Chapter 35
Cerulean City
"OMG! Misty!" Violet yells as she runs down the stairs.
The redhead is working on her laptop in the living room while her other sister Lily is watching reality TV. Rolling her eyes at her older sister's newest gossip, Misty asks, "What?"
"That kid you used to date in middle school got traded to the Cerulean City Gyarados!" the bluenette gushes while sitting next to Misty.
"Oh, he's really good looking!" Lily chimes in. "And rich and famous!"
"And didn't you guys date while he was in Goldenrod City? It was all over the news!" Violet excitedly says.
The redhead groans. She knows where this is going. "Yeah, and we broke up."
"But now he's here, and you are too! It must be a sign!" Violet exclaims.
"And it's about time you got over Ash, Misty. It's been months." the pinkette includes.
"Yeah. Ash wouldn't want you to stay single forever!" Violet agrees.
Misty shakes her head as she closes her laptop and stands up. "You guys don't understand." she mutters while walking up the stairs to her room. When Misty finally reaches her room and locks the door, she lays on her bed. Sighing, she glances at the picture on the nightstand.
She knows her sisters mean well and are trying to cheer her up, but Misty doubts she will ever be able to love someone again. She already tried with Rudy, which hadn't worked out. Even if Ash's death and Rudy's trade to Cerulean City were signs for her to be with the brunette, her heart tells her no.
Flashback
After Ash had visited her by surprise, Misty drives the raven haired boy home. "Pallet Town really is a small town if you know Tracey." the redhead laughs.
Ash smiles. "Yeah, that's why everyone is nice to each other here. We're all like one big family." He looks at her with that goofy grin of his. "And you're a part of that family now too!"
Misty feels her face heat up from the comment. It's always like Ash to say such nice words like that. "Thanks, but I like being alone."
"It's okay to be alone, Misty, but it's not okay to be lonely." he smiles at the road ahead. "But Leaf and I are good at making sure Gary isn't lonely, so we'll be pros for you." Ash tells her knowingly. "I won't leave you alone, even when I do travel the world, I'll take you with me!" he then nervously scratches the back of his head. "Uh. If you want to come that is. Traveling is more fun with more people." he turns away to hide the blush on his cheeks, but Misty is too focused on the road to see it.
"Thanks, Ash. I'd like to travel." She smiles while glad that he isn't looking to see the dark blush on her face. Every time she hangs out with Ash, she feels like she can trust him more and more. It's as if he can just tear down the walls around her heart piece by piece, and soon, he'll reach it, but she'll let him in. She wants to let him in. As they pull up to his house, she shyly looks into his warm chocolate brown eyes and says, "I won't let you be lonely either, Ash."
Flashback Over
"Fucking liar." Misty chuckles sadly to her ceiling. "I've been lonely since you broke up with me, and now you can't even fix that."
Goldenrod City
"I want to play basketball!" cries the 7 year old in Silver's living room. On this particular weekend, Ethan had just come back from a co-ed basketball game, and he was telling Ava all about it. She's always had an interest in the sport, but Leaf would never allow her to play. Not even for fun. Now, though, even her father won't let her play.
"Ava, stop screaming." Leaf sternly tells the crying girl.
"No! You never let me do anything!"
"You're never playing, and that's final!" Gary backs up Leaf, which just makes Ava cry more as she runs off to Silver's bedroom.
"We'll just see you next weekend." Marina awkwardly says as she grabs her son, and Jimmy grabs their daughter to leave.
"I'll go check on her." Whitney suggests while walking to Silver's room.
Once the Kentas and Whitney are gone, Silver glares at the brunettes. "This is so stupid. Why won't you let her play? She's good at it, and we used to play all the time!" He angrily asks Leaf. The redhead hates seeing his niece go through unnecessary heartache.
"I don't need to explain myself to you, Silver."
"Oh, but you can turn up on my doorstep alone and pregnant and have me help raise your daughter?"
"That's not fair, Silver." She glares at her cousin.
"You wouldn't understand, Silver." Gary injects since he also doesn't want anything to do with the sport.
However, Silver's anger turns towards him now. "You just entered her life a year ago. What do you understand about her or what we went through, you deadbeat?"
This ticks Gary off, so he takes a step towards Silver with clenched fists, but Leaf's hand on his chest stops him. "He didn't even know I was pregnant."
"Yeah, but he still just fucked you and left. I don't get how you can bring this playboy into Ava's life."
"It's complicated, Silver!" Leaf exclaims as Gary tries to get closer to the redhead.
"You've always complained about how your parents never listened to what you wanted, but here you are doing the same thing to your daughter."
"Watch your mouth!" Gary hisses.
"Your opinion doesn't matter to me, Oak."
Gary raises his fist, but Leaf shouts, "Stop! She's not playing, and that's final!"
Silver shakes his head disappointedly and mumbles, "You're just like your parents." before turning around to go check on his niece.
Leaf takes her hand off of Gary while the two adults angrily stand in the living room. Eventually, Leaf says, "This is your fault!" and she faces him.
Gary raises his eyebrows in shock. "My fault? I just supported you!" He exclaims.
"Yeah! If you never fucking left, none of this would've happened!"
"You left too! And you didn't even tell me you were pregnant!"
"Like you'd care! You pushed me away!"
"I didn't know Leaf Green to be someone who allows herself to be pushed away."
"That's why I came to you that night, but your hurtful words finally pushed me away!"
"It's not my fault you were weak."
"You're a fucking asshole, Gary! Take responsibility for your actions!"
"What are you talking about? You're just as responsible as me!" he furiously yells back.
"If you never fucking drove drunk, you never would've ruined your basketball career! And even then, you shouldn't have pushed us away! But I came back and then you kissed me! And we had sex and I got pregnant, but you hurt me, Gary!" she's crying in agony now, but she won't stop tearing into him. All these years of bottled up frustrations will come out. "So yes, I fucking ran away! And Ash quit basketball and broke up with Misty! He broke his and her heart, Gary! You broke up our friend group! And then Ash joined the army where he died! Ash fucking died all because you were being a selfish arrogant asshole!"
"I never asked you guys to do any of that!" the furious man yells back. "You never had to fucking leave! Ash never had to quit basketball or join the army! Don't pin his death on me!"
"Oh yeah, cuz nothing is ever Gary Oak's fault! Must be nice to have guardians who feel too guilty for ignoring you to ever discipline you!"
"Fuck you, Leaf! At least my guardians never abandoned me!"
"At least I never caused my best friend's death!"
"He was still going to college after I left, but once you left, he quit! So it was your fucking fault!"
"And none of that would've happened if you never left!" Both adults are crying sad and angry tears now, but they won't let that stop them from unleashing all their pent up emotions. They've both suffered so much pain, and they need the other to know it.
"You fucking left too! You're just as much responsible for his death as I am!
"Fuck you, Gary!"
"You already did that! That's why we're in this fucking mess! That's why Ash-"
She slaps him, which causes the room to fall into silence and they hear the distant sobs of their daughter in the other room. Keeping his gaze away from the woman in front of him, Gary turns around and walks out the door without a word. He slams it loudly, and this makes everyone in the apartment know he's left.
Eventually, Silver walks back out to check on his cousin who hasn't left from her spot, but she's crying into her hands. The screaming and yelling could be heard throughout the whole apartment, which really upset Ava, but Whitney and Silver couldn't find the heart to walk out. However, they now have a better understanding of the whole basketball prohibition Leaf enforces.
The redhead sighs as he hugs the sobbing woman. Gosh, his cousin's life is so complicated, but as her family, he will always be there. He hugs her tighter while mentally cursing himself for allowing her to move in with that jerk. Next time he sees Gary, he'll give the arrogant prick a piece of his mind.