Chapter Fourteen

A persistent knock followed moments after Ishizu departed. I stood with my back to the door, my tears gone and only anger evident on my face. I stared out the window, my reflection the only thing I could see. The knock came again, harder this time.

"Who is it?" I heard myself ask.

"Aimee, it's us. Tea and Yugi." Yugi said in the deeper voice. It was the Pharaoh. Why couldn't they differentiate?

"Aimee! Let us in now!" Tea was mad. I sighed and opened the door. A hand collided with my face and my head swiveled to the side.

"Tea!" Yami scolded, holding her back from hitting me again.

"You little liar!" Tea screeched, "You lied to us all!"

I remained motionless.

"Look at me!" she yelled, breaking free from Yami and shaking my shoulders, "I deserve to have your attention after being lied to!"

I brought my eyes up to hers and willed myself not to cry. "Tea, we should hear her out." Yami said, once again coming between her and me.

I took a few steps back and tenderly rubbed my cheek. Yami turned to me with a stern look, "Aimee, why did you lie to us about Marik?"

I said nothing. What could I say? All I could think to do was stand there mutely, a hand still at my cheek.

"Aimee?" he pressed.

I sniffed, hating my eyes for watering as they were, "I didn't want to." I heard my voice choke, "B-But he said everything would be fine. I didn't know what he was planning, I swear!"

"How could you not know?" Tea asked with her arms folded.

"He never told me his plans." I said, turning from them and continuing my hard stare out the window.

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Yami offered.

I glanced back at them, "Why would you even bother hearing me out? What if I lie again?"

Tea sucked in a big breath, "Aimee, we trusted you. We still do. But we just need to understand why you did what you did. You're our friend. Friends aren't abandoned lightly."

I lowered my eyes at her words and turned back to the circular window. I shut my eyes and began, "I met Marik in Egypt, after getting lost traveling. I passed out in the desert and when I woke up again, I was underground and I had found out he had saved me."

"Okay, what happened then?" Yami asked, nodding for me to continue.

"I stayed with him that summer. We became close. Closer than I've ever been with anyone." I wore a bitter smile, "Until I met you all, that is. We would talk about everything. He told me of his life, how horrible it was living out of society because of his stupid lineage. It wasn't fair! He didn't deserve to suffer because of what his family believed!"

"But he never told you any details?" Yami asked.

I shook my head, "No. Whenever I'd ask, he'd get mad and stand off-ish. He'd be silent for days, not speaking to me and staying in his room smashing things. It's like he was reliving awful memories and I could only listen to it." I sighed and again willed myself not to shed my tears, "It was unbearable."

"He gave me his mother's ring." I said, looking down at it and twisting it around my finger, "He said it was so I'd never forget him or his burden. Then I left and moved to Domino. The rest is history."

"But why did you lie about his identity?" Tea pressured.

I shook my head, "I didn't know he told you he was somebody called Namu. When we met at Kaibaland, I was going to introduce him as Marik. But you and Joey interrupted before I could say anything. I went with it and asked him about it later."

"What did he say?" Yami asked me.

"He told me not to worry about it. That it was all for a purpose and that I should trust him." I said weakly, "Guess I was naïve."

"You are not naïve for trusting somebody you had no liable reason to suspect." Yami consoled me, "I knew something was bothering you."

I nodded, "Yeah. It was becoming tortuous hiding I knew who he was. But he said it was so he could be free, that his family would be free. Then…we'd be together with nothing in our way."

I heard Tea gasp. I saw her in the window's reflection take a step towards me, like she wanted to comfort me, but she stopped herself. I laughed bitterly, "Stupid, isn't it? Thinking this could somehow turn out good."

"Not stupid." Tea said softly.

"He manipulated you, just as he has us all." Yami said, "We understand you're not at fault."

Suddenly I couldn't hold it in anymore. One hot tear rolled down my cheek, then another and another and then I couldn't help it. The anger and betrayal I felt coursed through me. The loneliness and guilt, the sadness and fear – it all burst forward through my weak shield.

I felt Tea wrap her arms around me. She rubbed my back passively as my body wracked with painful sobs. She shushed me like a child, telling me it was okay.

"I'm sorry." Yami said, looking down, "I shouldn't have said that."

"It wasn't you." I managed to say audibly, "You're right. He lied to me! To me! Everything he said and did was for himself!"

Yami quickly reverted back to Yugi, clearly uncomfortable in the presence of a crying female. Yugi came to my rescue, "It's alright, Aimee. Ishizu thinks he's being controlled against his will by a darker half of him. We can save him!"

I shook my head and buried my face deeper into Tea's shoulder, "We can't save Marik! He's not who I thought he was."

"Nobody is really who we think they are until we know everything about them." Tea tried to be helpful, but she only made me feel worse. I broke away from her and wiped my face.

"You think that's true?" I hated how meek I sounded.

"Well, yeah. How else would we trust them?" she said.

I looked away, distracted. Yugi seemed to notice, and a moment later Tea did as well.

"Aimee? What is it?" Yugi asked.

I sighed and sank into a nearby chair. I hid my face in my hands, "You don't know everything about me. Who my parents were, how I lived my life before I met Marik or you."

Tea, realizing what she had said, tried to make amends, "That's not what I mean, Aimee. You don't have to tell us anything about yourself you don't want to. I was just trying to make a point about lying…"

I smiled up at her, "No, I think it's about time I told you guys."

"Are you sure?" Yugi asked, as he and Tea took two seats opposite me.

I nodded, "Definitely."

"Well then, by all means…" Tea urged.

I took a deep breath and began yet again, "When I was ten, my dad died. My mother had left us right after I was born, saying I was a mistake and that she didn't want anything to do with me. I don't remember anything about her." I said quietly.

I continued, "But my dad would always say I looked just like her, that I had her eyes and hands." I unconsciously looked down at them, "But after he died, my life changed. I became a ward of the state and put in the foster system."

"I'm sorry." Tea whispered softly.

"Don't apologize." I forced a smile, "I turned out okay, didn't I?"

Yugi nodded, "More than okay."

I blinked away tears, recalling old memories from my childhood – memories I'd rather keep to myself. I turned to them and wiped my eyes.

"Life was hard, but I got through it. It made me stronger and it made me realize how precious life is. That's why I go through it with an open heart and big smile." I smiled for effect, "So, there you have it. You may not have the gory details, but you still have it. Now you know all there is to know about me."

"Thank you, Aimee." Yugi said, "You've proven you're trustworthy."

I nodded in gratitude, "I love you guys, seriously." I looked up at the both of them evenly, "I'd be lost without you."