Page 34 of Wild Life (STEAM-y #2)

The Past Always Catches Up with You

Maris

I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned in bed, despite having been awake for more than twenty-four hours. The sheets were too cold even in the heat because the wall of muscle I had grown accustomed to curling up against was absent.

He had asked for space to clear his head. The same man who was so obsessed with me that he couldn’t go long without touching me before he was compelled to throw me down and bury himself inside of me. Now, he couldn’t get far enough away.

It all reminded me of how we were when I had first washed ashore, except we didn’t hate each other. We were still very much in love—so much that it was now the wedge that drove us apart.

I didn’t want to leave him, but I couldn’t sit idly by to watch a dwindling bat population suffer. The scientific community needed to know about the sheath-tails’ susceptibility to white-nose syndrome. If it was affecting non-hibernating bats here, it could most certainly affect them in other tropical locations, as well as other species, too. Many of the locations with sheath-tailed bats could suffer drastically if bat populations decreased. Food supply would dwindle and pests would overgrow. The consequences of this mysterious infection would be devastating to nations.

Just on this island, the fungus could affect all bat populations, and in about ten years, the ecosystem would be very different. Aleki’s access to fruits and vegetables would be limited since there wouldn’t be enough bats to pollinate the plants. Also, the surrounding wildlife who survived off those same foods would die off, and his hunting trips would become less successful. His life was in danger if I didn’t seek treatment, and I wished he’d understand that.

I had to leave—for him. He was the love of my life, and he had said that he could never go back to the modern world. He was afraid of the world seeing him as some circus sideshow. The boy who lived in the jungle . So the only option was to ensure his survival in his home.

I would be back. I had promised him I would be. Unfortunately, I couldn’t predict how long it would take for me to return, or what would happen after I returned to treat the bats. I might have to go back to Washington again for more medication if the first round didn’t work.

I rubbed my eyes, weary and stressed. Fuck sleep. I kicked off the blankets and padded out of the hut. Poaka scampered behind me, eager to empty his bladder and search for food.

Our sterilized tarps and booties from the night’s trip hung on low branches, airing out. I had made sure to at least bring back and clean everything we had worn inside of the cave. A few baskets of other random items I’d left needed fetching later.

Poaka squealed as he discovered a stash of mushrooms that Aleki had left for him near the empty fire pit. I patted his head and left him to his own devices.

While he was eating, I grabbed the towel next to the drying gear and stumbled to the shower.

The valve squeaked when I turned it, and cool water came dribbling down the spout, washing my body clean.

My mind flashed back to the colony. The masses of petite bodies clustered together, unaware that some of their friends could kill them. Then the image of a withdrawn Aleki, after I said I’d return to him, hogged my head.

He didn’t believe me. I couldn’t wholly believe myself, either. Our future was uncertain.

I was thinking too far ahead. First, I needed to be rescued, then I could worry about goodbyes. Aleki and I still had more time together, and I wasn’t going to let anxiety ruin it.

I turned off the water and toweled dry. I applied some of the oil he’d made for me from pressed jasmine flowers to the side of my neck. The floral scent instantly lifted my mood and transported me to a better time.

I dressed in my T-shirt and set to drying my hair before heading to the beach to find Aleki. He’d said he was going fishing to clear his mind. I was still in this relationship, whether he wanted me or not. I wasn’t going to shut him out for fear of rejection. No, I was going to prove to him that I was all in, despite the obstacles we faced.

Footsteps approached the camp. Not one set, but two. I recognized the heavy, unrefined ones. The other steps, I couldn’t place. They were lighter and more hurried than Aleki’s.

Poaka screeched uncontrollably, piercing my ears, and chills spread over the back of my neck, terrified that he was in danger. “Poaka!” I shouted.

I abandoned my towel and rounded the corner. I was stunned by what I found.

“Eli?”

Poaka lunged at him, baring his teeth. Eli snaked around him in time and rushed to me. His hug was suffocating.

“Maris. I’ve been looking for you for weeks.” I withdrew, but he refused to let go and held onto my arms as he examined me. “Are you okay?” he asked, his forehead wrinkled. His fussing annoyed me. I was like an experiment he was studying.

“I’m fine.” I shrugged away from his touch and met Aleki’s gaze. He was standing behind Eli, his face solemn like he was attending a funeral—the funeral of us.

“Thank God! You have no idea how scared I was when you fell off the boat, and then we couldn’t find your body in the water. The crew said there was no way you could’ve survived the impact. Everyone told me to give up hope of finding you, but I never did. I knew you were alive.” He pulled me in for a hug again and kissed me, aiming for my mouth, but I turned before he could make contact, giving him my cheek.

Aleki tensed at the interaction, and I prayed he noticed how sorry I was. Eli was all over me, way more than he had been before the accident, and it was far too dramatic, even for me.

I stepped back, putting some much needed distance between us. “I’m okay, Eli. You didn’t need to worry.”

He shot Aleki a judgmental glance, then glared at Poaka, who was on high alert with his tail in the air, ready to pounce as soon as Aleki gave him the signal.

“Your safety is the most important thing to me,” Eli said.

“I am safe—safer than I’d be anywhere in the world. Aleki took care of me.” I focused on Aleki as I said the words. He was my protector.

“What are you wearing?” Eli grimaced at my T-shirt, wet hair, and bare feet, while he was dressed in premium hiking gear.

“I mean, it’s all I had. My other clothes were wrecked.”

“It’s better than that, I suppose.” Eli cast a disdainful glance at Aleki’s loincloth, then grabbed my arm, urging me to follow him. “Let’s go. I can get you clothes on the boat.”

I wrenched away. “No. Let me go.” This was all too sudden. Now that I’d been presented with the chance to leave, I didn’t want it. I needed time to think. Time to breathe. Time to be held.

I ran to Aleki and wrapped my arms around his neck. His warmth encased me, and only then was it safe to inhale again. “Did you signal for rescue?” We had barely discussed it. I had never imagined he’d make the impossible happen so quickly.

“N-no,” he whispered against my head. His stutter had returned, and it killed me inside to know he was hurting—that I was hurting him.

I looked up at him. “Then how?”

He shrugged. “B-bad luck.”

Eli was eavesdropping. “I have been searching for you nonstop. I directed the search team here.”

I ignored him, my attention on the only man I cared about. “Aleki, I don’t want to leave. I want to stay with you. God, I love you.” My voice broke sharply as the harsh reality of being separated from him and Poaka, my family, barreled into my heart. I sobbed hard, panicking. “What do I do? Tell me what to do,” I begged. I was babbling and blurting words out faster than my brain could process.

Aleki leaned down and pressed his forehead to mine, holding me close. “Maris, I love you m-more than words can say. You’ll be b-back. Remem-ber? And I’ll b-be here, waiting for you.”

I nodded, committing his words to my mind. My heart. “I will be back,” I echoed slowly. It was all going to be okay. We’d be together again.

“She will not be back,” Eli barked, disrupting the sense of calm Aleki had blessed me with.

Aleki positioned himself in front of me, towering over Eli. “Shut. The. Fuck. Up.” His voice was clear and unwavering, stunning both Eli and me.

I pulled his arm. “Please. Don’t fight. Aleki, come with me back to Washington. We can be together forever.”

Eli scoffed, his disbelieving glare darting from Aleki to me. “We’re not bringing…this,” he spat.

Poaka grunted, reminding Aleki that he was ready for war.

Eli’s disgust burned my skin. “This is the reason you want to stay? Because you fell into his bed?”

“Shut up. Don’t talk about him like that,” I shouted, tears streaming down my face. I was angry and sad and anxious all at the same time, and his yelling was like a fist around my lungs.

“Why are you defending him?”

“Because I love him,” I cried.

Eli gasped, horrified. For several seconds, he resembled a fish, opening and closing his mouth. “Maris, you’re not well. You need to come home with me. You’re clearly suffering from some form of Stockholm Syndrome. I need to get you medical care.”

A hysterical laugh bubbled up from my throat. I wasn’t well, but for none of the reasons he thought. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Your aunt is worried about you. I’m worried about you. I’m not leaving here without you, Maris.”

“I need more time.” I toyed with my fingers. I was desperate for silence. More time to think this through.

Eli grabbed my wrist hard to drag me away. Poaka scrambled forward, nipping at Eli’s ankles. Aleki was fast and punched Eli in the face.

Eli howled, covering his nose. “Fucking bastard!”

I stood by in shock as I watched Eli writhe and Aleki rub his knuckles from the impact.

Aleki cupped my face gently and pressed a kiss to my lips, consuming every bit of me, and my body melted into his.

Intense brown eyes studied my face as if memorizing every detail.

“G-go with him, Maris.”

Before I could argue, he sealed his lips to mine one last time. Without another word, he stormed off into the hut, the door slamming on our chapter together with finality.

Poaka crooked his head to me, his eyes wide and shiny, and I lost any bit of composure I’d been holding on to as I knelt on the ground and hugged him. Sobs racked my body while I kissed his head.

“Take care of him,” I whispered into Poaka’s ear. “Take care of him until I return to my family.”