Nya POV: Honestly, I was going to interrogate Cole when he got back and got the answers to my questions. But I didn't know how much I needed to hug Jay again until I saw him. As he and I held each other, I heard Cole and Lloyd leave. I'll let him take care of that for me. And we both just held each other for a while before he finally pulled away to look me in the eyes.
"It's really been a long day for us all, huh?" he said, laughing a little to lighten the mood. Which did a little.
I managed a small smile, but I sighed and said, "A really long day indeed."
"At least it's over now, and we can move forward." He said, but I couldn't do that yet.
I sighed again and said, "Maybe we can, but Kai…"
"Right… I tried to ask Cole again, but he says that we'll have to ask Kai." Jay explained, but the look on his face told me there was something else.
But I didn't have to say anything. I just glared at him a little, and he got the message and said, "Well, I guess there's that one thing."
"What?" I didn't want to sound demanding, but this is my brother, and no one is telling me anything.
"He didn't say anything, but the look on his face didn't really reassure me. Maybe what he saw wasn't… pleasant."
"But what exactly was it?" I said, though I said that mostly to myself.
But Jay suggested, "Maybe it was about the time he was under the influence of the Staff of Elements? That was a… low point for him."
"But we're all there, and it's not like that was a secret. There isn't any reason to hide that." I countered, and we both stayed quiet for a while.
I sighed and really wanted to go and check on him right now, but he was probably still sleeping. Then again, he was always a light sleeper, so maybe he was awake. Then there was his bad habit of keeping things to himself, and he hates talking about himself.
Jay noticed I was overthinking and said, "For now, maybe we should just relax and worry about it later? We all need some sleep after today."
"...You're probably right. I could use some." I said after a few moments.
It would do me some good to just rest and approach this again in the morning. Plus, I was starting to feel extremely tired now that the situation was over. He just nodded and, while holding hands, we left and headed towards our rooms. However, even though I was trying to let it be for now, I did think about whether or not Lloyd talked with Cole about this. And if Kai was still out, or if he was awake. But I shook it away and hugged Jay good night before going into my room. I collapsed on my bed and let out a giant sigh as I felt myself fading. At least tomorrow won't be as bad as today.
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Cole POV: Lloyd kept asking me questions as we stayed out on the deck. He mostly asked about what Kai's nightmare was and what made him pass out. Again, I avoided talking about the… scene that I witnessed. That was something I needed to talk with Kai before telling anyone else. Though I did suggest that he passed out from the stress of everything.
"I'm more surprised that it was only Kai, to be honest." Lloyd said, laughing a little.
"Right? It's not every day that we have to deal with something like this." I responded, laughing with him. But I did feel a little bad about not being straight with him.
Though, thinking about it, Kai definitely has been holding back about something. He was freaking out and panicking, which he doesn't ever do. And I know for a fact that we've never been to a place like that. So this is something he went through alone, or at least without us. I wonder if Nya knows about this, but I'm just not sure. He doesn't like to share certain things that he doesn't like to talk about, and this is definitely on the list. Besides, how can I even bring this up? The only thing that I'm positive about is that it won't be easy no matter what.
"Cole?" Lloyd asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Huh?" I asked, and he looked a little concerned.
"You good? You kind of spaced out." He asked, and I just shook my head.
"No, it's fine. I just… started thinking about today." I explained, keeping my thoughts to myself for now.
He clearly didn't believe me, but he let it go. Though he did yawn a little and I used that to change the topic.
"Maybe it's time for us to join Kai and sleep. We all need it." I suggested, and he nodded in agreement.
We started walking towards our respective rooms, and I was about to open my door when I heard a creak next to me. It was Kai, and he looked so exhausted. He didn't notice me at first and was rubbing his eye, but when he did notice me, he just froze. And, to be honest, I didn't really know what to say at that moment. He was just standing, looking at me without an ounce of panic in his face.
Finally, I asked, "Kai? Are you okay?"
"Uh… yeah, I'm good." He was quiet and wouldn't meet my eyes. Almost like he was embarrassed, which he obviously shouldn't be.
"You sure? Do you want to talk about it? I'm all ears." I said, trying to let him know that I was willing to talk.
I thought that it worked because he looked in the eyes. I could see his exhaustion in his eyes, but there was something else in them that I couldn't figure out.
He just shook his head and said, "I don't… need to. I just need some water, then some sleep."
Without another word, he walked away towards the kitchen. Of course, I didn't believe him, but I also didn't stop him either. He definitely needed sleep and some water, so I left him alone for now and went into my room. I needed to sleep too, but I couldn't. I just laid there, staring at my ceiling while thinking.
Kai was keeping something to himself, and it was clearly eating at him now because of Hry's labyrinth. I don't know what it was or how it happened to him, and I don't know how to help him open up to me. Maybe the others would have ideas, and they would definitely want to be involved. However, I don't want to step over the line with Kai's boundaries and push him further away.
I sighed heavily and rolled to my side. Right now, I can't drive myself crazy with all this overthinking. Tomorrow, when I can, I'll talk to him alone and in a safe space. That's the best thing I can do, and it's probably what he needs too.
At least that's what I hope.