Flynn backed out of the room, closing the door to give them some time alone.

Maven stepped forward, taking slow steps, closer and closer to the side of his bed. Her hands gripped together in angst, she swallowed down the painful ache in her throat and took Henri’s hand. “Hi.”

Henri placed his other hand over hers sandwiching hers beneath both of his. “Just the face I wanted to look at while I’m stuck up here.”  He smirked, doing his best to make things seem normal.

“You scared us,” she told him.

“I’m sorry.”

“What happened?” Henri shifted, moving over on the bed and offering her the spot next to him. He tucked the colorful wires closer to his body. Maven eased into the bed, worried she would pull something loose.

“I had an amazing night with a beautiful girl and then a horrible walk home.” He lifted his arm, Maven leaned in carefully. Henri pulled her closer to prove he wasn’t going to break.

“Would you tell me if Jake did this to you?” Maven asked.

“I don’t want to talk about Jake or a donor list or anything.” He pressed his lips against her shoulder. “You know I was sitting here thinking, I never showed you that painting I made of you.”

Maven nodded.

“I meant to give it to you. I want you to have it.”

She closed her eyes, cringing at the way he was talking. As if this was no big deal and something that wouldn’t matter tomorrow. “When you get home you can give it to me.”

Henri breathed in the soft perfume on her white shirt. He touched her hair, taking pleasure in the smooth feel of it against his fingertips.

He could feel her body trembling all of a sudden. She brought her hand up wiping at the many tears he was sure were falling. All he could do was stare at her sandals next to his feet resting beneath the hospital sheet. He told himself to console her. And robotically he squeezed her tighter, his chest stiff from holding back the emotions that wanted to explode from the inside. It hurt more to know he was hurting her than the thought of what was to come.

“I didn’t want this to happen. I didn’t want you to have to go through this with me. I’m sorry,” he said, her sobs growing louder, she pushed her face into his neck crying harder. She held onto him.

“And I don’t want you to go through this without me. I wouldn’t want you to be alone at a time like this.”

“I have a family. You have a whole life ahead of you.” Henri argued. “I can’t imagine what it would feel like, I never lost anyone close to me, but I’m sure it’s not something you ever get over.”

“I’d never get over you regardless of what happened to you. You’re not something I want to get over no matter where I am in my life.” She warily wiped at her eyes.

“I feel that way about you too. You just say it more eloquently than I do.” He laughed and the machine beside him beeped.

“Henri, I want you to fight.” Maven blurted. It was now or never. “This can’t be it for you. Life is not that spiteful. You have a chance to get better if you just go on the donor list.” She sat up.

Henri plucked an imaginary piece of lint from the cotton sheet draped over his lap. He kept his eyes away from Maven. “No.”

Maven shook her head in disbelief. “Not even for me?” She knew it sounded selfish, but she didn’t have a lot to work with.

“I refuse to be selfish, to hang around for a couple more years at the most. A couple more years of life until the next medical issue rears its ugly head and attacks me from a different side.” He sighed. “I’ve been through all of this before. They all know the same thing I do. There is no guarantee that I’ll ever live a normal life.”

“A couple more years are better than none at all.” Maven insisted.

Henri shook his head. “A couple more years before you all have to go through this again. I don’t want to prolong my family’s misery anymore. I’ve seen what it’s done to them. I see what it’s doing to you.”

Maven’s mouth hung open. She tried to think of something else to say.

“So, then what?” She raised her hands palms to the heavens. “Do you think grief and sadness makes anything better?”

“I think time heals. And I think it’s what’s for the best.” He looked up. Maven turned away. “My parents have never been the same since they found out I was going to die. Death is so depressing when you’re waiting for it.” Death wasn’t so bad once it hit and finally became a reality; he only thought that because dying and dead were extremely different in his eyes. Dying was misery. Death was that period at the end of the sentence. They could all find a way to move on once it was over.

Maven drew up her shoulders as more tears escaped. She stared at the door feeling like an absolute failure. But something inside, something deep inside told her some things were just not meant to be. Some things didn’t work out the way anyone wanted them to. And maybe it wasn’t right to her or Henri’s family that he was giving up, but to Henri it was right, it was what he wanted.

She turned around. “I learned so much from you,” she said, climbing back into the bed beside Henri. Henri smiled, relief washing over him that she was letting it be.

“Like what?” He stroked her hair.

“How to be happy. That no matter how miserable I felt this summer I could just throw that all aside and laugh with you.” She looked at him, gently touching his face. “Thanks for making me feel better.”

“It was a pleasure.” He closed his eyes. She softly pressed her lips against his.

“It’s going to suck when the summer ends,” Maven said with a sigh. She rested her head against Henri’s pillow, her hair touching the side of his head. She took his hand in hers, lacing her fingers with his.

“College. Yuck.” Henri joked.

They talked like this for twenty minutes, tucking the horrible into a deep dark hole, pretending to be just Henri and Maven. Two young kids that met one summer and developed feelings for one another that went beyond anything they ever imagined. They had an understanding. She had hope when he had none. And he had that special something that made her smile and laugh underneath the willows.

It was so… “Perfectly hopeless,” Maven said out loud. Henri opened his eyes, he was nearly asleep. “Meeting you was perfect, even if I could only have you for a short amount of time.”

“Perfectly hopeless,” Henri agreed.

Henri closed his eyes, Maven settled in beside him. The nurse coming in to check on them turned and walked away leaving Henri to his moment.

“Tell me about college,” Henri whispered, drifting in and out of dreams as Maven rattled on about school and all the things she didn’t look forward to. He crossed in and out of reality, slipping into moments of pure imagination and back into the hospital room. His heart speeding up and slowing down, he wasn’t sure if it was all in his head or reality.

“Promise me you’ll be happy. Always be happy because I couldn’t stand the thought of you any other way. Don’t ever go back to the way you were that day at the yogurt hut.” He didn’t know it, but he gasped, and it scared Maven to death, but she stayed where she was, secretly grabbing the call button and pressing it. She stroked Henri’s hair, his body trembling with each breath.

“I promise, Henri.” She moved out of the way for the hospital staff that was on all sides of the bed now. She gripped the end of the bed, watching them make Henri more comfortable. She wished she could look into his eyes just one more time.

The nurse and staff left promising to get the rest of Henri’s family.

Maven didn’t admit to Henri that the thought of him no longer being there made her sadder than any time before in her life. “I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to say goodbye to you,” she said under her breath, certain Henri wasn’t able to hear anything she was saying.

Henri listened to the soft hum in his ears, he felt light. He opened his eyes staring at himself lying on the hospital bed. He turned in a circle, a part of him stunned at all that was right before his eyes. He looked to the right and saw Maven standing at the end of his bed. She looked sad.