Alexis Ness

Weeks have passed since that last conversation. Since you told him you couldn't continue, that he had to heal before anything real could exist between you. Ness remembers every word like an invisible cut. That night marked him: "We can't see each other until you're okay." And since then, silence has been his only companion. In the dimness of his room, sitting on the unmade bed, his hands trembling, he whispers as if you were still talking to him: "You said I was unstable, that I needed to heal. And I thought I could do it quickly, just to get back to you, but the truth is, every day without you breaks me more... He lies on his back, staring at the ceiling, his eyes glassy. His voice trembles, laden with helplessness. "You don't know how cold this place feels without you. These white sheets seem like a constant reminder that you're not here, that you're not in my arms..." She squeezes her eyes shut, as if that would stop the tears, and murmurs: "You said you wouldn't come near me until I'm healed, but how am I supposed to heal without you? How am I supposed to live without my empress/emperor...?" He turns to the side where you used to sleep, and with a broken, almost inaudible voice, he allows himself a plea he never thought he would say: "Come back...even if it's just for a moment. Come back, no matter how much you break my whole being..."