Mystery?

Chapter 24

Opening my eyes seems to be a challenge. My head is pounding and all my pain is unimaginable. Where am I? What am I doing? How long have I been in this state? I try to open my eyes and I immediately smell the hospital sterile-ness. If that is even a word. I search for that one person. The girl I want to be with. Mariana. I am looking for her in the room and I cannot see another person. I try to slap myself and hope that this is all some sick dream. Nothing hurts when I got pinched and slapped by myself. 

"Do you know how worried all of us were?" Gemma asks. Of course her voice is a bit over a whisper. "Ashton is here because  I would not leave so he brought me and Mariana food." I looked at her. Mariana is here? "Yes, she is just on a business call so she is out in the hall." Gemma answered my thoughts. 

"Hi Ashton, I am Harry..... sorry we met under this circumstance." I apologize and Gemma spits her water out a bit. I bet she was shocked. "So how did you and Gemma meet?" He smiles and I can see it. He smiles around her the way I smile around Mariana. 

"We met at Starbucks and she approached me and noticed that I was new...." Oh my gosh... almost like how Mariana and I met. "When she and I talked, we seemed to be interested in multiple things. She approached me. Your sister is so beautiful I cannot even believe that she met me and saw me." 

"I am happy. We should go for a couple drinks at a restaurant or something." I let him know. Ashton nods and leaves for work. Gemma wants to leave but stays behind. "You can go sis... I need to talk to Mariana any way."

"Okay, I will be getting some lunch and I will be back to pick you up." I nod and she and Ashton leaves. Moments later Mariana walks in. 

"Harry..." She comes and sits next to me on a swivel chair. I am kind of upset. "The doctor said you hurt your ribs and that someone got into a fight with you at the bar. Do you know anything that happened?" 

Trying to think back to the previous time that I was actually conscious. "I cannot remember. I only drank three Hennessy beer bottles. Next thing I know someone is fighting with me and I am left defenseless. I am being honest." I tell her and she seems to not believe me. 

"I am trying so hard to believe you... but I have no idea how you even act in a bar. As a girlfriend I feel like you are ashamed of me. Instead of asking me to go for drinks, you bring your sister?" She sighs. "I got you this and this." She hands me a rectangular box and I am wondering what is in there and she gave me a square box. "Look, I know yesterday we were going to celebrate, but I think we need to have some time and space." 

"Why?.... Did I not fit your square personality?" 

"No... you are yourself and that is all I want... its just that I only know a few things about you... but it seems like you are ashamed about yourself... In order for us to be together... together... together, you need to start accepting yourself and then call me. Your sister and I talked about it and I will be staying at my father's and you could stay in the apartment until you contact me... or when you move to Chicago. Whichever comes first."  She says. "Open the gifts whenever you want.. just don't force yourself to open up." Mariana says quietly and she leaves. Leaving me alone in my drowning thoughts. How can I make this up to her? I like myself now... I know she wants to know about my past, but I am so ashamed of it. 

"Mariana... I love you... please, don't go. You can stay at the apartment... I will stay with my mom if you want me to. Just please. Tell me what I can do." She turns around, I can see it from the glass window dividing this room from the hallway. I see her face tear-stained and red. 

"Babe, I love you, for all your flaws. I am not asking to know you from the bottom up, I would love that, but please get out of your comfort zone a bit. Also, love yourself. Or at least try." I nod and look back at her. 

"I love myself." She scoffs and looks at me and I see that she is distancing herself from me. Building up another wall another one from the others of her mistreatment and misunderstanding. "I love how I get tattoos that are more meaningful than others can think of." I point to the Hebrew lettering of my sister's name. "This is my sister's name in Hebrew." I pointed to the ship. "I want adventure in life." I pointed to the lock on my wrist. "I am filled with secrets...some of them are meant to be locked," Pointed to the key. "Others aren't." She smiles. "Mariana, ask me anything and I promise. I will answer them." 

"Why don't you ever ask me out for a drink?" She asks. I wonder why she is still so hung up on that one. I bring my lips to be in a line. 

"I don't want you to lose an inch of your innocence. Mariana I love you the way you are and I am afraid that once you see me in what I used to be... you will think differently of me. Selfish I know, but that is why." I shrug but then I am happy that I am telling her this. "If you want, we could go for a drink on Friday... only, it would be a pina colada in Hawaii..." She gasps. "here was the gift that I got you... also I wrote you a song." I told her and she smiled. 

After I sang the song she re-gave me the boxes she gave me and sat next to me. "Harry, just please take care of yourself. So we leave for Hawaii when?" She asks. 

"Does that mean you are coming to Hawaii with me?" I ask and I am so excited. 

"Yes. I would like to travel the world with you... as long as you love yourself more and more..."  She smiles but I can see that her smile isn't going from ear to ear. Which is so unlike her. I made her unhappy. 

"I do babe, I am getting better at it." I hold her hand. "I promise." 

SKIP TO HAWAII: 

Getting on the airplane next to Mariana makes me happy and this would've been just a dream a long time ago. About six months ago I had no idea I could be  this happy. Mariana saw me, out of all the other guys, she saw me. "I am so excited to wear leis when they give it to us when we get off the plane." She smiles and looks at me. "How about you?" 

"I am excited to go snorkling together." I tell her. Not only is she going to be so happy to see the marine life and that she is with me. I am so happy that she chose to be here... with me. "Thank you for coming with me baby." I kiss her forehead. 

"Thank you for inviting me. How did you enjoy your gifts?" 

"To be honest, I didn't open them. I was thinking we could celebrate in Hawaii." I told her and she gasps. AS we take off I notice how excited for this trip is. The flight is 10 hours and I am so anxious about how much fun we are going to be having in paradise.  I smile at the thought. "When you get tired you can take a nap on my shoulder." I let her know and she smiles. 

*Mariana's POV* 

As we are sitting in an airplane I cannot feel more anxious. Although we have been on adventures before, but I don't think Harry got my point the other night. IN the hospital I spilled all my heart on him and what he did was give me a skimpy helping of some of his history. I get that he is ashamed but it is his past. "H.... I want to get to know more about you on this trip."