Maya leaned forward on her elbows, cupping her face in her hands. blinked at the battle with an air of curiosity before sitting up and getting to her feet. She crossed over to Soul, grabbing his hand and pulling him away without a word. She could basically feel Spirit’s grin burning into her back.
Having led Soul to the infirmary, she sat down, tugging at her sleeves and merely beginning to fix up her minor wounds.
“His name was Sawyer,” she started softly, staring at her leg as she applied astringent to her cuts. “My older brother, I mean. Actually, Spirit and Jean might’ve known him.”
She fell silent for a moment longer, swallowing past the lump in her throat, leaning sideways to grab a pack of band-aids. “He died around this time three years ago. And... and I wanted to win for him. Because he tried so hard to win. He ended up in fourth.”
She chuckled softly at the memory, wiping at her bleary eyes. Her voice went quiet.
“...but.. I didn’t.”
She blinked. “And I mean, that’s okay. Because Christian did really freaking well, and I’m glad to see him finally getting some recognition.”
She rolled her sleeves down, scrapes cleaned and cuts bandaged. She got to her feet, finally facing Soul and taking his hands in her own.
“Please win, Soul. I know I’m taking it too seriously, but...”
Her eyes started watering.
“But it meant a lot to Sawyer and it means so much more to me.”
She blinked away tiny tears, gripping his hands a bit harder.
“I can’t return your feelings. Not yet, at least. There’s so much I have to work on myself before I’m ready for... for..”
Her face went a gentle hue of pink. “For whatever that is, with anyone. I’m sorry. But please, please win this. For Sawyer... and for me. Because I couldn’t.”
And with that, the girl got on her toes, pressed a light kiss to his cheek, and left, closing the door behind her.