CHAPTER 43

Later on that night, freezing rain had poured from the dark sky with also the sound of distant thunder.

Tikal was over at Tonya's house in the guest room where she had usually slept in. She circled around the room gathering some clothes and other accessories and was placing them in a travel bag on the bed. She immediately stopped what she was doing when she heard a small fake cough coming from the doorway of the room. She turned and saw Tonya standing there looking like she had a lot on her mind. "Oh hey, Ton. I didn't see you there."

Tonya saw Tikal take her attention away from her and continued to pack her bag. Judging by the way she looked, she figured that she was still pretty upset with her. "Um, yeah. Espio said you were over getting the rest of your stuff."

The echidna made a small nod, "Yup just making sure I have everything."

Tonya sighed heavily before she decided to say what was exactly on her mind. "Tikal, can we talk for a moment?"

She made a small nod and sat down on the bed. She watched as Tonya walked over to her and sat down beside her. "What's up?"

Tonya focused her attention to her, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I said…about you and Nails."

Tikal was in shock that Tonya had suddenly started to apologize.

"When you said you were going to move in with Nails, I just instantly thought that everything was moving too fast. You fell in love with her so quickly and I just feared for you." She reached out and placed her hand on top of hers. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

Tikal made a small smile. "Tonya, have you ever heard of love at first sight?"

She made a small nod.

"Well that's kind of how I felt when I first met Nails. I first looked at her and I could picture myself spending a good portion of my life being with her."

"And I'm so happy for you, sweetie. Someone like you really does deserve the absolute best." She made an uneasy smile, "When you told me you were moving in with her, I guess I was just surprised. Surprised that you finally found someone that will love and take care of you." She made a small laugh, "I guess I was just kind of babying you, but look at you now."

The smile on her face had widened.

"You're not a baby anymore."

She gave her a teasing smile, "Duh!"

"I'm sorry, Tikal. Can you forgive me for acting like such a jerk?"

She leaned over to her and pulled her into a hug, "Of course."

Tonya had returned the hug with a warm smile on her face. "Thanks, Tikal."

Tikal pulled away from her and held her hands. "Now just because I'm moving in with Nails, it doesn't mean I won't stop by from time to time to bug you."

She made a small giggle, "Sweetie, you can come bug me anytime."

The two once again pulled each other into a happy embrace.

Meanwhile, Shadow sat on his bed and stared out the window watching the rain pour from the sky and bright lightning lighting up the sky before hearing loud thunder afterwards. He sat there deep in thought as he recalled everything that had happened earlier that day.

Rouge stepped out of the bathroom and came into the bedroom with a roll of gauze in her hand. She was still wearing her work uniform while Shadow wore nothing but his black jeans. She sat beside him on the bed and noticed how sad and deep in thought he was. She bit her lip as she started to ask a seemingly ridiculous question. "…Does it still hurt?"

He placed his finger gently on the top of the bloody gauze that was wrapped around his head. "…Like hell."

She sighed and started to remove the gauze that was already around his head. "I just don't understand…what could've possessed that boy to throw a rock at you?"

His eyes wandered down to the floor and decided that this would be the best time to tell Rouge what was really going on between him and Charmy. "…Because he…hates me…"

Her eyes widened in disbelief and couldn't help but to make a small and hysterical laugh. "…Hates you? Charmy? Charmy Bee?"

He remained silent and felt Rouge taking off the bloody gauze that was around his head.

"That's impossible. Charmy had always been the one to look up to you. He loves and admires you. Kinda like…another father figure." She began to wrap the fresh gauze around his head.

"Heh, that's a joke."

She paused and then continued to bandaged him while she listened to him.

"According to him, I'm the one who killed his father."

"…Vector?"

He made a small nod.

"Oh my God…he's…he's blaming you for what happened to Vector?"

After when she had finished bandaging his head, he looked down to the floor in sadness. "He said it was my fault for what happened that day. Because of me, Vector is dead."

She noticed him getting more and more upset so she began to rub his back in comfort. "Sweetie, everyone knows that what happened that day was out of your control."

He looked up at her in frustration, "But it wasn't out of my control! He's right! I could've stopped it! I had the power to, but I didn't!"

"Shadow, stop it. You tried to do the right thing on behalf of Vector. And you shouldn't beat yourself up over it." She took her hands and made him face her. "Listen to me. Charmy is just…upset and angry. You know deep down that Charmy still loves you. He's just going through a tough time. What he's doing is just a cry for help."

"But he made it obvious he doesn't want me part of his life."

"Don't be ridiculous. He still loves you, Shadow. He needs you. Now more than ever."

"…He won't listen to me. If he gets caught by the police, there's nothing I can do. My hands are tied. I don't know what to do."

She gave him a comforting smile, "You will and when you do, you'll bring him home safe with us."

He made a small nod and slowly leaned close to her until his lips met her forehead.

After he took his lips from her forehead, she gently pressed her lips against his. She caressed her hands across his bare chest slowly.

He could tell that she had wanted him to deepen their kiss. He placed his hands on her waist while their tongues fought with each other inside their mouths.

She wrapped her arms around his neck until his body was set on top of hers. She let out a small moan when she felt his hands roughly grabbing her butt.

When he heard her moan, he quickly realized what was happening between the two. They were to make love right then and there on the bed. He slowly took his lips from hers and made a small chuckle. "Uh sorry. This no sex thing is hard."

She sighed heavily and rested her head down onto the bed with a sly look. "And just when we were getting to the good part. You're a tease."

"And you wonder why I'm sleeping on the sofa." He pressed his lips against hers one final time before taking his body off of hers.

She then saw him standing from the bed and walking over to the window. It didn't surprise her how quickly his moods had changed. Between work, the situation with Charmy, and what was going on between them two, she knew he was going through a lot of stress. She knew whenever he became overstressed, he always turned to her for sexual release. "You gonna be okay?"

He stared outside and watched the sharp lightning light up the night sky. Even when Charmy had said he hated him, he knew deep down that he didn't really mean that. He still cared about him deep down and Shadow wanted to know how he could help him. "…Wherever Charmy is, I just hope he's warm and safe."

In The Next Chapter…

Ker: He hit you with a rock?

Shadow: I don't know what to do…

Margaret: We have to keep trying!

Charmy: I told you to stay away from me!

Shadow: You're going to listen to me like it or not!

Margaret: Shadow!