Chapter 337 – Turning the Tanker

Chapter 337 – Turning the Tanker

CHAPTER 337 - TURNING THE TANKER

Cecilia's ears were still hurting from her flight on Lehmhart by the time she made it to Josephine's mansion, a reminder that she ought to buy ear protection sometime soon after this. Emilia was hunkering down at Pauline's mother's Hearthome property, which was a ways away from the city center and more modern than old Hearthome. The manse was set back behind lush, meticulously arranged gardens. Manicured hedges framed winding gravel paths, and clusters of flowers Cecilia imagined were vibrant in color. She tried recalling memories of how it looked the last time she'd been earlier in the year, but those were smudgy at best. She had noticed that Sinnoh didn't have much variety in terms of homes affluent people lived in. For the most part, they were either penthouses atop high rises or modern mansions like these surrounded by gardens.

A few security guards, each accompanied by a Pokemon, nodded as she passed, already notified of her arrival. The security business was booming post-bombing; it somewhat reminded her of the raid on Backlot's mansion and his endless trainers for hire, something he'd been considered eccentric for. She didn't feel the slightest pause until she reached the stone slab steps, where a hint of hesitation crept in.

Cecilia knew what she wanted to say. It was simple, really. She wanted to tell Emilia to stop looking after her and to say that she never should have been involved in this Temperance business in the first place—and she needed to apologize for letting it go on for this long as well. The issue was that Cecilia wasn't the best with words, or more precisely at broaching sensitive topics in a way that would leave someone's feelings as unhurt as possible. If Emilia could not accept this, then Cecilia would need to keep her distance in order not to harm her further—which would mean weaning herself off the very friends she'd spent all this time getting closer to.

A calming breath, then Cecilia pulled her chin up and made herself taller. She'd faced murderers and death before—had literally died before. This moment shouldn't feel as daunting or difficult as it did. All she needed was to find the right way to navigate this sensitive topic...

If only Slowking had been here for advice. Unfortunately, besides Lehmhart, all of her Pokemon had remained to help Louis at his sanctuary. She owed him that, at the very least; the extra labor would have been missed, especially when they were Pokemon of their calibre. The Unovan pushed the tall wooden double doors open and took a step inside, glad to be out of the sun's glare. Already used to the labyrinthian dispositions of her father's numerous mansions and homes, she found herself easily navigating the wide hallways and soon found Pete—Pauline's most trusted butler—near the entrance before asking him for directions for directions. There were fewer staff members here than she knew Unovans liked to have, with Pete being one of sixteen currently on service around the mansion, some cleaning a vase, sweeping the floor, keeping ambient music going, or fixing up the dining room for tonight. Nearly all of them were young men.

"Ms. King and Lussier are in this room," Pete said, presenting the door with a polite gesture. Cecilia could hear the faint sound of their voices. "May I be of any more service?"

"No, thank you."

He gently knocked on the door, each tap of his finger deliberate, and he announced their presence to the two before he was let in by Pauline's rambunctious voice. As soon as the "come in!" was heard, Cecilia felt her jaw clench and felt her face twisting into a faux smile before shaking her head and already knowing it would be a meaningless lie. It was difficult to unlearn gestures you'd lived with your entire life, especially if you were punished for not doing them. Only when Grace was here had she found herself comfortable enough to relax just in time for the door to slowly open—and Chase, these days.

To Cecilia, they looked much the same as always. Pauline carried her usual expression—a hint of a smirk at the corner of her mouth, her eyes softened over the past year. You might even call her calm now. Almost. Beneath that composure, though, a spark still flickered, restless as ever. Emilia was also not that rattled, though unlike her friend, she knew the reason for Cecilia's visit. Really, the Unovan was surprised she hadn't told Pauline about it during the multi-hour-long journey to Hearthome; she'd nearly expected to be verbally assaulted the moment she'd come into the room. Emilia was tense, her eyes darting throughout the room. It was as if she'd turned back to the girl she'd been when they'd met. Nervous and afraid of anything unexpected.

Maybe not that far, Cecilia thought. It was still strange to see her this unsettled these days. The Unovan still didn't really understand it. No, she understood, but she didn't get why she'd lied about what she could take and not just told her outright. If she had, Temperance would have been history, but Cecilia didn't want to break up with her now, especially when they'd gone public and she'd found the coordinator worked well for her emotional needs.

Pete asked the two girls if they needed anything—snacks, drinks, a change in music—he was denied and swiftly left the room. The door closed with a foreboding clink behind Cecilia.

"Hey, Cece!" Pauline stood up from her truthfully enormous bed with a smile and hugged her. It was an unexpected gesture she struggled to return in the moment. "I'm glad you came to hang out, even if it was sudden. Emi and I were talking about performances and stuff to cheer her up—she's been a little off lately."

Cecilia's eyes fell upon the coordinator, and she averted hers immediately. Had her crush gotten worse? Or maybe she was just nervous because of the text Cecilia had sent. Hopefully that was it. "I can see that," she said before pausing. "May I sit? I have something—"

"Hey, can I talk to you in private?" Emilia cut in, finding her confidence. Her hands were clenched around Pauline's fluffy bedsheets tightly enough to turn her knuckles white. "Sorry, Pauline. It won't be long."

"Whaaat?" the redhead drawled with a hint of humor. There was a short pause, and her slightly amused expression gave way to a frown and a look of realization that this would be serious. "Wait. What's with the cloak and dagger shit?" She was quiet, but still threatening. Like a song slowly building up to a climax. Quickly, her head swiveled back to her bed. "Emi?"

Cecilia could see the gear turning inside her head. Still in loungewear just a little too big for her, Emilia sighed. The one leg she had over the bed's edge started to bounce. "I was hoping to keep this private."

Pauline crossed her arms. "Something's going on between you two. I'm guessing that's why you've been so depressed."

Emilia clicked her tongue. "I'm not depressed, Arceus. No need to exaggerate—"

"You haven't uploaded on your channel in days, you haven't practiced with your Pokemon in that same length of time—so much so that Metang had to ask me about it," Pauline scathingly listed. "Instead of being the queen of Hearthome or whatever, you've been holing up here. With me. You didn't even bring a change of clothes!" The redhead gestured at her ex like what she was saying was the most obvious thing in the world, and to be honest, it was.

Guilt seized Cecilia's heart. She'd managed to get a hold of her ghostly self by now, so she didn't let it show, or barely enough that only Grace or perhaps Chase would have caught it.

"Just... whatever," Emilia exhaled in defeat. "What if I promise to tell you afterward? It'd be uncomfortable with you hearing." She closed her eyes and made her voice small. "And humiliating."

Pauline's eyes widened slightly before narrowing into a confused glare of sorts aimed at Cecilia. She must have already concluded her to be the villain, and to be honest, this was mainly her fault, so she wasn't wrong. "Fine," Pauline said. "Just make sure to tell the truth after. I'm worried about you. I'll go grab some chips or something. I didn't want to bother Pete, but I'm kind of hungry."

"You can grab some chips without pestering him," Emilia said, half-jokingly. "But thanks."

Cecilia said the same, dipping her head in appreciation as the redhead passed her by and closed the door. Nearly slammed it, in fact. Now that they were alone, with only Lehmhart's Pokeball to keep her company, Cecilia didn't know if she should stay where she was at a healthy distance or go sit on the bed next to Emi. Wasn't distance actually what she needed? But would she seem cold if she was too far? So many questions, and so little time to think. She decided to compromise and sit on the bed, but a few feet away or so to give her space.

Emilia kept stealing glances at her, and once again her fists gripped the bedding. Cecilia just kept unflinchingly looking right at the side of her face. Surely eye contact would showcase her honesty.

"You'll tell Pauline I'm sorry about sitting on her bed with unchanged clothes after a flight," the Unovan said. "I don't think she'll be willing to talk to me after this."

"After what?" Emilia said.

"Emi." There were no two ways about this. She needed to be direct. "I'm sorry for allowing you to watch over my relationship with Temperance. It was inattentive of me."

The girl scoffed. "Allowing me? It was a choice I made."

"A horrible one," Cecilia said. "You can't handle it. You just can't. Louis and now Pauline have talked about how it's affected you. You were hiding it well when we were together."

"I can. It's just harder than I thought."

"You can't," she repeated. "And yes. Allowed you. Because I could have cut you out of it right then and there that one night, and I didn't." Emilia stayed silent, possibly not knowing what to say—Cecilia wasn't certain. "This doesn't mean we can't be friends or that I'll stop seeing you. It just means that... that entire relationship with Temperance isn't something we should talk about at all. Or something you should be involved in at all. You never should have been in the first place."

The words hurt her. Cecilia could tell. Emilia winced, a trembling breath escaping the confines of her mouth, and she curled up into a ball, hugging her knees as she still sat. "You don't want me near you. Fine."

This time, it was Cecilia's turn to grimace; she flinched back and shook her head in disbelief. "That isn't what I said."

"It's what you mean," she bitterly laughed. "Think about it. You see her every day for the majority of the day. This morning and afternoon you spent with Louis is the first time you've seen one of us since you started dating her! Beside me, obviously."

So as she usually did to distract herself, she found herself browsing the trainer forums. It was something she'd found enjoyment in since her physical revival post Jupiter and a hobby she hadn't lost after being revived by those Gengar. There were plenty of news about the Conference and the top upcoming trainers that she honestly just glanced over. She was looking at a 'hype' thread where 'connoisseurs' liked to theorize and power scale, though most of what they said was utter rubbish. She found a strange enjoyment in seeing people speak about her. Her relationship with Temperance had put her on the map, and it felt nice for her name to matter for once.

Cecilia should have expected to find Grace spoken about there. She hadn't looked at her ex's thread once since breaking up, but with her position at Poketch, she was famous enough to have people talk about her all the time even outside of it. Cecilia first found a post saying that Grace and Maylene were officially dating that was issued a warning for being off-topic, then another, then multiple over the course of the last few hours, and she opened Chatter and found Grace's account and read her latest Chat and—

She heaved for every breath and crouched face-first against the wall, her forehead never leaving the cool surface.

Obviously, Cecilia had known they were dating. She'd seen plenty of people online guess that fact, even. It wasn't like they'd been hiding it—they were more flaunting it in everyone's faces. But having the announcement spelled out right in front of her accompanied by a picture of Grace kissing the Gym Leader on the cheek in her room, having the entire country seeing it confirmed, having to face this certain truth on her own again?

It was nearly as painful as that day she'd found out for the first time.

Within her lay a treacherous, simmering rage. A pressure began to build in her chest, a fierce, twisting ache that rose into her throat, clawing for release yet held back by sheer will. Why was she being hurt again? Why did it even matter? There must have been something wrong with her to be still hung up on this, and it made the Unovan want to dive deep into her own ribcage and rip out her own heart so she could give it a stern talking to.

The door opened down the hall—no, it swung open and crashed into the little stopper that kept it from slamming on the wall. Emilia chased behind Pauline, calling her name over and over and telling her not to do this. The redhead approached with a determined step. Cecilia rose to meet her despite her anger still covering every inch of her skin and coiling around her like an Ekans.

"You bitch! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Pauline yelled as she moved.

Emilia spoke up, desperation leaking into every word. "Pauline, please. We dealt with it like adults—"

"Who do you think you are, exactly?" She ignored her, her tone so loud that it washed over Emilia's small voice. Upon getting a closer look, Cecilia noticed Emi had been tearing up, or maybe crying. It was difficult to tell. Pauline pointed back at Emilia with an almost violent fervor. "What gives you the right to grab her heart and tear it into a million pieces?!" She violently jabbed a finger in her chest.

Cecilia looked down at her, ears ringing like nails scraping against a chalkboard as the pain in her heart allowed the anger to fester and grow.

"Say something," Pauline growled. "Not only did you and that other prick use her in this sick game, but you fucking used her as leverage? Really? Do you think people are just empty sacks of meat without feelings that you can string along to gain something? And you let this go on for so long—" she continued her verbal assault, recounting all of Cecilia's wrongs like she was crossing her t's and dotting her i's. Emilia had told her everything to the last detail, and none of it would be amiss.

The Unovan watched Emilia retreat back to Pauline's room, unable to listen to this beatdown. This was probably the last thing she'd wanted, and even she had her limits.

Oh, it was so easy with hindsight, wasn't it, Pauline? Saying that she should have done this, or that, or said this and that. That she should have just cut her off immediately as if Cecilia didn't fear harming her friendship by disappointing her, and genuinely thought she would give her good advice because of how mature she'd grown.

Cecilia was tired. But most of all, she feared that—that she would say something off should she speak.

"I'm sorry," Cecilia said. "I shouldn't have done any of it."

Pauline let out a comical, exaggerated laugh as her face contorted in near delirium. "You're just saying that. Look at you. Are you even sorry? Or is it just something you say in hopes of moving on?"

"I mean it," she said. "Are you done?" After each word had come a pause each more frustrated than the last.

"Oh. Getting a little angry, aren't you?" she taunted with an infuriating smirk and flicked her hair back. "Get out of my house."

Something snapped inside her—a taut string pulled too tight, finally breaking under the pressure. It was like the sound of a dam giving way, the sudden, sharp crack of something carefully held back shattering into release, leading to a maddened laugh that spread through the hall.

"And you think you're any better? You?!" she yelled. "Please. Spare me your belligerence."

Already, Pauline had turned away, but that caught her attention. "What," her eyes sharpened, and her face and body tightened like a rubber band stretched to its maxim, "the fuck are you saying?"

"I was nothing. Some stupid crush that didn't even matter. You were all she had for her entire life and you betrayed her by leading her on, lying to her about how you felt about Denzel while she was fighting to make a life for herself in Hearthome alone!" Cecilia knew how to hit it where it hurt; she could even see a vein pop up on Pauline's forehead. The redhead clenched a fist, and her teeth nearly chattered in anger. "So screw you and your so-called morality. Every time, I have to be perfect. I have to read your minds! Every time I take people at their word and think they can handle me, they break! It's my fault; me, me, me!" This was dangerous. It felt so good. "Maybe Emilia should have just told me instead of hiding behind a veil of constant excuses. Have you considered that maybe, just maybe, I've been in the middle of trying to turn the fucking tanker that is my life, so sorry if I can't be just, oh so attentive to every little thing—"

She felt a sharp sting on her cheek, and the sound of a slap resonated a split-second later. She grinned, the physical pain a welcome sensation and distraction. Cecilia worked her jaw as the tingling faded, fingers grazing where she'd just been hit.

"How mature," she said. "I guess that proves my point."

"That wasn't for shittalking me. That was for being so fucking dense about what Emilia feels and blaming her for what you did," Pauline muttered.

Cecilia rolled her eyes. "A wonderful little lie."

"When did you become so fucking cold?" Pauline's voice wavered, and she allowed pain to show in her eyes for the first time. "I don't recognize you."

"Sorry if I didn't immediately prostrate myself before you and beg for forgiveness," she spat. "I became someone."

She immediately answered, "Yeah, well you became an asshole. 'Guess that's why you're single—or wait, I guess you're with that other asshole now. However long that lasts."

The words hurt like paper cuts all over her skin, but she forced a shrug. "I won't even deign to answer that."

"Right. Of course, you won't, that'd go against the pretentious shtick you've got going on." Pauline paused, foot tapping against the carpeted floor. "Hey, do me a favor. When you go to sleep tonight in the arms of a woman you don't love, you should ask yourself why the girl who got cheated on is losing her friends. Now fuck off."

The shouting match had caught the attention of a few attendants, however Cecilia was already leaving. It was strange. She felt light and unburdened, like the argument itself had fueled her shallow soul with personality. Deserved or not, she'd stood up for herself, and she had to admit that felt grand even if the satisfaction was tainted. The taste of it lingered, sharp and bittersweet. It felt good, that defiance, even if it came with the sting of consequence—a satisfaction laced with bitterness, like swallowing a poisoned piece of candy just for the taste. For once, she'd been her own voice, no matter how flawed. She did not feel the urge to run and take refuge, neither to Temperance who would have jumped at the occasion, nor Chase who would have made time if she truly needed it—she knew he would forever be in her corner. Instead, she just wished her Pokemon could be here. She'd even let go of her awful reaction to that Chatter post.

She didn't get a ride back in a car to the city outskirts where taking off with Lehmhart would be allowed.

Whatever. She could walk. She had, after all, turned the tanker.

A/N: One interlude inbound, and then a time skip.