Rouge's P.O.V:
I'm doing this for Sonic. I'm doing this for Sonic. Sonic is the reason I'm doing this and he will be the only one I ever do this for. The last thing I needed is to be working with this jackass. After everything he put me through and everything he's about to put Sally through, I never wanted to talk to him or even mention his name again, but he's the only resource we have of finding that grapenut Carmen The Cat.
"Mephiles, are you still there? Can you hear me?"
"…Yeah. I'm here. Just kinda surprised you called me. It's kinda unexpected you know?"
"Trust me. I know, but you're the only one I know can help me out with this."
"Help out with what?"
"Sonic's been kidnapped and me and Shadow have an idea of who it might be, but we're not really sure because we haven't seen her in a couple of years and I figured since you guys were close that you'd know where she is." Mephiles Mom was married to Carmen's Dad for about three years when Mephiles and Carmen were in elementary school. Because of them being sorta kinda related and everything, they grew kinda close and kept in touch even when their parents got divorced.
I didn't find out about that until after Shadow dumped Carmen. I didn't think they'd last as long as they did, five months, to actually give her a thorough background check. I'm sure Carmen kept in contact with Mephiles through all those years. This is the only lead we have.
"What? And you think Carmen did it? That's crazy! Why would Carmen want to kidnap Sonic?"
"Mephiles, you didn't know they used to date?"
"What? When? Why wouldn't she tell me?"
"In sophomore year of high school and think about it, Dark. Why would she tell you that she's dating your rival?"
"Oh…yeah. That kinda makes sense." I rolled my eyes and looked at my watch. The guard should be waking up in at least ten minutes. I need to start getting out of here.
"Look, I'm running out of time to talk to you over the phone, so I'm just gonna come over to your place. I'll be there in maybe fifteen minutes, okay?" I hung up before he could say anything back. I went back in Shadow's room and saw him staring up at the ceiling. He looked back to me when he heard me walk in. I walked over to his bed and grabbed my purse. "I need to leave. The guard is gonna be waking up soon and probably walk around the floor. I'll visit you later, okay? If I find out anything important, I'll text you. Night, Shads." I kissed his cheek.
"Night, Rouge. And thanks for everything. You know I love you, right?"
"I love you, too, Shadow. See you later." I walked out of the room and down the hall. The guard was still passed out on his desk. I looked up at the security cameras and saw the lights still blinking red, meaning they weren't recording. I smiled and walked down the hallway and to the staircase. I ran downstairs and snuck out the side door. I pulled out my phone and sent a text message to one of my childhood friends, who's head of security at the hospital, telling him I was out and that he could turn the cameras back on.
I hopped in my car and started off on the way to Mephiles' apartment. Mephiles' apartment was the last place I expected to go. Knuckles is gonna flip. I left him a note saying I was gonna go see Shadow just in case he woke up. It said that I was gonna be gone for no more than fifteen minutes. Who knows how long I'm gonna have to stay at Mephiles'? No, Shadow is gonna flip, but I can't keep this from him. Then again, we'd get nowhere with finding Sonic if I didn't go to Mephiles.
Sooner than I thought I would, I pulled up in the parking lot of Mephiles' apartment building. I turned my car off and sat back in my seat, looking at the building. In apartment 7D, Mephiles' sitting there waiting for me, probably with a cup of coffee. He knows I love coffee. I finally got out of my car and started walking toward the entrance. I felt my phone vibrate in my hand and I stopped in my tracks. I looked down and saw it was a message from Knuckles:
'Babe, where r u? You should be back by now."
I hate lying to him. I hate it a lot, but this is the only way we're going to be able to get Sonic back. Lies are horrible, but they're a part of getting the job done.
'I had a little trouble sneaking past the guard and I decided to pick some coffee up on the way home. I'll be back in about 15 min.'
I sent the message and threw the phone in my bag without waiting for a response. I walked in the elevator and pushed the '7' button. It wasn't long before it stopped at the seventh floor. I walked out and went to my left. I stopped in front of the door and stared at it before knocking on the door. As soon as my hand left the door, it opened and Mephiles was standing in front of me shirtless with black sweatpants.
"Hey." He said as he stared me in the eyes. I pushed past him and into his apartment.
"I don't have the time to chit chat. Knuckles is waiting for me back home. Look, I need to know about the last time you talked to Carmen. Now, when I say talk, I mean in any form, like, text message, e-mail, IM, a letter, phone call, web cam, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. Any kind of stuff like that. Any piece of information is helpful." When I looked at him, he was looking at me is if I had grown five heads.
"You can't actually expect me to be so cooperative at three in the morning without coffee," He walked into his kitchen and came back with two cups of coffee. See? I told you. He handed me a cup and I took it. When I get home, Knuckles will expect my breath to smell like coffee. This is why I hate lying. You have to be extra careful of anything you do to make sure your lie seems real. He took a sip of his coffee before answering my question. "The last time me and Lucy talked was a little over three months ago."
"How did she contact you?"
"A phone call."
"Do you have a number or something?"
"Well, she always calls from her brother's cell phone. I could give you the number." I nodded my head and typed the number into my phone as he repeated it. I also noticed that I had an unread message. I pulled down the notification bar and clicked the message that was from Knuckles.
'You're such a coffee freak, but I love you anyway.' I smiled when I read the message and typed a quick one back. 'I love you, too.' I placed my phone back in my bag and looked back up at Mephiles.
"That was Knuckles wasn't it?" I cleared my throat and took a sip of my coffee.
"Yeah. It was. Now, did she ever send you any letters or anything?"
"No. She would only call me; no text messages or emails or stuff like that." I nodded my head and placed my coffee cup down. I got all the information I needed and now I can finally go and never ask him for help again. Well, I hope I won't need to.
"Well, I have everything I need. I better get going. Thanks, Mephiles." I started for the door, but before I could get my hand on the handle, I felt his hand grab my arm.
"Wait. Can we talk?" I sighed and closed my eyes. I snatched my hand from his grasp, but didn't turn around to face him.
"Mephiles, why are you doing this? Can't you just let me go home? To my fiancé?"
"That's what I wanted to talk about, Shay. In all honesty, I don't see you marrying–," Before he could finish his sentence, I turned around and looked him in the eyes.
"Don't. You. Dare. I have had enough of having the same conversation over and over with you, Mephiles. Why don't you get it? Why can't you understand that I'm happy? I'm really happy! Knuckles is all I could ever want and need. He's good for me, you're not! Why can't you let us go?"
"Because I still love you, Rouge, and I know somewhere deep inside of you, that you love me, too." He tried to step closer to me and wrap his arms around me. I kept taking steps back until my back was against the door.
"Correction, Mephiles; used to. I used to love you before I grew up and realized what a fool I was for believing that you actually cared for me. Knuckles loves me, Mephiles, and I love him back. We're not meant for each other!"
"Can you at least give me another chance?" That did it. That one sentence. Those eight words. Everything about him made me sick, but the fact that I keep hearing those words over and over again made something in me snap. Anger was running through my veins. My hands turned into fists before I could stop them and my right fist flung itself to Mephiles' mouth. He groaned and backed away from me. His hands were covering his mouth as he stared at me in shock.
"You don't deserve another chance. You broke my heart. Do you know how hard it was to get over that night? Seeing you and some bitch killed me inside! It took me a long time to actually trust someone with my heart again and Knuckles is taking good care of it. We might have out rough times, by I know that we'll get through it because he really loves me and I love him, too. So, I suggest you get over this little fling you have about me and focus on Sally and your unborn child."
My voice was dripping with venom. My eyes stared right through his. He wasn't scared of me. He does still love me. I can see it in his eyes, but I don't love him. He slowly moved his hands from his mouth and I can see that I knocked out one of his teeth that were on the side of his mouth. "I didn't want to do that, Mephiles, but you made me. You know my limits. I gotta go now. Goodbye, Mephiles." I walked out the door and ran down the hallway. I didn't feel like waiting for the elevator, so I took the staircase. The run helped me blow off steam. I ran out the lobby and to my car.
I used to run track when I was little, so the run didn't really take much of my breath. I got in my car and started it up. When I placed my hands on the steering wheel, I noticed my knuckles were bleeding. This isn't the first time my knuckles have bled after punching someone, so it's no wonder I didn't feel them bleeding. I'm surprised I didn't go over the speed limit.
I honestly didn't plan on punching him. He just got under my skin! I hope he doesn't spill anything to Carmen. He's the only lead that I have to get Sonic back and if it turns out I blew it, Shadow is gonna freak out on me. I parked in the two car driveway of me and Knuckles' house. I got out my car and locked it and walked to my front door. I found the door unlocked and walked in. I took my shoes off and locked the front door. I left my jacket and purse on the couch before I walked up stairs.
My hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but I fixed it to put it up in a bun. Me and Knuckles' bedroom door was cracked open and I could hear the TV on. I pushed the door open and closed it after I walked in. He turned to me when he heard the door close.
"Hey, sweetheart! What took you so long? And what happened to your hands?" I jumped on the bed next to him and kissed his cheek. He threw his arms around me and gave me a peck on the lips. I feel more sparks from one kiss with Knuckles than I did from a full make-out with Mephiles.
"I had to find another Dunkin Donuts other than the one that's by the hospital and the cashier kept flirting with me, so I had to punch him off of me. Don't worry about it. I'll be fine." I told him as he started to get out of bed.
"Let me just go and get something to wrap your hand. I'll be right back." He bent down and gave my nose a kiss. I watched him as he walked into the bathroom that was connected to our bedroom. I have something amazing and there's no way I'm gonna give it up.