Chapter Seventeen – Dramas pt 2
Naomi practically stormed into her office, Harvey in close pursuit. The office itself looked standard for an office; the walls and carpet were both chocolate brown, there was a bookcase along one side of the wall, a water cooler opposite the bookcase near the large pine office desk facing the office door. A Flareon with cream coloured paws awoke with a start after Naomi slammed the door open and panted heavily as Harvey closed the door quietly.
"Why didn't you tell me you got promoted?!" he asked in shock.
"I-I didn't know how to, Harvey!" Naomi panicked, resting one hand on her desk and keeping her back against her ex-husband.
"I don't see what's so hard about saying 'I've been promoted'," Harvey muttered. He soon smiled. "Were you afraid of how I'd react? Naomi, this is a good thing!" The Flareon slowly walked out of the basket and looked up at Harvey, surprised to see him. "If anyone here deserved your promotion, it's you!"
"You sound so biased right now," Naomi said unenthusiastically, resting her fingers on her forehead.
"Perhaps, but what I said is still true." Flareon poked Harvey's leg with a paw, causing him to look down at the Flame Pokémon in confusion. "No way...is that Jason?" The Flareon's blue eyes lit up with delight.
"Flare!" Jason grinned as Harvey bent down to lift the happy Flareon in his arms.
"When did this happen, buddy?!" Harvey asked happily as he ruffled the cream tuft on Jason's head.
"Flareon!"
"Harvey...you didn't come here to coddle Jason." Harvey looked towards Naomi; he and Laddy could tell she was stressed.
"I'm just getting reacquainted with him; I mean, come on...last I saw him, he was still an Eevee, which was 9 years ago." Harvey sighed, causing Laddy to look at him worriedly. "I take it your promotion was why you wanted the alimony payments to stop?"
"Yes..." Naomi turned around to face Harvey; the look of guilt and anguish on her face gravely concerned him, Jason and Laddy. "Originally, this wasn't what I wanted...this promotion. I-I mean...considering the position used to be his..." Harvey scowled vengefully.
"Never mind that asshole!" he yelled.
"Harvey-"
"No! I'm sorry, Naomi, but he was the one in the wrong, not you!" he shouted angrily. "He made the move on you, even after you specifically told him you were married! Hell, if I were there when it happened, I would've landed him in Intensive Care! ...and myself in the precinct, most likely, but it would've been worth it."
"Harvey!"
"My point is you did nothing wrong, so stop saying you did!"
"I let him come on to me, Harvey!" Harvey glared at her, unintentionally intimidating her.
"That's bullshit, Naomi; he was a bully who made things difficult for everyone when things didn't go his way!"
"I couldn't do anything about it, he was my boss!" Naomi retorted shakily.
"And a pretty poor one at that. Well, the joke's on him now," Harvey said with a smirk. "He ended up meeting his comeuppance and you ended up with his job! Poetic justice, I say."
"...h-his marriage ended because of me..."
"No; his marriage ended because his wife finally realised how much of a pig her husband was when he tried to sink his teeth into my wife's neck and Arceus knows where else!" Harvey argued fiercely. "The whole affair was entirely his fault! That's why I didn't want to go through with the divorce!" Naomi was shocked at the confession.
"But...if you didn't want to go through with it...why did you?" she asked. Harvey lowered his head, almost in shame, and slightly looked away from her. "...Harvey?"
"...because it was what you wanted."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Alexa asked worriedly, noticing Keith's hair was still slightly messy from Ava's electrical discharge.
"Y-yeah...thanks."
"When did you get here?" Hayden asked quickly. Alexa looked up at her father with concern, easily noticing his annoyance, while Keith faced him with very slight anxiety.
"Yesterday," he replied truthfully. "Ava hatched later that day."
"Ava?" Alexa questioned curiously.
"My Pichu," Keith replied, looking down at his groggy Pokémon. "She's still a baby, so her electricity doesn't hurt too badly yet," he said as he looked up at Alexa again. He spotted the hospital behind her and looked at her with worry. "Are you okay?"
"I-"
"She's fine, no thanks to you." Hayden abruptly answered rudely. Keith recoiled and looked away from him. Alexa looked away from her father and took a small drink from her coffee cup.
"...I'm sorry." Keith hesitantly looked at Hayden squarely in the eyes from where he stood. "I'm sorry about what happened...it was an accident, I swear it."
"Hmph," Hayden huffed as he looked away from Keith resentfully, making the boy feel more awkward than before. Reese stared daggers at Hayden for his bad attitude while Robbie looked indifferent; he tried to stay neutral.
"I..." Keith looked at Alexa in confusion as she began to speak up; he was a little surprised to see her smiling kindly at him. "I'm trying to put the whole thing behind me; I think you should do the same."
"...but you're okay?" Keith asked with concern.
"The doctor says I'm fine, so...yeah, I'm okay. C-Considering..."
"Alexa." Alexa looked up at her father in confusion; she became concerned when she noticed how stern he looked. "We should be on our way; I don't want to keep Keenan and your mother waiting if they're back by now," he said firmly. Alexa nodded compliantly as she and Hayden began to walk away from Keith, down towards Join Avenue.
"I-I'm sorry about Hailey!" Keith called quickly. Hayden stopped dead in his tracks, stunned at Keith's words. Alexa was surprised Keith knew who Hailey was and watched Hayden anxiously as he approached Keith; Keith felt apprehensive as Hayden drew closer to him, despite Hayden's momentary bewilderment.
"What?"
"I-I saw the Contest yesterday, but I didn't know she was your sister until I met Alexa's cousin, Troy...I-I'm sorry about-"
"Stop." Keith flinched. Hayden took a deep breath and sighed. "I appreciate your concern, I really do...but I don't need it," he said, as calmly as he could. "You just focus on sorting things out with my daughter and let ME worry about my little sister. Okay?"
"...y-yes...of course...sorry." Without another word, Hayden turned and walked back to Alexa. After placing an arm around her shoulders, the pair began walking towards Join Avenue again. However, Keith was surprised to see Alexa looking back at him, mouthing "sorry" to him. Reese shook his head with disapproval after Alexa and Hayden disappeared from view. Robbie looked at Keith miserably.
"Saws?"
"He's pissed...I could see it in his eyes...he really hates me right now...but I'm going to make things right with her...I have to."
"Aroma~!" Aromatisse sang as she formed a pink sphere of energy in between her hands. "Tisse~!" She opened her arms out, breaking the sphere into many sparkles that released a gentle wave of soothing energy that headed towards the idle Slurpuff; upon colliding with Slurpuff's body, the waves healed his bumps and bruises.
"Slur!" The Slurpuff rejoiced.
"Okay, that was definitely Heal Pulse," Daniel said as he looked down at his carbon grey gadget. "Beautifully done, Veronica."
"Aromatisse~!" Veronica laughed bashfully.
"No, he's right, Ronnie, that Heal Pulse had to have looked as wonderful as it felt!" Daphne smiled. "Was it, Tucker?"
"Slurpuff, Slurpuff!" Tucker bounced up and down in sheer delight. Veronica giggled while Daphne frowned as she looked towards her brother.
"Why were you so keen to train Tucker and Veronica anyway?" she asked in puzzlement. "Thinking of a rematch against Keenan and Alexa?" she asked teasingly.
"No."
"Then why?" Daphne asked seriously. "We have another Battling Exam this semester; we can take advantage of it like we did last year."
"I just want to be fully prepared for tomorrow, that's all," Daniel answered truthfully as he turned his device off. Daphne approached him and looked at him with uncertainty.
"Daniel...those guys graduated LAST year...it won't happen again," she said gently as she placed her hand softly on his cheek.
"They didn't graduate," Daniel said harshly. "They flunked out." Daphne recoiled her arm and took a step back, looking irritated.
"Even so, they're not coming back!" she yelled. "Stop worrying about it!"
"You make it sound so easy, Daphne, you really do," Daniel grumbled.
"You can't keep holding onto it, it's not good for you," Daphne said sadly. "I know it affected you to the point where you've disregarded what little emotion you used to show, but you need to move on from it; maybe then you'll eventually return to who you used to be."
"I don't know...I've become so used to who I am now, it...the idea of being who I used to be feels weird to me..." Daphne smiled.
"Daniel...this whole family's weird."
"How do you figure?"
"We're essentially a family of Pokémon Whisperers." Daniel chuckled.
"I don't get it; how are you the only one who can still make me laugh?"
"Probably because I'm your twin," Daphne said playfully. "But I'm sure Peggy can make you laugh, too," she mused as the back door opened behind her.
"Daphne! Danny!" Peggy called as she ran towards her twin siblings, Piper still roosting comfortably on her head. Daphne smiled down at her little sister.
"Hey, Pegs, we were just talking about you! You can still make Daniel laugh, right?"
"What's the matter?" Daniel asked, noticing the worried look on the little girl's face.
"Daddy's mad."
"How come? Did a client bail on him again?" Daphne asked in bemusement.
"N-no, the mean Addie lady came by," Peggy answered.
"Adelina?" Daniel asked.
"Yeah, her! I think she made Mummy cry again."
"Oh, for..!" Daniel sighed as he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "What exactly is her problem?!"
"If you ask me, she's acting like a spoiled little princess," Daphne said harshly, fully understanding her brother's frustration. "A spoiled little princess who didn't get what she wanted."
"But...you can't get what you want all the time," Peggy said shyly.
"See!?" Daniel suddenly asked, pointing both hands towards his younger sister. If an 8 year old knows that, why can't someone Adelina's age?! It makes no sense!"
"Neither does she if she went out of her way to bug Mum," Daphne mused. "Peggy, did you hear anything?"
"I tried not to," Peggy replied innocently.
"We're not accusing you of eavesdropping," Daniel said as he crouched in front of the child. "But did you happen to hear anything while you were passing her? Anything at all that you can remember?"
"Um...just that she told Mummy to replace Eric or something..."
"So Adelina's blaming Eric now?!" Daphne exclaimed angrily.
"Sounds like Adelina's implicating the both of them," Daniel said calmly as he stood up. He placed both hands on Peggy's shoulders as he faced Daphne directly. "Something tells me we haven't seen the last of her, though." Daphne's demeanour softened.
"Let's see how Mum's doing."
Lily, Keenan, Iara and Cheryl appeared in their hotel room in an instantaneous white flash of light. Between them, Lily and Keenan carried various text books, exercise books and various pieces of stationery. Iara immediately jumped down onto the plush dark brown carpet and jumped up onto one of the two leather sofas.
"All right, I think we have everything to start the lessons again tomorrow," Lily smiled as she approached the desk near the television, where she placed the textbooks she held in her arms.
"Great," Keenan said half-heartedly. Lily looked back at Keenan with concern.
"What's the matter, sweetie? I thought you were keen on getting back to your lessons."
"I am, but that's not the problem..."
"Oh...I see what the problem is," Lily said as she walked over to her son. "You're still worried about Alexa."
"And Aunt Hailey; I still have a bad feeling about Adelina..."
"Honey, I understand your concerns – I'm worried about them myself – but they need to sort their troubles out themselves," Lily said politely as she knelt down to meet her son's direct line of sight. "All we can do is be there for them both if they need it; we can't solve their problems for them, but we can support them as much as we can." Keenan smiled a little.
"Yeah! But I wonder if Alex's okay..."
"Let's find out," Lily smiled as she stood up. She pulled the navy blue sleeve up her left arm to reveal her black and purple Xtransceiver. She touched the screen with her finger numerous times, searching her Xtransceiver for her contact list until she found Hayden's and initiated the contact. After several seconds of waiting, Hayden's video feed appeared on the screen. Hayden was smiling happily.
"Hi, honey!"
"Hi, sweetie! Where are you?"
"Join Avenue," Hayden replied. "We're on our way back right now," he added as he looked to his right. Alexa soon appeared on the video feed.
"Hi!"
"Hi, sweetheart! Was everything okay at the hospital?" Lily asked. Keenan listened intently.
"Yeah, the doctor said I'm fine," Alexa replied happily. "Now I just need to see if I can do a handstand without feeling dizzy afterwards." Lily chuckled.
"That's great, sweetheart!" Keenan was just as happy for Alexa as Lily was, but soon headed to his hotel bedroom. "Your brother and I just returned to the hotel room about a minute ago. That reminds me, Hayden, Harvey and I spoke to Hailey earlier this morning, just to check on Hailey." Hayden frowned.
"Actually, Colin contacted me and Harvey earlier on, too; it wasn't good news."
"What happened?" Lily asked worriedly as Keenan brought his black squared bag over to the television.
"Hailey had a visitor; Adelina. And the visit...left a lot to be desired," Hayden explained. "Actually, it left Hailey pretty rattled."
"Oh, no..."
"Why would she do that?" Alexa asked. "I mean, Aunt Hailey feels bad enough about what happened at the Contest as it is, why would Adelina want Hailey to suffer even more than she already is?" Keenan listened to his sister keenly; though she hid it masterfully, Keenan could tell she already had her suspicions about the revelation. As did he.
"I don't know, Lexie, but Colin is furious with Adelina," Hayden replied. "He insists that he can calm Hailey down on his own, but I'm more than likely still going to visit her later today or tomorrow."
"You seem stressed, Hayden...maybe it's a better idea to leave the visit until tomorrow?" Lily proposed.
"Yeah, you're right." Keenan tried not to pay any more attention to his mother's Xtransceiver conversation and unpacked his PlayBox from its bag. "We'll see you both at the hotel."
"Take your time, there's no rush. We'll see you later," Lily said kindly as she hung up the Xtransceiver call.
"Why didn't you tell her about Keith?" Alexa asked as Hayden lowered his arm. Hayden sighed as he and Alexa returned to Join Avenue's main path. Join Avenue was bustling with activity; there were far more people looking for business at the many stalls around the avenue than walking down it. Neither Alexa nor Hayden had their paper cups in their hands.
"I didn't want to, plain and simple," Hayden replied. He soon sight, almost regretfully. "Sorry, Lexie; I still resent him for what he did to upset you. But-"
"You don't even know what it was he did," Alexa said uneasily.
"It still upset you, whatever it was, and I resent him for it." Hayden smiled sweetly at her. "But don't let that stop you; if you two can work things out, I'd be more than happy to get to know him again," he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.
"I don't think you'd be so willing if you knew what he did..."
"If anything, I'd probably resent him more if I knew the full story."
"I don't know about that," Alexa said quietly to herself.
"Alexa!" Alexa and Hayden turned around and spotted Keith running towards her, Robbie galloping behind him; Reese was on his head, preventing the still giddy Pichu from falling off of the Sawsbuck's back. Hayden immediately became disgruntled when Keith approached Alexa.
"Keith?"
"I just realised...I don't have a way to contact you right now, and I forgot to ask if...if you'd like to get together at some point? Y'know, to talk?" Hayden observed the conversation warily.
"Sorry about that; leaving you with no way to get in touch with me, I mean," Alexa apologised.
"It's okay, I don't blame you. We really do need to talk, though, but I don't know where we should talk," Keith said quietly. "I can't imagine meeting you at your hotel's a good idea right now, and I haven't-"
"Are you okay to meet me outside Gear Station in Nimbasa City?" Alexa asked abruptly. Keith raised a confused eyebrow.
"Gear Station?"
"It's the first building you see when you leave Join Avenue," Alexa explained, pointing in front of her; Keith looked behind him, looking at the way he came in. "Very hard to miss."
"Why there?" Keith asked as he faced Alexa.
"There's a coffee shop in Anville Town that's always quiet on weekdays; maybe that'd be a good place to start talking," Alexa suggested plainly.
"...yeah, okay," Keith nodded. "Sounds good. What time?"
"If I remember correctly, the earliest train to Anville leaves at 10am...is that any good? Meeting at Gear Station before 10?"
"Sounds good to me," Keith smiled. "So, I'll see you at Gear Station before 10am tomorrow; got it. Thanks, Alexa." Despite Alexa still looking uncertain, Hayden smiled at how calm she was during the entire conversation.
"You're welcome," she replied quietly, giving him a weak smile. Keith began to approach her, but noticed how uncomfortable she looked and halted himself. Instead, he gave her a gentle smile before walking away from her. Once his back was turned to her, his smile quickly died and his walking turned into a quick sprint. Robbie galloped after him, confused and concern about Keith's sudden mood change. Hayden looked down at Alexa as the pair turned to walk towards Route 4 again.
"That was impressive, Alexa."
"Hm?" Alexa looked up at Hayden curiously.
"How calm you were. That's what I was talking about before. If you keep that up while you're working things out, you'll sort your problems out in no time."
"You think so?" Alexa asked, starting to smile.
"There's not a single doubt in my mind, pumpkin," Hayden said lovingly as he pulled his daughter in for a one-armed hug, to which Alexa returned with both arms.
Daniel, Daphne and Peggy entered the house through the back door and quietly approached the kitchen, where Hailey was still burying her face in her hands at the table. Colin sat next to her, desperately trying to calm her down, Madison hovering nearby, watching Hailey's increasing stress worriedly.
"Honey, it's going to be okay," Colin said reassuringly.
"How can you be so sure..?" Hailey asked tearfully. "What if I single-handedly ruined the Contest for everyone!?"
"Adelina's just putting the idea into your head because she's looking for someone to blame," Colin presumed quickly. "We all know how hard you and Eric worked to perfect your appeal, but-"
"It messed up!" Hailey cried. "Like all of my appeals do!"
"That's not true," Colin said gently. "Annabelle's first Pokémon Contest went flawlessly, Eric's appeal in Slateport City was awe-inspiring, and even Josh's appeal in Lilycove was breath-taking, and Josh is more of a battling Pokémon like Flint! You're a great Co-ordinator, Hailey; Adelina's just making you think you're not; she's lying to you, she's got to be!"
"Why would she lie to me..?! She's my friend; friends don't lie to each other..!" Hailey wept. The more upset Hailey became, the more distressed Peggy felt and the more infuriated the twins felt.
"I know, Honeybee...I know..." Colin cuddled Hailey comfortingly as she tried her hardest not to weep any louder. "I'm starting to think Adelina's a bad friend; if she were true, she'd be supporting you like a real friend should, not kick you when you're down..." Hailey carefully pulled herself from her husband's cuddle.
"Do you really think she'd betray my trust like that..?" she asked sorrowfully.
"In my honest opinion? I...I think she is right now," Colin replied reluctantly. "I-I thought the two of you were good friends, too, but...as much as I'd rather believe she's just pulling your leg, she seemed pretty intent on abusing your trust in her...by putting these ideas about replacing Eric and being an inept Co-ordinator into your head..."
"I-I...no..! W-Why would she..?"
"I don't know, love..." Before Colin could retry his consoling cuddle, Hailey immediately stood up from the kitchen chair, ran out of the room and raced up the stairs; Colin tried to pursue her, but a loud slam caused him to stop. "Hailey..."
"Dad?" Colin and Madison looked towards the doorway and saw Daphne, Daniel and Peggy approaching him slowly.
"How long have you been there?" he asked in shock.
"Long enough to see how much damage Adelina's causing to Mum," Daniel said harshly. Colin sighed as he ran both hands through his hair, accidentally pushing his pencil out of his ear. Madison's eyes shone in a gentle orange glow, causing the pencil to halt mid-fall as it shone in the same light. Madison lifted the pencil up to Colin, who took it from her telekinetic control and placed it back on his ear.
"Thanks, Madison."
"Phantump," Madison nodded modestly.
"I'm...I'm sorry you had to see your mother so stressed," Colin apologised. "She blamed herself for ruining yesterday's Contest, as you know, but I think she's even more conflicted than before."
"Is Adelina going to hurt Mummy again?" Peggy asked with grave worry. Colin gave her a reassuring smile as he crouched to her level.
"Not if I can help it, cutie," he said calmingly. "And I'm sure both of your uncles will do the same," he added as he stood up.
"But that Adelina...we heard what she said to Mum from Peggy and she is a nasty piece of work!" Daphne snapped angrily. "I know I wouldn't want anything to do with her!"
"It's not as simple as that, sweetheart," Colin began, losing his smile. "Adelina and your mother were good friends back in the day; they exchanged their – back then – favourite bracelets as proof of that fact."
"That's really sweet," Peggy smiled.
"Yeah, if you like vinegar in your chocolate sauce," Daniel said meanly.
"Daniel..."
"No, Dad, I agree with him on this!" Daphne exclaimed. "Why would you make such a meaningful exchange like that and then stab your friend in the back when they need you most?!" Colin sighed heavily, concerning his Phantump.
"I really wish I knew, honey...I really do..."
Hailey sat in front of the birch vanity, head buried in her arms as she wept quietly. The room she was in felt warm around her; the room itself had rose red walls with luxuriously soft carpeting of the same colour. The double bed behind her looked freshly made with sandy brown satin bedclothes covering the pillows and duvet. There were various ornaments scattered between the two bedside chest of drawers on either side of the bed and the dresser sitting near the vanity, including a framed photograph depicting Colin and Hailey during their wedding day; Harvey and Hayden could be seen in the photograph next to their wives, and Ian was standing next to a woman who oddly looked exactly like Alexa, but everyone looked happy – and younger – in the photograph. Hailey lifted her head from her arms and looked at her reflection in the vanity mirror; her eyes were sore from her tears and her hair started to tangle as it dried, making her look like a complete mess. She then looked at her manicure subconsciously; her picturesque scarlet nail polish was starting to chip and crack. Not giving her ruined manicure a second thought, she opened the nearby vanity drawer and rummaged through it until she picked up a bracelet from inside it; the bracelet was made of many coloured plastic beads, each arranged to form the colours of a rainbow, that were tied to a clear plastic string. Hailey stared at the piece of handmade jewellery sadly before clasping it and pressing her hand gently on her forehead as she began to cry, tears falling gradually down her face.
To be continued...