The Elemental Wars: Jasper's Desire

BONUS: "I think you should stay..."

6 months prior. . .

Maya's POV

I let out a sigh as I slowly open the door to my apartment. There, right outside my door, stands Reece. This past week has been rough for the both of us since we just lost both of our spouses in the battle. I'm not sure if either of us will ever recover.

"C-Can we talk?" Reece asks, stuttering a little. "I figured you'd probably be the one to understand my feelings most..."

"Oh, of course," I respond, immediately knowing what he wanted to talk about. "Come right in. It's rather late, why aren't you asleep?" He steps inside.

"Why aren't you asleep?" He asks right back to me. "Same reason as me?"

I hate to admit it, but he's probably right. My mind cannot stop whirring. There's too many thoughts in my head. I have not gotten a proper sleep since the battle. My mind just always goes back to Jeremy.

"I mean, I guess so..." I answer, looking away a little shyly.

"You can't stop thinking about Jeremy, huh? Just like I can't stop thinking about Lily..." Reece assumes, which I confirm with a nod.

"I can't sleep," I admit. "I've been trying for about an hour now."

"Me too... I figured you'd be the same, which I why I decided to come talk to you.." Reece responds.

"And you're right," I confirm with a sigh. "I haven't had a good sleep in a while."

"Me neither..." Reece also admits.

"Come join me on the couch," I offer to Reece. He just nods and we both sit on my couch next to each other. Right as we sit down, Reece immediately breaks down. "So what's going on?" I ask, my gaze lowering in empathy.

"I feel so lonely.." He sniffles as a tear rushes down his cheek. "Everything seems so empty. I cannot sleep without her beside me. I cannot stand waking up and her face not being the first I see every morning..."

"I... feel the same way. Just seeing the spot next to me in the bed empty hurts. Also, living alone is a nightmare. I've never lived alone my whole life! Before the tragedy I lived with my parents, during the war I lived with Nick and Lilah, and after the war I lived with Jeremy and our kids. Now... it's empty. Our kids now have gotten apartment rooms of their own built through the mountain, so now I live completely alone for the first time..." I share, feeling my own eyes begin to water.

"You and me both. I never lived alone before either," Reece admits. "It's so lonely not having someone to live with."

"Yeah..." I respond. Reece only gets worse and before I know it, I pull him into a tight, comforting hug. He continues to cry into my shirt and I cry as well, letting go of Reece with one of my arms to wipe my face on my sleeve.

In that moment, I couldn't help but feel a bit of comfort as well. It feels great to get everything off my chest, instead of showing a fake smile to everyone like I've been doing. It's great for the both of us to open up about our feelings like this.

We then let go of the hug as he backs out of it. He looks into my eyes and leans closer again, wiping one of the tears off my cheek with his thumb.

"Thank you for coming here to visit me.. I really needed it," I tell him.

"And thank you for being there for me tonight," Reece responds. "I've been holding all of that in for so long..."

"Me too.." I respond with a small nod of understanding.