Dedicated to Geegervy and Teefabulous ❤️❤️❤️

Amid the night's bliss, a song lightly fluttered by strings floated through the air like a calm wave of the sea. It was beautifully murmured like the sounds of a hummingbird and encroached its way into Mariana's ear, causing her eyes to slowly open.

She was still half asleep but hearing the sweet melody being played, she got out of bed and followed it hastily.

She walked through all the rooms, following the trail of notes, and eventually found Leilani perched at the edge of an open window, with a ukulele in her hand.

"La photo n'est pas bonne mais l'on peut y voir."
(The picture is not good, but you can see in it).

"Le bonheur en personne et la douceur d'un soir."
(Happiness personified and the mildness of the evening).

"Elle aimait la musique, surtout Schumann et puis Mozart."
(She loved music, especially Schumann and also Mozart).

"Comme toi... Comme toi..."
(Just like you, Just like you...).

Leilani continued to sing, and Mariana was in awe of her voice. It was so soft and nurturing like she was singing a lullaby.

Mariana did not want to disturb her, so she stayed hidden in the shadows as her body slowly swayed along to the tunes in a hypnotic state.

"Comme toi que je regarde tout bas."
(Just like you, whom I'm watching in silence).

"Comme toi qui dors en rêvant à quoi."
(Just like you, sleep, dreaming of all kinds of things).

"Comme toi..."
(Just like you...).

Mariana was so mesmerized by the music that she did not realize that the pole she was leaning on was bending and snapped under the pressure, causing her to fall flat on the floor.

Leilani immediately stopped singing, startled by the sudden disruption, and turned around to see Mariana's flushed face on the ground.

"Mariana? What are you doing there?"

"Er, I heard you singing so I came down to listen."

"Wait, so you were standing there the whole time I was singing?"

"Well only for the past few minutes, it was really good though."

"Aw thank you." She blushed and settled her ukulele down. Mariana got up and sat next to her.

"It's such a warm, beautiful night," Mariana said, feeling the wind blow gently past her.

"Yeah, the night is really peaceful, that's one of the reasons I like to come here every night to play my ukulele and sing to my unborn son."

"Does it help you relax?"

"It does. And after that, I can go back to sleep for the rest of the night."

"That actually sounds like a good idea, even though I'll be too lazy to get out and play, although the last instrument I played was a piano and even that was months ago."

"Oh, that's so cool! You can play the piano?"

"Um yeah. My dad got me piano lessons when I was younger but for some reason, I stopped playing it when I was in high school."

Now that Mariana has had a thought about it, she started to wonder why she stopped playing the instrument, perhaps she had just forgotten all about it.

"I think if I get better, I will go back to playing the piano," She said.

"It's okay Mariana, you'll get better in time, I promise you." She squeezed Mariana's hand tightly as a sign of reassurance.

"Thanks, Leilani," Mariana's voice was laced with gratitude and a smile that shone brightly like the moon.

"You're welcome, now let's go back to bed before the sun comes up."

"Alright," Mariana let out a yawn and followed Leilani as they returned to their separate bedrooms.

When morning came, Mariana and Micah went to the kitchen, and Leilani and Miguel were arranging some sliced strawberries around some mini pancakes.

"Morning guys," They said.

"Hey, did you sleep well?" Leilani looked up from what she was doing.

"Yeah, surprisingly, I didn't think I would actually fall asleep so easily," Micah said.

"Aw, that's good. By the way, would you like to have breakfast outside? We thought that since it's nice and sunny, it would be better."

"I think that's a great idea! Plus, I usually prefer eating outside where I can enjoy the scenery as well as my food," Mariana said.

"Okay, just take a plate, and then we'll go eat outside," Leilani said.

So, they each took a plate with pancakes and headed outside.

They sat around a low white table on these white chairs with a small pillow on them. They were hidden by the trees and roses as the sunlight shared its warmth with them.

Mariana bit into the juicy flesh of the strawberry. They had always been her favorite fruit since she enjoyed the cold freshness that came along with it.

"Where did you get these strawberries from?" She asked.

"I didn't buy them anywhere, I grew them myself," Leilani replied.

"You grew these?!" Micah said.

"Yep, I have a whole garden where I grow lots of different fruits and vegetables."

"Can we see?" Micah asked.

"Sure, I'll take you to it after we finish eating."

"Thanks, Leilani," Mariana said.

They continued eating and when they finished everything, Leilani led them away to another part of their backyard. She opened a white gate and sauntered down the pathway.

There were vines of grapes entangling around a pole, some tomatoes hanged above their heads and there were bell peppers, strawberries, apricots, potatoes, plums, and many more.

"Here's my pumpkin baby." She leaned down a little and knocked on a large pumpkin that was sat on the ground.

"You have so many stuff growing here," Mariana said.

"I know, I love gardening."

"We rarely have to go shopping because Leilani just grows everything," Miguel amusingly said.

"You know what, that's actually true," She chuckled. She sighed with a content smile before caressing a ripe tomato. "I can't wait till our son can eat solid food, I'm feeding him everything from my garden," She murmured away.

She finally let go of it and turned back to face them. "Anyway, I have to go to work now, but Miguel is here to keep you company."

"Okay, see you later Leilani," Mariana said.

"Bye!" She walked past them and kissed Miguel goodbye before heading out the gate. They soon went the same way till they were back at the front of the house.

"Would you two like some limeade?" Miguel asked.

"What's that?" Micah asked.

"It's like lemonade but with lime."

"Hmm that actually sounds delicious," Mariana said.

"So, do you want some?"

"Okay we'll have some," Micah said.

Miguel then made all three of them limeade and plopped in three ice cubes with some mint leaves. They sat down on the chairs outside next to the pool.

Mariana took a sip into the coop liquid and the thing was like a refreshment against her tongue with a tang of spice.

"It's really nice," she giggled against the bubbles.

"So, Miguel, do you also work?" Micah asked curiously.

"Yes. I am a lab technician at the local hospital, I take the patient's blood and run tests on them to see what treatment they need."

"Oh, that's nice, are you going to work later today?" Mariana asked.

"No, I'm off today."

"Oh okay, I understand."

They continued sipping their drink as their toes got tickled by the water.

****

When the sun began to retire into the clouded horizon, Micah climbed up the hill just above the house so he can taste the last few bits of the daylight before the night comes.

He sat himself down on the soft, bristled grass, and against some bricks as his eyes gazed ahead.

The ball of fire slowly dissolved into the ripples of the sea and left a trail of colors behind that roared throughout the sky. Some seagulls flew over his head and got smaller as they got farther away.

He sighed away at the exquisite sight. Being able to witness the daylight one more time was something that he was grateful for as he would not be able to see it again if he was dead.

Meanwhile, Mariana climbed up the hill to look for him. She had wondered where he ran off to but saw his figure on the hill from the house.

When she got to the top, she spotted Micah sat at near the edge. She slowly walked up to him and hugged him from behind. "Hey, you okay?" She took a seat next to him.

"Yeah, I'm good, just wanted to see the sunset before the day ended."

"Oh okay." She looked out into the sunset with the as the cold breeze gently tickled her face and blew back her brown curls. The last remaining rays kissed her cheeks, highlighting their glow.

"Mariana."

"Yeah?" She turned to face him.

"Did you mean everything you said to me at the hospital?" He asked without looking at her.

"Wait, you actually heard me?" She responded, slightly surprised.

"Yeah, I did," He looked down and fiddled with his fingers.

"Yes, I meant every word Micah," She said softly and held his hand. She was glad he heard her words as she wanted him to know how she truly felt.

She then repositioned herself, so she and Micah were facing each other, their eyes locked as well as their hearts.

"Micah, I've never met anyone like you before. You've stuck by me this whole time and... and..." She sniffed and wiped some tears. It was so hard to bring her words together in his moment but she continued. "Without you, I wouldn't be here right now so thank you, Micah, thank you for everything."

Before her tears cascaded down her face, she pulled Micah into a deep hug. "I love you, Micah... I love you so much," she whispered into his ear, her words tickling his senses before she kissed his cheek and wrapped her arms around him further.

Micah hugged her body close before bringing her soaked face up to his. She shook slightly but Micah's softly held her small, round head in his palms. "I love you too Mariana, and I will always continue to protect you."

Mariana slowly nodded and sucked in her bottom lip while taking a glance at Micah's one. Her body still shook as all sounds blurred in the background except the rapid beating of her heart that echoed in her ears. It quickened when Micah slowly connected his lips with hers.

She was in shock but slowly kissed him back as her whole body heated up intensely.

The world around them stopped turning as Micah slowly pushed her body into him, deepening the kiss as the last few droplets of sun scanned their faces. Her lips were soft and sweet, like he was sucking honey off a tree. She couldn't help but smiled for kissing Micah felt so perfect like it was meant to be. There was no place she would rather be but here with him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes were tightly shut but she slowly rocked back and forth, getting sucked in deeper of Micah's embrace.

Until she felt a piercing pain run her heart like she just been stabbed.

She hissed in pain and broke the kiss, falling backward onto the grass.

"Mariana, what's wrong?!" He asked in alarm.

"My chest..." she cried out.

"What's wrong with it?"

"It hurts..."

"Alright, what I'm gonna do now, is just quickly get you inside, okay?"

"Okay," She struggled to say.

Micah quickly picked Mariana up and he rushed down the hill and into the house. He carefully put Mariana on the bed as she fidgeted in pain.

"I don't feel well Micah..." she whispered. Her eyes began to grow blurry as her chest continued to piece itself with imaginary needles.

"Okay, um, try and stay calm Mariana, I'll go to the laboratory quickly and get the antidote, hopefully, it's finished."

"Okay, be careful," she murmured.

"I will." Micah waved bye to her before quickly exiting the room. Meanwhile, Mariana stayed longingly at the ceiling, with her head paining her a desperate need to cough.

She tried to contain it but it was inevitable, so she turned over the edge and coughed out clumps of blood along with other stuff. A storm was brewing up in her head as she felt a rubber hand was tightened around her head, causing the whole room to swirl around. Her pupils were spinning as everything went more slowly and wavy. The sounds of distant cars beeping irritated her and caused her to vomit a little.

She kept herself bent over the bed, sweat dripped down her flustered face as she felt herself getting weaker and more tired.

A few minutes passed and her whole body was in flames. Her muscles ached, her face was as pale as snow and her breathing was very shallow. She laid on the bed, still as a corpse.

"Goodbye, Micah..." She whispered and then fainted.

When Micah finally returned, he quickly ran to the bedroom with a syringe in his hand.

"Hey Mariana, I've got the antidote," He ran to her side and tried to shake her awake.

"Mariana?"

No answer.

"Mariana?"

Still no answer.

He dropped the syringe and tried to wake her up. "Mariana, wake up!"

She still didn't wake, and Micah kept shaking her further but still no response.

"Mariana, please don't die on me." He picked up the syringe and injected it into her. He picked her up and pulled her into a big while bursting into tears.

She couldn't die yet, no while they were so close to making her better again. They just needed a little more time; it couldn't be too late now.

"I'm sorry we couldn't save you in time Mariana," He whispered and cried on her shoulder.

There were so many things he wanted to do with her. He wanted to explore the world with her, he wanted to take her to places she's never been, he wanted to give her a fresh new start away from Xavier.

But now, all those things will just have to be thoughts instead of reality.

Micah wipes some tears away and leaned back into the bed while still having Mariana's in his arms. He continued to hold her tightly as his eyes drifted into sleep.

****

Deep into the night, there was a stir.

Micah was fast asleep, but he felt moving around in his arms.

He thought he was dreaming but the thing kept moving so he slowly opened his eyes into the pitch darkness and turned on the lamp beside him.

When he looked down, he was shocked.

"Mariana!"

A/N: Anddddd that's a wrap! Hehe here's the last chapter! I hope you enjoyed it xxxx

This was my first book writing in a different country😇😇😇How was it?

Thank you for all your support, I hope you enjoyed this book ☺️❤️❤️❤️, check out the next chapter for info on book 2!