A/N: It's official. My laptop is officially gone, claimed by the bluescreen of death for several days now...It will be greatly missed. Meanwhile, I have been working endlessly, writing on my phone and using my iPad to upload until I can get a new one to resume my work. The good news is this has given me more time to work on future chapters and stories before compiling everything together. The bad news is it may take many edits and trys before I am able to upload again simply because of how time-consuming it is to write on my phone, save in my email, then try to upload via my iPad. But I will give my best effort. This also puts a major pause on my classes, preventing me from completing assignments to prepare me for my certification exam, so that unfortunately is now delayed, but as I said, it gives me more time to work on this story and flesh out my characters. Hopefully this chapter will make up for the abruptness of the previous ones.
Please don't forget to review if you can. Hope you enjoy! Here's Chapter 32.
"I've been out for how long?" Asked Lunick.
"Two months, 3 weeks, and six days," answered Solana. "But who's counting?"
Lunick chuckled uncomfortably. "That long, huh?" His voice was still hoarse from the length of time the flexible plastic tube was placed down his trachea to ventilate his lungs, but he was slowly starting to piece together what happened with his friends' retelling of events and Dr. Joy's input. He'd been officially conscious for about three weeks, but for the first two weeks he fluctuated between a minimally conscious state where he had limited awareness that came and went to one that gradually become more unfettered as the days passed and turned into weeks.
He was initially very confused about where he was and had no recollection of being admitted to the hospital before Leilani, Solana and the others started filling in the gaping holes in his memory of what happened and Lunick was shocked by his own rash behavior. He couldn't remember his line of thinking of why he decided to push Leilani out of the way rather than advance on the perp when he saw her freeze up. He totally mishandled that situation. But his friends were easy on him, thankful just that he had awoken from his coma after two months.
Once his parents heard the news that he was awake, they rushed over and were there everyday all day just as when he was unconscious. His mother nearly smothered him with her hugs and kisses.
As soon as Lunick reawakened, Dr. Joy informed him he needed to start rehabilitation immediately to improve his motor skills, stimulate brain function, and recover from being bedridden with low brain activity for several weeks. The first time Lunick tried to stand out of bed he collapsed. For a while it was as if he had forgotten basic functions that one should be able to do without thinking. But his muscles were greatly weakened and his balance and basic motor skills were completely thrown off. He needed intensive physical therapy and physiotherapy and thus his visitations were cut short. He spent much of the time trying to maintain his balance, relearning to lift his feet slowly to take steps with the aid of parallel bars, and underwent routine massages, acupuncture, heat treatments and yoga exercises. By the end of the day, his energy was completely zapped, not to mention he heavily depended on the IV fluids and pain medications like morphine and fentanyl to manage and ease his severe pain, especially when he had to do bodily exercises and physical therapy. He was at the point in treatment now where he could take very slow walks with the parallel bars and could just support his weight and balance with the aid of a walker. Lunick couldn't wait until he had regained all of his fine motor skills so he could settle back into his regular routine.
"I'm so proud of you, Lunick. You've come a long way," Solana said as she fluffed her boyfriend's pillow.
Lunick winced in pain as he nestled into bed.
"Yeah, well, it's taking a lot longer for me to get back to my usual self."
"You've endured something traumatic, Lunick. You've got to give yourself time to heal both physically and mentally from this. Getting shot and taking time to recover is nothing to scoff at. It's all one big process."
He grimaced slightly. He hadn't told anyone but his doctor, but he had been suffering with nightmares ever since he regained consciousness and he couldn't understand why. It certainly wasn't the first time he was shot at, but it was the first time the bullet landed, nearly taking him out completely. He couldn't help but feel somewhat emasculated. It felt stupid but he felt ashamed, guilty even that he was having these nightmares and terrors about a bullet that wasn't even meant for him. Not to mention he'd also been struggling with existential dread, which is something he thought he'd never be afflicted by given his strong faith and confidence.
"Yeah, well, I could do without one day of stretches and needles. I've got labs in the morning."
"All of it is very important, Lunick. We very nearly lost you. It's important we know where your vitals are at every moment and that you are keeping up with your therapies." She said as she sat back down in the chair beside his bed.
"Speaking of labs," he began, "You know what I'm gonna ask, right?"
Solana sighed. "Yeah, I know."
"Have you done it?"
"I wanted to wait for you. I didn't feel I could do it alone. Face it by myself."
"Well, I'm not leaving this hospital anytime soon. Might as well get it done while I'm here."
"I'm scared of the results." She uttered.
"The first step is to take the test. We can plan afterwards. I promise, I'm not going anywhere, Solana."
"You almost did."
"But I didn't. I got you, okay? Even like this, in this pathetic state, I got you."
"Stop it. You are not pathetic."
Lunick held out his hand. Solana took it and Lunick brought her right hand to his lips for a kiss. "Go take the test, Babe. We won't get the results for a couple days anyway. Maybe I'll be doing better by then. Regardless, we've got time to deal with it. Okay?"
Solana nodded before taking a deep breath. "Okay."
"We're in this together," Lunick reminded.
"I know," again she nodded. She leaned over and kissed Lunick gently on the lips. She felt his tongue brush against the crevice of her lips and she tensed.
"It's okay, " he reassured. "I'm not hurting here."
Solana again pressed her lips to his and this time when he asked for entry, she opened her mouth willingly. It was a longing, sensual moment that they both desperately needed to comfort one another. It wasn't until they heard a throat being cleared that they begrudgingly separated and turned to see Lunick's mother at the door.
"Hey, Mom," Lunick called, though he could see the uncomfortableness in her eyes as she watched them.
"All right. I'm gonna go do it," Solana whispered to him.
"Come back here when you're done."
Nodding one last time, Solana let go of Lunick's hand and headed to the door. She glanced at Elvera but said nothing as she walked passed her to the floor's elevator.
"Not even a 'hello'," Elvera snarked.
"I wasn't expecting you so soon," Lunick replied as he shifted painfully in bed.
"Clearly," she replied as she approached him.
"Where's Dad?"
"Work. Couldn't get the day off to come by within visiting hours."
"That's fine. I'll talk to him some other time. I'm about ready to take a long nap after PT today."
"Lunick, stay awake for a minute. I need to talk to you." She put down the utensils and Tupperware container she was carrying on the tray beside the bed, trying to give him a look that was supposed to be understanding and motherly. "Lunick, you think you're in love with Solana, don't you?"
That question was way out of left field. If he wasn't prodded awake by her entrance before, he was now.
"I don't think anything, Mom. I love her with all my heart…I have for a long time." He answered quickly, a little taken aback by her choice of words.
"I'm sure you feel that way right now, but she's always been a good friend to you, right? I think you might be confusing those feelings for romantic ones."
"No, I'm not confused. I might not be the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to a lot of things, but this I'm sure about. Solana's my best friend and my girlfriend. Both. I don't think there could be one without the other."
"Lunick, honey, I know you think that now, but you don't have any experience with this. Solana is the only girl you have ever been around and with for any time, so it's perfectly natural for you to be attracted to her, but I'm afraid since she's decided to indulge in a little love-play with you that it's clouded your judgment."
"What do you mean, Mom?" he was starting to get a sinking feeling about where she was going with this.
"Solana is…a nice girl. She's been raised by seemingly good parents based on what you've told me about them but now she's finally deciding to experiment a little. She's afraid she will be hurt by boys she doesn't know as well as you, so you make a good, safe partner for her to test the waters."
"What do you mean?"
"Son, guys like she has gone out with in the past want girls who have some experience. Solana was raised to be a nice girl, but she hasn't attracted the kind of boys she seems to like and I think that has something to do with it. She probably thinks that if she paired up with you it would be a lot less likely she'd get hurt."
"Get hurt, Mom, I'd never hurt her."
"That's exactly what I'm saying. She knows you are hopelessly devoted to her and even if she wasn't any good the first time you wouldn't know any better. If she went with one of those hottie boys she chases after the first time, he might not want her and she would be devastated."
"Wait a second. First of all, Solana has never chased after any boy…guy before me. We're each other's firsts, you can't just ignore that. Secondly, from what it sounds like, you mean to tell me you think Solana is just using me to get experience…doing it?"
"Yes, Lunick. It pains me to tell you this, but I've seen it so many times before with popular girls like her. I'm just so afraid the way the two of you have been going at it lately that you're setting yourself up to get hurt pretty badly when she moves on."
The very thought of Solana 'moving on' was devastating to him. It was inconceivable. What they had was real. He knew that. "Where are you getting this? Solana isn't like that at all…and you think that way about me? That she can't feel about me the way I feel about her because I'm not some hot stud? That all I am is some kind of tool?"
"Oh, dear, you are a very pretty boy. And maybe she does see you as one. How could any girl not? But, Lunick, how can you explain a girl like that sleeping with you?"
"Sleeping with…Even if we were, did it ever occur to you that maybe she found out maybe I was the one she wanted all along? Is it so hard to think that maybe she's in love with me? That maybe she wants to have sex with me because I'm the one who turns her on, not just as a stepping stone to some other prettier, hotter guy with bleached hair? Is that all you think of me?" Shock was slowly starting to turn to something darker. Anger boiling up from inside.
"Lunick, you're my beautiful precious little man, but let's be realistic. You're not as ripped as some of those other rangers on the field and let's face it, she is a little trampish. And don't try to play coy with me about Solana. I know the two of you have been carrying on for quite some time. The stories do get back to me about you going off on the hills in Ringtown and the way the two of you disappear into each other's homes. It doesn't take a genius to know the two of you have been at it for a long time now."
Lunick's hands balled up into fists even though he was in severe pain, his face a mask of barely contained rage. "I…I can't believe this. First you just about tell me I'm a weak, ugly guy who Solana will never appreciate, then you all but call me a liar to my face…yeah, we've come real close to that, and you know what, yeah, we've done it once. And let me tell you, this little seductress tramp thing you keep not just implying but outright stating with Solana - I wanted it just as badly, maybe even more than she did. I really don't care what you say about me, Mom, but when you say things like that about Solana it hurts. Hurts me really bad and not because I'm scared you might be right, but that you think so little of someone you have known just as long as I have. I love Solana. It's not buddy-love, it's not play love, it's the real deal and I know in my heart she feels the same way about me and it's not a crush, and it's not just a trial run. We've talked about the future and what we want. We've talked about when we want to do things like sex and even more important things."
"Lunick, I never called you ugly. You're my handsome little man. Furthermore, you're much too young to be talking about marriage."
"I know that Mom, and so do we, but that doesn't mean we can't tell each other what we want. We know we're too young for a lot of things and we've decided to put off any real decisions about that until we aren't, but we're still planning to be together for the long haul."
"But Lunick, have you even considered the fact you might not be together for the long haul? Yes, I do know Solana and she tends to be very flirty at times. How can you know that she won't get tired of you in a couple more months or years? The two of you are both going to be graduating soon and that means you'll be at the top of the social heap at the base as senior rangers, but she's going to go to college after that and suddenly she's going to be a very attractive young girl around lots of older boys."
"She's not going to do that. She's better than that."
"How do you know? Has one of these 'hotties' shown up yet? What happens when she's got her choice of a nice-looking boy who's also smart? What if he's rich? Get real…what do you have to offer her to compete with that other than sex? She's not good enough for you, son. Plus, is she even Christain?"
The anger finally boiled over. "That's it, isn't it? It's not that she's not good enough for me or that she's going to go after some hotter guy. It's the fact she's not a devout born-again evangelical Christain, isn't it? I can't believe that in this day and age people like you can be so narrow-minded to think everything has to be what race, color or religion somebody is."
"Lunick, it does matter. She literally believes different things than you do. That's just a recipe for disaster down the road. Politics and religion can be as big a problem in relationships as money or sex."
"Mom, have you even noticed that Solana has been coming to church with us?"
"Yes, I've noticed that, but it's only been for you. She sits there quietly and politely because she doesn't understand what's going on, but in the end she's just putting on a show. Does that mean she is converting? That's another thing I think that could be wrong. Changing your beliefs just for sex?"
"I'm not changing my beliefs, Mom! Neither is Solana. She does believe in God and Jesus, as if that even qualifies for us being together at all. And it doesn't all boil down to just sex. Listen to me. I…love...Solana! I know she feels the same way about me. And listen to yourself. You just said she goes to church for me. She may not understand half of what goes on there with the spontaneous shouting, praising, and speaking in tongues, but she asks me about it and she's interested when I explain things to her."
He looked into her eyes. All he could see there was something that looked almost like…pity. What was there to be pitied about his love for Solana?
"Lunick," Elvera breathed. "You're not hearing me, son. Solana, does not care about you the way you think she does. She doesn't love you. She is using you. Yes, you were blessed with pretty hair and eyes and are the quintessential pretty boy, yes, you have matured some these past few years, but does she appreciate that? No! Instead, she wants to take advantage of you, of your kindness, of your devoutness to her to gain sexual experience. You admitted that you have had sex and that she was the one to initiate it. Had she not, I bet you wouldn't have indulged her. You only slept with her to satisfy your need to please her and make her happy. Not only that but I've heard from Spenser. She clouds your judgement, gets you all in a tizzy and you can't perform your duties. Regardless of how I feel about this perilous occupation you have chosen, work not done well might as well not be done. She also makes you doubt yourself. And you want to be with her what because she is your partner? Because she is your best friend? Come on, dear. Wake up! She abandoned you and let you get shot, let you almost die. What kind of partner does that, work or life partner? The only thing she wants from you is sex and once she got it, she was willing to let you die. Is that the kind of partner you want? The future wife you want? Not to mention her nondenominational Christain status. She will never be who you need her to be, Lunick. That's the unfortunate truth."
Lunick gave a low growl as his dark blue eyes lit ablaze as he stared down his mother.
"You don't know anything," he growled. "I thought you had changed but I was so wrong. Solana isn't the problem. You are!" He hissed.
"Lunick -"
"It isn't me who won't live up to her expectations. It's that she'll never live up to yours. She'll never be good enough for you. What because she's not an evangelist? Because she's smart and freakishly independent? Solana didn't abandon me, Mom, I told her to go on-leave. She didn't even want to but I pushed her to do it. Why? Because we had a pregnancy scare. That's right, we thought she may have been pregnant for a minute there. Because we did have sex. In case you forgot, it takes two to do that. And it was a mutual decision. She didn't just take my virginity, I gave it willingly to her. I know you don't like to think that I can be capable of fornication and breaking any commandment or scripture because I'm your perfect little Lunick, but we had sex and we freaking enjoyed it, Mom! Solana isn't this seductress. She didn't trick or seduce me into sleeping with her. You have no idea what she has been through or endured sexually, mentally or emotionally. So you have no idea how special it was for us to even take that step to begin with. And we had a genuine pregnancy scare. Oh, but don't worry, you're not in danger of becoming a grandmother. But during that time, we weren't sure, and I told her to stay home. That's why she wasn't with me on the mission. And you know what else? I made the reckless decision that got me shot because I was trying to protect my partner at the time, who was going through a struggle of her own. You never see anyone else's point of view but you're biased one, but I got myself shot! It wasn't Leilani's fault and it wasn't Solana's fault. It was my own carelessness. But I survived by some miracle, just to wake up and hear my mother bad-mouth the girl I'm in love with and will marry some day. Yes, I'm talking about it, nevermind how young I am. I've talked and planned for the future with Solana, and I one day, when we've decided, we will make that lifelong commitment. One day, we will start a family together, and I'd love to have your approval on that. But at this moment, I don't care if I ever get it or not because I can't even stand to look at you right now. There is absolutely nothing to pity about me or shame Solana for. Our love is real, more real than you have ever been with me about how you truly felt about her."
Elvera clutched her chest as she stared worriedly at her child.
"Lunick -"
"I think you should leave," Lunick interjected. "Since I can't storm out of this room myself. You need to leave. Please go."
Elvera opened her mouth to say something before shaking her head and turning around to leave the room.
Lunick exhaled deeply. How could she say things like that to him? Did she have so little respect for the two of them? Did it matter so much to his mother that the love of his life was a Christian? Did she really believe Solana was this temptress succubus that wanted nothing more than to steal his life energy via sex? He didn't know what to believe anymore. He just couldn't look at his mother any longer in that moment.
He felt hot, bothered and all over his body burned and ached from the increased tension. He didn't have enough morphine for the level of pain he felt in that moment.
"Knock, knock. Are you okay to accepting another visitor?"
Lunick opened his eyes to see Leilani peering in from the doorway. He nodded.
"Come on in."
She shuffled into the room quietly as her Partner Pokémon went to his familiar corner of the room to meditate. She sat down in the chair beside the bed.
"How're you feeling?"
"Like I just went toe-to-toe with twenty Hitmons."
"That bad, huh? The narcotics aren't helping at all?"
"They waver. They help in the beginning for a while but they don't last nearly long enough considering it's an IV drip. Every bone and muscle in my body just aches and burns all over. And I don't think my getting all upset now helped at all," he was still feeling the rage gripping him from his conversation with his mother.
Leilani frowned. "I'm sorry you're in so much pain. Anything I can help with?"
"No, I'm afraid. Just something I gotta wait out and endure until my next dose," he winced as he strained to shift in his bed.
Leilani stood up. "Here, let me help you," she said, putting her arms carefully around Lunick's mid and lower back and she gently raised his body as he moved more on his right side in the bed.
"Thank you, Leilani," he breathed, nestling his head back against his pillow.
"No problem."
Lunick also noted the careful way Leilani maneuvered her body as she sat back down in the chair and frowned.
"It's still going on?" He asked sadly.
"What do you?…Oh…Yeah…That…Yeah, it is."
"Leilani, how much longer are you going to put up with this? You don't need to suffer like you are. You have options."
"Easier said, Lunick. I'm not even sure I have the will to keep going."
"Stop it."
"It's true. What do I have to look forward to everyday? The only certainty and constant is that I'm going to be wailed on by the time I get off work and back home for some insipid, stupid reason."
"Leilani, you let yourself be overcome by sorrow, you will drown in it."
"Like you could ever -" Leilani immediately caught herself as she realized what she was about to insinuate. Her eyes fell to the floor. "I'm sorry, Lunick."
Lunick looked down to his torso where his open gown revealed the many scars and incisions on his body that were in various stages of healing from his extensive surgery months ago. Some wounds had been reopened during therapies and he had to have procedures to close them again.
"I'm…not the same either, Leilani. Getting shot, going through all this rigorous therapy and aggressive treatments…It's taken its toll on me mentally as well. I can't sleep at night. And some part of me deep inside, I think, is afraid of me one day not waking up."
Leilani looked back up at Lunick. "Lunick, you survived a serious ordeal. And you've made strides, tremendous strides these past two months. You're not in danger of dying."
"I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of leaving everyone behind. Solana, Minun, Plusle, Murph, you, everyone. I get this sickening feeling that things would have gone down real bad if I hadn't woken up. And now, my mind, it worries one day…"
"Lunick, you have literally carried the weight of the world on your shoulders for far too long. You and Solana have been through some major shit. Of course that is going to impact you mentally as well. And yet, somehow, you still manage to smile through it. I don't know how you do that. How you keep persevering when all the odds are against you. But it's how you've survived, right? Solana said when you woke up, you were wearing that goofy grin of yours. No matter how grim the situation you just keep on smiling."
"Because if I don't, I'll fall to my own darkness." Lunick answered. "You don't think I get scared?"
"I know you do."
"Of course I do. There are several things I'm terrified about this very minute. But I'm not gonna let that hold me back or stop me from doing what I need to do. The fate of the world literally depended on me going past my limits so many times. I couldn't let myself drown. And neither can you, Leilani. When it rains, thunderstorming like crazy, look for the double rainbows. And when it's dark, look for stars. In short, all that means is to look for the positives in a negative or seemingly impossible situation. Nothing bad lasts forever, and nothing good ever really dies."
Leilani could feel the tears welling in her eyes. Lunick continued.
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it, right? It's the same thing. Whatever attempts to destroy you ends up nourishing you. You will survive this, Leilani. I know you can't see it yet. So I'll hold onto that hope for you. I'll carry that burden with me. Because being a beacon of hope for others is the very essence of being a Pokémon Ranger. I want to help restore you, Leilani. I want to help heal you. You don't have to know how to start over, you just need to know how to let go."
The tears flowed on their own. "Why? Why are you doing so much for me? Aren't you scared of what'll happen if Alejandro gets to you like this? I can't even begin to imagine -"
"Perfect love has no fear."
Leilani's eyes shimmered. Her heart caught in her throat at his words.
Lunick smiled wearily. "You are one of the most important persons in my life, Leilani. I'd fight the devil himself for you just as I would for my own. When you're a leader, you don't follow the crowd, you show them where to go. I want to protect all that is dear to me, including you. I will walk in the darkness while casting a light for you to get through. I'll fight this battle to give you an opportunity of escape. I'll do whatever it takes. Because you mean much more to me than some sutured organs and bruised muscles."
Lunick always had a way of being flowery with words. It was one of his strong suits. But one thing about him was that he always remained true to the convictions in which he spoke. So it wasn't surprising at all to Lunick that Leilani may have been moved by what he said. He wasn't just saying it to say it, he meant it. So when she stood up from her chair, he half-expected her to envelop him in an embrace. What he didn't expect was to feel the warmth of her lips against his. His eyebrows raised in quiet shock as she pressed her lips against his and caressed his face. It lasted maybe five seconds but it felt endless. Lunick was too stunned to move, not to mention the pain medication had his head already in a foggy haze. His reaction time was slowed. It was Leilani who was the one to pull away, her eyes full of overwhelming horror as she realized what she had just done.
"Oh my God! Lunick, I…I didn't…"
Lunick just stared awkwardly at her, his own mouth struggling to form words to make sense of what had just transpired between them.
Leilani covered her mouth. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I just…I don't even…"
Her cheeks flushing, Leilani spun in her heels and bolted out of the hospital room, her Lucario hurriedly chased after her, disrupted from his meditated state.
Lunick blinked as he continued to stare gawkily at the door to his room. He didn't kiss her back but he didn't reject her either. What did that mean? Did that mean anything at all?
He raised his left hand and slowly ran it over his face. This wouldn't be the first time his words may have landed him in some serious hot water with Solana, but it was the closest to cheating he had ever come. And that most definitely was not good.
It was already getting dark when Solana returned to the floor. She could see the sun sinking quickly in the west through the mid-wall to ceiling glass windows. Solana wasn't ready for the day to end, she barely got to spend any time with Lunick that day.
She felt a light touch on her shoulder as she crossed the lobby of the sprawling complex. She turned to see a very worried looking Elvera Kaneko.
"Solana, can I talk to you in private please?"
"Sure thing, Mrs. Kankeo. Is something wrong?"
They sat down at one of the couch places all around the floor.
"Solana, how do you love my son?"
"I'm not sure I understand what you're asking."
"Do you see him as being a long-term boyfriend or is this something that's just for fun right now? Just how strong are your feelings for him?"
"I…I love him with my whole heart. I know it sounds kind of silly coming from somebody my age, but it's not puppy-love or just good times. I'm in it for the long haul with him."
"So you see the two of you getting married years down the road?"
Solana found she couldn't read Elvera's expression, giving her no clue where any of this was headed. "It's too soon for us to say anything like that, but I really don't see why not eventually."
"Do your parents have any concerns about Lunick being Christain?"
"Why would they? It's never mattered the least little bit. Mrs. Kaneko, what is going on? Is something wrong with Lunick? Is there something wrong with me being nondenominational?"
"Solana, I think I may have said some really terrible things to Lunick just a little while ago. He was really angry and demanded I leave the room and it's got me worried."
"If you don't mind me asking, what did you say?"
Elvera closed her eyes for a moment, mentally trying to compose her thoughts. As best she could, she recounted the whole conversation she had with him. When she was done, Solana just sat there, stunned.
"I…I had no idea that meant so much to you."
"I didn't think it would either, until I started noticing the two of you getting closer and closer. I just never imagined that he would have a real chance with you."
Anger was welling up deep inside Solana, making it hard for her to keep her voice low in the public setting. "Listen. What I have for Lunick is real. I'm not just playing him, I'm not using him. I love him and I love him for what and who he is. I'm not interested in looking for a newer, better model down the road. I've made my choice and I've given him my heart and as far as the hotties go, Lunick is everything I want or need in a man. He is the sexiest being in this world to me. Maybe you just can't see that, but I can. He has a beautiful soul and that's what I fell for. On top of that, he's very handsome and cute and he's starting to grow into his man's body. I don't know if you were aware of it, but it took Lunick pushing me past all that shallow crap I was mired in before to realize just how much he means to me. As far as I'm concerned we're going to spend the rest of our lives together, and if that means I have to do it without your blessing simply because I pray to God differently than you do, then so be it. I've learned a lot about Lunick and about myself lately and it means more than that."
"Solana, please, sit down." Elvera said.
Solana realized that she had risen from her seat, her fists balled up, her whole body shaking with rage. She did manage to keep her voice down but at the expense of the rest of her being coiled up like she was ready to strike the older woman down. Fighting to calm herself, she sat back down.
"Solana, you have to understand, I want what's best for my Lunick. He's put so much of himself into this romance of yours. I just didn't want to see him hurt if you didn't feel the same way."
"Mrs. Kaneko…" she was still fighting to slow her heart rate. "…everything Lunick is putting into this relationship, I am too. We're serious and even if something were to change in the future, in the right here and now this is the be-all and end-all of us. Believe me, I know there are going to be hard decisions to be made. Just the other night when Lunick fell out of bed I was so worried that he was going to be badly hurt. I mean, I always worry, but now there's a much bigger dimension to it. Now I have to worry whether concern for him is going to take my head out of the game, getting one or both of us hurt in the process, but regardless, I couldn't go on without him by my side. Lunick is far more precious than sex alone could ever be. And to be frank, you know nothing about my sex life. You have no idea what I have been through in any relationship. Yet you are projecting your own anxiety about Lunick getting hurt and intermixing it with your own personal feelings about me, which are completely baseless. That you even think so little of me and that I would even be capable of hurting Lunick in such a way speaks volumes about how you've always seen me and it cuts deeply. But I'm not here to please or satisfy you. I'm here for Lunick, for the long haul. And just because we did have sex, doesn't mean I played or manipulated him into doing anything he wasn't already willing and wanting to do and engage in himself. So perhaps you do not know your son as well as you think. Now, I would dearly love to have you and his father's blessing, but I don't have to have that. I will respect you and I won't come to your home anymore. I'll just see him when we're out or at my place, but I'd hate for it to come to that. What matters most is how I love him."
Elvera nodded, a couple tears rolling down her cheek. "Solana, that's all I wanted to hear. I know I haven't been the best to you over the years. If you say you're in this for the big picture, I'll trust you and you do have my blessing…to go steady with my Lunick. Come to me in a few years and we'll discuss anything beyond that."
"Sure, Mrs. Kaneko. Now, where is Lunick? Is he still in his room?"
"He should be. I don't know if he has anymore therapies today or not."
"Thank you. I'll take it from here.
Solana reentered the hospital room to see a dozing Lunick in his bed. Smiling softly, she walked over to him and gave him a kiss on the forehead. He flinched and his eyes snapped opened.
"Hey there, it's okay, Baby. It's only me."
"Solana," he breathed.
"Were you having a bad dream?"
"I guess so. Only I'm not sure it was a dream."
Solana sat down and crossed her legs as she sat.
"Well, it'll have to wait for a moment. I have some news for you."
"You do?"
"I spoke to your mom."
Lunick sighed heavily and slightly rolled his eyes before closing them and reopening them slowly.
"She told me about the conversation you both had earlier."
"I'm surprised she had the gall to confront you to your face after I spoke with her."
Solana shrugged. "She certainly didn't mince words with me."
"Solana, I don't want you to fret over her. Her perceptions of you don't matter."
"Too late. Fretting started about two hours ago. And her perceptions of me do matter. I'm your partner, she's your mother. There's a necessary connection there."
"She severed that connection when she more than crossed the line of calling you a -" Lunick fell silent.
Solana shook her head. "She already told me what she thinks of me. That I'm some sex-crazed skank manipulating you."
"Don't listen to her, Solana. You aren't some Jezebel floozy who intoxicated me with your charm like a siren. I willing engaged with you."
"I know that. It just hurts that as long as I've known her, I never knew how deeply she distrusted me. I've always known she was overprotective of you, and she's always been a religious woman. But the things she said she thought I would do, the names she called me, the intentions she thought I had, it burns. It fills me with so much rage inside."
"You're telling me. She pissed me the hell off, I couldn't even stand to look at her anymore."
Solana crossed her arms. "She said you kicked her out."
"I did."
"Still, she's your mother, Lunick. We're gonna have to deal with her. Just knowing the contempt she had or has for me stings. But she claims she's changed."
"That fast?" Lunick questioned.
"Apparently she only wanted confirmation that my love for you was real."
"Bullshit. She hasn't changed at all."
"Lunick, that's your mother."
"And I'm still upset with her. She had no right to say that to me, none. And now I know she's said it to you too? What is wrong with that woman? I mean, it's nothing new from her. She sees the world a certain way and everyone in it is supposed to play a certain part. That still doesn't give her the right to put you down like that."
"I'll be fine, Lunick. It just hurts to hear how she truly sees me. I hope Lou doesn't feel the same way."
"No way!" Lunick crossed his arms over one another dramatically. "No way my dad thinks that way of you. He loves you."
That finally made her smile softly, knowing she had the approval of at least one of Lunick's parents.
Lunick laid back against his bed. "My Dad will straighten her out. I'm sure of it."
There was a knock on the bedroom door and Dr. Joy soon entered holding a clipboard. "Good evening you two."
"Good evening, Dr. Joy."
"You're working late." Said Lunick.
"Yes, working a double tonight. I'll be here overnight as well so if you need anything do not hesitate to call me."
"Will do. Is it time for my next set of meds?"
Dr. Joy eyed the four IV bags hanging on the stand beside Lunick.
"I suppose you are running low. Are you in any pain at all?"
"Lots."
"I'll have the nurse bring in another bag of morphine for you."
"Thank you very much."
"I won't be long. I just came to read you your results."
"Results? I didn't have any tests today. I don't have labs until morning."
"Not you, Lunick. Solana."
"Me?" She questioned.
Dr. Joy nodded. "You had bloodwork drawn earlier today. You asked for a stat pregnancy test."
"Oh," Solana muttered.
"You got the results from the lab that quickly?" Asked Lunick. "Don't you need to wait a few days for the results?"
"Ordinarily, yes. But I put a rush on this order since Solana seemed particularly anxious and wanted the result as soon as possible."
"We do want it," Solana answered as Lunick reached over and gripped her hands tightly with his.
"Do you want me to give it to you straight?"
Solana and Lunick shared a worried glance then nodded.
"We're ready," Lunick answered pensively.
Dr. Joy nodded. He looked down at his clipboard.
"I don't know which way you were hoping for either way, so I'll just come out and say it: You're not pregnant, Solana."
Lunick exhaled louder than he meant to at the mention of 'not' while Solana relaxed her shoulders.
Dr. Jared Joy glanced between the two teenagers. "By the looks of things, I surmise these were the results you were hoping for?"
"Yes, very much so," answered a very relieved Lunick.
"Then congratulations on not being pregnant. Words I never thought I'd be saying to any couple but in this case, I get it." He looked back at Solana's chart. "Your bloodwork yielded other test results as well. It shows elevated liver enzymes, evidence that you're hyperglycemic, anemic and have leukopenia, which is a decrease in the number of leukocytes or white blood cells."
Lunick frowned and stared pointly at Solana.
"Results like these usually indicate an underlying medical problem. I suggest you follow up with your primary care physician."
"Yes, Dr. Joy."
Nodding, Dr. Joy started for the door. "Well, I have to be getting back to the geriatric unit. Lunick, I'll have the nurse come in and change your bags."
"Thank you."
He shut the door behind him, leaving an uncomfortable silence between the two rangers.
Seeing as she wasn't going to bring it up, Lunick spoke first, letting go of her hands.
"Solana?…what's up with those results?"
"I've just been a little sick lately. It's nothing. The good news is that I'm not pregnant, right? Weight off our shoulders, right?" She said, kind of forced.
Lunick furrowed his brow. "You're avoiding the question. What's up with those results? Hyperglycemia? Low white blood cell count? Anemia?"
"It's nothing to worry about, Lunick. I'm fine."
Lunick gripped his sheet tightly between his hands.
"How long are you going to continue to lie to me, Solana?"
Solana's smile disappeared. "What?"
"You really thought I hadn't noticed? After all this time?" He asked incredulously. "I know you're starving yourself and purging anytime you eat anything with some substance. Those results are telltale indicators of anorexia even if I didn't already have my suspicions."
Solana's eyes widened slightly as her mouth gaped.
Lunick sighed irritably. "I wanted to believe it was all in my head. The excessive exercising, the constant fainting, seeing you get smaller and smaller, finding perfectly good food in the trash can - none of it made any sense! But it was cemented when Leilani finally told me she caught you vomiting in the bathroom."
Solana looked away. "She told you."
"She did, but she didn't have to because I already knew. I just didn't want to believe it…How long did you think you could keep this from me?"
"Lunick, you don't understand."
"You're damn right I don't understand. Why would you do this to yourself? What if you really were pregnant? You're telling me you would deprive our baby of the essential nutrients it needs just so you could maintain a certain weight? Are you that delusional?"
"You could be upset without insulting me!" She snapped back.
"Apparently not because that seems to be the only thing you respond to," he retorted back. "Make it make sense, Solana. Especially with our workload and specifically because of what we do, you know how important it is to be energized. You really thought you could sustain yourself on water alone and taking a few supplements? Another thing, I know you've been guzzling down off-label recreational pills to lose weight. An unlabeled prescription bottle? You thought you got that passed me too?"
Solana stood to her feet. "You have no idea what I have been going through! How stressed out and out of control I've been feeling!"
"That's not an excuse!"
"Nothing ever is with you! In your self-righteous mind, nothing will ever be justified if it goes against your own personal morals and beliefs."
Lunick balled his fists and pressed them on either side of him as he strained to sit up in the hospital bed.
"Solana, this has nothing to do with my morals or beliefs. It has nothing to do with my faith. It has nothing to do with God. It has to do with how you see yourself. How you don't feel worthy enough to take care of your most basic needs. How you are literally damaging yourself and shortening your life span. You think I don't feel insecure? Less than? You think I'm happy with myself all the time? Everyone has something they are going through. Everyone! It's how you manage it that matters. You're not like other people who have no one to turn to. You have a support system, a strong support system. A network of people who are here for you and got your back, yet you constantly behave like you are alone in the world and I am sick of it. You may not want to acknowledge it, but your actions have consequences. And everything you do affects the people and Pokémon around you."
Solana shook her head. "See, this is why I couldn't come to you with what I am going through because you are so goddamn judgmental."
"You're right. I am. You know why? Because I fucking love you, Solana," he raised his voice. "I've done everything I can within my power to show you, prove to you that I am here for you no matter what and always will be. That you can confide in me, and that I'll continue to support you. That I love you more than anything. But all my doing doesn't matter in the end because you don't love yourself."
Solana again looked away as tears started to flow from her eyes. She plopped down in her chair and covered her face.
Lunick pressed on. "You continually berate yourself, put yourself down. Tell yourself you're not worthy of certain things you have regardless of how hard you may have worked to achieve them, including me. How many times now have you said you don't deserve me? Do you know how that makes me feel? This self-degradation has so much power over you. And it doesn't matter how many times I tell you, I show you. My love will never be enough to supersede your self-hatred. And it hurts so much to watch you do that to yourself. To continually tear yourself down, stress your body out, deprive yourself of things you need to live, it leaves me feeling completely helpless. I worry that one day I'm gonna walk in and find your body sprawled out on the floor."
Solana hugged herself tightly. "I'm not suicidal, Lunick."
"Right now." He said firmly. "But you're decompensating, Solana. You need to get some help."
She shook her head.
"Yes, you do," Lunick insisted. "Not only is what you're doing unhealthy, it's completely unsustainable. If we don't intervene right now, you will die. And I haven't spent weeks fighting for my life in here for you to end yours."
Solana continued to shake her head.
Lunick continued to watch her painfully. Then he outstretched his hand.
"Come here."
She timidly looked up and he beckoned her over.
"Come here, Babe."
Reluctantly, she got up from her chair and walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge of it. Lunick strained to wrap his arms around her and held her close.
"You need to get help. You need to find out the underlying reason for why you continue to hurt yourself and think ill of yourself. I'm not trained to help you with that…Please, Solana. See a therapist. Find someone to help deal with the toxicity and battles in your head."
"Lunick, this runs so deep, you can't begin to understand."
"I know. Which is why you need to seek professional help. Promise me, Solana."
Solana inhaled. "I already did. Before you regained consciousness. I was bargaining for your life."
"You didn't need to do that because nothing was going to stop me from coming back to you."
He kissed her gently on the forehead. He was then immediately reminded of what had transpired between him and Leilani earlier that day and was filled with guilt.
Solana snuggled into the crook of his neck. "I have to leave soon. Visiting hours are almost over and you need to get your rest. You've got physical therapy and labs in the morning."
"Hey, Solana? I've, uh…I gotta tell you something."
"Can it wait? I wanna enjoy the rest of the time we have tonight close together."
Lunick rested his hands on her shoulders and pushed her off of him.
"No. If you still want to snuggle afterwards, fine. But I can't do anything remotely sensual with you until I tell you what I've done."
Solana leaned back even further away from him as she looked at him.
"What did you do?" She ask pensively.
Lunick sighed.
"Earlier today, Leilani visited me while you were out."
"Okay?" Solana said, still unsure where this was going.
"She was really downcast and I was trying to encourage and uplift her."
"Go on. And?"
Lunick swallowed hard as recalled the moment and struggled to find his words.
Solana, getting more concerned of what had transpired, hardened her stare and focused hard on Lunick.
"What did you do, Lunick?"
"She…We…We kissed."
In almost slow motion, Solana's eyes went wide and her face morphed from completely serious to complete horror.
"W-Wha…What? What?!"
"I'm so sorry, Solana. It didn't mean anything."
"You kissed her?!"
"She kissed me but I was so shocked, I didn't pull away or push her off of me. By the time I figured what was going on -"
"How long?"
"What?"
"How long did you kiss?"
"A few seconds. I dunno. It doesn't matter."
"It does so matter! I can't believe you!"
"I'm so sorry, Solana. I just couldn't…I couldn't do anything with you until I told you what happened. I promise you, it meant nothing. I didn't even expect her to do what she did."
Solana held up her hand to silence him and stood up from the bed.
"Let's go, Plusle."
"Solana, please. Can we talk about this?"
"I'm done talking for today. Good night."
She slammed the door behind her, vibrating the walls slightly as the door made contact.
Sighing heavily, Lunick slumped back down on the rigid hospital bed. This had been one hell of a day.