A Necessary Talk

“Mai, do you want to see my room?” Alexa asked as she held her hand on the doorknob to her room, ready to unveil her room to Mai.

Mai nodded her head softly, playing along with Alexa’s wishes.

“Yay!” Alexa exclaimed childishly as she opened the door and stepped into her room.

The room was clean and respectable, somewhat expected for a girl like her. She had a couple small plants on her windowsill, a desk with different textbooks and notebooks opened up, and a bed with a few stuffed panda bear plushies of differing sizes. Mai’s eyes perked up when she saw the plushies.

Chloe walked over to Alexa’s desk, observing some of the lessons and notes that Alexa seemed to have been studying before the accident happened. Meanwhile, Mai walked over to the bed slowly, trying to suppress the childish urge of snuggling up to the pandas on the bed.

“How do you like my room, Mai!” Alexa asked, hoping to impress her.

Overcome by the cuteness of the plushies, Mai gave a quick and excitable nod while maintaining an innocent gaze on the stuffed animals.

“Chloe, is she okay?” Alexa asked as she looked up at Chloe with a slight laugh.

“Oh, she’s fine. Mai really likes cute plushies like these,” Chloe said after letting out a small laugh. Then, she walked over to where Mai was standing, grabbed an average sized panda plush toy, and handed it over to Mai, playfully patting her head in the process.

“Mhm! I have a lot of stuffed bear plushies in my room too.” Mai said as she held the panda carefully in her hands. With her small tender hands, Mai faced Alexa and waved the panda’s hand towards her playfully.

Alexa let out a childish giggle and waved back playfully. Chloe also gave a light chuckle that suddenly transitioned into a long and tiresome yawn.

“Alexa, I’m sorry, but I feel like I’m going to pass out,” Chloe yawned as she tiredly looked at the bed with blurry vision.

“You can sleep on the bed, Chloe,” Alexa proposed as she helped Chloe lay down on the bed.

“Aw, thank you Alexa. You’re so nice,” Chloe complimented as Alexa fixed the pillow underneath Chloe to give her more comfort.

“Do you want Mr. Panda to give you a giant panda hug?” Alexa asked as she held up the biggest panda plushie that she had on her bed.

Chloe nodded and reached her arms out to Alexa and the panda, softly grabbing it and pulling it towards her face, smothering herself playfully with it. Within a few moments, she seemingly fell asleep.

“It looks like you both act like children,” Alexa said with a fragile smile as she looked back towards Mai who was still fully dressed up from when she met with Mark. “Um, would you like a change of clothes?”

“Do you have anything that might fit?” Mai asked stoically as she stared at her body, then at Alexa’s smaller body.

Alexa quickly sprung up from her bed and reached under it, pulling out a large black garbage bag.

“Here are some clothes that Chloe left behind over the years when she sleeps over. She always forgets to pick them up,” Alexa said with a small smile. “Don’t worry, they’re all clean,” she continued as she noticed Mai staring at the bag with concern.

“Hey! I’m not forgetful. I left those on purpose!” Chloe thought defensively as she pretended to be asleep.

Alexa and Mai rummaged through the garbage bag of Chloe’s clean clothes. There were several different shirts and sleepwear for Mai to choose from. With each article of clothing Mai pulled out of the bag, she placed it on her body to get Alexa’s check of approval. After various different outfit attempts, they finally settled on a black nightshirt and black pajama shorts.

As Mai began to undress, Alexa quickly grabbed her dress to stop her.

“Mai!” Alexa exclaimed.

“Oh, Alexa. What’s wrong?” Mai asked uneventfully as she looked down to Alexa, wondering what happened.

“Y-You can’t just undress in front of me. At least let me give you privacy or something,” Alexa answered nervously as she turned away from Mai, giving her some sense of privacy, even though it was only a small one.

“Mai! How are you so sharp, yet so dull?” Chloe thought playfully as she continued faking her sleep.

“Oh, right. I’m sorry Alexa,” Mai responded, undressing after confirming that Alexa was facing the other way.

Once Mai was finished changing clothes, she turned around and tapped Alexa on the shoulder, letting her know that she was finished getting ready for the night.

Alexa faced towards Mai and took her dress. She brought it over to her closet to hang it up. Alexa also reached into the closet and grabbed a few spare blankets. The entire time, she was humming a melody to herself cheerfully.

“Are you ready to sleep?” Alexa asked as she began setting up the blankets on the floor for her and Mai to use.

Mai nodded her head in agreement and started to make herself comfortable in this new sleeping environment. Alexa grabbed a couple of the plushies from her bed and gave them to Mai, almost accidentally revealing the fact that Chloe was still awake.

“Thank you,” Mai said softly, trying not to appear rude or ungrateful to Alexa.

Alexa smiled at Mai kindly while continuing to hum the tune she was humming earlier. Then, she childishly walked over towards the light switch and turned it off, making the entire room void of light, and headed back to the blankets to lie down and rest.

“What were you humming?” Mai asked as she held onto the panda bears tightly.

“It’s a song that Mark made,” Alexa started as she sunk into the blanket a bit. “It doesn’t sound nearly as good as when Mark plays it.”

“Don’t put yourself down. It sounded really nice,” Mai replied.

“T-Thanks. I hum that song whenever I feel scared or nervous,” Alexa explained in a quiet voice. “I’m a little scared of the dark,” she continued as she hid under her blanket in embarrassment.

“It’s okay. I’m scared of the dark too,” Mai admitted softly. “That’s why I have teddy bears of my own.”

“R-Really?” Alexa asked in a shaky voice, slowly peeking out from under her blanket.

“Is there something else that’s wrong?” Mai asked as she heard the shakiness in her voice.

The room stayed quiet for a few moments. Alexa was contemplating whether or not to air out some of the things she was thinking about to Mai. She ultimately decided to speak up about what had actually been bothering her.

“I miss my parents.”

Just as with Mark, Mai understood the pain in Alexa’s statement.

“That’s something we have in common,” Mai acknowledged softly.

“Where are your parents?” Alexa asked, attempting to steer the conversation away from her slightly.

There was another brief moment of silence as Mai tried to come up with the right words to explain the situation.

“My dad was really sick and passed away in the hospital,” Mai started softly, concealing her emotions as well as she could. “And my stepmother is working overseas.”

“What happened to your real mommy?” Alexa asked as she turned her head towards Mai in the dark.

“She…” Mai hesitated as she temporarily lost the ability to speak. “She died when she gave birth to me. My dad didn’t tell me that my stepmother wasn’t my actual mom until I was about 7,” she continued slowly, choking up at some of the words.

“Mai…” Chloe thought with concern for her friend.

“I’m sorry Mai. I shouldn’t have asked,” Alexa replied softly.

“Hospitals scare me as well. They are a place of death,” Mai continued, changing the topic slightly. “Both of my parents died in hospitals, and I was there when it happened…” Mai finished quietly.

“I’m so sorry Mai. If I had known, I wouldn’t have let you come with us,” Chloe thought painfully, feeling at fault for bringing Mai to a traumatic place without realizing it.

Alexa blindly reached over and put a hand to Mai’s face, trying to feel where her head was. Once she got an idea of where it was, Alexa brushed her hand in slow motions through Mai’s hair.

“You and Chloe have such nice straight hair. I wish my hair was so nice,” Alexa admired as she began to hum the song again.

Mai wanted to thank Alexa for the compliment, but Alexa’s humming pulled her under for a few moments. Mai felt more at ease now. Even Chloe was having a hard time staying awake with Alexa’s sweet humming in the air.

“Mark is very talented,” Mai said softly as she internalized the song in her head. “It would be nice to hear him play that song one day.”

“Oh, does that mean you like Mark?” Alexa teased, effectively charting the conversation to something less woeful.

“Mai and Mark…I don’t think that will work. I tried to tease her earlier, but she just dismissed it entirely,” Chloe thought playfully to herself. “She is so dense sometimes.”

“I don’t think it means that I like him, but I would like to get to know him better,” Mai answered stoically, unknowingly dodging a bullet from Alexa.

“Aw. I was hoping to find a girlfriend for him,” Alexa said playfully. “Just kidding,” she added at the end of it.

“Why are you trying to find one for him?” Mai asked softly to Alexa.

“I don’t know,” Alexa confessed quietly. “I just want him to be happy like he used to be. He’s been pushing himself away from everyone else these past couple years. Not to mention, coming home from work late, taking more time to be alone in his room,” she continued.

Mai thought about something that Mark had told her earlier that night in the park.

“I used to think that no one would care,” Mai thought to herself, repeating the words that Mark told her.

“Maybe you should try doing something for Mark. To show him how much you care about him,” Mai suggested softly. “Is there something he likes?”

“He really likes desserts. Red velvet cake, chocolate-chip cookies, sugar cookies…” Alexa started as she began to playfully list different types of desserts and pastries that her eldest brother enjoyed. “He has a sweet tooth.”

Mai thought about the different items Alexa listed off. The ones that stuck out to her the most were the red velvet cake and the chocolate-chip cookies.

“Maybe you should bake something for him. I’m sure he would love it,” Mai suggested.

“That’s a great idea Mai! Would you like to help me one day?” Alexa asked quietly as she let out a tired yawn.

“Okay,” Mai replied back quietly as she too let out an exhausted yawn.

*     *     *

In the living room, while Mai and Alexa had their conversation, Mark and Damian were having their own conversation.

“Mark, we need to talk,” Damian commanded as he wheeled himself over by one of the couches in the living room.

Mark was slightly shaken up by the seriousness in his tone, but ultimately followed his younger brother’s command and took a seat on the couch.

“What do we need to talk about?” Mark asked nervously, unable to look Damian in the face.

Damian noticed Mark’s nervousness and acknowledged the tension in the air.

“First, I want to say…I’m sorry Mark,” Damian apologized as he faced his brother. “I was so angry and frustrated that I blamed you for something that wasn’t your fault,” he continued as his voice maintained a strong sense of sincerity and regret.

“You don’t have to apologize,” Mark started, but was immediately cut off by his brother.

“I knew you would say that…but I still regret how I acted,” Damian began. “I’ve always been hot headed and short tempered, but you’re the opposite.”

“Damian, don’t think about it too much. That’s what I try to do,” Mark responded calmly. “It’s in the past. Why don’t we talk about something else.”

Damian looked at his brother again with a heavy look on his face.

“What’s wrong Damian? It’s not like you to be quiet,” Mark commented sharply.

Damian struggled coming up with the words to say. It was something he never wanted to talk about, but he knew that eventually the time would come where he would need to discuss funeral plans for his parents.

“Mark, have you thought about any plans for a funeral?” Damian asked his brother.

Mark looked down at his hands and twiddled his fingers around nervously. He was hoping that if he stayed quiet, his brother would skip the topic and move on. Unfortunately for him, Damian only glared at his brother even more, waiting for a response.

“I’ve been trying not to think about a funeral,” Mark confessed honestly.

“We need to talk about this. I don’t want you to run away from this like you run from all of your other problems,” Damian asserted as he slammed a fist hard into the arm rest of the couch.

Mark jumped back slightly from Damian’s angered fist, then slowly returned back to the seat he was originally sitting in.

“I’m sorry Mark; I just need your help. I don’t want to ask Alexa to help me with this,” Damian said sadly.

“My help?” Mark questioned internally. Damian was always the type of person to do everything by himself. He wasn’t the type of person who would ask for help. So hearing the stubborn mule ask him for help gave Mark an even deeper sense of urgency.

“Don’t worry Damian; I won’t run anymore. I’ll do the best that I can to help,” Mark assured as he held out a fist up towards Damian.

Damian looked over to his older brother with a small smile and completed the sideways fist bump.

Afterwards, they discussed a few things regarding the funeral. The two brothers ultimately decided on a closed casket and to have the funeral ceremony in a funeral home. They wanted to spare Alexa and others who may be in attendance from the state of their parents, June, and Matthew Reyes.

Once they settled with their plans, the two of them released heavy sighs of relief from the burden they went through.

“So, Mark, what do you think of Mai?” Damian asked, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

“Seriously? I just met her like, yesterday,” Mark responded haphazardly.

“I didn’t say it had to be romantic. Just as a person,” Damian countered.

Mark snuffed out some air from his nose and rolled his eyes. He knew Damian was implying the question in a romantic way and was only using that response as a scapegoat for his guilt.

“I think she’s a great person,” Mark started begrudgingly. “I’d love to get to know more about her. What are your impressions of her?” Mark returned, spinning the question towards his younger brother.

“She has very nice legs,” Damian said bluntly.

“Are appearances all you can think about when it comes to girls?” Mark asked sarcastically as he playfully smacked his brother in the side of the head.

“I’m just stating an observation,” Damian said defensively. “She has a cute face too. She’s definitely your type.”

“Do I have to hit you again?” Mark joked as he readied his hand to smack Damian again if he felt the need.

“She does a good job at putting up a façade,” Damian noted as well. “With that poker face, along with her legs, I would assume that she’s a dancer.”

Mark was stunned by how well Damian was able to come to the correct conclusion about Mai and her talent.

“You’re right. Of course you’re right,” Mark said in a slight laugh. “She’s a pretty good dancer actually, and she is also very hard to read.”

“Maybe she just needs more time to get used to you,” Damian pointed out.

“She’s gone through some things before, similar to what we’re going through now,” Mark started. “I want to help her through those things, but I can’t explain why. There’s just something inside of me that wants to help her.”

“You have a big heart, Mark. You enjoy seeing others happy,” Damian concluded as he lightly tapped at Mark’s chest near where his heart would be.

Mark smiled briefly, only for that smile to morph into a somber frown.

“Other times, I hate it,” Mark responded coldly. “It just makes me feel empty on the inside.”

“Is that how you feel about me? Or Chloe?” Damian asked respectfully.

Mark looked away from Damian and stared at his hands, wanting to deflect the question away from talking about Chloe.

“I know that you feel the same about her that I do, but you can’t let her be the reason we don’t talk to each other,” Damian informed as he leaned his head to get a closer look at Mark.

Mark sat pensively, gathering whatever words he could find in order to give Damian a reply. After a few moments of excruciating silence, he finally had his answer in order.

“Do you remember the night where you saved Chloe from falling off the roof?”

Damian’s head tilted slightly, as if beckoning Mark to continue to explain the scene to him.

“After you shoved me and yelled at me for not being able to help her, mom and dad gave me an earful,” Mark laughed nervously. “You were the hero, and I was the zero.”

“Mark, don’t talk about yourself like that,” Damian snapped.

“I think I’ll be happy once you and Chloe fully realize your feelings for each other. My brother and my best friend,” Mark said softly as he clasped his hands together.

“Do you not have feelings for her?” Damian asked sincerely.

“I still have feelings for her, but I know it won’t happen,” Mark began softly. “I know when I’ve lost. I’ve been losing to you ever since you were born,” Mark joked softly, thinking about different memories where Damian showed off after besting Mark. From things like board games to grades in school, Damian always did better than Mark.

“I bet if you tried learning the violin, you would play better than I ever could,” Mark added with a nervous chuckle.

Damian tried refuting Mark’s statements, but ultimately found himself frozen and quiet in his wheelchair. He felt like it was his fault for Mark’s miserable ideas and self-worth. Damian had been putting down his older brother for years without realizing it.

“Don’t worry Damian. I honestly hope that Chloe loves you. It takes a special person to put up with you,” Mark joked. “I’ve been struggling to do it for 17 years.”

“Do you really mean that?” Damian asked genuinely.

Mark simply nodded and stood up from the couch to let out a grave and loud yawn.

“C’mon, let’s head to bed. I’m tired and I have to take Mai to work in the morning for training,” Mark said tiredly.

“Oh, is she working at the convenience store?” Damian asked as he wheeled over to the staircase.

Mark nodded and took a step on the staircase.

“Do you want any help?” Mark asked as he reached a hand towards his brother.

“Not unless you think you can carry me,” Damian joked as he put the brakes on his wheelchair.

Accepting his challenge, Mark grabbed Damian from the wheelchair and held him over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry. With careful steps, Mark conquered the staircase with his brother safely, and placed Damian on his bed.

Once Damian was in bed safely, Mark quickly checked on the girls in Alexa’s room. When he opened the door, he saw all three of them sleeping. The blankets covering Mai and Alexa had come somewhat undone, so Mark went in and fixed the blankets for them. Then, Mark left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

Mark walked back to Damian’s room and made a makeshift bed on the floor like Alexa had done. After changing his clothes, Mark laid down in his bed.

“Why are you sleeping here?” Damian asked quizzically.

“Just in case you need anything,” Mark answered as he covered himself with his blanket.

The two brothers exchanged a final “good night” to each other and fell asleep.