him. There's a lot more to the story but I can't tell you about it until I tell him so you have to be patient with me."I explained.
"I knew it, you guys had a moment. Now it all makes sense why Elijah reacted the way he did."She yelled excitedly.
"Yeah."I sighed.
"Don't worry whatever it is he'll forgive you and I'll be here when you want to talk about it."Violet consoled.
"Thanks."I said with a small smile.
She stopped in front of a cute florist store and stayed in the car while I went to buy the flowers. The sign was still flipped to closed but I could hear some noise inside. We didn't have time to keep driving around to look for an open florist shop so I had to convince the florist inside to serve me.
I knocked as politely as possible while still being loud enough for them to hear me. They yelled something that I didn't quite catch and I assumed they were telling me off. I kept knocking and eventually I saw her approach the door since it was a clear glass door. The one thing that immediately caught my attention towards her was her bright red hair and as she got closer I saw another striking unique feature on her, green eyes. It wasn't that hard to connect the dots as to who she was.
I racked my memories for which of his seven sisters would be into flowers and only one name came to mind. Amanda was the sister who loved getting her hands dirty as she worked in the garden with their grandmother, always had flowers in her hair and liked making me flower crowns. Hopefully she would remember me and make an exception for me, that's if she didn't hate me too.
"We're closed come back later."She yelled standing on the other side of the glass door.
"Hi Amanda."I greeted and her eyes widened in surprise when I recognized her.
"I know you don't remember me but I'm Maya, your brothers childhood best friend and I really need a bouquet of flowers."I pleaded.
It took a few seconds for her to remember me and when she did, she immediately unlocked the door. I expected more rejection like from her brother but she surprised me by hugging me.
She was tall just like the rest of her Amazonian family standing at approximately 5'9.
"Maya, little mouse."She laughed pulling away as she held me at arms length to get a good look at me.
"I can't believe that its really you, you look so different yet the same. We all thought you were dead little mouse. Have you gotten even smaller?"She teased pinching my cheeks.
Her warm welcome made me feel better that at least one of the Olsen's didn't hate me.
"I grew just not much."I laughed.
"How long have you been back?"She asked.
"Less than two weeks."I replied.
"Have you and Elijah seen each other?"She inquired.
"Yeah and it didn't go so well that's why I'm getting the flowers for him. They are my first step to a long apology."I explained.
"That's to be expected but you've got to give him time, you leaving really messed him up, more than you can imagine and he's never really recovered. Hopefully now that you are back, he'll finally heal."She expressed.
"I hope so, I missed him and you guys. I see a ring, congratulations."I said admiring the two bands around her finger.
"Thank you, he is a marine but there's no time to catch up now. What flowers do you want?"She inquired.
"Blue roses please if you have them."I replied.
"Luckily for you I do."She said stepping away to get the flowers for me.
She wrapped them beautifully before handing them to me.
"He loves blue."She commented.
"I know. How much?"I asked.
"On the house."She replied brushing me off.
"Come on, please let me pay."I insisted.
"No, you're family. You can pay me by getting them to Eli and making him smile."She demanded.
"Okay, thank you Amanda. I'll come by when I'm not in such a rush and we can catch up better."I said.
"Or you can join us for family dinner at the house this Friday, we come together every once in a while per Oma's demands. It will be a great chance for you to meet everyone again."She invited.
"I don't know, I'm not sure how Elijah will react to that."I mumbled apologetically.
"Don't worry about him I'll handle it, now go before you're late for school."She demanded.
"Okay I'll be there, bye Amanda and thank you."I smiled.
"You're welcome little mouse, see you Saturday."She replied.
I had gone as little mouse to them as a child because of my stature as compared to the rest of them. Looks like that name would be making a come back.
I got into the car and Violet didn't waste anytime driving us to school.
"Lucky bastard, those are some pretty flowers."Violet mumbled jealously.
I just hoped Elijah would accept them. Men didn't really get flowers but I wanted to break that stereotype. I didn't expect us to be completely okay if he accepted the flowers but I hoped it would bridge the gap and bring us closer.
Violet parked her car in the same spot she had the previous day. We both got out with our bags and me with my flowers too. Everyone was in the same spot in front of the fountain but Elijah was nowhere in sight.
"Awe, flowers for me. How did you know blue roses are my favorite?"Finn asks stretching his hands out but I held the flowers away from his reach.
"Blue is every boys favorite color and they aren't for you."I informed him.
"Oh, too bad. Who are they for?"Finn insisted.
"You'll just have to wait and see."I smiled making him pout but he could force me to tell him.
I looked around but didn't see Elijah anywhere. I didn't know what car he drove so I had no way of knowing if he had arrived or not.
"Where's Eli?"Violet asked on my behalf and I gave her a grateful smile.
"Ain't here yet but he will be soon. Speaking of Elijah, are you okay Maya? You know after running into him yesterday."Wade asked concerned.
"Yeah I'm fine, didn't even leave a bump."I assured him.
"That's great, I'm sorry about Eli, he can be a bit closed off and awkward sometimes but he's a really good guy."Wade defended.
I wanted to tell them that I knew all that and more but I just nodded so I didn't out myself. The guys treated me like a stranger meaning Elijah had never told them about me which was okay. Only we were entitled to our business.
A few minutes later, the sound of a powerful engine was heard and a grey dodge charger destroyer was parked a few cars from us. Elijah got out looking handsome in an all black outfit. He turned to us when Wade whistled loudly and called his name. He looked over to us and glanced at everyone except me. Looks like he was still doing the ignoring Maya thing. It didn't faze me though, okay maybe just a little bit but I was still determined.
"Morning guys."He greeted generally joining us.
I saw his eyes pass over the flowers in my hand for fleeting second but that was only as much as he looked in my direction. Standing so close to him had all my senses going into overdrive. I was so overwhelmed by his presence but in a good way. My reaction to him was determined by the distance between us so the closer together we were, the more affected I was.
Violet looked at me and gave me a nod at Elijah's direction demanding that I get it over with and talk to him. I didn't want to, I was scared out of my mind but without action there's no results. I couldn't keep wondering forever so I had to take charge. Taking a deep breath and channeling my inner goddess I finally addressed Elijah directly for the first time in years.
"Elijah can I talk to you for a moment please?"I requested politely.
That didn't come out as smooth as I'd wanted since I was too nervous and ended up changing accents mid sentence. It's like my brain cells got fried when I was close to him.
Elijah turned to me with an even harder icy glare than the one from the day before, gave me a once over and spat out one word.
"No."He said before walking past me and leaving me hanging.
Everyone around us gasped at his reaction looking very confused. I was stunned for a minute but I didn't let that faze me for too long. I had already been expecting his rejection but I hadn't known it would hurt that bad.
Refusing to accept his rejection, I ran after him and blocked his path. If he wanted to walk past me he would have to run through me. He tried side stepping me but I was fast and always blocked his way. Eventually he stopped trying to get away and stood straight, arms crossed over his chest in a really intimidating way. I was scared but I tried my best not to let it show. Our little interaction earned a few curious stares but thankfully no one lingered. Elijah looked like he was getting impatient so I had to get my words out before he actually tackled me to to get away. I looked up to meet his blazing green eyes and him being so tall made it hard for eye contact but I struggled to make it work since I needed him to see how sincere I was.
"Hi Elijah."I said giving him an awkward wave that he returned with an icy glare.
I ignored him and continued with with my apology.
"You have no idea how good it feels to just be here standing in front of you. It's been eight years and you've changed so much, obviously. Sorry I'm rambling but I'm nervous. I know you hate me and don't want to talk to me but I got you flowers as the start of my apology. They won't fix things but they are a start because I really am sorry for everything."I said holding out the flowers but he didn't take them.
"Please talk to me."I begged when he just continued staring at me.
"Stay away."He said curtly.
Before I could say anything else, he picked me up by my armpits like I weighed nothing, turned around, set me down behind him then walked inside the school building leaving me outside with the flowers still in my hand. I knew I was light but he didn't have to pick me up like I was a pillow.
"That didn't go so well huh?"Violet asked approaching me.
"No but I'm not going to give up."I confessed.
"Great. What are you going to do with those?"Violet asked.
"Toss them away, he rejected them and they were for him so giving them to someone else will feel wrong."I explained.
"You know what, I have an idea."Violet said taking my hand as if she'd had an epiphany.
"Where are we going?"I asked her.
"Flower delivery."She replied vaguely.
We went towards the lockers and stood in front of a strange locker. I knew for a fact that it wasn't Violets since hers was close to mine and those were on the other side of the hall towards the end.
"Whose locker is this?"I asked as I watched her put in the combination.
"Eli's."She answered.
"How do you know his combination?"I asked watching it open wide.
"I'm observant, now put them in before we get caught."She replied.
"No, it feels wrong."I mumbled looking at the locker.
Elijah was very neat and didn't have many things in there, no pictures on the door or any dirty smells.
"Oh for christs sake."Violet groaned taking the flowers from me.
She emptied the plastic cup with his pens and pencils, poured some water in it from her water bottle, put the flowers in after removing the wrapping and closed the locker shut.
"There, now the ungrateful prick can toss them away himself."She grinned linking her hand with mine and leading her towards our lockers.
"Thank you."I appreciated my cousin.
"You're welcome."She grinned.
We got our books and separated after the warning bell for our first class. Elijah must have thought that his no meant something but I was Nigerian, we had stubbornness and resilience woven in our DNA, I wouldn't give up on him so easily. He had better be ready because he would be seeing a lot of me from then onwards until he eventually forgave me and we became friends again. That was my end goal, us being friends and I would achieve it. I was not a quitter and never would be.