Maid For His Love {mxm}

Maid 22.

"Working hard to get my fill. Everybody wants a thrill, Payin' anything to roll the dice just one more time. Some will win, some will lose. Some were born to sing the blues. Oh, the movie never ends. It goes on and on and on and on," Don't Stop Believin', Journey

Emmanuel Moore was a good father, but he wasn't the best. He didn't go outside and play catch with me like the rest of the kids in the neighborhood did with their dads, but he managed to sit me down and tell me how babies were made. He always told me how to fight, but he never told me who or what I would be fighting. He always said to be respectful to the girls and ignore the guys.

He was always there when it was time for dinner, but he never asked me how my day at camp was, or how I enjoyed lacrosse growing up. He never pushed me to make friends, but he always told me who to stay away from. Now that I thought about it, those same people he told me to stay away from weren't that bad. 

They were just misunderstood.

He never came in and told me how to properly masturbate or anything like that, but he assumed that I taught myself. He loved me, but he put his work before me and he was only there if something bad happened to me, hence when I was beat up. He read to me, but he never listened to me read. See, Emmanuel Moore was a father in the household, but I was never truly close to him because of that lack of a relationship. We were just two bodies walking and coexisting in the same place. I thought it was because he could sense that something was different within me.

However, Joella Moore was my best friend throughout my entire youth. The first time I sang, she signed me up for the local choir. She encouraged me to sing, no matter what anyone else said. She used to be my muse. She used to tell me that no matter what anyone said or what they did, I had to focus on being me and being the best that I knew I could be. She told me that if I put my mind to it, I could achieve anything. She was always there for me, my rock and my heart.

But that was all in the past.

"What do you want?" I sat across from them, arms folded and eyes stern and rigid despite my internally shaking figure. Emmanuel still looked the same, brown hair pushed over his head with brown eyes that gleamed at me with hope instead of contempt. He still looked youthful, but I wasn't sure the same could be said for my mother. Joella still had her beautiful blonde hair held high up in a bun, her blue eyes crisp and wide with tears, but her fair skin had its share of wrinkles.

She looked at me up and down, scanning my body. She smiled softly and I just stared with a frown on my face as Nishan leaned back into the cushion next to me, curiosity burning through his clothes. I was extremely nervous and cautious and having him here was a relief. "It's been four years. What do you have to say to me?" I muttered quietly and calmly, watching them look into each other's eyes and clutch their hands before turning back to me, their eyes big and pleading.

"W-we," Joella choked on her words, blinking at me as if she couldn't believe that I looked so healthy and strong. Maybe she thought that I'd be on the side of the road, asking for crack or money because I couldn't afford to live. "We just wanted to check on you. Make sure that you were okay," I could hear the guilt in her tone, but it didn't faze me one bit. 

"As you can see," I pointed to myself, looking effortlessly bored. "I am just fine." I always thought about the day that I would see them again. I knew that it would happen, but I didn't know how or when or why. I'd always thought that it'd be me crawling back for forgiveness and help, but I was so glad to see that I finally managed to make it on my own with the help of Celina. But now that it was an actual reality and they were actually sitting across from me in the flesh, breathing and looking at me, I could say that I felt a variety of emotions.