Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic Team characters; however I do own any other characters that do not appear in any other sonic related thing: Lina, Beau, etc. This story is dedicated to everyone who reviewed Eternal Love and the diary in between the first and this, the sequel. This takes place Seven years after the first one. Happy Reading!
Shadow was sitting by a warm fire sipping a cup of cream colored coffee in front of Amy. His red eyes gazing into her emerald ones. "I'm afraid this has to end tonight," he said in a fierce tone.
"But what do you mean," asked Amy tears forming in her sparkling eyes.
"I mean that we can't see each other anymore. You're a disgrace to our family and you should be ashamed of yourself." Shadow then throw the coffee on her and she was scarred for life...
Lina stirred in the night and woke up peering into her dark room. Her pink flannel pajamas were drenched in sweat. She had been having nasty nightmares about her parents lately. She feared that they might be drifting apart. She knew that they loved each other very much, but for some reason her six year-old mind was very confused. She guessed it was because recently her best friend's parents had separated that she feared hers would do the same.
Lina was a beautiful hedgehog with pink fur with black spots. Her eyes glowed a crimson color. She arose from her uneasy sleep to find the picture that her mother often cried to. She crept silently into the hallway of their house and downstairs. She flicked on the living room light and grabbed the picture off the mantle and studied it. In the picture their were four boys who hung their arms on one another and in front of them lay four girls. She recognized her mother, father, and uncle Tails; the others remaining a mystery. she remembered that her mother had once told her that this was Uncle Tails' 11th birthday party. Tails wasn't really her uncle but that's what she called him because she didn't have any "real" uncles.
She hugged the picture closely to her heart. She wished that she had met the other people in the picture especially the cream colored bunny. Suddenly she heard footsteps in the hall and almost dropped the picture. She placed it carefully back on the mantle and walked towards the steps. "Lina what are you doing up at three in the morning," Shadow asked her.
She hugged her dad softly and started to sob. she didn't say a word but she hoped that he would understand. Shadow kissed his daughter on the forehead. "Having nightmares again, bunny?" Lina nodded and her carried her into the kitchen and sat her on the kitchen counter. The room was dimly lit by a tall lamp and smelled like pumpkin pie. Lina knew that her mother wasn't really baking that it was just a candle that had been blown out before they went to bed.
"Daddy, why haven't I met some of your's and Mamma's friends like in the picture in the hall," she asked while her dad heated up milk on the stove. He walked over to her and stroked her quills gently while he thought and then replied, "I guess we just drifted apart."
"Kind of like how Maryl's parents did?" Lina fidgeted with her hair hoping that her parent's wouldn't do the same as her dream replayed itself in her mind. She waited as the black and red hedgehog thought. He hadn't changed much in the past seven years besides getting a few inches taller.
"Not exactly," he said pouring the warm milk from the pot into two glass mugs. "It's not the same our friends, even ourselves, became absorbed in our own lives and we never really stopped loving each other. Understand?"
She sipped milk out a red tinted mug. "Yeah, I think I do." She jumped down from the counter and then added. "Do you still love mother?"
"Of course, I do and I love you, too," said Shadow and kissed his daughter on the forehead once more. These words of comfort seemed to cheer Lina up. She smiled at her dad warmly.
"I love you, also," she replied sipping the last few drops of her milk. She yawned the clock on the wall ticked loudly. Shadow rinsed out their cups and then hugged his daughter once more.
"Time to go back to bed," Shadow said, "You've got a big day, tomorrow." She nodded. How could she have forgotten Beau's party? Lina jumped down from the counter and went back to bed as she was told. The lay there for hours, finally falling back asleep yearning to meet the other members of the picture.
"Wake up," called a familiar voice. She squinted through the dim light. She was so tired she just wanted to close her eyes again; her eyes shut tight again blocking out the small rays of sunlight illuminating her window. She wasn't sure what time it was but she did not care at the moment.
"WAKE UP," the voice said with more force. She had no choice she opened her eyes once more. Her mother, Amy, was sitting on the edge of her bed. Her pink quills were shorter than they used to be, and her emerald eyes gave a motherly flare. Lina glanced at the clock on her bedside table. Ten in the morning," she thought to herself. Beau's party isn't for another three hours.
"Why so early," she protested to her mother. Nonetheless she sat upright, she wanted to bring up the photo, but first she wanted to know why she was awoken so early; she felt so tired after her troubled night's sleep. Usually she wouldn't have minded getting up on a Saturday morning because of the cartoons.
"Well, we still haven't boughten Beau's birthday gift and you need to come with us to pick it out. And also, we're having a few house guests for a couple of weeks," her mother said simply. This greatly puzzled Lina; was the house guests going to be. The only person who had ever stayed over was Uncle Tail's and he didn't have a wife or girlfriend or anything? she didn't dare ask her mother seemed flustered enough at the moment.
"'Kay, mom, let me get ready and then I'll be right down," she said as she leapt out of bed. She quickly grabbed an outfit from hr closet and turned around. Her mother was still sitting on her bed.
"Lina, aren't you forgetting something," asked her mother, but gave her no time to reply. "You're not going to be home tonight to get a bathe, so I need to give you a bath now."
"That's right. Sorry I forgot," she apologized quickly. Her mother bathed her and then she got dressed. She emerged from the bathroom twenty minutes later wearing: faded jeans, a long sleeved purple shirt, and a pair of white trainers. She packed her backpack and then trotted down the stairs. She stopped midway because she heard her parents shouting, the worst was coming to the worst.
"You know I don't like him or what he did to me seven years ago," came the voice of Shadow. Who, thought Lina.
"Well, trying to mend our friendship isn't bad, is it? Anyway, it's just for a few weeks," yelled Amy. They were talking about the house guest. It wasn't Uncle Tails, she just knew it. Her heart sped up was it someone in the photograph.
"I'm not one to hold grudges Amy, but dammit sometimes you have to hold on to the past. Do you still remember what he did to you," raged Shadow. She winced she had never heard her parents argue like this before. Were they going to separate?
Silence filled the house and then she heard sobs. "Of course I still do, but sometimes you have to forgive people, Shadow," Amy said loudly...Quiet swept over them again...It was safe to finish the route to the first floor. She sighed and walked slowly down the stairs. Her mother and father were hugging, but small tears were still flowing down Amy's cheek.
"Ready, Lina," asked Shadow. Lina nodded and they left the house. It was very awkward car ride. Her father was driving and her mother was still crying as she sat in the passenger's seat. Lina sat in the back, admiring her holographic trading cards silently. Finally, the pulled into a supermarket parking lot.
Once they were all in they separated. Amy went to search for snacks for the party, while Shadow and Lina went in the direction of the toys. Beau collected teddy bears, so her father followed her to were the stuffed animals were. She peered over the racks to find the perfect one.
"What about this one," asked Shadow taking a giant teddy bear from the shelf. It was mocha colored and had a lavender ribbon tied around it's neck. Lina surveyed it with her eyes.
"Yeah, dad, that's perfect," she exclaimed. They walked to the snack aisle to find her mother trying to decide between chocolate chip or sugar cookies. In the end, she decided to get both of them. Once they had paid they scurried back to the car. Lina throughly enjoyed the car ride to her friends house. Her mother talked animatedly about work, but all-in-all she told funny tales. She quite wanted to be like her mother, who was an interior designer it sounded quite fun; on the other hand her father was a computer programmer.
Sorry it took me so long to post this, by the way. I hope you enjoyed it and will take the chance to review it. Sorry this one wasn't that action packed. Oh and it's rated 'T' for language and violence as always. Thanks so much and if you have any suggestions as to my grammer all is appreciated so I can become the better writer I've always wanted to be!