he was her warmth

she was his peace

- the better man project

April 29th:

Mara wakes up with a very ailing headache. It ignites at her temples, slowly building to the front of her brain in a pinching agony. She cries, rolling over, so her face is stuffed into the feather-like pillow. The soft smell of lilac detergent fills her senses as she takes in a deep breath, clutching her sour stomach.

Groaning, she slips from under the warm covers, pulling her bathrobe tighter around her thin frame. She shivers, although the warm sunny rays are sparkling her room with sunrise, she is cold. Goosebumps prick the surface of her porcelain skin, the hair on her arms standing upright.

She coughs, her chest throaty with sick buildup. She sighs, her shoulders hunching over as she slowly descends down the stairs. Her hand grips onto the banister as each wood step downwards takes more effort than the last. She is shaking, her whole body convulsing with the chill shooting down her spine.

"Dammit," she moaned, rolling her icy eyes at the figure before her. Talon persists at the end of the staircase, with a raven-like smile that follows her movements. The chandelier is hung right above him; Mara can only wish it would just fall on him.

"You look amazing," he snickers darkly, his curly hair tussled with sleep. This is the most disorganized she'd seen him. The top two buttons of his white button-up popped open.

His green eyes are soft, with a spark of amusement at Mara, whose face has now gone pale. She hunches over, taking in a few deep breaths to soothe nausea that rolls her stomach.

This happens every time Mara forgets to take her medicine for more than a few days. It is like her body can't keep up without it. She will fall ill. It will be awful too, where her eyes struggled to keep open, sticky with eye crud.

"Please," her voice comes out horse, soft as it hurts to talk. Her vocal cords grinding against each other. "Not today."

Her blonde hair projects at all angles, her bones seemingly sharper than before. She may have forgotten to eat the past few days, her mind racing so much energy, she neglected to calm down for a meal. This would also affect the medicine, or lack thereof, and her now being sick.

"Common," Talon holds his hand out in offering. Mara, too weak to object, takes the sacrifice. Even in her delirious state, she notes the difference between holding Talon's hands and holding Elias' hands. She feels no spark of fire coursing through her veins. Rather, she just feels a warm palm encasing her own.

Talon drags Mara into the dining room that could fit an army, helping to set her down in one of the royalty-like chairs. He prepares a feast of scrambled eggs and bread, all foods she should be able to keep down, but enough to fill her up.

He noted the purple bruises forming under her eyes, the way she slumps over in the chair, her cheek against the cold surface of the table. She looks spent.

He is being warm with her, not as flirtatious, and it throws Mara off. She is so used to deflecting that it feels weird, him caring so much for her.

"Why are you helping me?" She croaks, letting the hot chocolate soothe her pulsing throat. It feels nice for a minute before the aching feeling is back.

"Through sickness and health, right?" He smirks, laughing at Mara's glare that hardens her sharp features. The opportunity had just presented itself.

"Seriously, Talon," she groans, too tired to even object to his flirtatious nature. She brings the eggs to her face, twisting her fork between her fingers, staring at the yellow food dotted with pepper flakes. She doesn't have a problem with food, but sometimes her mother's belittling to be perfect sticks in the back of her subconscious.

"Truthfully?" He inquires, leaning back against his dining chair across from her. His hands clasped in his lap, the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up halfway up his arms. His dark brown skin, peaking through, contrasted against the white.

Mara nods in answer to his question, blinking slowly, as she lets the eggs touch her throat. Instantly she wishes she hadn't, suppressing her gags as her stomach objects to the taste.

"You all quiet like this just scares me," he chuckles, "what happened to my firebird."

"I'm not your anything," she groans, rubbing the pain away from her temples. Talon is only making it worse, his smooth-talking hurting her pulsing eardrums.

"I know, love," he smiles softly. She only cries in response, her head falling down onto the table in distress. She feels like she is going to die. Every part of her hurts so much it takes an effort to even feel sick in this moment.

---

Happy, the butler with a big smile in Mara's presence, is truly a saint. He drove Mara to Elias's place with no objection. Her mother had people over for Darla's wedding preparation and she wasn't about to get stuck around helping them.

Mara is still sick, although it isn't as severe as before. Her headache has dulled to a light pounding, her stomach not as tight as before. She even managed a bowl of soup today, hours after Talon left to fly back to California.

She and Elias have spent every day together. Surely, he would have gotten her sickness if he was going to. Anyways, she texted him earlier, and he said it was okay if she came over.

He'd given her directions, which is why she now sneaks past the tall gate into his backyard. Her eyes dart as she hugs the puffy coat tighter around her, the moon rising high in the sky. It is met by an array of dancing stars, each of which shine brighter than the next.

A rare sight, she doesn't have her backpack hung over her shoulders. Only because it weighs her down, now being stuffed in the back of her closet. It is an irrational fear, but a fear nonetheless, that her mother would find it and discard of it.

It isn't what her mother was to consider valuable. She would probably throw it away, and it was from her longtime friend Ryn.

She follows the light radiating through the chalked windows of the treehouse high in a tree. She tiptoes towards it, slowly climbing up the wooden ladder, careful not to splinter her fingers. Peeking through the baby-blue curtain, she's met by a smiling Elias, tucked away in the corner of the box. His knees pulled into his chest to make room for her.

"Hey weirdo," her smile grows at the sight of him cuddled up like a child. She crawls into the room that isn't big enough for the both of them, pushed tightly against his side. He chuckles the sound right against her ear at their proximity.

A candle burns by his feet, a computer set up on top of what looked to be an old jewelry box. The beginning of a movie is playing softly against the computer speakers, Elias wraps them both up in his warm blanket. Mara, still shivering, curls up into his side.

Her head rests on his shoulder as the movie continued to play out. Tucked away in his warmth, she breathes in his comfort as her means of survival.

"What are we watching?" she murmurs, her eyes flickering from the screen to the edge of his jawline. He peeks his head down, eyes level with hers. His brown irises, darker with the absence of light.

'The sixth sense' he signs. Mara nods as they both fall into the silence. With only the soft static of the music playing as a barrier between them. They found it quite easy, falling into the comfort of each other's embrace.

Mara doesn't realize how much it means for Elias, her being in his treehouse. This is his safe space away from evil, and he feels he can share it with her. Even his mother isn't allowed up here. Mara is the first to venture beyond the curtain from outside.

They watch the movie out here, and then another, eventually falling asleep wrapped up in each other's arms. For the night, the nightmares disappeared as they let the chirping crickets outside soothe them in a lullaby.

They found living was easier in the company of each other.

---

Authors Note:

A/N: When's everyone's birthday? Mine is actually March 29th.

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- Nia

Edited 3/31/22