Days passed and Maka's body was sore, but she put up with it. She had no right to complain. She kept comparing her injuries with Carlo's.
Maka kneeled by his bed side, her heart breaking at the sight of him. In the past few days, Maka kept making mistakes… and her weapon paid for them. "I'm sorry Carlo." She managed to say as she wiped away her tears.
"Maka, how many times do I have to tell you that it isn't a big deal?" Carlo told her. He was lying on his back, his blanket covering him as he looked up at the ceiling.
"Not a big deal? Carlo, look at you!" Maka exclaimed, grabbing onto the blanket and gave it a tug, but it wouldn't budge. Carlo wouldn't let her take it off of him. He knew how badly it would affect her if she saw his injuries before going to bed.
"Good night Maka, you need to do your best tomorrow, you need some rest." Carlo told her, looking her in the eyes with a stern look.
Maka shook her head as she let go of his blanket and looked out the small window to see the stars in the night sky.
"Let's run away." She muttered to him without looking away from the window.
"Maka, he'll give us punishments." Carlo told her.
"It'll be worth it. I don't want to see you hurt anymore." Maka told him.
"Do your best and we'll be out of here on schedule. We only have a few days left of training Maka, it's not worth it." Carlo told her.
"You don't understand Carlo!" Maka growled at him. "I'm tired of all of this!" she exclaimed.
"You think I'm not either?" Carlo responded. "How many times do you think I have to be whipped for every stupid little mistake you do?" he growled at her.
Maka winced and looked down at her hands.
"Maka, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it out loud." Carlo told her, reaching out for her, but Maka pulled out of grasp.
"No need to be sorry Carlo. I understand. After all, you are the one getting hurt right?" Maka mumbled, getting up, her feet dragging her to her bed across the room and she laid down on it, her back to him.
"Maka." He started but her fake snores interrupted him.
He rolled his eyes with a sigh as he looked up at the ceiling. "Good night Maka." He muttered, his hand reaching under his pillow to pull out the piece of paper that has been troubling him.
"Good night Carlo." She mumbled.
Carlo quietly opened the note, glancing in her direction for a few seconds, but then looked back at the note. He waited a few minutes until Maka's breathing was shallow to read it.
Maka,
I heard about what happened to Black*Star and Tsubaki… I wanted to go to the hospital along with Red*Star and Jared, but they wouldn't let me. So I'm writing you this quick note. Black*Star is a strong guy, you could trust him to try his best Maka, don't worry too much about him or you'll end up hurting yourself.
I really wish I could be there for you. You're one of the only friends I have left that I could trust… and I love you. I don't care if you don't love me back; just remember that I'll be here waiting for you when you return.
-Soul
Carlo's hands shook with fury as he crumpled up the piece of paper and stuffed back under his pillow. There was no way that Maka was going to read that note! He won't let her!
Carlo froze, his hands going to rest on his chest. 'Why do I feel like… like this? This can't be jealousy… could it?' Carlo thought to himself. "I can't be jealous." He whispered to himself. "I don't love her… I can't. I'm supposed to hate women."
He looked over at her, his world starting to crash down on him as he started to connect the dots. He hated this place and he swore he would never come back… but look at him now, he's here for Maka. He swore he would defend himself if Nero ever whipped him again… but he doesn't… for Maka… he's doing all of this for Maka. "I can't be in love." He said desperately, shaking his head rapidly. "I can't!" he growled.
Maka shifted in her bed, rubbing her eyes as she let out a small yawn. "What's wrong Carlo?" Maka asked him.
Carlo's heart warmed up, and it was like nothing he had ever felt before. "Nothing Maka… nothing." He responded. 'Why am I feeling this way? This is only going to end in heart break… I don't want to end up hurt.' He thought to himself, but then a small smile formed on his face when he looked over at Maka as her breathing started to slow down once more. "You're worth the pain." He said under his breath as his own eyes started to close, a small smile on his face. "Maybe… maybe this will end in a happy ending for me, after all the pain I've been in." he mumbled with a small yawn, sleep taking over him.