ALWAYS AND FOREVER

Cross Pov

“Ma, there you go again, I am not listening to you this time,”

I said moving away from my mom, she couldn’t let this issue pass without interfering, I already told her I didn’t want anything to the Stevenson family but my mom said and I quote, ‘that I should meet up with her father, like why would I do that, if anyone is supposed to meet up with anybody then it should be them, they should be apologizing for the shame they caused my family, even after my dad gave an Iffical statement, the press and media still talked about it for the whole if last week, my mom being the peace maker she Is, She has been disturbing me about going to the Stevensons for the whole week and I refused but she wasn’t relenting, I am scheduled to leave for New York tomorrow as I am taking Anna for a checkup today, she is doing well, she has gotten used to my family, not totally though but better than the day she first came in, I am going with my mom since I signed as her caregiver the day we left the hospital, I had to go and sign so that mom can take over her care since she can’t come with me to New York, I already planned for her to go back to college after the baby is born, she is a nice kid, just that she mixed with the wrong crowd. Dean already went back to New York, his foster sister got in trouble again,

“Cross, listen to me will you? Our family owes them,”

“I still don’t understand how and what we owe them though, is it related to why she was betrothed to me?”

“No, it not,”

“Ma, explain,”

“Well, you guys were promised to each other when she was born to strengthen our family bond,”

“What bond mom? What’s the reason there is a bond in the first place? As far as I know, we have no business dealing, neither do owe them any financial debt,”

“We use to, Cross believe it or not when you were much younger, if it wasn’t for the Stevenson we would have gone bankrupt, we almost did but they helped us, so no matter what their little daughter did, it doesn’t change the fact that we still owe them,”

My mom said, I still didn’t see how we owe them, okay they once saved us, but that doesn’t give them the right to embarrass our family, I have helped a lot of businesses too, so it is not that much of a big deal.

“Okay, so ma, what do you want me t0 say when I meet him? Cuz I don’t know what I am supposed to say,”

“Nothing, just say your greetings and he will tell you why he asked to see you,”

She said I didn’t know what to say to her, how do I just go to someone’s house and just greet and wait for him to tell me why he wanted to see me, it doesn’t make sense.

“Mom, I am not going, if you want, you can go on my behalf, I don’t owe them anything, I don’t want to ever step foot in that house, mom, I told already so please, let me be,”

“You are so stubborn I don’t know what to do with you anymore,”

“Mom, I always listen to you, and you know that, but not in this case, please, can we not talk about this again?”

“I know what you are thinking but that’s not it, her family already punished her by removing her name from their register, so whatever he is going to say it has nothing to do with marriage so son,”

“No ma, and do they have to disown her? What’s with parents and neglecting their kids, the same thing Anna’s parents did, I don’t like it, I know she deserves it but still that’s not the best way to deal with her, but anyway not my business, I don’t wanna have anything to do with that family and that’s final, we are running late for the hospital, can we go already so that I can leave tomorrow as scheduled, I am tired of Arizona,”

I said going upstairs without waiting for her reply, I went to Anna’s run and told her to come out, she looked much better now, this was the first good deed I must have done this year, Anna and my mom just become the only women who can manipulate me, I could do anything for her and I just didn’t know how she had much hold on me, ‘yeah that’s what you think, she does too,’

My mind said, I brushed it off as Anna walked out of her room, smiling, I liked seeing her smile, she is a pretty child and very smart too, she adjusted to my family real quick and everyone liked her too.

“I am gonna miss you Cross, can’t you stay for some days more?”

She said as we both walked back downstairs.

“I can’t Anna, I have work to do and I have been off for a whole week, I am the boss and the office can’t run smoothly without me, Don’t worry I will come and visit and I will also make sure you can travel so that you can also come over to New York,”

I said patting her shoulders.

“Thank you for everything Cross, for giving me a new life, I will forever be grateful to you and uncle Dean,”

She said, she calls Dean uncle but calls me by my name, when I asked her, she said I am closer to her age than Dean when I pointed out that we had an elven year’s gap between us, she said I looked younger than my age, and that I am the nicer of the two of us if only she knew who I was outside of Arizona, she wouldn’t say I am nice, but I didn’t want her to know that though.

“You are welcome, and do take care of yourself and my godchild alright?”

“Yes, I promise,”

“Don’t make him the godfather, Anna, he is too stubborn,”

My mom said still sucking, Anna just laughed and went off to wait for us in the care.

“Mom, you are the only rich woman I know that always pout and suck, come on,”

“If you just do as I say, I won’t be sucking,”

“Let’s go, mom,”

I said pulling her along. We met with the doctor it didn’t take much time, my mom still didn’t let me get off, she kept talking and talking even Anna had enough and plugged in her headset, I didn’t give in to her, there is nothing that she will say to me that would make me go see the Stevenson, we dropped mom off at a hair salon and I took Anna to the mall to get somethings she needed and by the time we got back to the house it was already late and I went straight to bed, praying for the day to come fast so I can go back to freedom and leave as the alpha male that I am.

“So you choose not to let me have what I want?”

My mom said the next morning as I made my way out of the house.

“Mom, don’t worry I will talk to him over the phone when I am much calm and no longer angry with them but for now, I don’t know how I will act if I meet him, or his wife.”

I said I knew I wasn’t going to call, no way, but I had to let her think I will if not she would not let me hear the end of it.

“Much better, I am going to kiss you, son, your dad couldn’t be here to see you off, he has a meeting with the mayor this morning,”

“Alright, Anna, take care of yourself, mon you too, and tell Max to get his act together,”

“Take care Cross and come visit let your promise,”

Anna said waving before climbing back upstairs, teenagers would always be teenagers they all have some removable attitude.

“Mom, please take care of her will you? She acts like she is strong but I feel she is still not totally fine,”

“Don’t worry about her she will be fine, just take care of yourself and not dwell on what happened here,”

She said hugging me.

“I will ma, I love you,”

“Love you too son,”Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

She said and I entered the car and the driver zoomed off towards the hospital, as we drove past the streets, I thought I saw someone that looked familiar but she was gone in a flash just I thought I might have imagined it.

“Just let her go, it’s been ten years already,”

I thought to myself, I should really let her go but she didn’t want to be forgotten as she crawls up my mind even when I don’t think of her, no other woman I have met so far measured up to her, Ginna…