Words Hurt

Feelings Start

Shadow pov~

It’s been two days since Sonic had come home, and I haven’t heard a thing from Tails. I haven’t decided if this was good or not, considering Faker’s condition. We waited for him to come downstairs, looking for the promised food, but he slept the whole day away. It had gotten to the point where it was getting dark and most were ready to sleep. We left, Tails promising to keep in touch.

It was a complete waste of our time if you asked me, but I could tell how worried they were. Before I managed to leave, the fox kit had caught my eye. The look he gave me still burned in my mind as I wondered exactly what it tried to convey.

The others didn’t notice, as usual, but Rouge could tell that something was up. I regret telling her of what happened the day Faker went missing. She had been interrogating me, trying to make me open up about it… I couldn’t. Rouge had a soft spot for the blue idiot and I couldn’t bring myself to tell her it was my fault his guard was done. My fault that he got captured…

The thought sparked something in my gut, although it was hard to verify what exactly it was. What it meant. Part of me didn’t want to know. I wanted to ignore it. Forget it. But, it always seemed to come back stronger than before. I debated asking Rouge about it, wondering that if I got to the bottom of why this was happing, the feeling would go away.

I was so close to giving in. Despite how annoyingly persistent she was being, I knew I could trust her. Maybe I was a fool…. Maria said I always had a stubborn streak.

I looked up, blinking as Rouge stepped in front of me, blocking the exit to my room. Her hand was on her hips, eyes narrowed in determination. I fought the urge to sigh.

“Look, I know you were with Sonic before he went missing, ‘cause that’s the same day you told me he confessed to you. Now, what did you do?” She looked at me, expecting an answer. I could tell she was getting desperate.

I sighed inwardly, wanting nothing more than to teleport away or slam the door in her face, but I couldn’t run away from my problem; she would just find me later. It was not like I would reverse time or make things better. What was done could not be changed. I had enough guilt without talking about it.  “It was nothing. Can you just drop it, already?” I bent down to duck below her arm, only for her to do the same, effectively blocking my way. I growled as she grabbed my wrist.

“Not until you tell me what you said to big blue,” she insisted, unphased. I straightened back up and scowled. She sighed, her eyelids dropping. “I saw the way he looked at you… That was a look of pain and hurt. Please, Shadow, tell me what you’ve done.”

My gaze scanned over her form, seeing how wary she looked. Almost defeated. I thought the urge to chew on my lip. Instead, I turned my head, staring at the bedside table instead. “I,” he began, feeling a little self-conscious. “I went off on him.” I paused, wondering if telling her everything that I said to him would be a good idea or not.

“What do you mean?” She asked, taking a tentative step forward. Her hand let go of my wrist to come and rest on my shoulder. “And don’t bother lying to me.”

I sighed and closed my eyes. This was not my day. “I-I told him that I didn’t care about him. That I hated him,” I started, before clearing my throat. It seemed to tighten with every word, but I couldn’t stop them from tumbling out of me as I confessed to my sins. Another burden I would have to carry. “That he’s an annoying, cocky, pathetic creature who was useless when Eggman isn’t around. I told him that he wasn’t needed anymore and that he should leave, while he had the chance.”

Before I knew it, I felt a hard slap against my cheek. My eyes widened a fraction, stunned.

“You idiot!” She fumed. I turned my head back to her. Did she just? My checks had a tinge of red to them, her eyes downcast. “Have you ever thought about how much you meant to him? That it took all his courage to confess to you, only for you to break his heart!” It was as if a phantom knife had dug through my chest as my mistake was spoken out loud.