Broken memories
Chapter two: A painful choice
Thank you time:
legolas liker: Great chapter? Another? Thank you so much for that! It's reviews like yours that give me the strength to carry on… ^_~ Anyway, I hope you like this one too! Finally, the plot thickens… Just read and find out!
Redroses: I'm glad you like this story too! It's a bit different from my other story and it's my first drama fic, but I'm doing my best… Let's see if you find this chapter interesting too! ^.^
Shipperness: Thank you so much for your review! Nothing wrong in this chapter? Oh, my ego is almost bursting… ^_^ I'm so glad you like my writing style and don't find Misty's thoughts a bit too much… Sad… ^.^ About the velvet box… You got it right! It's a jewellery box but I can't say more… (Ok, if you have a look at Amber Myst's reply you'll know a bit more… ^_~) Oh, Rudy's sister is bringing lots of complications, that's for sure… And I still don't know if Misty and Ash will be able to overcome them… I don't know, but I like an angsty ending… On the other hand I don't want to leave them like that… Oh well, I'll see about that later… Perhaps making two endings? ^^
Amber Myst: Hi again! Sorry for taking so long to update and thank you for your kind review… Cliffhanger, I know… Sorry, it's the habit! ^_^ I know I'm making Misty OOC, but that's probably the only way of making a drama pokémon fic… ^^ Oh the blue box… I shouldn't be saying this, but I'll tell you… It's your second guess… ^_~ Thank you again for understanding and reviewing!
And now we have the story…
Misty looked dumbfounded… Rudy's sister? The girl she had saved probably ten years ago? The girl whose brother asked her to say with him in his Gym leave…? What was she doing there?
Being finally ripped from her excruciating memories, Misty was starting to feel the piercing cold, the harsh wind, the suffocating rain… But even then she remained quiet, words fading at her sudden surprise… Why was she feeling her heart heavy, announcing that something bad was going to happen?
Marie's eyes revealed that she was in deep thought… Her grip on the umbrella tightened and her eyes darkened even more. She was almost certain she would cause suffering, but she had to… It was her duty to help her brother… He had always protected her, and now she had to do whatever was necessary to rescue him from the sadness that was filling his hollow heart…
"I'm so sorry Misty…" she thought sorrowfully.
"Can we go to a quiet place?" Marie asked, holding her umbrella above Misty, trying to shield her from the agonizing drops that keep falling from the sky.
"Humm… Sure, we can go to my Gym, it's just a few blocks from here…" Misty replied as she got up, rubbing her freezing arms.
Marie nodded and they started walking slowly, avoiding the small puddles in the ground, each one silent and worried, wondering, thinking, about something that would change Misty's life drastically…
During their quick walk, Misty managed to look discreetly at Marie a few times. She had changed deeply: she looked more mature, taller, her hair a bit longer… But there was something else besides the physical aspects… She looked tired, sad, a bit bitter perhaps…
"I wonder what happened to her… She said she needed my help… Maybe something related with their Gym…" Misty thought to herself, although deep in her heart she knew it was something much more serious than that…
"We're here… Come in…" she said in a low voice, uncertain of what to do.
"Thank you…" Marie replied shyly, closing her umbrella and leaving it to dry near the doors.
Misty guided the girl into her kitchen, and motioned silently for her to seat by the wooden table. Then, she quickly went to the bathroom and brought a towel with her, using it to give her trembling body some comforting warmth.
Marie was feeling uncomfortable, sitting stiffly in the chair, looking at her pale, fragile hands. She knew she was going to ask too much of Misty, but maybe she would understand… She had to… Marie needed to give her brother the happiness he lost ten years ago, the life he lost ten years ago… Yes, she had to do it… But she was feeling so guilty… She didn't have the right to ask that… It was Misty's choice after all, the choice she made ten years ago, which changed her brother completely… Time couldn't go back, and she wasn't able to modify Misty's feelings… But just a second chance, it was all she asked for… It was all Rudy needed…
"Would you like some hot chocolate?" Misty asked, rescuing Marie from her thoughts.
"Yes, I would… Thank you Misty…" she replied gratefully.
Misty turned to the oven and started her work while Marie glanced at her nervously. A few minutes of silence followed, before Misty managed to speak…
"So, tell me, how is everything in Trovita?" she asked, trying to sound cheerful.
"Oh, in Trovita? It's just… fine, I guess…" Marie replied, looking away, uneasy.
"How are things at the Gym? Lots of trainers challenging Rudy probably…" Misty said distractedly.
"Yeah, I'm… I mean, we're pretty busy…" she answered, making Misty look at her suspiciously.
"Is everything all right…with Rudy?" she asked dreadfully, fearing that his simple name could bring the suffering she was foreseeing and trying to avoid.
Marie was quiet for a moment, watching Misty returning to the table with two fuming mugs.
"I… He…" she started, loosing all her courage when she saw fright in Misty's eyes.
"He's ok… And how about you and Ash?" she quickly asked.
"Oh… We're dating…" Misty replied, her eyes feeling now with sorrow and unshed tears.
"Where is he? In Pallet?" Marie asked curiously, trying to buy some time and gather the strengths she needed.
"Humm… No, in America…" Misty responded, grabbing her mug tightly.
Seeing Marie's confused face, Misty continued painfully: "He's in a tournament… Left four years ago…", her knuckles white from her strong grip in the mug.
"And are you… ok?" Marie asked concerned, recognizing Misty's anguish.
Misty got up quickly, spilling the hot chocolate all over the table and backing away tearfully.
"Yeah, I'm ok, don't worry…" she replied quickly, grabbing the towel she used before, to clean the brown streams of hot liquid.
Marie stood up and grabbed Misty's shoulders slightly. She knew that gloomy eyes, that weary face that a broken heart brought… She saw it everyday in her brother's face… That crestfallen look that a stupid feeling like love could inflict…
"Misty, you're not ok…" she said in a mournful whisper that only showed that she knew too well the lies Misty got used to tell…
They looked each other for a few moments and then Misty broke down…
"Oh, I miss him so much…" she sobbed again, letting another person finally know what she was really feeling.
Marie hugged her and brushed her hair kindly, letting her hands repeat the same gestures she repeated almost every night with her brother…
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It would be difficult… no, it would be impossible, and she couldn't ask her that… Misty loved Ash deeply, she could tell it, and she couldn't ask for anything… She couldn't be that egotistical… But she wanted to be, if that meant saving her brother's life… Even if she would have to leave with an heavy conscience, she would carry that burden for Rudy…
"Thank you for hearing me…" Misty said with a muffled voice that, once again, prevented Marie from telling the whole truth…
"I need him so badly… Sometimes I wonder how I can live another day without his voice, his smell, him near me…" she continued, drenching Marie's blue shirt with her despairing tears.
Marie's eyes shot open. She remembered one night, ten months ago, when Rudy had said to her almost exactly the same thing…
Flashback *******************************************************************************************************************************
"I love her… I need her so badly Marie… I wonder how I can live another day without her beside me…" a young men with short brown hair and chocolate eyes said mournfully.
"Oh Rudy… so many years have passed, so much has changed… Forget her, please… I hate to see you suffer like this…" Marie pleaded desperately.
"I can't forget her Marie… I can't explain why, but I just can't… I've tried but I only end up loving her even more…" he answered tearfully.
"You've only saw her once, you can't love her Rudy! Love isn't about pain! Is about happiness and caring… That's not love! That's an obsession about a fantasy that only exists in your mind!!! Stop destroying yourself and move on!" she said harshly, looking deeply into his eyes, grabbing his arms furiously.
Rudy pushed his sister abruptly and yelled in pure rage: "You don't know what's love!!! I didn't need to be with Misty more than once to know that I love her!!! Don't talk about what you don't know!!!"
"I don't know what's love because all I can see in this house is suffering Rudy!!! You left the Gym, your friends, your pokémon… You left me, the only one that stood with you, your only family!!! You're completely absorbed by some platonic crush that's consuming your life, only making you sink even deeper in your depression! I won't allow that, I love you too much to see you try to commit suicide again Rudy!!! I won't let you!!!" Marie yelled, tears streaming down her face.
The sound of a slap echoed in the entire, empty Gym, and then a bitter silence filled the building.
Marie stood there, looking utterly shocked, with one hand in her face. Her expression was blank but her eyes showed what she didn't dare to say… This wasn't Rudy… This wasn't her older brother, the one who used to protect her in every way he could… Most of all, this wasn't her friend, the companion that gave her the courage to overcome all the difficulties they went through… The tears that had been flooding her eyes and sliding down her cheeks dried because they were useless… Even her tears weren't able to show the sadness and disappointment she was feeling at that moment… She had failed... She had tried her best to save Rudy from the darkness that had taken over him but to no avail… She was disappointed with him for not having struggled, and with her for not being able to help him…
"Sor-sorry Marie…" Rudy said with a weak, defeated voice, grabbing her hands gently.
Marie looked at him again, not knowing what to say… It wasn't the slap that caused the pain she was feeling, it was him… The shadowy figure that he had become…
"I'm so wrong! No one loves me and I hurt the only person I could trust…! Sorry Marie…" he said before running away, leaving her alone in the Gym, motionless.
She was almost sure of what he was going to do but she couldn't move… It was like she was watching everything in a film: she could see but not participate… Another surreal dream that was going to take place in her life… Her brother was going to take is life… He was going to kill himself…
"NO, RUDY!!!!!!!" Marie yelled, finally able to regain the control of her body and running after him.
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"I hated you for so long Misty… When I was too young to realize that it wasn't your fault what was happening with Rudy… When I only saw you as the source of his despair… And only now that I saw that you too feel pain and loneliness, I can say that I don't hate you anymore… Again Misty, I'm sorry…" Mari thought sadly.
"Misty…" she said out loud, making Misty back away slowly, wiping her tears.
"I'm sorry, I got a bit carried away…" Misty quickly apologized.
"It's not that Misty… I have to tell you something really important and ask for your help…" Marie started seriously, using all her courage to keep talking.
Misty felt panic filling her heart, but remained quiet and only nodded. It was time to hear and stop avoiding it… If she just ignored the fear Marie's words brought she would be fine…
"Misty, when you left us ten years ago you decided to be with Ash instead of being with Rudy… Well… He…" she took a deep breath and continued "He is still in love with you… In fact, he never forgot you and was never able to accept that you choose Ash over him…"
Misty remained silent, squeezing her hands nervously, amazed with everything she was hearing, but still felt that the worse was yet to come…
"What I'm trying to say is…" Marie said, switching her gaze from her hands to Misty's eyes "He's in depression and he already tried to kill himself three times… I don't know what to do…"
The two girls were silent for a few moments. Misty was absolutely taken aback, feeling guilty and hollow. Why couldn't she just be happy?
Marie was trying to avoid the tears but found that impossible… She looked at Misty again and completely hated herself for doing that, but she had to…
"Misty…" she started with a fragile voice "I need your help… I'm afraid for Ruby and although I love him dearly, I can't seem to be able to help him, so I'm asking you: would you go out with him? Please, give him something to live for…"
Now it was Misty's choice: to make someone happy and probably ruin her own happiness or let Rudy die in his own desolation…
And in the table, the hot chocolate was long forgotten…
Finally!
Sorry if it's too long!
I hope you like it and review!
Don't worry about my other stories, I'm working on them and I'll update as soon as possible!
Cosmik