Perfectly Hopeless by Holly Hood Page A

Maven’s head shook, her hair rubbed against his chin. Her fingers squeezed his arm.
     
    “ Yeah, my entire life.”
     
    Henri swallowed. “Your mother fills in for Dr. Moore sometimes. You look a lot like her.”
     
    This was her moment to put some of the mystery together. He wasn’t great at explaining why he was the way he was.
     
    Maven pulled away, she studied Henri’s expression.
     
    “ Yeah, she does.” She gave him a strange look. “Your aunt works at the office right?”
     
    She could tell by his silence that wasn’t what he meant by it. She bit her lip, afraid to say anything more. It was obvious he was trying to tell her something.
     
    She didn’t know what to say. So she kissed him, her hands leaving the grass and meeting up with the back of his neck. Her fingers worked their way through his hair. Henri pulled away, planting a kiss on her cheek.
     
    “ That’s not the reason you mentioned my mother is it?” she asked, feeling stupid. She took his hand. “You can tell me anything.”
     
    Henri nodded. “This isn’t me. I’m never open with people I hardly know.” He touched her face, drawing her chin up to meet her eyes. “So you have to understand this is hard for me.”
     
    “ You can tell me anything. I promise I would never tell anyone else.”
     
    “ That’s not what I’m worried about. I’m worried about hurting you.” Henri sighed. It was a lot tougher than he expected. He wondered why he couldn’t just spit it out. He had done this before. He ran a hand across her cheek. He knew he was starting to like her. And now he was worried he was going to hurt her.
     
    This time Maven pulled Henri by the chin. “Come on, Henri. I’m sure once you say whatever it is you need to say you will feel better.” But he only shook his head in disagreement. He slid his hands through his hair, pulling at it in angst. He groaned, anxious with everything that was happening—the beautiful weather, the sun, the beautiful girl sitting in front of him. All of it annoyed him because it wasn’t his. It was only momentary in his eyes.
     
    It was perfectly hopeless.
     
    “ I can’t do this.” He dropped his head between his knees breathless, anxiety coursing through him like tiny little rockets. He tensed up when she placed her hand on his back. Maven refused to pull away. She rubbed his back trying to rid him of some of the stress.
     
    “ You don’t have to. We can just sit here.” She pulled him close, securing his body with her arms, nearly squeezing the life out of him. “Look at the sun, the water. It’s all beautiful. Let’s just enjoy it.” She tugged on his arm, trying to get him to at least raise his head to witness the beauty she was referring to.
     
    “ I’m dying.” He spit it out finally.
     
    Dying. The nastiest utterance in the English language escaped his lips and slammed into her conscious. Maven’s heart stopped. Her skin tingling and tears stung her eyes. She carefully wiped at them.
     
    “ How could that be?” She rested her head against him, confused, trying to appear strong even though she felt weak. Something so wonderful was crumbling before her very eyes—something that made her happy.
     
    “ I have asked the same question over and over.” He finally lifted his head. “I never knew there was anything wrong with me until I started playing baseball. Then one night during a big game I didn’t feel right. And before I knew it I passed out. When I woke up I was surrounded by the Ems and they were rushing me to the hospital.”
     
    Maven listened.
     
    “ My whole life I thought I was fine. And then I do something I love and find out just like that, that I’m not okay and I’m not a normal healthy guy.”
     
    “ What was wrong with you?”
     
    “ They told me I had a heart condition, and that was the reason I collapsed on the field that day. And I was okay with that. My parents knew enough to know I could be put on a donor list. But then