52. Time to Say Goodbye to the Innocence of Youth


"Aw, come on. One last hug?" Jacoby widened his arms and puckered his lips so broadly that they looked like they were bloating. It wouldn't surprise me if he started whimpering soon to match how completely pathetic he was making himself look.

"Touch me and I'll tie your arms together into a knot. Also, you should quit that face because on some people it looks cute, but for you it looks like there's an overgrown pimple where your mouth should be that really needs to be popped. If I get a needle, I could help you with that. Gloria might have some in the back. I'm offering out of the goodness of my heart."

"More like out of the violence out of your heart. Geez. Nevermind." He gave me a pat on the back, hefting his bag over his shoulder as he ambled toward the couch in the lobby.

Despite how much protest he had given, Jacoby had agreed to travel with Trevor, Lillian, and Meredith after all. None of them seemed to mind having Jacoby along as company, but Trevor had made Jacoby swear that he would only release his violent primeape, Goober, whenever none of them were around.

Now we were all waiting in the lobby for Trevor to come down since Meredith and Lillian had packed the night before, and Trevor had been too busy reading to pack until this morning. Bundy and he had bonded over books whenever they were together, and Trevor had even left a few copies for him to read. They were going to put a greater strain on me and my baggage whenever we were able to travel again, but at least Bundy was happy.

"Hey, can I say bye to Preen?" I called after him.

From his seat on the couch, Jacoby obliged with a sigh—his now trademark habit—and withdrew Preen's pokéball, summoning her with a press of the button and a flash of light. The fearow stretched her wings as she always did upon materializing and scanned the room with slight caution until she found me.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" she squawked.

I threw myself at her in a hug and squeezed until she threatened to gust me away. I could see Jacoby glaring from behind her, affronted that I hadn't given him the same treatment. I made sure to stick my tongue out at him until it was dry.

Near Meredith, Poona was saying her goodbyes to Chewy, and they were licking each other like they hadn't bathed in weeks. It was gross, and I had to stop looking at them before my motherly instincts kicked in and broke them apart.

After having a long talk with Meredith, Poona had decided it was best to stay with me…or maybe Meredith had convinced her to stay. Either way, Poona was fine with it. She had even suggested she could split up time with me and Meredith and work out some kind of agreement. It felt like we were battling over custody like divorced parents at this point, but I wasn't about to give Poona a hard time for her amiable ideas. Meredith was going to keep Poona's pokéball while she was with me, which meant I now had two pokémon with me that had already been captured in pokéballs, yet neither of them were mine.

Trevor begrudgingly hugged me goodbye, resulting in me putting him in a chokehold while I mussed up his hair. Lillian hugged me quickly and forcefully, saying a brief—and very thankful—goodbye, while Meredith hugged me genuinely.

"Let me know how she's doing, okay?" Meredith asked. Surprisingly, there were no tears in her eyes, but I could see her trying to keep on a smile.

"I will." Even if I felt a little territorial at her request, I could only agree. After all, Poona was with me now for good.

"And let me know how you're doing. I'll miss you, Chelle." She smiled at me sincerely after she pulled away. And it was weird to admit…but maybe I would miss her—this girl whom I once considered removing from the picture so that Poona's trainer choice was limited only to me. Maybe a part of me still wanted her out of the picture, but not permanently.

"…I'll miss you, too," I mumbled, as she walked away from me.

She paused mid-step and turned to throw me a glance. "Huh?"

"Corwin's going to miss you. He told me." I coughed and avoided eye contact.

Her smile widened. "I'll miss him a lot."

"Will you miss his fleas, too? The dude hardly ever bathes."

She laughed. "And I'll definitely miss your sense of humor, Chelle."

"That wasn't a joke." It wasn't.

They left as soon as they finished sending out their goodbyes. Corwin and I waved them off at the center's entrance. Galilei stood behind us with his fin-like arms folded behind him. I was grateful that Virchow was still in her pokéball because for once I was in no mood to bicker. Bundy wrapped himself around my shoulder, while Poona rolled around at my heels. Keane would have been here, but of course he had disappeared as he usually seemed to do these days.

Once they disappeared from sight, we went back inside.

"It seems rather lonesome now, with just the two of us," Corwin remarked. He looked vaguely uncomfortable since he wasn't wearing his formal suit for once. He was getting it dry-cleaned or something. At the moment, he was wearing a spare pair of Jacoby's clothes—a red t-shirt and shorts, which kept threatening to fall down his skinny legs.

"It's not just the two of us," I pointed out, gesturing to Bundy, Poona, and Galilei.

"Thank you for your acknowledgment," Galilei said. It was meant to be thanks, but it sounded more like a jab directed at Corwin. There had always been some random tension between Galilei and Corwin, but I could never figure out why. The gallade was very courteous, but if he ever seemed displeased, you could hear the undercurrent in his voice.

"Yes, my apologies, of course," Corwin revised, but he didn't seem to care. If anything, his voice matched the boredom of his drooping eyes. "You intend to pursue Sophie, correct?"

"Yeah. Are you still getting off to my best friend?"

"Your implications are unsettling at times. I am interested in her, if that is what you're referring to."

"Because she's such a cupcake?" I waggled my eyebrows.

"She's fascinating."

"And don't forget awesome."

"She still wishes for me to stay away?"

"Yup. Far away. Like on the other side of the world. Or at the bottom of the ocean."

"Shame. I had been looking forward to speaking with her again."

I gave him a weird look. "You hardly talked to her."

"Regardless, it was memorable." Was…was he crushing on Sophie?

"Yes," Galilei said in my ear.

I jumped up as if I had been electrocuted. "EW! Corlose, you can't crush on my best friend! You don't even know her!" Then again, I had probably bragged and rambled about Sophie enough for everyone around me to know plenty about her. That had happened before she had forbid me to share details about her life with anyone.

Corwin contemplated, gently scratching his chin. "What an impractically odd phrase. 'Crushing.' Wouldn't it be more appropriate to say 'like'?"

"EW. She will never date you ever!" Didn't you need your best friend's approval before you could legally date someone? I would never approve of that.

"I'm not looking for that level of companionship. I want to know her intellectually."

"Yeah right. I'm officially grossed out to the max."

I fled from Corwin, probably leaving him to fawn over Sophie in his head. Sophie was as cute as a button, but I didn't expect anyone to fall for her this fast, especially with how little Corwin knew of her. He had only heard about her determination to kill her sister, experienced her rejection, and seen her while she was confined to her hospital bed. Those were pretty weird traits to be attracted to, but then again, Corwin wasn't exactly normal.

For the rest of the day, I hung out with Poona and Bundy, playing games with them or talking away. Poona didn't seem sad, as far as I could tell. She was her usual happy self, despite having said goodbye to some people and pokémon that she really loved. That ended up being quite a relief.

Over the next two days until Sophie's release, Corwin trained and I started planning my identity since I was still the last person that needed to change it. Whenever Sophie was released, I was going to see if I could get my hair dyed and receive a new ID. Gloria had told me that Sophie's pokémon were ready for pick-up whenever she was released.

The morning of our departure, I finished packing and made sure that Corwin did the same. Now the only thing that was left was for me to pick up Sophie from the hospital. Mrs. Johnson had sent in all of the paperwork but had never actually visited in person. Sophie was fine with that since she didn't really care much for having new parents, despite the fact that Mrs. Johnson had tried to plan a day where they could visit one another. I didn't know if Sophie had already disclosed the information that Glenda had wanted, but I would just have to see.

As I was leaving to go to the hospital at around noon, Corwin attempted to leave with me, but I convinced him it would be a bad idea since Sophie still didn't want to be around him and would be extremely uncomfortable. He stayed at the center to get all of his belongings in order, while I went to the center with Poona and Bundy. Keane was still missing in action, but over the past few days he had peeked his head in every once in a while to see what our plans were.

When I arrived at the hospital, I went to Sophie's room and knocked. Glenda invited me inside by shouting, "Come in!"

I entered with a half-smile on my face. "How goes it?"

"It's going well. We're just finishing up." Glenda was sitting in a chair in the corner furthest from Sophie, holding a clipboard and writing on it extensively. Once she finished, she looked up with a smile. "Thank you so much, Sophie. You're free to go. I got you some new clothes as requested, since your old clothes are a little too big for you. You wanted pink clothing, right?"

"Yes." Sophie was always going to wear pink since it was her favorite color. It concerned me that her clothes were too big for her still, which meant she had not gained back the weight she had lost. Still, she looked better than when she had first come to the hospital since there was enough thickness in her cheeks to not make her look so gaunt. Despite this, her arms and legs were still too thin, and her waist—which hadn't developed curves and probably wouldn't within the next few years—lacked width, supporting a flat stomach.

"Good. I hope you liked what I picked out." Glenda stood up. "We'll stay in touch. We'll have to schedule you another appointment in a few weeks."

"Unnecessary," Sophie replied simply. "I'm fine, and I will continue to be fine."

"Check-ups are always necessary whenever you have a traumatic experience." She glanced at me with a frown. "Please watch over her."

"Duh." I was still bitter about how underhanded this whole thing was. Sophie deserved someone who genuinely cared about her well-being and not just what she knew. That was why I also wasn't going to support Corwin wanting to date her—if that was what he wanted. I still wasn't sure, really.

"I really enjoyed getting to know the both of you. And Sophie…I really cannot thank you enough. My brother and I are indebted to you."

"I'll remember that," she replied.

Glenda blinked, not expecting her to actually agree with it. She had said it as a formality that I hoped was genuine, but I was guessing she had expected some kind of courtesy in return. "Uh…yes. So, um…we'll be in touch."

As she was exiting, another nurse entered, practically slamming her with the door in her rush to get inside.

"Glenda! A pediatric patient's father is asking for you. The patient isn't speaking."

Glenda frowned and pondered for a moment, probably considering which patient it was. "That's a problem indeed." She gave us a wave before leaving, going down the hallway with the nurse toddling after her.

I sat on the edge of Sophie's bed, giving her my best unimpressed look. "Kinda disappointed, Soph. You caved faster than a landslide."

"I told her nothing true," she confessed, though it was clear she wasn't ashamed about it. That was shocking only because Sophie was usually so honest. Then again, she didn't want anyone to know about her at all.

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her what she had expected to hear: I was hurt by them. Starved by them."

"And that wasn't true?"

Sophie shook her head. "They never hurt me."

That didn't make any sense. There were bruises all over her. She was so skinny that she had to have been starved. She had been missing hair. Parts of her body had been bloodied and cut. The cuts had scabbed over and healed since I had first found her, but clearly damage had been done.

"I don't get it. What do you mean? You were tortured, Soph."

"They gave me choices. I chose."

"Choices?"

"They would ask me questions and give me choices. Eat today…or drink today? Cut off my hand or hit myself until they told me to stop? Cut my hair or give myself a new scar? They gave me the options, but I had to choose. And if I didn't do one of the choices, they would suck the air out of the room until it was at the lowest percentage of oxygen. Suffocation. But they would make sure I stayed alive—even if I tried to die." Her eyes lifted and found mine, shedding her usual coldness. The hospital room, which was already very cold, felt arctic now. "Everything that happened I did to myself. That's the way my sister tortures. She makes sure that you're the one to do it. She gives you choices, but they're all powerless. The only one that wins is her because she doesn't touch you, so it doesn't touch her conscience either."

"…Sophie—"

"I need to change." She shooed me out of the room with one flick of her wrist, which looked so thin that it might as well have been detachable. Her joints looked like those of a doll's—poorly linked together and easier removable.

I exited with Poona trailing behind me and Bundy still clinging to my shoulder. I closed the door behind me quietly and sighed, sinking down against the wall. My poor friend. She had finally told me some details about what had happened, yet I hadn't known how to respond. Sophie didn't deserve that. Hell, no one deserved that.

Poona swiped me with her paw. "…Is Sophie okay?"

"I don't know, Poona. I really don't."

Bundy looked like he was at a loss of words himself, mulling everything over in his head. "…It sounded awful. Humans…don't do that to pokémon they capture, do they?"

"No. They just train together and bond and stuff…But Sophie's sister is messed up, so she might."

We all fell into a thoughtful silence.

While I was waiting outside the door, thinking of all that Sophie had shared, I saw Glenda a couple of doors down. She walked out of the room with an older guy and a child in a hospital gown. For some reason, she looked shaken as she closed the door. Her eyes had widened so much that it looked like they wanted to pop out.

They started walking toward our direction, but Glenda didn't look focused. She kept glancing over her shoulder, and then when she looked straight ahead and saw me, she started blinking harshly and quickly. The man next to her nudged her, and she looked away from me, staring at the floor as she walked, like she was a prisoner being guided to her cell.

"Hey, Glenda. How's it going?" I greeted. I narrowed my eyes at the man, whose wrinkled face was set sternly. The guy hadn't shaved in a while, which was noticeable through all the gray scruff on his face.

She smiled at me nervously. "H-hello, Rochelle. Just taking a walk." The man next to her smiled at me, too, but it looked coy. Not at all genuine.

"…Mind if I join?" The words came out without warning. I just wanted to see what the reaction would be because something didn't seem right here. Glenda didn't look calm; she looked scared, if anything.

"N-no! I'll be right back. We're just going for a quick walk, you know. It's sometimes very therapeutic." She added a laugh, but it sounded strangled.

Bundy leaned down into my ear and whispered, "Rochelle, that child isn't a human. That child is a pokémon."

"A pokémon?" I stared at the young girl, whose head was shaven. The girl glared at me, and I wondered if she had heard.

"Really?" Spontaneously, Poona darted out in front of them and playfully tackled the girl. She was known to occasionally jump on people whenever she was excited, but this time she did it out of curiosity.

"Poona—" I stopped after I said her name because as Poona and the young girl went toward the ground, the girl's image flickered and seemed to disappear altogether. Instead of a little human, Poona was pinning down a small ball of black fluff with a wisp of red fur on the top of its head. "What the—"

"I suggest you stay out of our way, little girl," the older man gritted. His face was shadowed by a hat on the top of his head, covering his sandy brown hair. But now, his face seemed to be flickering back and forth between an older man's face and a younger man's face. I couldn't tell which one was real.

I peered at Glenda, who was shaking her head, looking so afraid that she probably couldn't even swallow.

"…What the hell is going on?"

"Are you hard of hearing?"

That was when I heard the click. I looked down and saw the gun in his hands, pointed directly at me.

"I bet you heard that, didn't you?"