Chapter Thirteen; Peace Among Men
I had finally woke and my eyes opened. Light filled the room. I was confused, I fell asleep when it was almost dinner time. I looked at my watch, it was 10:00 am. I slept fourteen hours. I grabbed the sheets of my bed and realized they were not my sheets. They were more course. I realized I had slept in Cole's bed for the entirety of my sleep. I sat up in shock. Cole was nowhere in the room. His side of the bed was made, only the covers were opened on my side. I felt embarrassed. "How many people know that I slept in his room? We didn't even do anything, we just slept. Maybe I could quickly run to my room without anyone noticing," I thought to myself.
I quickly finished making Cole's bed and ran for the door. Slowly, I slid the door open, peaking to see if anyone was around. I looked down both halls; nothing. It was a straight shot to my room. I opened the door the rest of the way and started to creep towards my room. The door was getting closer and closer. I felt the need to run, so I jogged, keeping my steps quiet, towards my quarters. Right before my hand hit the handle, I was stopped by a voice.
"Maya! You're finally awake." I turned to see that it was Misako. I didn't feel the need to hide from her.
"Yeah, I need to put some stuff away so," I said gesturing her to leave me alone.
"I was so worried about you, and Cole. I am so sorry I wasn't here. He told me that-"
"Cole, where is Cole?" I asked cutting her off.
"He's in the living room but-"
"Great, thanks." I ran towards the living room avoiding Misako. I still wasn't appreciative of her. I still hadn't forgiven her, she hasn't really proven anything to me to show me that she truly loves me.
"Maya, wait!" Misako called but I continued to ignore her.
I managed to make it to the living room. I saw Cole sitting on the couch with Jay and Lloyd sitting next to him. I would've embraced him with a million hugs but I wasn't going to since the others were by him. "Maya! Hey!" Lloyd said.
"Hey guys," I smiled sitting on the chair next to the couch.
"How did you sleep?" Cole looked at me in a weird way. It was like he was smiling but being sneaky at the same time. He was very relaxed in his seat; he didn't move when I walked in or sat down.
"Uh pretty damn good, fourteen hours is a new record." I chuckled uncomfortably. "How are you doing guys?" I looked at Jay and Cole.
"Oh I'm fantastic. I had 10 hours of sleep and then I went to the bakery to get a cake for Cole. That was my breakfast so I would say I rate this day 10/10." Jay crossed his arms showing how pleased he was with himself.
"I normally wouldn't have cake for breakfast, but Jay insisted." Cole laughed.
"And Cole?" I asked him again.
"I'm doing okay. I still have a little pain, but nothing compared to yesterday. My wounds are almost healed too, wanna see?" Cole said pointing his thumb towards his back.
"Warning they look pretty gnarly." Lloyd laughed.
"It's nothing I haven't seen before," I said walked behind the couch. Cole leaned forward and pulled down his shirt. I assisted him in pulling it down so I could see better. His fang marks were almost completely gone. They were just a bit red. "It looks great, Cole. Wow, they've healed up very nicely." I said with pride. I had to admit, I was very proud of myself.
"All thanks to you," Cole smiled. As I looked back at him smiling, I realized that he reached his hand up subtly to softly touch the fingertips of my hand, that was holding his shirt back. I stood up immediately avoiding any suspicion of the others. His face slowly went to a frown. I wasn't ready to publicly show affection, I'm still trying to figure out what is even going on between us.
"Maya, could I please speak to you?" Misako came into the room.
"I haven't even eaten breakfast yet-" I said.
"Just whenever you get a chance today. All I am asking for is a little bit of your time." Misako said softly then walked back out of the room.
I really didn't know what to say or do, so I just walked over to the kitchen to pour some cereal. Lloyd looked at me with concern so he followed me to the kitchen area. "Hey, uh Maya? About mom,"
"You mean your mom," I corrected him as I continued to pour my cereal.
"Okay, my mom, she just wants a chance. To get to know you, to talk and to-" Lloyd started.
"Look, Lloyd, the only reason I am staying here right now is to find a purpose with my powers. I don't need her to waltz in my life and act like she didn't abandon me all these years." I whispered.
"I get it, I do-"
"No, Lloyd," I slammed my bowl on the counter grabbing the attention of the Cole and Jay. "You don't get it. You've had a mom to love you, to raise you, and to-"
"Actually, I know very well what it feels like to be abandoned. My mother left me at a boarding school when I was very young and didn't come back into my life until I was older. She abandoned me. Just like she did with you. But she did it for a good reason- it was to do everything in her power to try to stop the final battle between my father and I- She didn't succeed, but she did everything in her power to protect me. She knew I was going to be the green ninja. All she did was protect me. I was angry and furious with her at first, I didn't even want her to call me her son, but eventually, I made peace with her. Rejecting her peace will not further anything between you, and it will prevent you from reaching your true potential. Your weakness is the refusal to forgive, I can see it when you train. It's holding you back. You need to let go of it, Maya. Or it will consume you." Lloyd left me without the chance of me to reply and sat back down with the other ninja.
I stared at my cereal as it circled in my milk. I wasn't hungry anymore. I never realized Lloyd was abandoned too. If anything, I was more furious. He said being unforgiving was my weakness- he's wrong. My weakness is my darkness. The darkness that clouds my mind whenever I think about my past, my powers, and my family. That is my weakness. Knowing what my father had become, I know it will haunt me for the rest of my life. I cannot just simply turn it off. Lloyd may have been abandoned too, but he never inherited the darkness of his father like I did.
I dumped my cereal in the sink and walked out of the room. I lost my appetite. I ran for my bedroom, this time being able to get there without interruption, and I locked the door behind me. I climbed on my bed and sunk down to my knees. I felt an overwhelming sadness pull over me. I've felt this before, when I was lonely living by myself in Ninjago City. I wasn't sure why I was so sad. I was upset with Misako, but not enough to feel like this.
Maybe it was my confusion with Cole, or maybe it was the fact that I still had this darkness inside me. It was like I could feel the anger of my father raging in my body, but I wasn't angry. I was full of sorrow- I could feel his soul personally reaching to me. It was like he was scared but he didn't want me to know he was scared. I started to hear his thoughts. His thoughts about my family- it was a rollercoaster of emotions; happiness, sadness, and anger. They weren't vivid thoughts, just the emotions but I knew they were connected to my family.
I've had 'visions' like these before, but this felt real. Like there was a possibility my father might be sending me a message. Maybe he's still out there somewhere. Maybe he's coming back.
My vision broke when I heard a knock at the door. I stood up, wiping my tears, and unlocked the door. I was getting ready to snap since I assumed it was Lloyd, but I took a step back when I realized it was Cole. "Oh, god, sorry I didn't realize it was you." I sniffed continuing to wipe my tears with my sweatshirt sleeve.
"Are-are you okay?" Cole said taking his hands out of this pockets.
"Just peachy." I said with the uttermost sarcasm in my voice.
"Listen, I heard what you and Lloyd were talking about and I just wanted to-"
"Damn, we have an eves-dropper on our hands." I laughed with a sigh.
"I know, I know, but I swear I didn't mean to I just..."
"I know we were pretty loud." I shrugged then plopped on my bed.
"I just wanted to say that I don't have any say in what you do with Misako, other than then what I know. We took in Mrs. G. as our mother- my mother. My mom died a very long time ago. She has been the mother figure I haven't had in a very long time. She took me, well us, under her wing. She's a good person." Cole said as he sat down next to me.
"I am sure she is, but you do realize that I have been motherless for twenty years? Every opportunity to get me back, she didn't take it. I'm not ready to forgive her yet. This is the last time I am saying this-"
"Okay, I know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to overstep I was just saying my piece." Cole said.
"I know you were, and I appreciate it, but I have to figure this out on my own. It's my responsibility to figure out what I need for myself." I said.
"You seem to put a lot on yourself now a days...kicking Kai's ass, your ass being kicked by mine..." Cole said jokingly.
"Hey!" I shoulder shoved him with my shoulder. "Who's the one that saved your ass?" I said raising my eyebrow.
"Hmm...It was Zane, wasn't it? Oh no wait, it was Jay." Cole teased.
"You're unbelievable." I laughed and started to stand up.
Cole grabbed my hips and flipped me around fast, causing me to gasp. I wasn't expecting him to do that, especially that fast. "Don't leave." Cole looked up to me with beaming eyes and a glowing smile.
"What are you doing?" I questioned quietly, placing my hands on top of his, attempting to remove his hands from my hips. I couldn't get them to budge, he had too much of a grip on me.
Cole stood up, still holding my hips, and was now looking down at me. God he was so tall, it was so hot. "What's your holdback?" Cole asked with a deep but quiet voice.
"My holdback? You mean like...my true potential holdback? Or..." I played with him. I knew exactly what he was getting at.
His hands slowly slid up my waist until they touched my lower ribs. It almost made me shiver. Even with a sweatshirt on, I had never been touched like this before. "I think, your holdback," Cole said reaching one hand to my hand, grabbing it tightly. "Is that you don't show your emotions. You hide them."
"I'm not going to be some sappy bitch all the time. That's definitely not for me." I said with a tone.
"You don't have to be a bitch to show emotion. It makes you...sexier." Cole took his other hand and placed his thumb on my bottom lip. I didn't know what else to do but look at him dead in the eyes. There it was again- that connection I saw back in the cave where we got the mechs. His eyes sparkled and my heart fluttered. Both of our breathing increased in pace. I knew it was coming I just knew it.
Before I could even blink, his lips touched mine. My heart started to pound in my chest and my knees got weak. After a couple seconds, we broke apart and stared at each other again. We both weren't finished. I caressed his cheeks with my hands and pulled him in for more. I felt my back gently placed against a wall. Then I felt his hands lower mine from his face so he could caress my face instead. I didn't argue. I then put my hands around his waist. We continued to make out. I was breathing heavily as the fires of our connection burst in front us. My knees were shaking. It was a mix of nerves and butterflies of excitement. I had never felt this much passion for anyone- ever. I felt escalating pressure as I was pinned harder against the wall. I didn't mind it, in-fact it felt amazing. My chest was pinned against Cole's chest. I could feel his heart fluttering as it beat. His lips were sweet, like a sugar candy you taste on Christmas morning. I could feel his passion pass onto me. I passed mine back to him. It was a fiery sensation, but not to the point of burning. It was peaceful, sincere, and genuine.
We continued this for as long as I could've remembered. But we had to stop when we realized the time. "Shit." Cole mumbled.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Training starts in five. Then after we're meeting via video chat with Borg about a plan for the Slithraa since they're still roaming the city."
"Cole! Why didn't you say anything sooner? I'm not even dressed." I ran to my dresser pulling out my purple gi.
"You know why." Cole smirked.
"We aren't telling anyone, are we?" I asked looking at him with concern.
"Not if you don't want to." Cole said.
"Cole I don't even know what we are yet. Let's just keep it on the low and-"
I was ever so rudely interrupted with another kiss. "I'm not saying a word."
"Thank you." I whispered back. "Now leave I need to change." I pointe towards the door.
"Yes ma'am."