the life after - marina

chapter 5

First, I wanted to thank you all for your support! I really do appreciate it and it keeps me motivated. I'll be working on new updates/chapters the next few weeks as I have plenty of time. Please let me know if you have any wishes, suggestions, or other comments. Thank you so much and stay safe!

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"Thank you for telling me about your terrifying experiences. You are a very brave woman and you can be proud of yourself. I will try everything I can to issue an injunction against Mr. Bishop. I would recommend going to therapy sessions, so you can overcome your cruel fate. It helped a lot of people that I have dealt you, and I'm fairly sure that it will help you as well," Elizabeth said. "Thank you so much! I've already planned to go to my station's therapist," Maya replied. "Also, it would probably better to stay away from your apartment for a certain amount of time. The risk of your dad returning and doing something bad after your big move is extremely high, so looking for a new apartment or moving in with someone else would seem as a perfect option for now. Other than that, we are done here. As soon as I have some news, I will inform you right away. Have a great day," she said before leaving the room to give the two women some privacy. "Maya, you can be so proud of yourself. You were so incredibly brave telling your story," Carina said. Carina gave Maya a soft kiss on her cheek and then on her lips to prove her how proud she was. "Also, if you want to, I would like to have you as my new roommate..." Carina added with a little smile. Seeing Maya safe is all Carina wanted. She saw how angry her father can get, and there was no way that she would risk Maya getting hurt! Moving in with Carina, even for only a short time, seemed like a huge step for Maya, but she loved the idea of spending every evening and night with her girlfriend. "Really? I would love that..." Maya replied. She gave Carina a long-lasting kiss to show her how happy she was about that. "Let's go home and pack your stuff together!" Carina said.

On they way to Maya's apartment, they were making plans about the temporary move. They decided to only take the most important things, such as clothes, things that Maya uses daily, and her favorite pillow, with them. Maya's furniture would remain in her apartment since Carina has everything set up at her home. Although, the current situation with her dad kind of urged the move, they were getting excited the more they though about it. After a thirty minutes' drive, they arrived at Maya's apartment where they next bad surprise was already waiting for them. It was Jack. This is the last thing they needed right know, especially Carina was quite angry when he saw him. "What are you doing here?" Carina said loudly. She overused these five words recently, but she couldn't think about anything else to say in this moment of anger. "Calm down," Maya replied as she took Carina's hand extremely tightly. It was definitely the right choice, otherwise Carina wouldn't have had her hands under control... Carina thought that she wasn't angry anymore, but the moment she saw Jack everything replayed in her head: Maya telling her, the pain, the tears,... Everything felt so real again, as she would go through this another time. "Hey, I just want to talk," Jack responded. He knew that Carina nor Maya liked his appearance. "Just come in," Maya said as she opened the door. Maya and Jack sat together on her couch which made Carina madder than she already was. She resisted to sit down. Somehow, walking around made her calm down a little bit. "So, what do you want to talk about?" Carina said abruptly. Carina does not know much about Jack, but she obviously was not looking for a new friendship, especially not with an ex of her girlfriend. Nevertheless, she had seen Jack at the station several times when she came to visit Maya, but they have never talked. "I just wanted to talk and apologize for the incident. It was a big mistake that will never happen again..." Jack said until he got interrupted by Carina: "I better hope so.". Maya was left out, she didn't even get to speak yet. "Carina, right?" Jack asked. "Yes, that's me," Carina replied. "I know how much Maya cares about you. She can't stop talking about you at work! It can be quite annoying sometimes," Jack said. At this point, Carina started giggling and she became relaxed. "You both seemed very happy together when you walked up the stars, so I assume that you are back together?" Jack asked. "Yes, we are," Carina replied before Maya could open her mouth. "As a friend and colleague, I'm glad for the both of you. It's great to see that Maya has you!" Jack said as he stood up to talk to Carina face to face. "Thank you so much," Carina said. "Hey, I'm still here, and I can see and hear you if you didn't notice," Maya interruptedly said. "I am of the same opinion by the way. It was a big mistake, and it will definitely not happen again..." Maya continued. "That's what I already expected. If I were you, I would also choose her over me," he giggled. "And Carina, I hope you can forgive someday since we will probably see each other at the station time from time," Jack said. "Of course, you actually seem like a good guy," Carina replied. She knew that there could never be a normal friendship between them, but she must work this out: for Maya.

As soon as Jack was gone, they started packing Maya's stuff. Although, they have agreed on things that Maya needed, they ended up taking more things to Carina's apartment which was only about 20 minutes away from the place Maya lives.