MARINA ONE-SHOTS

CHAPTER 22: There's Something About Her (Part V)

"Maya, are you even sleeping anymore?"

I look up from my cup of coffee to see Travis looking at me with confusion etched on his face. He must have noticed the bag under my eyes. And it's not hard to hear my yawns that echo through the whole empty studio sometimes.

"Just had a rough week," I reply stifling another yawn and returning to my coffee.

"Maya." I hear him sigh, "Are you going to tell me what happened on your date?"

"Nothing happened. It was just a date."

"It can't be just a date."

I roll my eyes at him. I get that he's just trying to look out for me but he doesn't know the whole picture. He has no idea about whatever happened or even why and doesn't need to know what happened between Carina and me. She was flooding my head as it was already.

"Look, we just... didn't work out," I tell him. I can tell he doesn't believe me.

"What did you do, Maya? Stop shutting me out."

"Why do you think I did something?"

Travis sighs again, staring at me without saying a word. I know he isn't going to leave the matter before I give him something— anything.

"Fine." I say, "The date was good. We went to the beach and—"

Travis cuts me off, "Is she the reason you can't sleep?"

I look away although I know his eyes are boring into me. I am ashamed that I let such a little thing affect me. Carina is no one to me, and she should never have such an effect. I should never be affected by her at all, but then there's that night. If I close my eyes, I can still feel her hand in mine, I can still feel the way she hugged me, kissed me, and held my hand like it was the only thing she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

"Maybe. I brought her back here since it was late and she didn't know that I actually lived here and then she started asking me questions about my living arrangements and I—"

"Pushed her away." Travis finishes for me with a sigh. "That's the thing, Maya. That's always what happens. You don't let anyone in. Maybe she could break your walls."

"I like my walls," I reply and get a glare from Travis as he continues.

"Maya, you pushed her away! And there's nothing that can fix it now but still, you should go and apologize. She might just have been looking out for you because she actually cares about you."

"It's fine, Travis." My voice comes out laced with doubt.

"No, it's not fine. I'm not letting you screw this up." Travis explains, "And as for living arrangements, I've told you a hundred times that you can come live with me. I have a spare room."

"I just need to work on getting a second job." I explain, "I just cannot afford anything else right now. The rent for this place is high enough."

"I can help you pay. I have some leftover money from my family."

"You know I don't take favors." My voice comes out harsher than it is supposed to. Travis has done everything he can to help me. Before everything else, he became a friend to me when everyone turned their backs. He knows I have difficulty taking help from others but he still tries.

"I'm trying, Maya!" He snaps, "It's not easy being a friend to you. You never open up. You always shut me out. It's not how this should work."

"What do you expect me to do, then?" My face burns with anger. "If I make it that hard for you, maybe we should stick to being strictly business partners."

"Maybe we should."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

***

Travis had been there since my college days. He used to stay up with me and study because he understood I had trouble understanding things easily. He never complained, and he never pushed me to do anything. He'd even bring me coffee or my favorite kind of tea when I was having a rough day. He never questioned me, but he sometimes snapped when he was trying to get me to admit something tragic about my past.

Travis won't even look at me now. He returned to his desk after the argument and started with some abstract. He's not spoken to a customer since the morning, even when he could understand it was overflowing.

It's bad enough to have Travis hating me. What's worse is ever since the argument, I've been having that same internal turmoil. It's disturbing every part of my skin. However, I had let myself forget about Carina, all of that just came back to me like a coin coming back from the sea. I want to talk to Travis about my feeling but I confirm it's too late when one morning I greet him with a good morning and he only turns away and walks into the studio.

Travis and I are both so stubborn. It is going to take a while before we admit our faults.

Every night I stare at a picture I drew of the night sky filled with stars. I hung it in my bedroom because I didn't want to sell it. It is the only thing I had left of Carina; the one piece of memory. But I still cannot sleep.

I needed answers; I needed closure.

And one afternoon, I do get my closure when she walks into the studio.

I finish a painting and stand up to put it up on the wall when I suddenly feel a presence behind me. I know who it is without even turning to look. I could recognize that perfume anywhere. When I turn around, afraid that I may be delusional, I see Carina standing behind me.

She's the same as the last time I saw her. She has a small smile on her face. And the same ruffled hair that is swept to one side as if she just came back from a walk on the beach. She's in her regular pants and blouse but with heels which makes her even taller.

"Hi, Bella." Even with the bad blood between us, she still calls me by my nickname.

"Carina."

She smiles at me when she hears me address her.

"I am sorry. That day... I shouldn't have pushed. It went too far and I'm sorry for that." She says.

I swallow a lump in my throat because this was impossible. Talk about conflict, and that's what I felt. I wanted to grab her face and kiss her to oblivion but I also didn't want to do it because then it would just become more confusing.

I nod, "It's okay. Thanks for understanding."

"Of course." Carina is nervous. She's constantly wiggling her fingers together in front of her and shuffling her weight from one foot to the other. "I uhm... I want to make it up to you. So... what do you say about dinner? At my place. Just as friends."

"Just as friends?" It shouldn't but the word 'friend' feels like someone just threw a brick at my chest.

She nods, "Yes. Friends."

"Okay then." I smile and try to keep my voice from shaking at the close proximity.

Carina smiles, nervously. And after she gives me a hug and leaves the studio, I look at Travis from the corner of my eyes and he has the biggest smile on his face I've ever seen. 

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A/N: So yeah, there's that. I'm thinking of converting it into a book but I need a few ideas from you guys. So, please. Dm me personally for ideas, if you want. It would be a great help.

And thanks for reading, guys. Love you, peeps. Peace.