A/N All the characters and places you recognise here are based on Stephenie Meyer's "The Host". The story below, however, is entirely my own.

It's good to be alone, she tells herself as she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. In the darkness, only her own voice reverberates in her head, and it makes her feel somewhat empty.

But isn't this what she's so desperately wanted all this time? To be in control, to be able to think her own thoughts without being interrupted, to have her body's sensations all to herself, to be only one person: Melanie?

Then again, there's something soothing about sharing all your feelings —joy, surprise, hope, desire, fear, pain— directly and so intensely, that she can't help but feel nostalgic for that.

Though she'd never admit it of course. She's always been strong, a fighter. She can bear her emotions on her own. She always had, before Wanda.

Despite everything, she's grateful for what happened. That, out of all souls that could have been inserted into her head, it was Wanda she'd ended up with. That, against all odds, they both survived. That they managed to protect who they loved. That they made it through and became sisters in the process. And every experience they'd shared only got them to where they are now, and it seems like it's where they are supposed to be.

But she misses her. A lot.

Sometimes, she tries to reach for her, combing her brain for any trace left of her, only to be disappointed yet again. She knows it's stupid, irrational, nonsensical even, but her heart aches when she can't find her. It longs for Wanda.

It's a love different from the one she shares with Jared. It goes deeper, because —and she cringes at how ridiculous it sounds— the connection is solely spiritual; pure, from soul to soul. It's a bond that will never be completely severed.

But mostly, it's a memory. And she is scared, because it's fading.

A/N It is done! I have to admit that it took me a bit of time to figure out what exactly Melanie felt for Wanda, but here we are. And now I feel bad for making her so miserable...