Travis

"It's okay Elizabeth. Everything is going to be okay. Just run away with me. Run to Brazil. We can raise it there…"

"No, Travis."

"B-but Elizabeth…"

"Hatcher is running that place by slavery, Travis! I know it already!"

"But my gatu de dia—"

"I'm sorry, Travis, I cant take that chance with my baby."

"It's my baby too." Tears filled my eyes. "Please, Elizabeth."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Travis."

"Elizabeth…"

"I'll tell him about you, I promise. I'll tell him all about you."

I just shook my head. "Don't leave me, Elizabeth. I never leaved you."

"I know, Travis. You kept your word. But I'm afraid I just don't have the courage to keep mine." Her words ended in a high pitch tone. "I'm sorry, Travis."

And then she turned from me, and she walked the other way… leaving me standing there with nothing.

I woke up. I was lying on my bed.

"What the—"

"You had a stress attack, Travis." Mariana said softly. "Beck brought you from your chair and onto your bed."

"Mariana!" I said a little loud. "You cant be in here!!"

"Why not?" She asked confused. I looked over at my desk. My papers and maps were gone.

"Where's my de silvia acoute?"

"Your what?"

"I put those away, Travis." Beck said quickly. I looked up confused, and then calmed down. Mariana had not seen the papers.

"What is de silvia acoute?" Mariana asked.

I laughed, trying to cover up my mistake. "Oh… ha… uhm…"

"Its his journal." Beck smiled. He was enjoying this. "His little diary."

My eyes widened with anger. Why would he say something like that?? Like I would have a diary. A journal, I did have, but a diary? I don't think so.

"Oh." A smile crept up on Mariana's face. "I see."

"Beck, do you think me and Mariana could be… alone?"

He nodded and walked outside.

"Mariana, the nurse thing…"

"I know, Travis, Beck told me." 'its always beck, beck, beck.' I thought.

"Oh. Thank God." I smiled. "I actually wasn't looking forward to explaining that one."

She smiled. "I love you, Travis. I meant that. I'm sorry if I overreacted at the hospital." She kissed me lightly.

"I love you too, Mariana."

There was a pause. "Are you feeling alright?" She asked. She took her finger and parted my hair out of my eyes.

"I'm fine." I whispered, liking the feeling of her fingers in my hair.

"Beck said you had an attack."

"Just nerves, that's all."

"Are you sure?" Mariana stretched her legs on my bed and held herself up with her arm.

"I'm sure." I whispered. "It was a one time thing."

She sat up a little. "What about at the restaurant?"

I closed my eyes and waved my hand. "Nah, that was just… I was in the hospital because I fell, not because of the attack."

"What makes you go into these attacks?" She whispered. "You can tell me, cant you?"

"I'm sorry Mariana." I said with wide eyes. "I don't want to talk about her."

She leaned back. "Oh. Her."

I sat up. "I don't like your tone, Mariana. She was a great person."

She pressed her chest against mine. "I'm sure she was, Travis. I'm sorry if I offended you."

I looked at her legs, both to the left of mine. Her breath smelt like honey and cream. I loved it.

I picked up her leg gently and placed it on the right side of me. Now Mariana was sitting directly over me.

I leaned in to kiss her.

It worked for a few minutes. Mariana relaxed and pushed my head forward, so instead of sitting on me, she was lying on top of me.

I pulled away. "Are you wearing lipstick?" I asked breathlessly.

She smiled and shook her head. "Not today, Travis."

Thank God. I thought.

After I had that figured out, I kissed her again.

"Travis" She whispered on my lips. I liked the feeling of it.

I placed one of my hands on her back, and the other one in her hair. She had one hand holding herself up on the bed, and the other one in my hair.

"You're so beautiful." I whispered to Mariana. She smiled, but kept kissing me.

Finally, she pulled away.

"What?" I whispered. She looked suggestively at my stomach, and then I understood. "Oh."

I took off my shirt and threw it on the ground.

"Are you sure… you want… to do this?" I asked between kisses.

"Mmhmm." She said back. She moved her hand from the bed and placed it on my stomach. She moved it slowly up to my shoulder, then down again.

She sat up again, and was about to take her own shirt off, but…

"Travis!" A too familiar voice boomed from the doorway.

Beck

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked from outside.

Travis looked up breathing short and hard breaths. I could smell the lust jumping off of him.

Mariana crept off of Travis like he had told her to go swim in a pile of garbage.

She walked quickly past me and out the door.

"Man, she was about to take her top off!" Travis exclaimed, obviously upset.

"Not in my house."

"This is my house too, Beck. I pay half the rent."

"Travis, I want you to think for a minute." I looked at him with concern in my eyes. I was trying to figure out a way to get to his past with out actually… bringing it up. "Do you think Mariana really wants to spend the rest of her life with you? Do you want to spend the rest of your life with her?"

He looked at me puzzled. "Man, I just wanted to have s—"

"No, that's not what I mean. I mean… If you do… have… sex, with Mariana… then she might get the wrong idea and maybe want to… I don't know… marry you. And then you'll be stuck, and you wont be able to find de silvia acoute, or any other of those crazy… treasures. Just think, Travis, what it would be like to have a wife. Just imagine it."

He thought for a moment. "Fine." He grumpily agreed. "I wont have sex with Mariana. But that dosent change my feelings about her. And if things decided to go a little farther…" He waved his hands around while he talked. "Then I don't want you interrupting anymore. Understand?"

I grabbed his waving hands. "Listen up, Travis. You don't make the deals around here, I do."

"Okay, okay!!" Travis wailed helplessly. "You make the deals, you make the deals!!"

I let go of his arms. We looked at eachother for a moment.

"Take care of yourself, Travis." I whispered.

He nodded and then rolled off the bed. He picked up his shirt and pulled it over his head.

"I will." He promised.