Chapter 13: Conflict

The next day seemed to be normal, as if Bryce had no idea Violet was leaving. She spent the entire day with him, still concerned about him, but Bryce behaved as if it was just another day. It wasn't until that night she knew that something was wrong…

Violet woke to a slight crunching sound. She went to check on Bryce. He wasn't in his room. In fact, he wasn't even in the house. After using her aura to find him, Violet quietly went out the back door and immediately noticed a ladder leading to the roof.

Leaning against the chimney, Bryce simply let his mind drift, looking at the snowy landscape. He heard Violet climbing the ladder, but he wanted to be alone. He walked to the edge of the roof and jumped off, landing on the small blanket of snow.

Once Violet got to the top of the ladder, she looked around for Bryce, but obviously didn't find him. She saw a shadow walking up the street. Violet carefully followed the figure, not wanting to be caught by anyone who might be out at this hour.

Bryce felt weaker and weaker with each step he took. His head felt more like a weight. After walking for a while, he went down the back alley, stopping at Shadow's grave. There was a light layer of snow on the top of the stone.

*What am I supposed to do?* Bryce thought. *I can't just change what she thinks about me in the last few days.*

*Why not? Try before it's too late. You may not get another chance, and she deserves to know.* His heart pointed out.

*Yeah, but I can't change her entire life. It's not mine.*

*But your own life is. You know she's your friend.*

*I've already done too much, especially at Christmas.*

*When you kissed her? She kissed back.*

*It was just a tradition.*

*Maybe to her, but not to you.*

*How can I be sure this is right?* His mind asked.

*Violet is all you care about. You've always cared about her…even more than yourself.*

*…And that's why I'm going to…let her go. I can't protect her forever.*

Violet was watching Bryce, but she was too far away to read his thoughts. He went through the back door, into the house, and into his room. Following quietly, Violet waited until the coast was clear before entering. She felt awful for spying on him, but something hadn't felt the same ever since the night before. Just before she fell asleep, Violet thought she heard a faint sob, but she dismissed it.

The next day, she couldn't find Bryce anywhere. "I hope he's okay, wherever he is…" she said aloud.

Several miles away…

Bryce leaned on the edge of a bridge, looking out at the lake as he let his thoughts sift in his head.

*What do I do? Do I go and talk to her or do I wait and let her leave without seeing me?*

While Bryce knew she would be hurt if he waited until Violet was gone, but… what if the encounter hurt her more? After all, the more they tried to hold on to each other, the worse it would be when they had to let go. However, Violet had trusted Bryce, cared about him, and given him something beloved and invaluable... she was his one true friend. Would he regret the repercussion of not seeing her?

As he watched the fish swim around, Bryce sighed. *Why does this have to be so hard? More importantly, why is it so hard?*

Why? Simple. Both cared about the other, and that care was what he needed in his life. However, there was something else gnawing at his mind. Suddenly, his mind went white…

As the light dimmed, Bryce noticed he was back at his house. Violet was looking around for a note, a sign…any explanation as to why she hadn't seen Bryce all day. Her search became more frantic and after a while, she sat down.

"Bryce…where are you?" she whispered softly, tears falling down her face.

Bryce came back to his senses, gripping the side of the railing between him and the lake. Tears were falling down his face as well. The moment he just witnessed…was it a daydream? It had felt so real…

This entire day was making him go insane. Mentally, Bryce decided to think about something else for a while, but the more he tried to think of something else, the more Violet reappeared in his head.

*Even mentally, I can't get away from her.* He thought.

Flashbacks began appearing in his head, of all the times they spent together and how they made him feel human, whole, complete. With each flash of a memory, it felt like small bolts of electricity were hitting his heart.

*Why, after all these years of closing my heart, does something like this break me?* Bryce wondered. That, too, was obvious. Violet wasn't like others, and not because she was a Pokémon. She truly cared about him, and the happiness she brought to him was… wonderful. He thought again to Violet searching for him and crying after she couldn't locate him.

"I'm going to see her." He said aloud, almost as if to reassure himself. After the internal struggle, his heart had won. Bryce didn't know what he felt, but his heart would guide him. As he walked away from the bridge, the sun began to set. Realizing that he didn't have much time, Bryce ran back to his home, hoping it wasn't too late.

Bryce didn't show up for the entire day. At first, Violet thought he went to get something, but after noon, she began to worry. Soon she looked around for a trace of him. Violet checked everywhere she felt was safe enough to reach. With each passing minute she began to feel more upset at Bryce.

*This is the last day we would have had together, and he just throws it away? I know he's sad that I'm leaving, but our friendship is stronger than that…right?*

She shook her head. "No, Bryce would never betray me."

As time went on, however, Violet began to doubt if Bryce would show up at all. After waiting until almost midnight, she went into her room and lay down and sobbed. They had shared so much time together, but why would he leave her? Why now, when she needed him the most? She tried to push him out of her mind, but the more Violet tried, the more he would appear. It was impossible to actually fall asleep that night. Laying on her side, Violet silently cried for what felt like hours.

Around midnight, Bryce reached his house and opened the door. He quietly went to Violet's room and opened the door. Noticing Violet on her side, facing away from him, his heart sank. He was too late. Bryce slowly walked towards her sleeping form. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he took her paw in his hand and stroked it with his thumb.

"Violet…" He said softly, shutting his eyes and looking away from her. "…I'm so sorry. You probably think I'm the worst person in the world right now. I left you because…I care about you."

Leaning towards her, Bryce kissed her softly on the cheek. He rose from the bed and walked outside to the porch.

Violet felt even more upset. *Just because he cared?* Was he saying it to her or to himself, to justify what he'd done? Bryce had broken her heart. All she wanted to do was spend the day with him, but instead he left her alone. Now she knew how he felt after all those years, and why he didn't want to feel that way. Didn't he realize running away from your problems doesn't solve them?

*I have to talk to him.* Violet thought, lifting the covers off herself and heading outside.

Author's Notes: Will Bryce make a huge mistake?