I have waited a thousand years for you.

We'll get through this.

The last time Jasper cried, Margaret had died. He had been recruited by Maria, brainwashed and manipulated. Lost in his confusion, and the hunger of his early life he obeyed every order Maria gave, he began worked hard, trained and ran as much as he was told to, he learned about his ability and utilized it to his advantage during battles. This didn't go unnoticed by Maria. Not too long after, he read in a newspaper column that read:

Margaret Whitlock, the young wife of Jasper Whitlock - the youngest Major of Texas Cavalry - sadly passed away a week after the reported death of his husband. The Houston community will hold mass in their honor next Sunday at 8:00am.

That afternoon, when they fought against a rival vampire clan, Jasper killed without regret. In the ends of his newborn fase he was allowed to live, as long as he continued to serve her, doing her dirty work, getting rid of those who didn't live up to her outrageous expectations. Jasper was still haunted by the faces of those he had murdered, the feelings they transmitted onto him. The silence. Slowly he began to loose himself, he believed every lie Maria spun and fed him, he let himself think that she liked him, that what she said she felt was true. And yet, her emotions never matched her words. He became Maria's best soldier, her own death machine. His knowledge about the army, and his numb and callous attitude towards life after Margaret's death made his work efficient.

After a specially chaotic battle, Jasper was left behind, the newborns were either dead or gone, and there was no sign of Maria. He was drained, tired and thirsty. So thirsty. Stumbling and tripping over his feet, he dragged himself towards the camp. It was a route that, in a healthy state, would've only taken him a couple minutes to accomplish, but with his hunger growing took him double the time. When he got there, it was empty. There were no tents, no vampires, no food. Maria had taken everything. At that moment, he felt a pain settle within his chest as he remembered everything he had been robbed of. His love, his life, his humanity. He had become The Major. Cold, unforgiving and lethal. At the campsite everyone knew him, everyone feared him, he trained every new recruit, and those who didn't do well in his eyes were never seen again. But in this pit of darkness, as he began to drown in the sorrow that dripped onto him, he remembered the light. Her laughter, sweet like angels singing, and her chocolate locks falling on her face as she hurried herself under his hat. He had to go on, for her. With the last bits of strength he had left, he slumped over his horse, and rode.

***

It had been some time since they had arrived at Maggie's driveway, but both of them remained silent. She didn't know what to say. Nothing seemed right, and it frustrated her, she always knew what to tell him, and in this moment, this crucial moment, she was lost. Her trembling hands unclasped her seatbelt, snapping Jasper out of his trance.

"Why don't you come inside?" She suggested, gathering her things in her arms. Jasper was staring at her, his eyes frozen on hers. A second passed, and he nodded. Luckily for them, Charlie was still a the office, saving them an awkward greeting. It was nerve-racking being so quiet, usually they never stopped their chatter, there was never silence. Something was clearly wrong, and Margaret only hoped she could do something about it.

It smelt like her, and that calmed him down. Her room had her scent engraved in it, he let it sink in, taking a deep breath. Maggie couldn't stand still, he felt her worry, heavy and growing, as she placed her backpack on the chair, took books out of it, placed them in drawers, fetched clothes and threw them in the laundry basket. This was torture. Jasper straightened from his position against her bedroom door, but Margaret kept fussing. He walked closer to her, and found the comfort of her warmth once he set his hand on hers. Instinctively she wrapped her fingers around his, relishing their cold shocks.