Over the passing mornings, Mariana had gotten plenty of rest thanks to Micah coming in and making her breakfast every day. Her vomiting had subsided so she was able to eat more foods gradually.

Micah was in the kitchen, preparing a small portion of oatmeal mixed with banana for today. He drizzled a thin layer of honey into the mix and took it up to her.

His dark figure entered into the sunny bloom of her bedroom. He smiled at his sleeping beauty propped up on the bed. Whereas she stared back at him, with her eyes gazing around her dizzy surroundings, and her disheveled curls sunk to one side. Even though she was happy to see him, she was too tired to return the smile, also, she was in a bad mood.

"Hey," he quietly said as he approached her.

"Hey," she responded and sat up while groaning. Her arms felt like glazes of ice even though her room was warm. Her headache was toned down so it was more like a mild bleep.

"How are you?"

"I'm alright, just tired."

"Oh, well I hope this can cheer you up. I mashed up some bananas for you." He placed the bowl in his lap and held a spoonful in the air. She grimaced, feeling a bit reluctant at the grungy look but soon leaned in more as he started feeding her.

"So did you sleep well?"

"Meh, I woke up a couple of times to use the toilet but other than that, I'm okay." Her diarrhea had improved a little but was not completely gone.

"That's good, I can't wait till you get better because I don't like seeing you like this." His hand snaked around her neck as he rubbed it gently. Her usual rosy face was pallid, and her sweat was like a silver lining that streaked down her cheeks. All morning, she had a frown and looked like she was on the verge of tears.

He kissed her forehead and cuddled her under his chin. She was in his embrace sulking and looking at the ground. All he heard was her faint breathing that was low and without feeling. Her arms went limp as she felt like she had lost all hope in the world.

Seeing her sad also made him feel sad, it broke him seeing her like this all because of Electra and her selfishness. It weighed down his chest as she felt gloomy when she didn't deserve to feel this way. She looked like she wanted to cry which made him also want to cry because his poor Mariana was suffering.

But for now, he wanted to do something to put a smile back on that sweet, little round face of hers but it seemed to be pointless at the moment. So he made it a resolution that when she gets better, he would take her somewhere to cheer her up, something that he knew would really put a gleaming smile back on those sweet lips. In fact, he had the perfect place in mind.

As he fed her, he noticed that her hair was very dry, and it was starting to frizz a little, with knots tangled along the ends like broken wires. His fingers lightly twirled the maze of strands, thinking of some way to help her out.

"Want me to do your hair to keep it from getting messy?" He offered.

"Really? You would do that?" She slowly tucked her head out of his arm and looked up at his eyes.

"Yeah, to help you out."

"Oh okay then," she said and reached out for her tub of Shea moisture curl enhancing smoothie, "you can use this." She handed it to him.

"Alright." He applied it to her hair in sections and then smoothed out the knots with his fingers. He then plaited it into two French braids which he combined into one at the bottom.

"Thanks." She smiled and whipped her hair around her shoulder. It was pretty neat and impressive, at least that was one less thing to worry about now.

"No problem." He rubbed her shoulders and with his thumb, stroked the sides of her neck, which soon turned into a slow, serene, blissful massage. The leftover tint from the sunrise blazed into the room, skating over the walls, bringing in the wind that flowed through the curtains. The light crawled onto their backs, brightening up their bodies as Mariana's grin grew at his touch.

The way he used his hands on her shoulders, felt mesmerizing like she was sat at the beach with cold waves hitting her back. Sure there was a little pain, but damn, it felt good.

He put the bowl down and then gave her a full-on massage. His fingers smoothed and softened her skin, resolving the aching and biting pain underneath. She hissed however when he went a bit lower, rubbing a sensitive spot.

"Sorry Mariana didn't mean to hurt you." He gave her a kiss in hopes to settle her, and rubbed it more gently but still kept it firm.

"It's alright." She closed her eyes as she bent more forward. She didn't know she needed this when the tightness in her back was released by his fingers grinding firmly against it. Although her eyes were shut from morning tiredness, she enjoyed her private massage.

When he was done, she finished her breakfast and he took the plate as he stood up. "Well Mariana, I'll love to stay, but I have to go now but I'll be back in the evening to make you dinner."

"Okay Micah, thanks for coming over." She laid back on her bed with a smirk. "And for that massage." She smiled as he stood at the door.

"Anytime Mariana." He smirked back.

She blew him a kiss which he caught and went on his way, while sniffing his nose which was slightly stuffy.

Meanwhile, Mariana smiled like a happy flower and grabbed her phone from under her pillow. She was surprised when she got a message from Elena, saying that she missed her and hoped to see her soon. Mariana felt happy to receive such a nice message and replied that she couldn't wait to see her soon.

She put it somewhere and Rio suddenly jumped on her belly. She chuckled and started stroking his fur, his white whiskers touching her cheeks, and his wet pink nose lightly touching the tip of her own. She continued stroking him as he placed his paw over her face.

Since the outside was nice and she regained some of her energy, she decided that she'll some time in her backyard.

She rolled off her bed and then carried Rio downstairs. They went into the back and sat down on a chair. The bright, emerald grass softly caressed her toes, the wind passed by like the changing of the seasons, as it teased the loose flyaways of her hair.

She sat with her head faced towards the sapphire blue horizon. Her brown eyes squinted as her skin milked the sunlight. The place was silent, except for the gentle rustling of the trees, which sparks of light came through. The brown fences creaked a little as she heard some crickets hiding somewhere.

Now that she had gotten fresh air, she felt much better. It was nice being like this, instead of being a prisoner to her bed. It was a nice change and she hoped it could stay like this.

A/N: Hey I hope you enjoyed the chapter! This was pretty nice wasn't it?" 🥰🥰🥰.