Haunted
Author’s Notes:
Wowie! @_@ It’s been AGES since I updated last…and if there’s anyone that was totally hanging out for this chapter…I’m sorry I made you wait so long! Unfortunately, and for a reason I don’t know, I totally lost all inspiration for this story and couldn’t write it! But finally, here it is – the second to last chapter. This is where you’ll get all the answers, heh, I bet you’re happy about that.
I want to thank all my readers, and especially my
reviewers! Thanks for being so kind and sticking around until the end. I hope
you like this chapter and can forgive me for taking so long to get it out. I’ll
have a personal message for each of you in the last chapter. :) I hope you
like!!
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Darkness. It was all she could see as she opened her
eyes. She panicked for a moment, her breaths flowing in and out of her mouth
rapidly, before her eyes finally adjusted.
Misty glanced around silently. A stream of light
coming from under the door allowed her to make out the white walls that edged
the room, and the small window framing the one on her right. Next to her bed, a
small table on wheels was parked, and a tiny television was elevated on the
wall in the corner. She was in a hospital room, for sure. Turning her head on
its side, she then noticed a chair next to her bed, and slumped over that chair
was…
His soft snores indicated that he was asleep. He
looked terribly uncomfortable, but Misty was relieved that he was there
nonetheless. She needed him now, perhaps more than ever. She felt so alone, so
fearful. Just having him near made her feel like she was safe, like nobody
could touch her.
A wave of memories flooded back to her as she lay on her back. The kidnapping, Ash’s brave rescue… It was all so surreal that she had to question whether it was just a dream or not. But no, it had happened. Her past had come tearing through her life, destructive and vicious. She hadn’t seen Marina’s father since the accident all those years ago. He had always seemed so level-headed and calm. Not like the man who had almost killed her. He was livid, uncontrollable, violent…
After the Police had pulled herself and Ash to safety, everything was sort of blurry. She remembered crying in Ash’s arms for a long time, or it seemed like a long time. She wasn’t sure. At the time, she could barely connect a thought in her head; everything was spinning in all directions, as if her emotions were riding a roller coaster that had lost control. His arms were so strong around her, protecting her. She never wanted to let go, and she felt like if she did, she would fall to her knees and her world would fall apart right then and there. But eventually she was forced to part from his affectionate grasp, when the paramedics cut in. She could recall being led into the ambulance. Ash rode to the hospital with her. He was so brave. She knew he must have been frightened for his own life, but he seemed to have put all that aside so he could concentrate on her. Misty was very thankful for that…
When they arrived at the hospital, they were checked over for injuries. Sabrina was there as well. Misty could vaguely recall the doctor telling her she was fine, but she was very sleepy then, barely able to keep herself up. She couldn’t remember anything after that.
I guess I fell asleep… Makes sense…
Suddenly, Ash stirred on his seat. Misty glanced over to him. He let out a deep breath, but didn’t appear to wake up. Misty’s mind drifted to what he said on the bridge…what she said.
I meant what I said, but did he…? He
said he loves me. But did he mean it, or was it just something said in the heat
of the moment.…? He couldn’t have meant it, could he? Why would he love me?
He’s never really shown any interest in anything more than friendship with me.
I don’t know…
Misty closed her eyes, at the same time shutting her thoughts away in a closet in her mind. They could stay there for now. But in the darkness of her reverie, disturbing flashes of her kidnapper crossed her mind, causing her to shudder violently. She felt so vulnerable, and half-expected him to burst through the door and hurt her, kill her. As the horrifying thought devoured her sanity, she opened her eyes and was somewhat comforted to see that the door was still closed. But still, she couldn’t stop shaking all over, and let out a small sob as she tried to slow her panicked breathing.
“Misty?” Misty froze upon hearing his small voice pierce the silence.
“Yeah?”
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah.”
Her tone was unconvincing as it hung
tensely in the air. Ash opened his tired eyes and sat up straight.
“You don’t have to lie to me. If you’re feeling bad, then…”
“I know Ash…”
He nodded in reply, though he had his doubts as to whether she would be entirely honest with him about how she was feeling. In a way, it disheartened him, because he felt as if she were keeping a part of herself from him, when she covered up her feelings. But then, he knew that that was just the way she was, and there must be a lot of different reasons why she had become that way. Perhaps he could help her to trust him enough to tell him her deepest feelings and secrets. He hoped so…
“Did they catch him?” Misty asked softly, her edgy tone eluding that she didn’t want to hear a reply if it was going to be ‘no’.
“Don’t worry, they did. He’s been arrested…”
A sense of relief flooded her senses; his answer made her feel the tiniest bit more secure.
“Are you hurt?” she inquired earnestly.
“I’m fine, just glad that you’re safe. I can’t believe what he tried to do…” Anger was boiling inside of Ash as he balled his hands into fists and clenched his teeth.
“But it’s over now,” Misty rose slightly, putting her arms beside her so that she could pull herself into a sitting position. Ash stood, intent on helping her, but she held out a hand.
“It’s alright, I’m fine.” She sat up; it hadn’t been as difficult as she’d thought.
“What happened? How did you find me?” The question that had been circling beneath her thoughts was finally going to receive an answer.
“Well…” Ash thought back to the anxiety that plagued him earlier that night. “I phoned Sabrina and she teleported here. We went back to the hotel room but you were gone…” he paused for a moment before continuing. “Sabrina thought we should find Selicia, so we did… She had another premonition about you and gave us some details about the surroundings. We worked it out to be the bridge to Sunny Town and went straight there.”
Misty simply gave a nod, taking everything in.
I’m so lucky to have a friend like
Ash; I know he’d do anything for me…
“Is Sabrina still here? I’d like to thank her…”
“She had to go back to Saffron because she’s really busy. But I made sure to thank for both of us. She took Selicia as well, she’s going to help her to control her powers,” Ash explained.
“Oh? That’s great,” Misty nodded with a small smile, before letting it fade. “Why do you think her premonition changed?”
“Well…I don’t really know, but Sabrina seemed to think it was because we heard the premonition.”
“What do you mean?”
“I guess…since we knew what was going to happen and then tried to change it, the future changed as well.”
“That makes sense… Maybe there really was someone watching us when we left the library. Maybe it was him…” Unease destroyed any secure feelings inside of her, but Ash’s chocolate eyes, full of concern, quickly obliterated it.
“You were really brave tonight Ash… Thanks for…” Misty changed the subject.
“You don’t need to thank me, Misty. I didn’t even think twice about doing it, all I wanted was for you to be safe… If anyone ever hurt you I’d…” he paused then, becoming saddened once more by the thought that he could have lost Misty tonight.
His gaze, intense and full of compassion, rested on hers for a few moments, before she glanced away, turning her eyes away from his. Her expression was unreadable, almost blank, as if she didn’t know how to feel. Little did Ash know, this was an exact picture of her feelings, swirling around endlessly inside of her like lost fish in an ocean of confusion and doubt.
Misty knew she had to tell Ash the truth about what
happened in her past. She could see it in his eyes – he wanted to ask. He was
probably just trying to find the right time. But whether it be sooner or later,
the question would come. Inside, she had accepted the reality of the event,
fully knowing that it wasn’t her fault and that she couldn’t have done anything
to change what happened. Her nightmare was that Ash wouldn’t see it this way,
and that he would blame her, hate her, and walk out of her life. Logically,
Misty didn’t think Ash could be that unsympathetic, but it was a chance that
she didn’t want to take, because she knew that she couldn’t face losing him.
“Uh…Misty?”
When she heard his voice, Misty turned her head to
look at her closest friend. He looked timid and slightly flushed as he fiddled
with the button of his jacket.
“Um… I was just wondering about what we said on the
bridge… I mean, about…” he paused then, and seemingly became lost for words.
“Our feelings?”
“Yeah… I mean…the thing is…” Ash looked straight at
her, still hesitant, but serious. “No matter how we feel…I just want you to
know that you can trust me.”
“I know that Ash…” Misty was unsure as to whether his
strange approach signified that he did or didn’t mean what he’d said.
“But…you’ve obviously been hiding something
from me all these years. If you trusted me, then why…” He looked hurt now,
almost like a student failing at a class they want so desperately to ace.
Misty, in turn, glanced away, unable to take the hurt look in his eyes.
“I just…didn’t think I would ever have to… It’s not
something I like to advertise to everyone I meet…”
“But I’m not just someone you met along the way. I
like to think I mean more to you than that…”
“Of course you do, but…”
“But what? What’s so bad you couldn’t tell me? How
could you take such a risk, knowing you’d be in danger?”
“Don’t think it was easy for me Ash. And I didn’t
think I’d be in danger because of it. You don’t know anything about it,”
Misty’s reply was blunt – she was growing impatient at his frustration and
assumption that she kept her secret because she wanted to.
“Exactly…” Ash replied sadly, giving a small sigh.
Misty glanced at him momentarily, guilt plastered in her eyes.
“It…happened about two years before I met you…”
Sitting up straight, Ash nodded for her to go on,
giving Misty his full attention and support.
“I was playing with my best friend Marina. She and I
had been friends since kindergarten, we’d pretty much grown up together.
Anyway…this particular day, it was raining really heavily…”
Misty felt strange as she told the story to the first person other than her sisters. She felt inferior and vulnerable as she traced through the steps of the event that changed her life all those years ago.
“Marina always wanted to be at the ocean, even that day. I warned her that the rain was too heavy and it was dangerous, but she insisted we go. So…we went to the bridge over the Cerulean River. We were trying to spot Starmie’s when Marina slipped and fell over the rails…”
Misty’s voice quivered as the feelings of terror held inside of her since that day came rushing back to the surface of her mind. It was as if she were right there again, like she knew what was going to happen but couldn’t do anything to prevent it. Seeing her inner turmoil, Ash reached out and grasped one of her hands.
“It’s okay…go on…”
“It was really wet and I couldn’t see anything. I tried to see over the rails but I couldn’t spot her, and the waves were so huge, I… I couldn’t save her…and…she died… They found her the day after, washed up on the river’s shore. She didn’t stand a chance against the current and strength of the waves…”
“Gosh Mist…I’m so sorry…”
“Marina’s father blamed me, said that I should have done something to save her. And for months after that I blamed myself, thinking that I was selfish, that I didn’t even try to save my best friend, and because of me she was dead… A few months later, Marina’s father moved away and I began to forgive myself, but I couldn’t stay in Cerulean City… So I left with the excuse that I wanted to become a Pokemon Trainer…though I really just wanted to get away from there and forget everything that happened…”
“And that’s when you met me?”
“That’s when I met you… I had no idea that Marina’s father would…” Misty stopped then, not wanting to dredge through the memories that ignited within her when she spoke or thought about Marina’s dad. Taking a short but deep breath, she continued, her voice small as her vision became blurry from tears.
“I never wanted to hide things from you, especially not that. I just…couldn’t think about it, I wanted to bury it with my past and pretend it never happened…”
Braving the nerves that gripped at her soul, threatening to strangle her with the resentment she had locked up within her for so many years, Misty turned to look at Ash.
She studied him for a few moments, and was disturbed to find that she couldn’t tell how he was feeling. His eyes were full of a mixture of strong emotions, yet Misty found that she couldn’t decipher any of them.
“I’m sorry, Ash…” her apology was more of a pleading request for forgiveness, but she meant it nonetheless.
“It’s okay,” he closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, his features formed a small smile. “I understand why you kept it from me. It’s your business after all. But you shouldn’t keep things bottled up inside…”
Misty offered him a slight nod, but remained silent.
“You know you can confide in me… I’m going to be on your side, no matter what. I don’t want there to be secrets between us Misty…”
As Misty glanced his way once again, she noticed that he had become slightly nervous, his eyebrow twitching slightly as he fiddled with his jacket.
“But there…is something I’ve been keeping from you for a while…”
“There is?” Misty raised an eyebrow curiously, while Ash lowered his gaze away from her intensely inquisitive expression.
“So uh…about what I was saying before…I um…do…” Though he was tremendously anxious about his confession, he raised his gaze to look at her, before letting his heart speak for itself. “…Love you…”
When he said the words that he’d kept locked up in a cage within his heart, Ash felt free, as if a burdening weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Misty blinked a few times, and although he’d said the words before, while they were on the bridge, it was as though he was saying them for the first time.
“Are…you sure?” Misty had to ask, sincerely in doubt as to whether this was actually happening. She had dreamt about this moment a countless number of times; it seemed impossible that his words could be real…
Ash looked slightly taken aback, but didn’t falter. “I’m sure, Mist… And when I almost lost you it made me realise that I had to tell you…”
It was now that the realisation hit Misty, like a gunshot piercing her soul, only it didn’t bring pain – it brought joy and bliss. Having felt constantly depressed by the fear that Ash would never return the strong feelings she held for him, this sense of pure happiness was foreign to her. But she welcomed it with open arms.
“I’m sure that I do too,” she spoke confidently, trying to subdue the contentment bubbling within her, to avoid looking silly. “I wanted to tell you for ages…but I was too afraid that you only saw me as a friend…”
“Yeah, I felt like that too.” He paused, taking a moment to think. “Seems like we wasted a lot of time, huh?” Ash’s soft smile was somewhat apologetic, but Misty wasn’t looking for apologies.
A radiating smile broke out upon her face as the pent up despair and misery that brought her soul to the ground was vanquished by the fact that Ash returned her feelings.
Ash smiled and nervously took her hand. He didn’t have much experience with romance or girls or anything like that, but he knew how he felt, so somehow, that didn’t matter. Feeling drawn to the young woman sitting across from him like honey to a bee, he leant forward, as she did the same.
Something inside each of them connected as they kissed for the first time, as if their previously solitary hearts connected and became one. Though it seemed unreal, their reservations were dissolved by their love and devotion for one another. It simply felt right.
“I feel stupid for being so afraid to tell you…” Misty smirked slightly after they had pulled away. Ash giggled. “I guess it does seem pretty dumb…”
“Ash…can I…” Misty turned serious. “Can I ask you a favour?”
“Does it involve eating a whole lot of food? I’m starving…”
Misty couldn’t help but stifle a snicker. “No. I need to go back home…”
“Oh?”
“Not for long, there’s just something I need to do.”
Ash nodded in understanding; something in her eyes told him that it was important, and what she said next proved him right.
“I need closure…”
To be continued…
Love and light,
Sarah.