Rikku woke up by the sound of someone putting dishes on a table. She was lying on the couch with a blanket over her. Paine called for her when everyone was ready for dinner.
"Come on, Rikku. We won't wait for you." Paine told her but Rikku refused to get up. She was not hungry and excused herself as she walked to her room. Gippal followed her with his eye. He could not help but felt guilty.
"We should let her some time." Yuna said as she took a fork and eat some salad. "She needs to get used to this new situation."
"I don't want to hurt her." Gippal answered Yuna. "But what can I do if I don't remember anything about us? Believe me. I try every day, but nothing comes to my mind."
"Don't worry Gippal. You'll remember." Tidus told him trying to comfort, useless, his friend.
Rikku felt horribly sick that night. It had been a few like that. She woke up and felt the need to thew up. Something in her mind told her that she needed to check that. Rikku lied in her bed when someone knocked on the door. After a second, Gippal entered with some fruit and yoghurt in his hands. He looked ashamed as he asked for permission to sit with her.
"I've thought you might be hungry." Gippal offered her the fruit. "Listen, Rikku, I know that I've been an asshole these days and-" Rikku ran to the bathroom again. Gippal followed her and heard as she vomited for the third time. "Hey Riks, you need to check that out."
Inside the bathroom, Rikku took her pregnancy test with fear in her eyes. She needed to find out what was happening to her.
Paine was sitting in her couch after dinner, with a book in her hands. She had cleaned with Tidus the dinner and now was having some rest. Yuna and Tidus were very tired and got to bed. Baralai was nowhere found. I'm sure he is talking with Lenne. Paine laughed to herself and tried to focus on her book. It was the fifth time she had read the same page and she could not advance. Her mind was occupied with other things. She looked up when she heard someone walking down the stairs.
"Are you still awake?" Baralai stopped in the end on the stairs. Paine nodded and took off her glasses. "I've just wanted a glass of water." Baralai put his hands in his pockets and looked at her. In the past, he would join her and spent the night there with her, talking about silly things and doing other things as well.
Paine stood up and walked to the kitchen, followed by Baralai. As the owner of the house, she had to help her guests. She invited him to stay with her in the living room. The sat on the same couch and talked about Gippal and Rikku's wedding.
"Do you think they will go on?" Baralai asked Paine.
"I hope so. I've already got my dress." Paine joked and sighed. "I wish I could help Gippal with everything about his memory." Baralai nodded and put an arm above the couch, almost touching Paine's shoulder. A question forming in his mind.
"Paine are you coming to-" Baralai stopped, not sure how to ask her.
"To the wedding? Of course." Paine knew she had been very absent that last year, but she was willing to stop everything for Rikku.
"Alone?" There it was Baralai's question. Paine looked at him and then away. She had thought about to tell Shuyin but she had not felt that close to him yet. However, she did not feel like she could bear to see Baralai with Lenne, dancing and kissing.
"I don't know." She looked at him. Paine's feeling begun to betray her as she felt them grew again. She knew what she needed to stop them. "You are coming with Lenne, right?" She asked as she got up at took a bottle of red wine. Paine would need some help to keep on with that conversation. She offered a cup to Baralai.
"Why should I take her?" Baralai asked with a shyly smile, not taking his eyes off Paine.
"Because she is your girlfriend." She answered with bile as she took a sip from her cup.
"I've only slept with her once." Baralai laughed with a finger up. "I don't consider that a relationship." He took a sip from his cup too.
They both kept talking about relationship. Strangely for Paine, she did not feel bad at all. It was like talking with an old friend. A very handsome and attractive old friend, she thought as she looked at him without paying much attention to what Baralai was saying. They ended quickly with the wine bottle. Baralai stood and took another one. He did not want to go to sleep yet. For the first time in a year, he was talking with Paine, not arguing.
"You know what?" Paine looked at her cup as she talked. "I wish things were different between us." Why she was saying that it was something that she did not know. Maybe she would reject in the morning. "I really like you, Baralai. Only if you had told me the truth..."
"I'm sorry. I was doing my job and-" Baralai repeated the same excuse he had used every time he had talked about Paine. "And I screw all up when a felt in love with you." Paine looked at him with startled eyes. He had loved her. Baralai saw her reaction and moved closer to him. "I was willing to let everything behind just to be with you." He was closing the distance between them. Paine needed to stop that. They were not in good conditions after all, and she was sure they both would regret it in the morning. Something caught Baralai's attention. "Isn't it a bit late to have your gardener working?"
"I don't have a gardener." Paine answered confused. She followed Baralai's eyes to the nearest window. A man was looking through it and ran away when Baralai got up and walked to the door. "Who is he?"
"The same guy that tried to kill Gippal." Baralai looked at the surroundings, not able to see him. "He has followed us."
Baralai did not sleep that night. He was watching the house to protect his friend. He had taken a notebook and was trying to figure out why was that man trying to kill Gippal. The morning came and he only got some hypothesis, but not a sure path. Paine tapped his shoulder.
"Go and have some rest. I'll take them shopping so you could sleep." Paine walked to the kitchen.
"I'm not sure you should go out from here, Paine." Baralai had followed her.
"Don't worry about that. I have everything under control." Paine pointed to a window. Baralai looked through it and saw a black car arriving. "They will stay here as another car will be following us. You just have some rest and try to figure out who is him." Paine stroke Baralai's arm and took a sip from her coffee.
Baralai nodded and walked to his room. He turned down the blinds and lied on the bed. It took him only a few seconds to be in a deep sleep.
Baralai's mobile was ringing. He thought he was dreaming it but woke up quickly thinking that it could be Paine in trouble.
"Hello?" He said panting.
"Honey! Why are you not opening the door?" Lenne was on the other side. Baralai sighed and go back to bed.
"Because I'm still in Besides." He answered with a boring tone.
"I know, but you are not opening the door." Baralai heard someone calling the main door. This is impossible. He walked down and opened it. Lenne was on the other side. "Hey honey!" She screamed as she threw herself to Baralai's arms. He took her with a shocked face.
"Lenne, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, I was missing you so much that I thought: Why not spend some days together with your friends." She smiled as she took in her bags.
"Lenne, you cannot be here." Baralai was not sure if Paine would accept her in her house. "This is Paine's house." Lenne looked at him coldly.
"And what are you doing here, then?"
"She did not want Rikku and Gippal to spend much money and she offered her house." Baralai told her as he tried to stop her from touching things.
"But she is not here, right?" Lenne knew the answer to that question.
"Yes. I mean no." Baralai was getting nervous. "What I'm saying is that she is with us, but not right now. She is shopping with the rest."
Baralai was to say something more when a key noise caught his attention. Oh, men... Paine entered in slowly, thinking that Baralai was still sleeping when she found Lenne with her bags there. She stopped in her place. The rest came after her and did the same. Tidus was the first one to spoke.
"Lenne? What are you doing here?" Tidus had a knot in his throat.
"Lenne!" Gippal yelled as he had remembered something. Rikku looked at him curiously. "I-I remember you."
"Of course you remember her." Baralai told Gippal with an annoying tone. "She is your boss." Baralai was trying to meet Paine's eyes, but they were focused on the girl in front of her.
"No. I mean that I remember her. She put us on a special mission. We had to follow a girl but one of us screw it up." Gippal was remembering something. He turned to Rikku. "Was you the girl? It was then when we met?" He needed answers. Rikku shocked her head.
"We met back then, but not that way." Gippal seemed disappointed and sighed, closing his eyes. "I'm going to my room. I feel very tired guys. I'm sorry."
"Let me help you." Gippal said quickly, but Rikku refused it.
"Are you not going to say anything?" Lenne asked Paine. She could feel Paine's range. Lenne smiled triumphantly.
"Welcome." Paine simply answered and walked to the kitchen where she let some bags with food. Lenne followed her as Baralai, Tidus and Yuna. "What do you want? Water, a beer, some wine?" She was acting as a host.
"I'm okay. Thank you." Lenne told her. "I'm here because I want to spend some time with my boyfriend." She said as she walked and hugged Baralai. He pushed her away and told her to stop. Paine was with his back to them and smiled. "I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all." Paine knew what she was trying. Lenne wanted to get her out of her mind, but Paine was clever. She believed in what Baralai had told her about Lenne. This time, she would not be the one to take out Lenne. This time Baralai would reject her forever.