When We Were Younger. |Gladion X Moon|Pokemon Romance Novel|

-26-

My eyes open to Hau standing over me. I roll over and groan, drifting right back to sleep. In the back of my mind, I can hear voices murmuring in the darkness. Hau gently shakes my shoulders, bringing me to the surface once again. Ms. Wicke stands at the foot of my bed, Hau's eye brows lift as he waits for a response.

"What?" I moan.

"Sorry, I tried to hold them off as long as I could, but you need to give your statement now," Ms. Wicke says quietly.

"Statement?" I yawn.

"Police statement," Ms. Wicke declares sternly.

I burry my face in the pillow and mutter a curse. I'm so tired I can't even think, let alone give a statement. My chest aches as stress overwhelms me, I'm guilty of something, I'm sure of that. Thinking of the repercussions turns my stomach, it's so overwhelming that I shut down inside.

As I rise to my feet, the strong urge to vomit comes over me. My mouth salivates uncontrollably as I dash across the room to the doorway. My eyeballs feel like they are going to pop out of my skull as I retch and heave violently. The pressure of my contractions causes my vision to blacken and tunnel.

I cough and gag between hurls. Dizziness follows from the lack of air as I struggle to control my vomiting. Everything begins to go black. I try fighting it, but I can feel myself fainting.

I'm brought back by the coolness of a damp rag on the back of my neck. Hau's hands gently press the cool rag against my skin. As my vision straightens out, I can see a very small pile of vomit on the floor next to me, so small I almost missed it.

"Let's bring her to medical," Ms. Wicke says to Hau as she looks down on me.

"No, I'm fine...Let's just get this over with," I say, almost immediately regretting it.

Police escort Hau and I to the main offices of Aether Paradise, where they separate us. Hau is led to a meeting room, while I wait next to an officer in the lobby. My gut aches when I see the press gathering outside.

A handful of Aether Advisors stand outside, conversing with the reporters inaudibly. They get into a yelling match when one of the reporters tries, unsuccessfully, to pull the door to the lobby open. I feel a bit better realizing the lobby doors are locked.

Suddenly, I hear angry shouts coming from the hallway, as they grow louder I recognize the voice.

"But my research! Do you have any idea who you are arresting?"

I watch Faba buck and yank as two police officers escort him through the lobby. He glares at me over his shoulders as the police drag him to the door. His cuffed hands strain as he is met by the unrelenting press gathered outside. I nervously cover my face with my hand, that could be me next.

"Officer, would you maybe consider moving me to a more private location?" I ask politely as possible.

"Better get used to having no privacy," the officer scoffs.

I feel myself flinch at his remark.

"Ya, I remember you! I'm looking forward to seeing you and that shit punk boyfriend of yours behind bars. It took them 18 hours to put the fire out. It's still smoldering!"

Queasiness settles in again when I recall the events of yesterday afternoon, I'm still processing the fact that I burned an entire town to the ground less than 24 hours ago.

"Is everyone okay?"

"Excuse me?"

"Was anybody hurt? Please tell me...I need to know."