Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:40:56 -0800 (PST)
From: Esther Lee <elxwrite@yahoo.com>
Subject: Two Different Worlds 4

Thank you to all the people who have sent me emails, they really do make me
want to keep on writing while I'm studying for exams. I'm sorry for the
late update on the story but I will try harder to write in my free
time. Once again, I really appreciate all the emails; thank you for
reading! ?


Maya


I woke up feeling like crap; my body was sore from the beating I had a few
days ago but a cool hand hovered over my forehead taking my temperature. I
assumed it was Missy checking up on me since the time she called.

"Missy," I croaked, "Bring me some water."

I heard footsteps padding away from my room, the sink turning on, and the
footsteps returning. The bed groaned as she shifted her weight against my
bed.

"Here," a different person said.

Suddenly, I was completely tense and alert and opened my eyes to see Kim
sitting by my side, handing me the same glass of water I thought I told
Missy to do.

"Kim!" I jumped. I tried to sit up fast and at least lean against my
headboard but a sharp pain stabbed my ribs. I clutched my side and groaned
while Kim helped me lay back down.

"Idiot. Who the hell moves like that when they're injured this bad," she
said haughtily.

"Sorry," I gasped.

Her intense stare turned soft and sympathetic, her expression
heartbreaking. Her hazel eyes yearned for a truth in which I knew the
answers. I knew what she was going to ask in that moment later.

"What happened, Maya?" she said softly.

I searched for possible excuses in my mind and when I opened my mouth to
speak, the chain of words that I planned to fool her with was lost. I
looked away, my mind went blank and I sat there helplessly searching for
words to say.

"I - I fell down the stairs," I stuttered.

Cautiously, I raised my eyes and saw Kim with a very unsatisfied look,
along with her looking at me like an idiot. I flushed and quickly looked
away again.

Suddenly, Kim leaned forward and grabbed each side of my head with her
hands and forced me to lock eyes with her. I stared into her eyes and found
sincerity; like I could confess everything to her and she would still stay
by my side. "Maya," she whispered. I caught the perfume drifting from the
base of her neck; my heart pounded harder, as if it only beat to her
scent. Her sweet breath was intoxicating, I started to lose focus but her
eyes chained me to her. "Tell me the truth."

All I wanted to do at that moment was to kiss her. I wanted to take control
of her and make everything of hers become mine. There was a feeling inside
me that told me I had to have her, that I should bind her to me and never
let her go.

All of a sudden the front door opened and we both looked to the direction
of the sound. I tensed up at any possible danger but Missy walked into the
room a second later bringing some groceries with her. Thankfully, Kim let
go of the discussion.

"So she's alive," Missy joked.

I laughed. "I feel better than ever too."

A slow smile spread on her face. "Hey Kim you know how to cook?"

"A little bit, why?" she asked confused.

Missy turned on her innocent look. "Do you mind cooking for this person
here, please?"

"Oh sure. Do you want anything in particular, Maya?"

I smiled. "Anything you make is fine."

Kim smiled back and turned to go to the kitchen. As soon as she was out of
the room, Missy quickly went to close the door and sat herself on the
bed. Her expression was no longer joking, but dead serious.

"What the hell happened? Julian and his friends came to us at school today
with cuts and bruises and threatened us."

I sighed and slowly started to explain, "I came back from practice and his
friends jumped me in the parking lot. We got into a little fight until
Julian came and talked to me about Grace and Kathryn." I recalled the
memory and I gritted my teeth in pure anger. "He said that if I didn't stay
away from Kim, he'll tell Kathryn where I'm at; he's practically working
for her now. Then, security was coming so they left."

"Is that why he's approaching you so much?"

"Probably," I said.

There was a brief silence between us. "I never thought that things would be
this serious."

"Neither did I, not until Julian told me."

"Do you think he'll tell her anyways?" she said seriously.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose in frustration and sighed. "I have no idea."

"What about Grace?"

My heart suddenly jolted when I heard her name. After all these years,
there really is no way that I can just forget about her.

"He just?talked about how she's doing," I said, struggling all the while.

"We both know he would say more than that, Maya," she said in disbelief.

"Grace is?" I paused, "?she's fine; more than fine I guess."

Missy let go of that topic but continued to press me with more
questions. "And what about Kim? Are you going to avoid her now?"

I stayed silent on that question. My eyes fell upon the open window on the
side, sunlight spilling through the clear glass. The dust particles were
visible due to the clear path cut by the sun. All the dusts were floating
in the air as if distilled in time. A sudden gust of wind broke through
them and they continued to float towards the ground.

"I don't plan on it. I don't want to give him that satisfaction," I said
grimly.

Missy just stared at me for a while. "What if he really hurts Kim?"

"Then," I paused, "I'll have to move away again."

Missy dropped her gaze and sighed. "Don't expect me to follow you
everywhere, Maya. I want to find one place to stay and build a life too."

I silently nodded. "I know."



Kim


The feeling of cooking for Maya made me nervous but I silently told myself
to just make something simple but delicious. I rummaged through the
groceries Missy bought and found enough ingredients to make an easy
porridge. It took quite a while but it turned out pretty good. Hopefully,
Maya will like everything. I set everything on a tray and carefully made my
way to Maya's room again.

The food was pretty heavy and I swore when I saw that the door was
closed. I stood in front of the door trying to balance everything on one
hand to turn the knob but heard that they were talking. The quiet voices
managed to leak through the crevices of the door.

"You have to stay away from her, Maya; unless you want her to get hurt,"
Missy said insistently.

"I told you I don't want to see his smug face when he sees that," Maya
growled.

"This isn't about your pride, Maya! This is for what's best for us and
what's best for her too," Missy urged.

"I know, but I just?" she said softly.

There was a distant silence in the room. I stood frozen in front of the
door taking in their words. Who were they talking about? Who did they have
to stay away from?

"Whatever. It's getting late and I have to go. Just think about what you're
doing, okay?"

I heard footsteps padding toward the door and I suddenly panicked, thinking
that I might be in some trouble for eavesdropping on their
conversation. The door flung open to reveal Missy with a troubled look but
she looked at me in sheer surprise.

"Umm, hi," I said, not knowing what to say at that moment.

"You heard," she simply stated.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to. I just?"

Instead of her being mad, she gave a sad smile. "You better give the food
to her before it gets cold. I'll be outside if you want a ride."

"No, it's okay. I'll catch the bus home," I replied.

She stared at me, as if astonished by my words. "Okay then, take care of
her for me."

Missy slipped past me and went out the door, leaving me alone in the
apartment with Maya. It took me a while to notice that Maya saw what
happened between me and Missy and I immediately flushed. She looked at me
with a confident smile when I started walking toward her.

She chuckled. "You look cute when you're nervous."

I smiled at the easy atmosphere and made my way to the side of her bed. I
cautiously lowered the tray by her side and sat down next to it too. I
watched her struggle to freely move her arm to get at the food, so I
brought the tray closer to me so that I could feed her. She looked at me
completely surprised when I brought a spoonful of the food close to her
mouth.

"What?" I asked.

"What are you doing?" she said cautiously.

I rolled my eyes and smiled a little. "I'm feeding you since your arm is
hurt, Maya."

I pushed the spoon closer to her mouth but despite my efforts, her lips
remained tightly locked. Only a few seconds later did she crack open her
mouth little by little to engulf the contents of the spoon. Maya suddenly
turned away in efforts to hide the pink crawling up her throat to spread
across her cheeks.

"Hey, what's wrong," suddenly worried.

She turned back and faced me, her expression shy. "N-No, it's just?I guess
I'm just not used to that kind of stuff."

I started to flush a little too because of her sudden cute reaction and the
desire to hug her grew strong within me but I refrained from doing so.
Instead, I just smiled and fed her another spoonful. She wasn't as hesitant
but she was still uncomfortable. I managed to feed her everything and
handed her a bottle of water.

"Thanks, Kim. It was delicious," she complimented with a smile.

My spirits brightened instantly with her comment and I went to go clean the
dishes. When I was done, I remembered Maya's and Missy's conversation; it
brought up the long forgotten questions lingering in my head longing to be
answered. I slowly made my way back to Maya's room and plopped myself down
next to her, careful not to hurt her. I stared into her eyes but was really
thinking about a good way to bring about the strange conversation I heard.

I didn't realize how long I was looking at her until she broke a smile
across her lips and motioned me to come to her, her arms wide open like a
warm, safe haven where I can retreat to. I carefully laid down beside her
and basked in the feeling of protectiveness and hospitality she offered
me. The same questions still poked my mind but not as much now; all I could
think about was the fact that she was with me, her arms wrapped around me
and I was with her, prepared to support her as much as protect her.