A few months later...

I held the flowers close to my chest as I left town behind. It had been almost three months since Hadrian's funeral. While we still miss him and mourn for him occasionally, everything had slowly gone back to normal. Otto recently returned to The Games and has been doing well so far, while everyone else returned to their normal schedules and duties, including myself. However, there was one person none of us had seen in the past month;

Mevia

After the funeral, the Order and I built Mevia her own home outside of town by her husband's grave. For the first few weeks, we regularly visited her and consoled her, however she started to push us back, saying she needed some space. We all obliged of course, but now it had been a whole month since anyone visited her. She never came out of the house, not once. I never saw her around town, and neither did the townsfolk. She had started to worry me... She was isolating herself from us all, and if no one had seen her in town, then that meant she never stopped by for supplies... Was she starving herself? I clutched the flowers closer to my chest as the thought flew into my mind. I didn't want to think that way, but considering she had been in deep grief and depression since Hadrian's passing, it was highly likely she hadn't been looking after herself... I shook my head. It wasn't good to think that way at all. I had to stay positive and help her in any way I could. As I diverted off the main road, I could already see her house in the distance, standard oak wood cottage. To my left stood a plain oak tree, which fitted in with the biome and cottage. To my right, was Hadrian's grave, fresh flowers placed by its base. Since none of us had come to see Mevia in a while, I assumed it was her placing the flowers by his grave. I walked up to it and kneeled down, placing my own down by his grave. I smiled sadly

"Hey Hadrian" I spoke, then chuckled a little. I always did when I said that. "It's good to visit you again. I hope you're fitting in with the group, and I hope Reuben is looking after you, the rascal" I smiled a little. After his funeral had unfortunately been ruined, I went to Reuben's memorial in town and asked my little buddy to look after Hadrian in the afterlife. While some may find it silly, I do think they can hear us, that they can see us. I like to think they're always watching over us, no matter what. I miss Reuben, but I know that he would want me to continue the legacy I had built, and hopefully, he has been looking after all of my deceased friends in the afterlife. If not... No juicy carrot for him

"Anyway..." I continued. "I've been doing well. Nothing out of the ordinary. Otto finally went back to the games. It's good he's recovered enough to return, and everyone else has returned to their normal schedules as well. Ivor and Harper are on another adventure and told me something... Interesting..." I grinned. "But I won't tell you, not yet. I have to keep some secrets" My grin suddenly vanished. "Mevia..." I stopped for a moment. "I... I'm sure you already know how Mevia is doing, I'm sure you've been watching over her ever since... I'm sorry I haven't visited her in the last month, I was busy with work and... She said she wanted space, so we all gave her some..." I felt guilty for leaving Mevia on her own for so long. She must've felt so lonely without her husband around, and... Possibly unloved by us all... I felt tears well up in my eyes, but I quickly wiped them away and stood up, looking down at the grave

"I'm here to see her now though" I said. "I'll help her, don't worry" I smiled. "I promise" I could almost hear Hadrian thanking me, which was both calming and frightening in its own right, thinking I heard the deceased, but I merely shrugged it off as a figure of my imagination. Slowly, I started to walk to the front door. As I did, I passed about two windows, with the blinds shut tight. I tried to peek through, but couldn't see anything, no light, no nothing. I bit my lip. Was this worse than I thought...? I bristly walked to the door, now worried for Mevia's own health. I raised my fist to knock, but stopped myself. I could hear something inside. It was faint, but I heard... Sobbing? I pressed my ear against the door to hear soft, muffled sobs coming from inside, most likely the living room. It was no doubt Mevia. Her sobs had been integrated in my memory as her grieving days, and hearing it mere months after it all, meant it wasn't over for her... I gasped quietly as the realisation came to me; she was still grieving, still in depression, still mourning, and yet we had left her all alone... I don't care if she asked us to, we still left her alone in this state, as a sobbing, mourning mess... I pulled my head away from the door and gulped, holding back my own tears. Whenever I heard her cry, I felt like sobbing myself, but I couldn't, not now. I raised my fist again, and this time, I knocked

"Hello, Mevia?" I said in a loud yet calm voice. "It's me, Jesse" The sobbing stopped for a moment as only sniffles could be heard inside

"Leave me alone!" Mevia's voice rose from inside. I frowned. She sounded completely broken, a sobbing mess...

"Mevia, I want to help you!" I protested. "We're all worried about you! I'm sorry we haven't visited you in the past month, we... You said you wanted space, so-"

"I do, so leave me ALONE!" She shouted, sobs mixed in. "Just LEAVE ME BE!" I frowned.

"Mevia, I'm not leaving now!" I said sternly. "You need help! You've been like this since Hadrian passed away, you need someone to help you!" Mevia went into a fit of sobs on the mention of Hadrian. I felt a little bad on mentioning his name, but it was inevitable. I sighed and lowered my voice

"Mevia, please" I started. "Please, I want to help you. You can't grieve forever, you have to move on. It's hard, I know, but... Hadrian is gone..." I bit my lip at that moment, wondering if that was the right thing to say. To my surprise, Mevia started to calm down.

"I-I know that J-Jesse..." She sobbed. "But he left me one th-thing, one... P-Painful, agonising thing I-I have to live with..." Mevia almost sounded angry as she spoke, but her sobs slowly returned, along with a painful groan. There was silence for a brief moment

"J-Jesse..." Mevia spoke up. "I-If you really want t-to help me... Promise me, you w-will NOT tell ANYONE about this!" I paused for a moment. What was she talking about?

"Mevia, what are you-"

"Promise Jesse!" She sneered. I sighed. I had no choice

"I promise Mevia" I spoke. "Now... Please, let me inside." I heard some rustling inside the house, before the door opened, Mevia hiding behind it. I slowly walked in and got a good look of her. She looked horrible; the colour from her face had drained, her skin pale, her eyes red and droopy like she hadn't slept in months. Her wrists... Her wrists were scarred, perfectly cut like a knife on bread. I teared up at the sight of her. She was a mess, however as hid behind the door, I knew she was hiding something larger than it all... She looked up at me, her onyx eyes almost pleading that I helped her, that I kept the secret she didn't want to get out. I only stood there, waiting for the reveal. She looked down, and slowly closed the door, revealing her full self. I immediately spotted what she wanted to hide, and was shocked. I clasped my hands over my mouth, though the words still got out;

"You're pregnant?!"

Mevia only looked down with a guilty and distraught look.

"Yes..." She whispered.

"Wha- How long?!" I asked without a thought. Mevia shook her head

"I don't know..." She replied. "I... I-I don't know when it could've happened..." I paused for a moment. Hadrian was obviously the father in this scenario, so it must've happened before the fire incident... In that case, she was five months pregnant. How had the doctors not seen this?! Mevia rubbed her belly gently as she looked at it sadly, before she gasped a little, probably from a surprise kick. I walked up to her, worry in my eyes

"Mevia..." I started. "Why were you hiding this from us?" Mevia teared up. She started to shake a little as she looked down at herself, tears slowly starting to fall

"...I miss Hadrian" She sobbed. "He... He saved my life in trade for his, and leaves me with this?!" She sounded angry when mentioning her unborn child, but her voice immediately softened. "I... I-I can't do this... I can't deal with th-this... I need Hadrian..." Mevia started to sob once more. I placed my hands on her shoulders and made her look at me. Her eyes were filled with sorrow, making myself tear up, but I looked at her sternly

"Mevia, that's what I'm here for" I told her. "I know you miss Hadrian, and I know you want him here to support you, especially with a child on the way, but he's gone. You have to face that-"

"I know he's gone Jesse!" Mevia screamed. "Who else do you think lays those flower by his grave?!" I winced slightly. Mevia sighed sadly and fell to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest as best as she could. "I m-miss him..." She continued. "And our last moment's together we're spent on arguing, like we always did at those cursed games..." I remembered when Hadrian told me about the fight they had, all because one wanted to kill me, the other did not. That didn't bother me anymore, but what did, is that these two had an argument before the event that split them apart forever... I felt absolutely horrible for Mevia, her husband dead at the hands of Mother Nature, and now a surprise child along the way. She had no support in the form of a spouse, and the child... When that child is born, the poor kid will grow up without a father, only a single, grieving mother. I teared up at the depressing thoughts circling in my head, but I shook my head, before looking down at Mevia, who was now curled up in a ball, crying. I took a deep breath and kneeled down beside her

"Mevia" I started. "I know Hadrian is gone, but you don't have to go through this alone" Mevia sniffled and looked up at me slightly

"Wh-Who else is supposed to help me?" She snapped at me. I only smiled

"I can help you" I said to her. "And the others can as well" Mevia looked at me in realisation, then turned away

"Bulls**t..." She spat out at me

"No, really!" I exclaimed. "Look, we all know you're suffering from depression. I... I had a friend who was also suffering the same thing, but I never visited them or comforted them... A few months before the forest fire, I heard he tried to..." I paused. It was painful to even think about what Aiden tried to do. Mevia looked up at me, surprised. I wasn't sure what she was thinking right now, but me? I felt horrible for never helping Aiden with his depression... "I don't want you to do that..." I continued in a whisper. "You have a lot of people who care about you Mevia. I know it's hard when you lose someone you loved dearly, or when you mess up severely, but you have to remember others care about you, no matter what happens" A look swept across Mevia's face; Hope, and realisation. However, she looked back down and patted her belly once more

"What about my child?" She asked. I assumed she didn't know the gender since she didn't refer to is as a girl or boy "I... Hadrian and I have never had children before. This is our first one, and... Only one..." I smiled sadly

"We can help you with your baby as well" I said. "You know my intern, Radar? He has a younger sister, so he knows how to look after young children like toddlers" Mevia looked up at me, intrigued a little

"Really?" She asked me. I grinned

"Yeah!" I said happily. "Olivia looks after the younger children in Redstonia on occasion. A friend from Ground City, Reginald, has also looked after young children and knows how to handle them. And Ivor and Harper are learning as well!" Mevia raised an eyebrow

"Harper and Ivor?" She asked. "Why them?" I paused for a moment, wondering why she asked that question. Suddenly, I gasped, realising my mistake and clasped my hands over my mouth, blushing slightly from embarrassment. Mevia's eyes went wide for a moment, before she grinned

"Is Harper-"

"No!" I shouted. "They're not sure yet!" I slapped my forehead. I was just making things worse! Mevia giggled slightly. Even though I was immensely frustrated with the mistake I had just made, it was nice to hear Mevia laugh. She sounded... Amused, even happy from my bumbling mistake. I looked up at Mevia, her face lightened up a little

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone" She said with a wink. I groaned, but smiled ever so slightly mixed in with a slight chuckle

"You see Mevia?" I told her. "There's heaps of people who can help you" Mevia's happy expression faded, now replaced with slight concern

"Will... They be willing to help?" I smiled

"Of course they will" I said to her. "You're a part of our group now. And if they don't want to help you, well... I do have access to a lot of powerful things, I'm sure I could 'bribe' them" Mevia chuckled again, and smiled. She smiled

"I'd like that Jesse" She said to me. I smiled back, before she pulled me over to her, engulfing me in a hug (As best as she could). "Thank you Jesse..." She said. I heard her sniffle a bit, making me hug her back "I haven't felt hope since..." She paused. "I... I don't even know..." I patted her on the back

"It's OK Mevia" I told her. "We're all here to help. We're you're friends"

"Never think otherwise..."