Chapter Seven
Every muscle in her body froze as the Charmeleon leapt off of the bed, claws aimed right towards her. Mairin's mind screamed at her to run, but her body refused to move an inch. It took for the dark energy of a Shadow Claw to surround the Charmeleon's talons to snap her out of the paralyzing fear, and she scrambled back as the fire type bore down on her.
Claws sank into the carpet of the doorway, right where she had been moments before. She staggered out into the hallway, bumping against the wall as the Charmeleon whipped his angry silver-eyed gaze at her. He was a frightening creature, with harsh red scales and a pale under belly. Several spikes jutted out of his back, and he bared his fangs at her. She briefly noticed a black strip of leather around his neck, a blue orb on the end.
Her gaze was swiftly pulled to his face, however. Flames danced to life across his teeth as he formed a Fire Fang, lowering himself to the ground as he prepared to spring at her again again, pure outrage in his gaze.
"Char!" The lizard snarled.
Mairin's body was weak, both with exhaustion and from the lack of food. She couldn't bring herself to run, staggering to the side as the Charmeleon scrambled after her. He sprung once more, and Mairin silently thanked Zygarde that the fire type had just woken up. His movements were much slower than what she was sure he could manage if fully awake.
He pressed off of the wall as she stumbled back, landing in the middle of the hallway without crashing, despite his missed pounce. He snapped his jaws in frustration, smoke curling up as the Fire Fang was smothered out. His tail lashed, eyes almost glowing as he glared at her. She stumbled backwards down the hallway, starting to shake.
"I'm s-sorry I woke you up," Mairin whispered, not sure why else this Pokemon would be so upset. His eyes narrowed, a growl escaping his throat, claws curling. His scales stiffened, lowering himself into a charging position, front claws digging into the floor.
Mairin's world became the Charmeleon, unaware of her surroundings as he bared his fangs. Her fear was strong– but the familiarity of what she was seeing was even stronger. Her mind was screaming danger– screaming to run– but she couldn't move. A gurgling snarl poured from the Charmeleon as he charged forward, head lowered as he rushed right at her.
He was a red blur, reaching her in moments. A half gasp escaped her, but he leapt up and rammed his thick head right into her chest. She let out a grunt of pain as she was knocked to the ground, the Charmeleon landing right on top of her. Her chest ached from where he had slammed into her, and she let out a whimper as he slammed his claws down onto her arms, pinning her to the ground.
The only light came from the firelight on his tail, which lit him as an eerie silhouette. He snarled, eyes gleaming triumphantly. Spit dripped from his mouth, and Mairin weakly struggled under the Charmeleon. He bared his fangs, and she watched as embers sprang to life in his mouth. His jaws unhinged, the Fire Fang flaring up as he prepared to strike.
"Alex! Return!" A voice snarled, pure anger echoing in the voice just as the bright light of a return beam filled the hall. The red beam of a Pokeball engulfed the Charmeleon, sucking him inside the sphere before he could lash out at Mairin. The pressure on her vanished as the Pokemon was forced back into the Pokeball.
Mairin was left lying alone on the floor of the hallway, heart thumping with fear between the remaining silence.
The hallway became dark without the firelight, but she still could make out a figure standing at the other end of the hallway. He was breathing heavily, his shadowy shape tensed with anger. He glared down at the Pokeball in hand, a slight tremble in his figure. Mairin just stared, her eyes slowly trying to adjust to the sudden darkness. He walked towards her, and it didn't take Mairin long to recognize the towering form of Alain.
"Mairin," his tone was urgent. "Are you hurt? Alex didn't land an attack on you– did he?"
"I- I d-don't know," Mairin whispered, voice higher than normal. "He was s-so fast–"
Alain was at her side in moments, and a yelp escaped her as a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders and slipped under her knees. Alain scooped her up, cradling her close to his chest. She was still too frightened from the attack to move, and the next she knew Alain was carrying her down the hallway. She whimpered as he walked into his room, setting her gently on the bed.
He turned away from her, flipping the light on as she curled up. She squeezed her eyes shut at the sudden brightness, listening to the footsteps as Alain approached the bed. The mattress shifted as he sat, and his hands grabbed hers.
Alain let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Xerneas, oh thank Xerneas..."
Mairin's eyes opened to Alain's blue eyes scanning her form. There seemed to be no injuries on her from the Charmeleon's attack– though her wrists hurt slightly from his claws, and her chest was aching from him headbutting her.
"I am so sorry, Mairin!" Alain cried, his face twisted with distress. "I thought it'd be fine if I let him out tonight and–!" Alain closed his eyes. "How could I have been so stupid... why did I do that... Alex didn't hurt you, did he?!"
Mairin let out a small whimper, and Alain suddenly let go of her. She pressed her hands to her chest, right where she was sure to be bruised, but Alain seemed to take her actions as one of discomfort. He bit his lip, but slid off of the bed. Silence filled the room, and Mairin slowly willed herself to look at him. He looked just like he did when she had first woken up with her amnesia– shirtless with basketball shorts– and she looked away.
"Wait– what are you doing up at this time?" Alain asked.
Mairin still couldn't look at him, and she shifted her gaze down to her feet. "I was h-hungry... I was just grabbing food and... and..." she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry I woke you up! I didn't mean to!"
Alain's gaze shifted to the side for the moment. He opened his mouth to reply, but closed it after a moment of thought. He hesitated, before looking at her once more, and she dared to meet his eyes.
"Please don't apologize, you didn't do anything," his fists curled. "I was the one that let Alex out unsupervised... But eating– that's good, that means you're getting your appetite back," Alain said slowly, he seemed desperate for the topic to change. "What did you eat?"
"...Milk and Tamato berries..." Mairin whispered. Her heart was still thumping from the attack, but her panic was starting to die down with the threat now gone. She was fine... she was fine...
Alain let out a surprised snort. "Tamato berries? You hate spicy food!"
Mairin flushed. "It was the only thing that sounded good!"
Alain smiled slightly, leaning up against the wall, before a frown crossed his face. "...Was there something you needed?"
"Huh?"
"You opened the door, right...? Was there something you needed from here?" Alain asked, jerking his head around the room. "I do have several of your things in here still."
Mairin went redder, hands digging into the bed. "I... I didn't mean to go into your room..." she whispered. "It... it was an accident..."
"An accident?" Alain repeated.
She wrapped her arms around herself. "I wasn't thinking... I just opened the door without paying attention to where I was," she gritted her teeth. "Apparently I can't even remember how to walk down the hallway now."
Alain's lips twisted. "Don't blame yourself, Mairin, please..." he hesitated. "Um... blame the milk."
A half laugh escaped her throat. "The milk?"
Alain cracked a grin. "Yep. If you hadn't gone down for a midnight snack this wouldn't have happened– it's the milk's fault."
Mairin couldn't hold back a laugh, and Alain's smile widened as her laugh echoed through the room. She wiped away a few tears that she hadn't even noticed had formed when the Charmeleon had leapt at her. She was shivering on the bed, but she flashed a small smile at Alain again.
However her smile faded as she noticed something hanging around Alain's neck.
It was a black strip of leather, just like what had been around the Charmeleon's neck. Instead of a blue orb at the end though, there was a rainbow one– a key stone. However that wasn't what made Mairin pause, but rather the two silvery objects that had been stringed onto the leather. She stared at the two wedding rings, one of them being the one she had left on the dining room table two days before. She bit her lip, eyes flickering down to Alain's hand as she realized that he was no longer wearing his ring either– instead he had placed them on his leather necklace.
And it fell so the rings were resting right over his heart.
"...Mairin? Are you alright?" Alain asked.
She realized more tears had entered her eyes. "I should be getting back to bed," Mairin whispered, swiftly inching to the edge of the bed. "G-goodnight."
"Wait!" Alain cried, taking a step towards her, and she froze up. "D-don't leave–"
Mairin tensed– she didn't want this! She didn't want the Alain that was looking for his wife! She wanted her friend, the boy that had just made her laugh. She knew that in his mind they shouldn't be apart right now, and she hated that fact.
"I'm tired, Alain," she whispered.y.
"I... I promised I'd explain what happened that night," Alain said, and she paused. "The night of the fight... the last thing you remember. I need to explain to you why, you deserve to know why I treated you that way..."
Mairin bit her lip– of course he'd offer her the information she wanted to know so desperately at the moment she wanted to get away. She didn't want to stay, she didn't want to see the rings or to have Alain look at her sadly. She didn't want to see the pain she caused him by not remembering, and she didn't want to see someone looking at her as if they were more.
But she wanted to know what happened, she wanted to understand what had made the Alain of her memories grow cold, what had pushed him to that point.
"I'll listen..." Mairin said. "...But only if you put on a shirt."
He gave a small laugh. "That I can manage."
Alain made his way across the room, and Mairin started tracing the twisting white marks on her arms without much thought, not sure of what to do. Alain had opened the closet, combing the shelfs for a t-shirt. Mairin's half of the closet was mostly empty, her clothes having been moved to her current room.
A moment later Alain was slipping on a t-shirt over his bare chest, and to Mairin's relief the leather necklace– and the rings– were tucked under the shirt. Alain made his way over to the desk, pulling out the chair and sat down. Alain laced his fingers together, staring down at the floor.
"Um... that Charmeleon," Mairin said quietly, shivering as she remembered his rage-filled eyes. "Is he Charizard's kid? I remember that Charizard was expecting an egg before my memories, er... vanished."
Alain stiffened. "...Yes. Alex is that same egg," Alain said hollowly. "...I'm sorry he tried to attack you."
"Why did he do that?" Mairin asked in a whisper.
Alain gritted his teeth. "Alex... he's distrustful. There's only a handful of people he remotely likes. That's all– it was nothing personal."
His last words were too rushed– and he refused to look at her as he spoke them. It was just like at the doctor's office, Mairin knew that Alain wasn't telling her everything, and she gritted her teeth.
She thought of the Charmeleon though, he had seemed so angry for no reason... Perhaps he just wasn't one for interaction? He had full on attacked her for merely walking into the same room as him...
Mairin suddenly recoiled, as if in pain. Her hands went to her side, clutching her right side. It wasn't hurting... but yet her mind was telling her that it hurt. Alain tensed, looking as if he wanted to rush to her side, and Mairin gritted her teeth as she forced herself to pull her hands away.
She hesitated, glancing towards Alain for a moment, but she looked down at her side even though she knew it was fine. She hesitated again, but pulled her shirt up part way to look at her side. She peered down, tensing as she discovered more unfamiliar marks on her. But unlike the strange white ones on her arms, Mairin knew what these scars were of– fang marks.
She quickly covered up the scars, heart thumping. Her stomach twisted slightly, and she didn't even want to know how bad the injuries had been if they had left a scar. She didn't have to question that the bite marks had been from the Charmeleon though– they tingled every time she thought of the Charmeleon. She shivered slightly, realizing that even though she had no memory of the event her body clearly remembered.
"...He's attacked me before."
Alain closed his eyes. "Yes."
"Why?" Mairin asked– she knew there was more. Just like at the doctor's office, there was more going on, and yet Alain wasn't telling her.
He hesitated, eyes darting around the room. Alain gulped slightly, before holding out his arms. Mairin leaned forward, and could make out several slashes– all in sets of three. They curled around his arms in a haphazard manner, as if the slashes had been out of desperation.
"...He's attacked me too," Alain said. "Alex has been through a lot. It's nothing personal."
The fact that he said the phrase again was all Mairin needed to know that it was personal. 'Alex' had been upset the moment he had seen her, and had attacked without even second thought. Mairin turned away, hating how she had so many questions and no answers. She hated all the scars she was seeing– on her and on those she cared about– and she didn't know how they came to be.
"I don't like it when you lie to me, Alain," Mairin whispered– she didn't ask for the truth though, because she had a feeling that she wasn't going to get any answers. "I hope you don't plan on doing that when you explain what happened a few nights– um– I mean the fight," she looked him in the eye. "I want the truth Alain– you have no idea how much you hurt me that night," she took in a struggling breath. "It may have just been words, but they hurt."
He closed his eyes as he gathered his thoughts, and Mairin shivered. She was finally going to get answers to one of her many questions.
"...We didn't talk for a week after that fight."
"A whole week?" Mairin asked, startled at this news– she clearly remembered that she had planned on talking to Alain the next day.
A pair of blue eyes looked up at her– he wasn't lying. A week... that fight had resulted in a week of them not speaking... they hadn't done something like that in years.
"I told you that I wanted to be alone then– and that's what I truly wanted. I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth, but I still took advantage of the loneliness I had craved," Alain's eyes narrowed. "I wanted those words to hurt, Mairin– those words were meant to sting– but none of them were true."
"Why, then?"
"...I just didn't want to be the only one hurting..." Alain whispered, and he closed his eyes. "The letter... that letter, Mairin, was sent to inform me that my father had passed away."
Her eyes widened slightly– this was the first time Alain had ever spoken of his father, at least in her current memory. He rarely spoke of his childhood, and when he did it was always of his mother. She had always assumed that his father was long out of the picture...
"I'm sorry," Mairin whispered, that was too young to lose a parent. Even now would be too young–
"Don't," Alain's voice was a low growl. "...Please, just don't. He was dead to me long before I got that letter– he deserved nothing less," Alain's hands curled into fists. "He died of liver failure, so his last few weeks weren't even in prison where he belonged."
"Prison...?"
Alain's eyes met hers, his blue eyes colder than she had ever seen. "...My father was imprisoned when I was eight– for child abuse and neglect."
A wave of cold washed over Mairin– and her eyes widened in horror. Alain's expression was all of confirmation she needed, and her hand went up to cover her mouth. Her stomach tightened, and Alain swiftly looked away– silently begging her not to ask the questions forming in her mind. Tears lined her eyes, her vision blurring as she sat there, and Alain didn't say another word. His hands dug into his arms, eyes pressed shut.
"Alain..." she said softly, voice on the verge of breaking.
She closed her eyes, and it felt like a heavy weight had been placed on her shoulders. Hot tears threatened to spill over, and a sickening feeling washed over her. Not the same feeling that her sick body had been throwing at her the last two days, but a horrible realization as she took in what Alain had just told her.
"...I had no right to say those things to you that night," Alain spoke in a raspy tone. "But that day I was reminded of times I'd rather forget... and you approached me at a moment where I would have turned on anyone," he took in a deep breath. "This does not excuse my words to you then, but Mairin, I was hurting so much that day..." his voice cracked slightly. "I've asked you this before, but Mairin, please forgive me for what I said to you then... please..."
What had he got through? How bad had it been?
Mairin was silently crying, tears running down her face. "N-no..." she whispered. "I should be apologizing," the tears came harder. "You were going though s-so much I couldn't even give you a moment alone..." before Mairin knew what was happening she was sobbing. "I apologized to you before, right? Please tell me that I did, please tell me that I apologized for doing that to you, please!"
The next thing she knew a pair of warm arms were around her. "You did..." Alain whispered. "You did, Mairin... you didn't need to, but you did..."
His voice was a whisper in her ear, his arms a safe embrace. For once Mairin didn't pull away at his touch, letting Alain hold her. She wasn't sure if it was so she could have comfort or if the action was comforting him, but she sat there in silence as he rocked her.
She didn't know how long they sat there, but eventually Alain pulled his arms away, turning away from her.
"You should get to bed," Alain said, tone empty.
Mairin watched him, and slowly pushed herself to her feet. "Okay..."
"Goodnight, Mairin," Alain said simply.
She carefully made her way towards the door. "Goodnight Alain."
He didn't say another word, and she slowly made her way back to her room, thoughts and emotions churning– but for once her stomach was still.
Mairin was sick the next morning, and the day after that.
And then the day after that.
"I can't do this..." Mairin groaned, clutching her stomach as she leaned up against the wall of the bathroom. She had been in here since breakfast, and it seemed her stomach finally had nothing left to heave up. Her mouth was lined with a foul taste, but she didn't want to move, even though the sink was just a few feet away.
It had now been five days since she had woken up without her memories– and nothing had changed. She woke up every morning feeling horrid, and her nausea would then come and go throughout the day.
Alain hadn't spoken to her about their midnight conversation a few nights before– and she had no idea how to bring it up, or if she even should. All she knew was that she felt horrible for how she had treated him the night of the fight, the mere thought of what he could have gone through made her feel even sicker. It now took her ages to fall asleep, no matter how tired she was, and once she did she was always plagued by nightmares.
Her dreams had been the same for the last few nights now– flying through the night sky without a care, only to then be attacked by the green creature, and awoken moment before the Hyper Beam hit her.
And occasionally a certain Charmeleon would greet her in her nightmares– a Fire Fang clamping down on her side.
"Oh no..." Mairin mouthed as her stomach twisted, and she forced herself to her feet as the horrid feeling washed over her. She leaned over the toilet, throwing up for what felt like the hundredth time.
She stumbled towards the sink, desperate to wash away the taste.
Knock knock.
"H-huh?" Mairin croaked, looking towards the door.
"It's Sophie," a concerned voice called, slightly muffled by the door. "Can I come in?"
Mairin made a grunting noise, stumbling towards the door and unlocking it. The bathroom door swung open, and there was Sophie, a wicker basket in hand. She had a soft smile on her face, and she sat the basket onto the counter. She stepped into the bathroom, and Mairin turned away, embarrassed.
"I'm sorry..." Mairin whispered.
"For what?" Sophie asked, running a soothing hand down her back. "You've done nothing wrong, dear."
"Because of me everyone's life is getting disrupted..." Mairin muttered miserably, slowly relaxing as Sophie continued rubbing her back. Her stomach was still churning, but it was calmer than before.
"This isn't your fault," Sophie said gently. "If we were sick you'd do the same for us," her green eyes sparkled with concern. "Now, I brought up your things from your room," she nodded towards the basket. "In case there was something you needed. You take your time in here, and I'll have Augustine get some more broth ready, to see if you can eat that."
Mairin made a retching sound as food was mentioned, and she silently cursed at herself.
Sophie sighed.
"Actually, we'll worry about that later," Sophie said, her hands moving to Mairin's shoulders. "Perhaps you should lay down, and drink a lot of water..." she shook her head. "This doesn't seem to be a common bug, perhaps we should call a doctor..."
"I have an appointment tomorrow..." Mairin whispered, voice slightly slurred. It would be their third trip to see Doctor Tambert, however their last one had basically only been to set up an appointment for a brain scan.
"That's for your amnesia," Sophie said. "But I don't know if you should be going in for a scan when you're like this..."
Mairin closed her eyes– this nausea kept coming and going throughout the day. At times she felt just fine, but then minutes later she'd be barely able to stand.
"I..." Mairin began, but she didn't know what to say.
Sophie patted her shoulder. "I'll go talk to Alain about this, I think we should get you into a regular doctor to see if there's something we can do. This isn't healthy for you," she stood up, heading to the door. "As soon as you feel like you can make it down the hallway go to your room, alright? Just get some rest."
Mairin nodded weakly, and Sophie shut the door behind her.
The red head let out a small moan, weakly turning her head towards the toiletry basket Sophie had brought. Even after several days she still wasn't quite used to the fact that it was hers, everything in it just felt unfamiliar– and she couldn't even bring herself to look at everything in it. Anytime she needed something she'd just briefly search for it and grab it.
Mairin sat down on the counter, head starting to feel a bit more clear as she pulled the basket towards her. She pulled off the lid, peering in as she searched for her toothbrush, wanting to get this sick taste out of her mouth. She frowned as she didn't see it right on top, where it should have been, and she wondered if things had gotten shuffled when Sophie had brought the basket to her. She sighed, but began to dig through the less than organized basket.
Perhaps that was one sign that this was truly hers, everything was just thrown in here.
Mairin set things on the counter, sighing again as she tried to find the green toothbrush. This was more effort than the energy she had... perhaps she should just get a drink of water and go lay down... but then she'd have to walk all the way to her room...
Her stomach churned weakly, but at last Mairin found her toothbrush and toothpaste. She let out a small sigh, setting them down, then started to throw everything else back into the basket. Perhaps she should go through this and sort it out, that'd give her something to do...
She looked down at a package of nail polish remover, unopened, of course– she never wore nail polish. Why had she bought it? Perhaps she hadn't, maybe it had been a gift or something? Just another tiny detail of her life she didn't know. She tossed it into the basket with a sigh, and picked up a small box on the counter, glancing at it. She froze up as she saw what it was.
Pregnancy tests.
Mairin paled as she stared down at the box, stiffening up as she gazed at something she never thought that she would have. She held it in her hands for a moment, feeling as if she might throw up again. She didn't know what to do, or how to even react, so she just stared down at it in pure shock.
She was married, this wasn't something too far fetched for her to have...
She pushed away the forming thoughts in her mind, forcefully shoving the one thing she had been refusing to acknowledge to the very depths of her mind. Yes she knew that they were married, but... but...
She wasn't even ready to even think about that.
She shoved the pregnancy tests into the basket, ready to move on from the topic in her mind. This wasn't something she needed to linger on, she was struggling enough being around Alain, she didn't need to be lingering on this. She was fine, just shove it into the basket and pretend that it wasn't hers, she was fine...
However Mairin paused, a thought crossing her mind. What if... what if she was...
"No!" Mairin cried aloud– there was no way she was! She wasn't ready for such things, there was no way that...
But she had been so sick lately... throwing up, but no fever or cough to suggest that she was ill. Mairin gulped, reaching back into the basket, pulling out the pregnancy tests once more. Her hands were shaking as she looked down at it. She was married... no matter what she remembered, this wasn't out of the question...
She couldn't linger in sheer denial when this was a possibility.
Hot tears poured down her face as she found herself opening the package, disbelieving to what she was doing.
Mairin didn't need to wait long for her answer.
She had looked over it once, twice– three times. Just to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. Just to make sure that what she was seeing was real. But it was real, the results of the test plain for all to see:
Positive.