Chapter Thirty Nine – Confiding pt II
"I-It's me, I...I need to talk to you." Keith cautiously approached the door as Alexa continued to communicate through it and looked through the peep hole; sure enough, he saw the young blonde girl awkwardly looking away from the door and holding her arm as she awaited any kind of response from him. The sound of Keith pushing the door downwards almost startled Alexa as he opened the door; Alexa felt slightly unnerved when she saw the resentful look in his eyes.
"Naomi gave you my room number, didn't she?" he presumed bluntly.
"Y-Yeah," Alexa said quietly. "I-I can call back tomorrow if-" Much to her surprise, Keith moved aside, allowing her access inside the room. Alexa gave Keith a courteous nod of gratitude as she silently entered the abode; looking at Driftveil Star's signature interior design made Alexa feel slightly at ease until Keith closed the door behind her – then she began to feel awkward again.
"Go on, then; what do you want to talk about?" Keith asked grumpily as he simply stared at the closed door.
"...I'm...I'm sorry-"
"Your Dad got you to grovel for him or something?!" Keith snapped as he spun around and glared daggers at Alexa. Despite her back being turned against her host, Alexa felt every last one of them piercing her soul.
"...no." Keith's violent look swiftly turned into bewilderment. "Don't get me wrong...I want to apologise for what he did...but that's his cross to bear...not mine." Alexa turned ever so slightly to her right; just enough for her to see Keith through the corner of her eye whilst still avoiding direct eye contact with him, still picking up some anger from him. "I'm here for us, not him." Keith huffed a small sarcastic laugh.
"Us? After your Dad's performance this afternoon, what makes you think he'll LET there be an us anymore?!" he asked interrogatively. Alexa held her tongue as she turned away from him. Infuriated with her lack of response, Keith scoffed nastily. "Yeah, that makes me feel SO much better, Alexa, thanks a bloody bunch!" Alexa continued to hold her tongue; she refused to instigate another heated debate that would end with her leaving the premises in tears – she didn't want to take any risks. "I mean, thanks to your inability to open up to your Mom and Dad, I may as well be an accomplice to you keeping the Sinnoh incident away from them!" he shouted angrily, but Alexa felt even more disturbed by how tearful he sounded at the same time; she could feel his fear and she sympathised.
"...I'm...I'm sorry I got you into that situation," she apologised softly. Keith huffed as he folded his arms, impatiently waiting for her to turn around and face him like he felt she should. However, no matter how long he intended to wait, she wouldn't yield; the only thing she did was hold onto both of her arms instead of just the one. "I...I wanted to see if you were okay after-"
"Okay?!" Now Keith felt livid. "Alexa, your Dad had a look in his eye that was so violent that it'd put JORDAN'S to shame; WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I'D BE OKAY AFTER SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!" he roared furiously. Alexa began to shiver; Keith's rage frightened her, but its reminder to her father's fury was what distressed her further. Seeing her quivering where she stood sent shock waves through Keith as he suddenly realised his attitude towards her. "I-I'm sorry, Alexa, I-I'm just-"
"I know..." Alexa's surprisingly calm response shocked Keith to the core. "...of course you're not okay...it was stupid of me to presume otherwise..." Noticing that Alexa was being more submissive than he knew her to be, Keith grew concerned for her. He sighed silently as he suddenly spotted the electric kettle on the table in front of Alexa.
"...w-would you like a drink?" he asked, hoping to relieve the tense atmosphere around them.
"...thanks...but no, thanks...I actually had something before I came here..."
Hayden and Lily sat opposite one another at a small table in a secluded corner of the quiet pub restaurant. Despite the building's name, the interior consisted of dark and warm colours, such as orange, red and brown. Although there were plenty of tables to accommodate a wedding, only two or three other tables were occupied by other patrons. Lining the walls were numerous watercolour paintings of several Unova native Pokémon in wooden frames that almost looked antique; though most of the paintings were of a Swanna – or a herd of them, other paintings included a Deerling in autumn and a silhouetted Archeops in flight. On the table Hayden and Lily sat at was a small ceramic pot of condiment sachets that were also on the other tables in the restaurant, including the vacant ones. Lily had a glass of orange juice on the wooden coaster near her, while Hayden had a glass of rosé wine that he held in his fingers. Lily looked around at the quiet restaurant with a smile.
"See? I told you it's quiet in here."
"Yeah..." Hayden just stared at his rose pink drink sadly as he ever so slightly and slowly swirled it in his hand. Lily sighed; she knew the pink wine was reminding him of Alexa.
"Hayden...I know it's bothering you, but-"
"Can we not discuss this now?" Hayden asked as he finally placed the glass on the coaster next to him. "I'd rather not let it ruin the evening if I can help it."
"Oh! Uh...s-sure," Lily smiled. "Whatever you want, Tiger." Hayden sighed with relief as he looked at the liquid sitting still in the motionless glass with a tender smile. Lily took a few moments to look through the main menu on the table underneath the condiments pot, but, when she returned the menu to its original position, she saw Hayden hadn't moved his gaze from his light fuchsia beverage and chuckled. "What are you thinking about?"
"Happier times," Hayden answered gently, still carrying his sentimental smile. Lily recreated his smile.
"Looks to me like you're remembering the day Lexie was born; that look on your face is the same as when you first held her." Hayden huffed a small laugh as his smile grew.
"Yeah... ...she...she's one of the best things that have happened to me..."
"No need to second guess what the other ones are," Lily jested, despite her warm smile. Hayden suddenly faced his wife squarely in the eye.
"Do you remember the first time you took her to the Goldenrod Department Store?" Lily came close to breaking out in laughter.
"I doubt I'd ever forget that; she tried vinegar for the first and last time – her reaction was priceless!"
"What was it she called it again? Stinky yuck-water or something?"
"Smelly yuck-water," Lily corrected. Hayden began laughing.
"Oh-ho, yeah, now I remember! ...that was adorable."
"Yeah...for an insult," Lily added. She and Hayden laughed for a few moments until Hayden's laughter died, closely followed by his smile; Lily hadn't noticed as she took hold of her orange juice to take a drink after her laughing halted.
"...hey, Lily..."
"Hm?" Lily returned her glass to its coaster as she looked over at Hayden.
"Do you think I'll be able to make things right with her? Alexa." Lily smiled lovingly at him.
"I do." Her confident reply confused Hayden. "I know better than anyone that the two of you have that father-daughter connection in spades; I'd be willing to bet my hair that Alexa wants to make amends with you as much as you want to make things right with her – just give her time and space." Though Lily's use of the words time and space in the same sentence reminded Hayden of how and why he fell out with Alexa in the first place, her reassurance was barely enough to settle his anxiety.
"Okay, but..."
"But?"
"Don't bet your hair on it."
"Why not?"
"I love your hair." Lily laughed.
"Oh, stop it, you!" Hayden grinned cheekily at her, but, the very minute Lily's attention was off of him, he glanced at his glass of rosé with a look of lingering regret.
More relaxed than when Troy contacted him out of the blue, Keenan lay back on the sofa, consequently allowing Iara to return to her original position on his chest. At first, the tiny Vaporeon was content until she noticed Keenan harbouring a recurring sense of guilt, despite him gently stroking the back of her head.
"Iara..?"
"Poreon?"
"I AM to blame, aren't I?" Iara had no reason to guess what Keenan was blaming himself for, but frowned all the same.
"Por..."
"I didn't listen to my sister... If I had, then Xavier... ...then none of this would have happened."
"Vap-or-eon," Iara said, shaking her head.
"Don't I, though? All of this started the very minute I asked her to look at a dumb photo!" Keenan said in frustration. "...I shouldn't have even looked into it myself...!"
"Por?"
"I-It wasn't my place...but I... ...it IS my fault, isn't it?" Iara kept silent as she decided between giving him the harsh answer he wanted or a white lie to settle his nerves. Eventually, Iara appeared reluctant as she gave him a nod.
"Poreon..." Keenan sighed as he accepted the truth.
"I knew it...thanks for being honest..." Iara shuffled closer to Keenan as she nuzzled his cheek lovingly.
"Por, Vaporeon, por-poreon," she added comfortingly. Keenan chuckled with amusement.
"A light at the end of Rock Tunnel? Seriously?"
"Por? Vaporeon, poreon?" Iara giggled as Keenan petted her head.
"I know Rock Tunnel's dark, but the proper idiom would've sufficed!" he laughed. "But thanks...that made me feel better..."
"Poreon!" Iara rejoiced. She suddenly looked at the boy with worry. "Por...por-Vaporeon?"
"I dunno how I'm going to set things right...but I'll find a way..."
Keith wasn't sure if he should approach Alexa and make her feel more at ease or if his good intent would make her flee like a frightened Bunnelby. Conflicted, Keith stayed in place as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously and looked at Alexa, though with her back still turned against him; his only consolation was that she'd stopped shaking in place.
"...I-I, um..." Keith sighed sadly. "I can't imagine how hard today's been for you...I'm...I'm sorry I couldn't be there to support you."
"You needn't be; I asked you not to. ...but...telling my parents about the Team Galactic thing...it felt even worse than the incident itself..." Keith raised a confused eyebrow until Alexa finally turned around to face him; the look of melancholy in her eyes was alarmingly potent that it stunned him. "Because it was I who tore my family apart with my deception..."
"Alexa-"
"I'm a horrible liar, Keith...but Team Galactic...I think that was the best lie I've ever told..."
"To your Mom and Dad?" Keith asked carefully.
"...to them...to myself...either way, its ramifications hurt like nobody's business...I led my parents to believe that, excluding the Pokémon League, my travels through Sinnoh went without incident..." Keith began to feel sorry for Alexa. "At the same time...I led myself to believe that I'd gotten over it..." Alexa relaxed her stance, but she somehow looked completely submissive, much to Keith's concern. "...my Dad was right...I was reckless..."
"...m-maybe it'd be a better idea if you sorted things out with your Mom and Dad first," Keith suggested gently.
"After the way I left? I don't think it'd be that simple."
"What do you mean?" Alexa held her arms out, as if to signal Keith to look at her entire being, which he did.
"...I...I just packed some basic supplies and left, leaving some hurtful words behind...everything in my pack is all I have... ...I...I was such a brat." Keith was alarmed.
"I-I don't think that's-"
"I left proclaiming my Dad to be the reason I decided to run away, Keith; if that's not being a brat...then I don't know what brat means..."
"...y-you should still try."
"I...I'm not ready to face that yet...not after the way I behaved as I left... ...heck, I'm not even sure if I'm ready to sort things out between US anymore..." Keith felt torn.
"I'm...I'm sorry I didn't make things easier for you..."
"...honestly, I...I should have expected such a cold reception...I deserved it after how I treated my Mum and Dad...I even ignored my little brother's concern for me...!" Keith felt himself tearing up.
"T-That's no reason not to try...!" Alexa faced him in confusion; she could tell that he was unusually keen for her to try and save her family ties, but what puzzled her the most...were his tears.
"Keith?"
"At least you HAVE a family you can salvage!" he cried as he looked directly at her, his tears finally trickling from his eyes. Keith's words horrified and devastated Alexa.
Lily sighed with sheer delight as she lowered her newly emptied soup mug from her face and placed it on the plate her slices of buttered bread occupied prior to consumption.
"Could use a little basil, but you can tell the tomatoes they used were fresh." Confused and concerned by Hayden's lack of response, she looked over at him, only to find that he barely touched any of his soup or his slices of bread, which looked completely untouched. "Aw, honey...don't you like it?"
"It's fine, but... ...I just don't have much of an appetite, I guess..." If Lily hadn't placed her soup mug down, she would have dropped it as an overpowering sense of deja vu coursed through her mind, nearly petrifying her.
"...Hayden...that's EXACTLY what Alexa said the night after she and Keith fell out...w-word for word..." Hayden ever so slightly raised his head, making his submissive demeanour clearer to his frightened wife as he sat opposite her in silence. "...Colin was right...y-you and Alexa...you really ARE so much alike...and it IS frightening..." Hayden showed no reaction to Lily's observation; he didn't even look like he even twitched! "...l-let's get out of here and talk about this, okay?" With a quiet sigh as her only response, Lily hailed for one of the pub's waiting staff and requested the bill; despite the premature request, the young waiter nodded compliantly as he left the table. As he left, Lily kept her eye on Hayden; to her horror, she was starting to fear for him.
To be continued...