Dependance

by taters4u

Now that Sonic has escaped Amy's psychotic house of horrors, will he be able to overcome his demons and addictions and return to his family and friends? Or will his addiction become the one enemy he can't beat?

30. Chapter 30: Alone Again

Chapter 30

Alone Again- Rated T

Hope you enjoy it.

The Next Day

"Sonic..." She said softly as she called out to him and started to cry. That was how most of her night had went. She hadn't managed much sleep, only nodding off for a few minutes at a time. When she did sleep, it wasn't pleasant. She kept dreaming that he was standing next to her one minute, talking, then he'd suddenly disappear. Or that one where he was walking just ahead of her and when she called out to him and tried to catch up, he'd walk faster and faster until he faded away; she always chalked those kind's of dreams to movies or crackpot's until then. The last one she had was particularly odd. They were talking out back on that hill they always sat on and watched the sun go down, then suddenly, he slowly sunk into the ground. She tried to reach out to him, but when he was halfway in the ground, he looked up at her, smiled and sank completely; that was how she woke up.

Sally reached over and grabbed a tissue out of the box she now kept next to her bed, dabbed her eyes, balled it up and tossed on the floor; when she did that, she caught a glimpse of his shoes she had placed on the floor the night before which caused her to start crying all over again. Everywhere she looked in her bedroom, there was something to remind her of Sonic. She reached over and grabbed another one, then grabbed her phone. "I can't stay here." Sally said as she scrolled through her contacts until she came upon Cream's number and dialed.

"C'mon dammit." Tails muttered, trying to loosen a nut on a panel underneath the Tornado's underbelly. It was time for it's weekly maintenance and he was stuck on the one panel that always gave him the most trouble. "Why is it always you?" Tails waived a finger at the stubborn nut as if it would respond. Actually there was no need for him to be putting himself through this again. There wasn't really much underneath the plane that required much mechanical attention. He was doing it mostly to keep his mind occupied and keep himself from thinking about Sonic.

Tails maneuvered the roller bench he was laying on into a more favorable position and readied his wrench. "I'll get ya..." He trailed off as he readied himself to give it a strong turn. Just as he went to twist, his phone started ringing. "Jeez." He muttered, reaching up and pushing the button on the receiver he had in his ear. He hated using headset's or infrared receivers; he found them incredibly annoying, especially in public. People walking around talking into thin air to no one. But if they were used for something practical, like if your hands were busy at work or, in his case, repairing machinery, they were acceptable.

"Hello?" He said as he pushed the 'receive' button and went back to the task at hand. "Tails?"

"Sally?" He asked. He wasn't expecting to hear from her so soon after everything that happened; he figured maybe in a day or two. "Tails?" Sally said in the same fashion. She took the phone away from her ear for a second and saw she had dialed his number instead of Cream's. She kept their numbers next to each other in her phone's contact list instead of alphabetically so it would be easier to find in case she needed to talk to one of them and the other was busy.

"You ok?" Tails asked. "No." Sally replied, wiping her eyes again. "I was wondering if I could stay with you and Cream for a day or two?" Sally asked.

Tails rolled himself from under the Tornado and sat up. "Of course." He said without a second thought. "As long as you need. I can come and pick you up if you like." Tails said. "Yeah." She replied; she wasn't in any condition to drive at the moment anyway. "I really appreciate it." She said. "I'll be over in a few minutes." Tails said. They said their goodbyes and hung up.

Sally set her phone down and began to pack, which wasn't easy. As soon as she opened the closet door, she saw Sonic's clothes which took up half of the closet; hers the other. Even more reminders that he was no longer there to fuel her pain. She grabbed a few items as quickly as she could and shut the door. No thoughts other than Sonic went through her head as she finished packing, grabbing a few odds and ends and throwing them in a bag. When she was done, she grabbed her phone, her keys and went outside and waited on the porch for Tails.

Smooth jazz came from the speakers in his car as Tails pulled up to Sally's. He saw her sitting on the porch, clutching a bag in her hand and obviously crying. She heard his car and she looked up at him and gave a tearful smile, which faded as quickly as it had appeared. He nodded and returned it with one of his own, but already he was beginning to feel that familiar lump form in his throat. He had stayed up for a few nights in his lab, trying to keep his mind off of Sonic, but it didn't help much; some of his time was spent crying. Cream being Cream tried to console him but he told her he just wanted to be alone; as hard as it was to listen to him cry those hard sobs, she stayed upstairs with the TV turned up loud to try to drown him out although she had to fight herself to stay put.

Tails shut the engine off and got out. "Hey Sally." He said as he walked up to her. She nodded and when he got up to her, she dropped the bag and gave him a hug. "Whoa-" He yelped, surprised at the sudden action. She started crying again and he quickly regained his senses and returned the hug. "I miss him." She said quietly; a sense of reassurance washed over her.

"I know. I do to." He replied, hugging her right back. "C'mon." He said, gently pulling her toward his car. "Let's get out of here." He said. She nodded and they walked over to his car. She can't stay here alone. He thought as he helped her get into the car. He took her bag and set it in the backseat and went around to his side. Tails took one look at the house and he felt the lump in his throat get bigger. And neither can I.

"Thanks for picking me up." Sally said. "Don't worry bout it." Tails replied as he started the car and put it into gear and drove back to his house.

"Guess she beat me home." Tails said as they pulled up to his house. He shut the engine off and they got out. By now, Tails had managed to calm her down and she wasn't crying. They walked in and Cream came over to her and gave her a hug. "Hi Sally." She said. The show of support from both of them helped relieve much of the sadness she had been feeling since that morning. "Come in." Cream said and Sally followed them inside. Tails sat her bag down and gave Cream a small kiss. "Hey." He said and sat down on the far end of the couch. "I'm sorry to ask like this all of a sudden." Sally said. "Don't worry about it." Cream said. "You take as much time as you need. You want something to drink?"

"Tea if you have any." Sally said. Cream nodded and made her a quick cup and brought it to her. Lemon. She thought as the scent wafted to her nose. She sipped it and the warm liquid rushed over her tongue and down her throat. Cream and Tails tried to get her to open up, but she wasn't in much of a talking mood; no surprise to either of them. She opened up a little, but it was still too painful for her and Cream decided to drop it until she was ready. Cream offered Sally something to eat that night, but she said she wasn't that hungry. "If you guys don't mind, I'd just like to go to bed." Sally said. She was exhausted and at least here, she figured she had a chance to get some sleep.

Cream nodded and led her to a back bedroom. The room was fully furnished, except for a TV. "Thanks." Sally said and sat down on the bed, setting her belongings on the bed beside her. "You need anything else?" Cream asked. There was, but it was impossible for anyone to get it. "No. Thanks." Sally said. Cream nodded and shut the door.

Sally locked the door and changed into her flannel pajama bottoms and took the shirt of Sonic's that she had worn last night and put it back on. It still had his scent on it, which brought her some comfort. She smiled weakly as another memory of him came to her, causing the lump in her throat to swell again. Sally turned the light off and crawled into bed and finally drifted off to sleep.

"That was fun." Tails said as Knuckles and Shadow walked out the door. "Shadow can't play Charades to save his life though." He said as he sat back on the couch. *Clank* "Dang." Cream said as the sound of plate's clanking against each other came from inside the kitchen. "Need some help?" Tails called out. "I got it." She replied.

"That was fun." Sally said. It was the most fun she had had in the last few days. Staying with them had really helped her get through the first few days without him. Maybe this little get together would keep her from crying most of the night. "Yeah." Tails said, putting the notepad that he kept score on back in its place. "Who would've thought Knuckles was a natural at it?" Tails mused.

Sally yawned and when she did, her eyes caught a glimpse of a clock hanging on the wall. "It's ten already?" She said. *Yawn* "I think I'm gonna get to bed." She said. "Okay." Tails said as she got up. "See ya in the morning."

"Night." She said, heading toward the bedroom. "Night, Cream." Sally said as she went into the hallway. When Tails heard her door shut, he got up and went into the kitchen, where Cream was finishing up the last of the dishes. "Did you notice how happy she was tonight?" He asked Cream, who was drying her hands off on a towel. "Yeah. Better than she has been."

Tails grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and cracked it open. "I just hope she can get some sleep tonight." Cream nodded. Tails slapped the cap back on the bottle. Cream tossed the towel back on the counter. She hated hearing anyone crying and having to listen to it coming through the wall ate at her, knowing there was nothing she could do. Cream flicked the kitchen light off. "I know one thing."

"What's that?" Tails asked. "You're cleaning up tomorrow." She said as they walked back to their bedroom.

The next morning

The next morning, Sally came out of her room and made her way to the dining room, where Cream was already awake. "Morning." Sally said as she walked past Cream and into the kitchen, grabbing a banana and filling a cup with hot water for some tea. "Morning." Cream said as she got up and walked into the kitchen. She noticed something odd about Sally's behavior. The cloud of sadness that had been hanging over her the last few days seemed all but gone and Sally seemed happier, almost normal.

"You ok?" Cream asked. "Fine." Sally said, tossing the teabag into the trash and walking back to the table. "Where's Tails?"

"He's still asleep. Had another rough night last night." Cream said as she sat down across from Sally. "What about you? You get any sleep this time?"

Sally nodded. "Yeah. Finally." She said. Cream nodded. "I thought so." She said. There was a slight pause and Sally kept fidgeting in her chair, tapping her finger on the side of her cup. "You sure you're ok?" Cream asked. Sally nodded, then shook her head no. "Can I tell you something?" Sally asked Cream. "Of course." She replied. "You won't tell anyone?" Sally asked. "Of course not." Cream said. She wasn't sure why she always asked Cream that question. She trusted her completely and knew Cream would never tell anyone anything she was told, but it was just one of those things.

"You mind if we go...?" Sally trailed off, jerking her head slightly to the living room. "These chairs aren't exactly comfortable right now." Cream nodded and they both went into the living room and sat down on the couch. Cream knew it was a stall tactic on her part and a poor one since the chairs at the table were padded well.

"So what's the problem?" Cream asked. Sally took a deep breath; she was still hesitant to talk to Cream about personal issues even though she trusted her fully. "You won't make fun of me?" Sally asked. "Of course not." Cream said.

"Okay." She said. "I had a dream last night... about Sonic." Cream nodded. "What happened?"

Sally hesitated for a second again. "I remember I was sleeping." She said as she began to go into detail about her dream. "I remember waking up in the room back there," She said, quickly pointing to the room that Cream and Tails were letting her sleep in. "and when I did, the clock didn't say any time, it just had 88:88 like it was just plugged in." Cream nodded.

"Then I said 'I'm late' although it was night and I threw back to blanket, but it was some kind of cloth-like tinfoil." Sally's eyes squinted as she went into detail, like she couldn't believe what was coming out of her mouth. "So I opened the closet, which was the one in my room at the house and all my clothes were replaced with these pink dresses with white trim on the neck and bottom." She paused and shuddered for a second, then continued. "So I'm shifting them back and forth, looking for something different, but I can only find those dresses, then in the back, I see this little black dress hanging on a hangar so I take that and throw it on and shut the closet door and walked out."

Cream listened to every word. She enjoyed listening to other people talk about their dreams. It wasn't that she was looking for gossip or had some ulterior motive, she just enjoyed the story that came with them. "So I walk out of the room and I'm back in my house and as I walk into the living room..." Sally trailed off.

"What is it?" Cream asked. "I saw..." Sally started to say as tears began to well in her eyes. Cream had an idea where this was going. "I saw him." Sally said as a few tears graced her cheek. Cream reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "He looked so healthy." Sally said through quiet sobs. "He looked normal. Not like he did before."

"What happened?" Cream asked. Sally wiped her eyes and gathered herself, although a few sobs still came out. "I said, 'Why didn't you call? You know how I hate it when you take off like that without warning.' I said." Sally stopped to gather her thoughts. "He just walked over to me and said, 'I'm sorry but it was an emergency, I had to go.'

'Well, just don't let it happen again. Now come on, the others are waiting.' I said, then I started walking over to the door. I don't know where we had to be, but it was important whatever it was. 'I can't.' He said. 'I have to take off again.' I walked back over to him. 'What? They want you to go back?' I asked him and he nodded. 'Tell them this is more important.' He said. I shook my head and wrapped my arms around him. 'Well, just make it quick. I'll tell the others you're not coming; I know they're not going to like it though.'

'Don't worry, you'll all be fine.'

'When you gonna be back?' I asked him. He shook his head. 'I'm not sure; I've got to get going.' He said and walked over to the door. He put his hand on the knob, then pulled it away and started snapping his fingers like he was trying to remember something. 'Before I forget, can you go into the nightstand on my side of the bed?'

'Yeah. Why?' I said. But he didn't say why, he just walked over to me and held me close like he always did every time he was about to leave. 'Apologize to the others for me, huh?' Then he leaned in to give me a kiss and before we actually touched, I woke up." Sally said and leaned back.

Cream nodded. Wow. "I think that was his way of telling me he's ok, you know?" She paused again. "When I woke up, I felt a lot better. I didn't have that sadness or depression hanging over me like I've had the last few days, I felt good." Sally said, giving a little chuckle and paused again. "But I think I'm ready to go back home." She said.

"Are you sure?" Cream asked. Sally nodded. "Yeah. There's a lot I need to get done."

"You can stay here another day if you need to." Cream said. "Thanks." Sally said, "but there's things at the house I need to take care of." She did have a lot to do. She felt as if she had made it over the 'hump' that came with the death of someone close and now she had the task of dealing with that; his belongings, planning the funeral and what came with that. She knew it was going to be hard to go through, but she felt that her dream last night had been his way of telling her that it was going to be ok and she had finally reached some level of peace. "If that's what you want." Cream said. "But my offer always stands." Sally smiled; touched by the gesture she had been given. "You and Tails have done more than enough for me." She said, giving Cream a friendly hug. "Thank you." They broke apart. "When did you want to take off?" Cream asked. "As soon as possible. There's a lot I need to get done." Sally said.

An hour later, Sally was packed and her, Tails and Cream all piled into his car and they drove her back home. As they drove, the atmosphere in the car was lively, warm; a complete 180 from a few days ago. But as they got closer, Sally began to grow quiet. She knew that empty house was waiting for her, but she also knew she had to be strong. "You ok?" Cream asked. "Mm-hmm." Sally nodded. "I'll be fine."

As they pulled into the driveway behind Sally's car, she felt a chill run down her spine and she wanted to let go, but she was getting tired of crying on an almost constant basis. She sucked it up and put those feelings away until she was alone. Cream shut the engine off and they all got out. The house looked dark, empty; a shell of it's former self. It was like it died along with Sonic. Tails grabbed her suitcase out of the trunk and shut it.

I can do this. She thought as she fumbled for the key in her pocket and grabbed it as she reached the porch. 'Hey, Sal.' she heard in her mind as she came up to the porch where he had fallen that night she found him. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she stuck the key in, but she couldn't turn it. Cream, standing behind her, put a hand on her shoulder, offering her support. Sally nodded and gave the key a turn and the door swung inward. She let out a small whimper, but took a breath and walked in.

It was like she had stepped into a foreign world. It was cold and dark, even though it was mid-afternoon. No Sonic there to greet them, no sounds coming from the back of the house or the kitchen from him trying to cook something which left the house filled with smoke on more than one occasion. She lat a small laugh out as she pictured him in one of his failed attempts to cook and walked into the house, Cream and Tails following close by; he set the suitcase just inside the door.

"Thanks for everything guys." Sally said, giving Cream a big hug. "You would've done the same for either of us." Cream replied. She wanted to give one to Tails as well, but she didn't feel right with Cream standing next to him. She simply nodded and he returned it. "C'mon." Cream said, tapping Tails on the hand. "Bye Sally." He said as he turned back toward the door. "Bye." She said, giving him a big smile. It was obvious he wasn't very comfortable being in the house, but Sally noticed he was doing a much better job holding everything back. She watched from the window as they got in and she waved to them as Cream backed the car out of the driveway. As she made the turn to straighten the car out, she saw Tails run a hand across his face. "Poor kid." She said to herself, then turned to the inside of the house.

She grabbed her suitcase, then went over to the couch and grabbed the remote to turn the TV on, not so she could watch it though. She needed background noise. Sally hated it when the house was silent; she always had as long as she could remember. As she went back to the bedroom to unpack, memories about Sonic began to come to her. The trigger, was the TV; one of the first arguments she had with him, and looking back on it now it seemed so trivial, but at the time it was a major issue. He wanted it quiet so he could sleep and she needed some kind of noise to fall asleep to. They battled back and forth for three days both making their case until Sally finally gave up. "Fine." She said in that flat, quick tone she used when she was pushed passed that 'Don't talk to me or I'll cut your head off' point. That night when they went to bed, she turned the TV off like he wanted and she lay there. I'm not gonna get any sleep tonight. She thought, angry with herself for giving in so easily.

As Sonic turned the light off, Sally rolled over, her back turned toward her. He pulled the sheet over him and got and wrapped an arm around her, giving her a gentle kiss on the back of the neck. "Goodnight Sal." She said. "Night." She said flatly. She got over it pretty quickly and she found that being next to him was the only thing she needed. The sound of his breathing, his scent, the warmth of his body and the way he held her just right, he was the only thing she needed to fall asleep to after that.

She turned around to slide the empty suitcase under the bed, but when she did, tears began to well up in her eyes. "This is where he..." She trailed off. That night when he collapsed on the side of the bed rushed back to her. That night was still fresh in her mind, hand on his chest, grabbing at some invisible force that was pressing down on him. Tears began to fall and she ran out into the dining room, falling to her knees.

That night, she went about getting ready for bed, but when she was finally ready, she walked into the bedroom and tried again, but she couldn't stay in there for more than a minute; it was going to be a little while longer before she could sleep in her bed again, she decided to make due on the couch. But as she lay there, with the TV going for the first time in years, she was focused on tomorrow. It was going to be a busy day for her. Tomorrow, she had to start planning Sonic's funeral, which was a pretty massive undertaking. She knew she could call Cream, but she was beginning to feel bad about relying on her and Tails as much as she had been. Sally's mind swirled with thoughts and emotions on and off most of the night. Sure, she managed to get a couple hours of sleep, but she kept waking up every few minutes and when she woke up the next morning, she felt tired and sick at her stomach.

She got up and went toward the bathroom, stopping to look at her bedroom, the door still wide open. She went over and closed it quickly, then realized she still needed to change. "Dammit." She muttered as she went into the bathroom to start the day. When she came back out, she had put the same clothes she had been wearing the day before, splashed with a little perfume.

*Ugh* She grunted as she noticed the clock: 9:42. "Overslept. *heh* I slept?" She asked herself as she grabbed an apple of the counter as she went back in the living room and sat on the couch, phone in one hand, apple in the other which she polished off in five bites. "I'll get that later." She mumbled as she reached down underneath the end table by the couch and grabbed the phone book. *heh* She laughed at the fact that there was still one in the house, since you could look up numbers on a computer just as easy and twice as fast. She flipped to the page labeled 'Funeral Parlors-Services'. There were listing's for nine in the area and she sighed. "This is gonna be fun." She muttered as she dialed the first number.

*whew* She let out a breath as she hung up and set the phone down. Sally leaned back against the couch to collect her thoughts. That had been a hassle. All she wanted to do was make a simple appointment with one of them, but the four of the parlors she had called had closed down and was now an office building. Sally had been told that it had been shut down for mismanaging their client's gravesites, selling the plots and burying the departed in shallow graves. The one she settled on managed to get her an appointment for the next day, which is what she was looking for.

Now that the problem of finding a funeral home was out of the way, she could move on to the next step: going through his things. It wasn't necessary at the moment, but she'd have to do it in the next day or two, plus, since he didn't have a will, it was up to her to decide what to do with his stuff. Knowing that it wasn't going to get done by itself, she got up off the couch and walked back to her bedroom. She was sweating slightly and her heart pounded the closer she got and in a few seconds, she was standing in front of the door; Sally laid a hand on the knob.

"You can do this." She said, taking a deep breath, her hands shaking slightly. Sally closed her eyes and opened the door. It swung inward; the room lit up from the sun, yet dark at the same time. She walked in and a chill ran down her spine. Sally took a step forward, then another, hesitated then took another. She was anxious, her heart racing; on the nightstand on 'her' side of the bed was the picture of them and she picked it up and looked at it. Seeing him in that moment, alive and happy brought that sense of comfort she felt when she looked at it and she began to calm down. *heh* "You always know how to make me happy."

Sally smiled and held it close as she made her way to the other side of the bed, 'his' side of the bed and sat down, setting the picture of him on 'his' nightstand. 'Before I forget, can you go into the nightstand on my side of the bed?' That question he had asked her in her dream rang through her again. She thought it was a little odd she was about to do something she was told to do in a dream, but it seemed to be more than just a dream to her. What was she going to find when she opened it? Some great secret he had been holding from her for a long time? A hidden door filled with money he'd kept from her for a 'rainy day'? Drugs?

His nightstand was just like hers, small and square with two drawers; stained a natural dark brown. She opened the top drawer and looked inside. It held various items, socks, underwear, and a couple bottles of his pills that he didn't finish. "Gonna need to toss those." She said, taking them out and laying them on the bed. She ruffled through the pairs of socks and underneath, she found a round black tube, still in the package. "Oh, my God." She murmured. "He actually kept it."

One year for their anniversary, they thought it would be funny if they both got each other a couple of gag gifts as a laugh, but to make it interesting and to guarantee a good laugh, part of it had to be sexy. He got her a pair of 'granny' panties that were four sized too large for her and the ugliest green and brown plaid pattern he had ever seen, bra with cups that were four sizes too large and a riding crop with a horse head on the end, and a tool set. She on the other hand, got him the stuff to make Chilidogs, except it was all vegetarian. The Chili was vegetarian, the onions were organic; the hot-dogs and cheese were made from tofu and the buns were whole-grain. They opened theirs and they both laughed when Sally pulled out the 'sexy' part of the gag gifts, but when she actually put them on, Sonic busted up laughing.

She gave him his and he opened the box which had the vegetarian Chilidog set-up inside and he laughed. "Thought you'd enjoy that." She said, laughing. He set it down. "You don't expect me to eat that, do you?" He asked her. "No." She said. Next was the 'sexy' part of the gift and she handed him a long square package, about seven inches in length. "What did you do?" He wondered. She just smiled and he shook his head and opened it. Once the paper was off and he saw what she had gotten him, he laughed his head off. The top of the package, in big bold yellow and purple writing said, The 'Flash'light! "Really?" He said, holding it up in front of her and started laughing. "I thought it would come in handy the next time you make me mad and I cut you off." She said, giggling. "You could keep it under the couch."

She laughed and looked back up at the photo. "You kept it?" she asked the picture. "Well, you didn't open it so I guess that's something." She murmured, saw nothing else and closed the drawer. "Next." She said and reached down and opened the other one. She pulled on it and her fingers slipped off. "What the..." She murmured. It was heavier than the other one. She reached down and pulled again, this time using a little more force. The drawer slid open and she was surprised by what she saw.

Sally grabbed the drawer and pulled it out completely and set it on the bed and sat back down. Inside was a box, solid wood. "Guess you were right." She said to the photo and reached inside. The box rather large to be inside a nightstand of that size. It was about seven inches long, five inches wide and five inches deep; she set it on the bed, grabbing the drawer and setting it on the floor. She studied the box and saw it had no lock.

Her heart was racing again as she took hold of the lid. She didn't know what she was going to find inside and, taking a deep breath, she took the lid off and set it aside. "Holy..."

Inside were papers, notepads filled with writing, envelopes, some sealed and some empty. She dug through it; most of the box's contents random papers and bills. She began sorting through it and at first, she didn't find anything significant. Most of the bills were from the past six months that had already been paid. Next, she pulled out a notepad and a legal pad. She set those aside to look through later. And the last bit she pulled out was a small paper bag. Sally opened it and saw it had a few envelopes that were wrapped in a clear plastic bag. She took them out and set them aside, and turned her attention to the pads. She picked up one and opened it.

It didn't have anything special inside, doodles mostly; some of them were random, done out of boredom and some where quite intricate and well drawn. He had panache for drawing and it was something he enjoyed from time to time, usually as a way to help him think; she flipped through it and set it aside. Next, she picked up the legal pad. The front had a cardboard flap that covered the first sheet and opened from the bottom.

Sally flipped it open and went through the pages. "Wow." She said. It was a diary; the inside cover said, 'If you're reading this, put it back.' Sally had no idea he even kept something like this. From what she could tell, he started it just after he'd left the hospital when he returned. It started with a simple entry, only a couple sentences long. It didn't say much, but the deeper she dove into it, the more intricate some of the entries became and the more he poured his heart and soul into it. Sally stopped reading it and set it aside, unable to continue. She felt horrible, digging through his innermost thoughts wasn't right. She knew if she had something like that and she had died, but Sonic was alive, she wouldn't want him reading it. She made a vow to never open it again.

Sally turned her attention to a plastic sandwich bag that had envelopes sealed inside of it. Sally opened the bag and took them out. There were four in total and each had been sealed; three of them had something solid inside and one was just a regular envelope. When she turned them over, she saw he had written 'For Shadow' on the front of the first one. The next one said 'For Knuckles' followed by one for Cream and Tails, which were the three that had something inside of them than just paper. The last one was a little bigger than the others and had a little more weight to it, but it was flexible and had nothing solid inside. It said, 'To my wife." I wonder when he made these? Sally thought as she set the others down and opened the one adressed to her. Inside were two pages and she took them out, her hands shaking and tears beginning to well in her eyes and she began to read.

'Hi Sal. If you're reading this, that means I'm gone. I hope you're doing well. I can't even imagine how hard this has been on you. Guess I screwed up again. I know I said I wasn't gonna put you through anymore shit like this, but I guess I broke that promise. I'm sorry. I know I've said that so many times those words probably don't mean much anymore, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I've put you through. I'm sorry for being so selfish, for running away from you and the others. I'm sorry for keeping my problems with my ticker from you for so long. No matter what I did, you always forgave me. Then I asked you to marry me. I thought for sure you were gonna say no. But you surprised me and you said yes. That was the happiest day of my life. I was the luckiest man on the face of Mobius'

Sally stopped and wiped her eyes, then continued reading. 'and I have you to thank. Before I go, I want you to do something for me. Don't stop living your life just because I'm gone. Live life, be happy no matter what that is or how you do it. I love you and I will always love you. We'll see each other again.'

The paper blurred as tears continued to roll down her cheeks and she flipped over to the second piece of paper and she kept reading. It was a poem made out to her. Above it had a simple sentence that said, 'We'll see each other again someday. I love you.'

Voices

A thousand thousand voices

Whispering

The time has passed for choices

Golden days are passing over

I can't seem to see you baby

although my eyes are open wide

but I know I'll see you once more,

and I'll see you,

I'll see you on the other side.

Leaving,

I hate to see you cry.

Grieving,

I hate to say goodbye.

Dust and ash forever.

Though I know we must be parting,

As sure as stars are in the sky.

I'm gonna see you when it comes to glowing,

and I'll see you,

see you on the other side.

Never thought I'd feel like this,

strange to be alone.

But we'll be together,

carved in stone.

Hold me.

Hold me tight I'm falling.

Far away,

distant voices calling,

I'm so cold I need you darling

I was down but now I'm flying,

straight across the great divide.

I know you're crying, but I'll stop your crying,

When I see you,

see you on the other side.

God knows I'll see you,

see you on the other side.

A/N: Sorry for the long break between chapters. I was able to work on these every night, but over the last two months, I've only been able to get in once a week if I'm lucky. One question about the song I used, I wanted to use a song as a poem he wrote for Sally and that one seemed to fit in my opinion. What do you think? Does it fit into the story and would you have used it, used another one or not used it at all? I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading.

Song credit: 'See you on the other side' written by Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy Ian Kilmister & Zakk Wylde