To Bloom Again

Chapter 3: This storm will past

A/N: Content warning for abuse, suicide and bullying.

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The following week has been rough on Marina ever since she obtained her newly hatched Pokemon.

Whenever she'd go outside to battle the wild pokemon for practice, Grace did not obey her commands at all and would run off into the bushes, avoiding the task at hand.

And sometimes, she refused to come out of the pokeball at all.

This infuriated Marina, big time, to the point where she wanted to scream and yell at the tiny pokemon, in the hopes that she gets out of her life for good.

But both Steven and Wallace told her to stay calm, be patient with her and take it one day at a time. Bonds between trainer and Pokemon don't happen overnight.

Still, it was easier said and done, and she was close to her breaking point.

The next day, Marina locked herself away in her room and remained there for the rest of the week. She didn't eat, shower or do anything except hide under the sheets and sob.

She felt like a failure again, just like when she was back at her crummy house, and that emotion lingered, unable to break free.

At first, they thought she was sick, but later on grew worried, especially Wallace who directed himself to the woman's room, knocking on the door in a delicate manner.

"Marina?" You, okay?"

Marina did not answer.

He knocked again, attempting to stay collected.

Once again, no response and he was getting nervous.

"Marina? Marina?"

With every knock he was throwing, Marina got more furious.

"Marina please, I just want to help y-"

Then, she snapped, "Leave me alone!"

Wallace was in a state of shock once he heard the woman speak in such an aggressive tone, something he's never witnessed before until now.

But despite that, he kept on persisting, "But Mari-"

And it got worse, "I don't need your help. You hopeless romantic and that rock-obsessed freak you call 'your friend' should have just left me alone in Littleroot town to die. I don't want to live anymore. I'm useless anyway."

"Rina..."

Her voice got hoarser, "Go away and leave me to perish!"

Then, Steven jumps in and places a hand on Wallace's shoulders, "That's enough Wallace." He says, calmly, "Let it go for now."

Wallace, unable to process the words Marina shouted at him, bursted into tears, "But did you hear what she sa-"

"Yes, but we'll deal with that later. Right now, I think it's best we leave her alone. Let's not make it worse than it already is."

With a sigh, Wallace proceeds to lay on the couch, watching trashy talk shows on the television while Steven went out to the hallway, taking a very important phone call.

But instead of focusing on the couple fighting on tv, Wallace kept thinking about the situation that happened earlier and Marina's harsh words were echoing in his mind over and over again.

But the biggest stab to the heart was when Marina called him a 'hopeless romantic.' The last time he heard those words was when Winona broke up with him.