Disclaimer: This chapter is going to contain a rollercoaster of emotions. Please enjoy the ride.
Chapter 25:
Michiru stared Haruka in disbelief.
"He...He showed up to your race?"
"Yeah. I saw him after stepping out of the locker room after I had finished changing. After not seeing me for three years, he shows up out of nowhere just to tell me he still hates me. That's also why I didn't do so well during that particular race."
"You still won though."
"Barely."
"Did you see him anytime after the race?"
Haruka shook her head.
"He left after saying what he said to me. I've tried my best to let it go and ignore it, but I can't shake his words. It's not like he's wrong though."
"But he is though. You are not a fat, useless piece of shit. You are a strong, beautiful, confident woman."
"Oh yeah, I'm confident alright. I've got the confidence level of a chicken nugget. And I'm never going to be strong or beautiful."
"Don't say that."
"Why not, it's true. I'll never be any of the things you say I am, so why shouldn't I think negatively about myself?"
"Because I'm not going to let you."
"Then how exactly am I strong, beautiful, and confident?"
"Do you remember when we took Hotaru to fair last summer, and we were taking her to the merry-go-round?"
Haruka nodded her head.
"And right when we walked passed this one guy, he slapped my ass and I spun around and punched him in the face?"
Haruka gave another nod.
"Do you remember what you did?"
"I pulled you away from him before you killed him."
"That's how I know you're strong. It takes more strength to walk away from something than into it."
"Well I didn't want to shed blood in front of hime-chan."
"Still, you had the strength not to."
"Okay, so I guess I can see how I'm strong. But how am I confident and beautiful?"
"Remember that guy in your science class who kept throwing homophobic insults your way?"
"Yeah."
"If I remember correctly this went on for months and you would sit there and let him. At least you did, until he decided to say something homophobic to me. And that's when I saw the confidence I always knew you had in you."
"Well I wasn't going to let anyone insult my girl."
"That's how I know you're confident. You had the confidence to stand up for me."
"I also beat the shit out of him too. You and Elza both ended up having to pull me off of him, and as you did you referred to me as an angry tater tot."
"In my defense, you were angry and I was eating tater tots during lunch."
Haruka couldn't help but giggle at Michiru's statement.
"There it is."
Michiru said.
"There what is?"
"How I know you're beautiful. You have the most beautiful smile in the world. Not to mention the most adorable laugh."
Haruka blushed at Michiru's words.
"And don't even get me on how cute you look when you blush."
At this point Haruka had buried herself under the covers to hide her ever growing blush.
"Am I embarrassing you?"
Michiru asked, pulling the covers up and peaking at Haruka.
"Very much so."
"Well at least now you don't look like the world's ending."
"I may not look like how I feel, but I still feel that way."
Haruka said, her voice sounding serious.
Wanting Haruka to feel better, Michiru wrapped her up the blanket she was under and held her in her lap.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm holding you. Don't act like I've never held you before."
"Okay, but am I wrapped up like a sushi roll?"
"Because right now you're my sad sushi roll."
"Great, first I was an angry tater tot. Now I'm a sad sushi roll. What's next?"
"I once overheard Setsuna refer to you as a complicated pancake."
"Why did she call me that?"
"You were doing something, but making way more complicated than it needed to be."
"I get the complicated part, but why a pancake."
"I'm not sure. Maybe it was because you like pancakes."
"Yeah, maybe. Still don't why I get all the nicknames involving food though. I don't even like food."
"You know that's just the voices telling you that, right?"
"I guess."
"You know, it just occurred to me that you still haven't eaten anything today."
"Are you going to make me eat?"
"I would like for you to at least have a little something, but I won't force you. Also, if you do eat I ask that you not purge."
"I have to purge though."
"Why do you have to?"
"I'll get fat if I don't."
"You won't get fat. Besides, by purging you're doing a lot of serious harm to yourself."
"I'll be dead soon anyway, so what does it matter?"
As soon as those words left her mouth, alarm bells went off in Michiru's head.
"Do you have something planned?"
Haruka didn't say anything and instead freed herself from Michiru's hold. She then stood up and walked towards the door.
"You know now is really not the time to withdraw from me. Do you have something planned or not?"
Michiru's voice sounded slightly angry, but Haruka remained silent.
"Why are you doing this? I just want to help you and be there for you. Yet every time I try you shove me away."
"I'm doing it for your own good."
"How the hell is shoving me away for my own good?"
"You wouldn't understand, but trust me it is."
"You're the one who doesn't fucking understand."
Michiru's words caused Haruka to turn around and look at her. She was about to speak when Michiru beat her to it.
"You're the one who doesn't understand how much just the mere thought of losing you hurts me. And now to hear you say that you'll be dead soon hurts me even more. Also, you're not just hurting me. What about Hotaru? She'd be devastated if anything ever happened to you. How could you be so selfish?"
"Oh, I'm being selfish? You're the one that's being selfish! I want to stop hurting! I want the pain to go away! I want to be happy! I want to die!"
As these words left her mouth, they were both unaware that Hotaru was right outside their bedroom door and had heard every word.
The young girl then knocked on the door, and Haruka turned around and opened it.
"What is it hime-chan?"
Haruka asked, bending down so that she was at eye level with her.
Hotaru tried her best not to cry, but the second she spotted the bandage around Haruka's wrist she lost it and clutched onto Haruka as tight as she cried her eyes.
"Hime-chan, what's wrong?"
Michiru asked. She then moved closer and began to rub the smaller girl's back.
"I don't want Haruka-papa to die!"
Hotaru exclaimed, starting to cry harder.
"You heard me, huh?"
Hotaru gave a nod.
"I'm sorry you had to hear all of that."
"Why do you want to kill yourself anyway?"
"I'm tired of hurting and I'm tired of hurting everyone around me. It would be for the best."
"No it wouldn't. It would only hurt us more because we'd miss you too much."
"You would get over it eventually."
"No we wouldn't."
Haruka was about to say something else, when Setsuna walked into the room.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah Sets, everything is fine."
Setsuna knew Haruka was lying, but decided not to question it.
"Here, you have a phone call."
Setsuna said, handing the phone to Haruka.
"Hello."
Haruka said, speaking into the phone.
"Oh, so you can say hello to me."
As soon as she heard who was on the other end, she paled.
"Haruka-papa, are you okay?"
Hotaru asked, looking up at the very pale, blonde woman.
Haruka tried to speak, but couldn't. Her throat had gone dry and she was starting to feel faint.
"Ruka, honey what's wrong?"
Michiru asked, starting to feel concerned.
"I...I need to go."
Haruka then set the phone down and gently pushed Hotaru off her lap, before racing off to the bathroom.
Setsuna then picked up the phone and saw that the call had ended.
"Who was on the phone?"
Michiru asked.
"I'm not sure, I never caught his name. He only asked if he could speak with Haruka."
"Do you think she's okay?"
Hotaru asked.
"I'm not sure, I'll go check on her."
Michiru said. She then walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door.
"Haruka. Sweetheart, are you okay?"
Haruka didn't respond because the only thing she could hear was every negative thing her dad has ever said to her.
"Why can't he just leave me alone? Why does he constantly have to torment me?"
Haruka wondered as she sat on the bathroom floor.
The voices in Haruka's head were beginning to get louder and she needed a way to silence them.
Opening the cabinet under the sink, she pulled out a box of disposable razors.
After breaking one of the razors free from the plastic casing around it, she began to draw the blade across her arm. Slowly at first, but then with more of a frenzy. The faster she cut the faster the voices and memories of her dad seemed to diminish.
By the time she had finished both of her arms were covered in cuts and she was beginning to feel weak from the loss of blood.
"I think I might've overdone it just a tad."
Haruka thought as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall.
As she was feeling herself slip into the world of unconsciousness, she could her Michiru calling out to her except she sounded far away.
After struggling a few moments to open her eyes, she looked to find Michiru sitting across from her. The spare key to the bathroom lay next to her.
"Mich...Michi."
"The paramedics are on their way. Just...Just try to stay with me."
"I'm...s-sorry."
"Shh, it's okay."
Michiru said, pulling Haruka into her lap.
"You're...You're going to get blood all over you."
"I don't care, just let me hold you."
Michiru then kissed the top of Haruka's head. Haruka sighed in contentment and rested her head against Michiru's chest.
"Hey, Ruka?"
"What?"
"Who was on the phone?"
"My...dad."
Was the last thing Haruka said before she lost consciousness.
End of chapter 25:
A/N: I told ya this chapter was going to have a rollercoaster of emotions in it. Anyway the next chapter will probably be up tomorrow. Until next time, this is PokémonSoulMaster93 signing out.