Maya Hargrove

Kristine Froseth as Maya

Maya is the younger sister of James Hargrove and a recent newcomer to Port Charles. Armed with just a two-year college degree and a head full of ideas, Maya has her hopes set on a new start in a new city. After settling into town, she applied for a job at Crimson Magazine as an assistant.

## Life Before Port Charles

Born in Seattle, Washington to Alison and Charles Hargrove, Maya's early childhood appeared to be picturesque at first glance. With two parents who doted on her, Maya was oblivious to the dangers underneath her family until after the death of her mother when she was five years old.

Her mother's death was sudden, as was the discovery of her father's rage. Charles Hargrove's verbal abuse, and hidden physical abuse, suddenly became uncontrollable without Alison's interference as a punching bag. Charles' anger turned toward his son James, who was fourteen at the time. With Maya being so young, James took on the responsibility of taking their father's anger and keeping her safe. He kept her away from the abuse as much as possible, but by the time she was seven, Maya was aware of the monster that was her abusive, drunkard father.

For the next two years, the Hargrove siblings did what they could to avoid Charles, with James taking the brunt of the abuse. The moment James turned eighteen, he had enough money saved up to take eleven year old Maya and finally move away from their father.

Terrible as he was, Charles Hargrove didn't bother trying to go after either of his children, which just so happened to be the best thing he ever did as a father. Now just the two of them, Maya and James made the most out of their new start.

It was difficult at first, with James as the sole provider for the two of them, but they made it work. Soon, life for the Hargrove siblings was better than ever.

Maya certainly thought it couldn't get any better when she met Eric Rutherford at her twenty-first birthday party. With only a few minor relationships throughout high school, the romance Eric provided her was something straight out of a fairy tale.

The first few months of their relationship went off without a hitch. Eric was charming, sweet, and intelligent. He showered her in attention and affection, and Maya was certain that she couldn't be any more head over heels in love with someone.

As Maya and Eric approached the six months milestone, problems began to emerge. Eric soon had less patience, and an intolerance for Maya being around people other than him. Charming turned into controlling, and sweet into suffocating. Hopelessly in love with him, Maya was certain that the cause stemmed from the difficulties he was having with his family, as his father sick and his mother refusing to come home from a business trip. She supported him the best she could, keeping him happy by doing what he asked.

It wasn't much longer before verbal abuse turned physical. Grabbing and shoving turned to slaps and her back pinned against the wall. Maya kept it a secret, hiding bruises and playing her part to protect Eric. She rationalized it all with herself, remembering the romance that was their first few months, and believing her boyfriend when he would shift the blame to her shoulders.

The relationship ended a few months shy of Maya's twenty-third birthday. With the problems between Eric and Maya growing more strenuous, Maya's apprehensive (and terrified) suggestion that the two of them take a break from each other led to violence. Eric took out the whole of his anger on Maya in an assault that broke her wrist and several of her ribs, split open her lip, and left a large portion of her body bruised and bloodied. Found no more than an hour later and rushed to the hospital, the road to a full recovery wasn't an easy one.

With her brother's endless support, Maya healed physically from the wounds. Cutting contact with Eric was a more difficult task in comparison, one that eventually led into James convincing Maya that the best decision for both of them was to move away from Seattle, where both of them had nothing but awful memories.

## A Fresh Start

Their bags packed and a new chapter in Port Charles, New York officially underway, Maya fell back into her natural place of being the optimistic Hargrove. She was finally excited to look forward, no longer so haunted by the past, and determined to make their cross-country move worth it.

With Port Charles being the home of Crimson Magazine, a fashion magazine Maya had been obsessed with since she was a teenager, she fantasized about the possibilities. Determined to secure a position at the magazine, Maya was quick to approach Nina Reeves and Maxie Jones at Crimson with her hopes held high. After a promising three hour talk with both of the women, Maya's next stop was to see her big brother at Hargrove Media and tell him all about it. While discussing her career possibilities, James told her that he wanted to throw a Halloween Ball to celebrate the opening of Hargrove Media and that he wanted her help. She agreed.

Maya was over the moon to learn that she had gotten the job at Crimson. To celebrate she went to The Haunted Star to have a drink. There she met Santino Ruiz and the two immediately began to flirt (after all, he felt just like her type). They ended up on the deck of the ship, where they shared a kiss. Things got hot and heavy fast and they found a room to let things take their natural course. Unfortunately for Santino, James called looking to discuss details of the ball. Maya left Santino on the ship, promising him she would make it up to him sometime.

## Personality

On the surface, and in her heart, Maya is a sweet and passionate girl with a tendency for bubbly optimism. Her abusive childhood, and subsequent abusive domestic relationship, has her grasp toward the brighter side in life with more ferocity than most. She still has a habit of seeing the best in people, though she approaches it with more caution now than she did a few years ago.

While Maya tries to give off the appearance of confidence with an ease of independence, it is mostly just for show. She is, for the most part, emotionally dependent on her brother James. Fear and guilt still sits in her chest from her time spent with Eric, occasionally making her jumpy, insecure, and doubtful.

## Important Relationships

* James Hargrove: Her older brother and protector. The two have a close relationship and her decision to come to Port Charles was based on his influence.

## Crimes Committed

* Did not report Eric Rutherford's destruction of government property.
* Did not report multiple occasions of Eric Rutherford's assaults.
* Several instances of trespassing.

## Health and Vitals

* Shoved and locked into her room by Charles Hargrove on multiple occasions.
* Multiple accounts of being manhandled, shoved, slapped, and choked by Eric Rutherford.
* Assaulted again by Eric Rutherford; broken left wrist, three broken ribs, concussion, and severe contusions.