The Dark Before the Dawn II: My Other Half - Part Three

     Cream was starting to worry me too. She was holding her sister's hand, and staring at Sugar as if she were in a trance. She didn't move, not even to blink, for a very long time. I was almost relieved when she finally fell asleep in her chair. Her troubled mind was at ease, for a while anyway.

     Not long after Cream fell asleep, the doctor came in. He looked rather nervous. He was fiddling with his clipboard. The doctor was behaving kind of like how the twins acted when they had to tell me something that they knew would upset me. I wondered if that was the case. Sometimes, I really hate it when I am right. Luckily, what he had to say was not about Sugar's condition.

     "Miss? There's a visitor here to see Cream--"

     "Actually, it's Sugar who's in a coma." I shouldn't have cut him off, but I really wasn't in the best state of mind at the moment. I didn't feel like myself at all.

     "Yes, well, there's a visitor here for Sugar then, but I'm not sure you'll want to see him."

     I figured it was Phoenix. "It's alright, doctor; send him in." I really regret saying that now. I should've asked who this visitor was. When a teenage boy - er, I guess he really isn't a teenager anymore- walked in, I was only partly surprised. After all, he had promised to be there when we were in trouble. What I wanted to know was why was he keeping that promise now?

     "Clay." I hissed. I had hoped to never see him again. He was the one who ruined our lives. Actually, he helped us in a small way. By leaving us, he helped us meet Phoenix. Clay was our old owner. "What are you doing here?" I whispered bitterly. I didn't want Cream to wake up. She needed sleep.

     "Calm down, Adriane--" I cut him off.

     "It's Adrianna!" I corrected him.

     "I'm just here to see Sweet--"

     Again, I cut him off. "It's Sugar!" I was furious with him now, not that I wasn't mad before, because I was. "You named us and you can't even remember our names? You have no right to be here!"

     "Adrianna, stop it! I just wanted to know if she was okay or if she was going to - well, you know," Clay said. He sounded desperate.

     "Why do you care?" I asked. "You left us for dead once already."

     "I know, and I'm sorry. It's taken me a few months to work up the courage to just come and say that to you." Clay sounded sincere, but I wasn't too sure. If he was asking to move back in and rejoin our family, then he must be insane. "Please, Adrianna. I'm sure Milk here--"

     "Her name is Cream!"

     "Sorry! I'm sure Cream here would love to have a happy family again."

     "We are a happy family without you," I said coldly.

     "I want to be your owner again." Those words pierced my heart. I had been really mad at Clay for leaving, but he truly seemed sorry. Our life had been really good with Clay around.

     Just then, Cream started to wake up. She looked around as if she wasn't sure where she was. A look of realization and sorrow crossed her face as she remembered what had happened. She looked up at me, then at Clay. Her eyes widened when she realized who he was.

     "Clay!" she shrieked, running over to him. She immediately hugged him. Clay gave me a look that clearly read 'I told you so. This is what Cream wants.' I bit my lip. I wasn't sure I really wanted Clay back. After all he had put us through while he looked after another family. Though Cream really did seem happy. Could I upset her again by saying Clay couldn't come back?

     Then I remembered something or rather, someone else. Phoenix. If Clay came back, Phoenix would have to leave. Owners were only allowed four pets each. Phoenix would make our total five. Without an owner, as many of us as we wanted could live together. I really liked Phoenix, and I wasn't sure I ever wanted him to go.

     Cream looked up and gazed into my eyes. She seemed to realize the same thing. I know that she wouldn't want Phoenix to go either. Halo liked Phoenix too because he always got what he wanted from Phoenix. I looked at Clay hugging Cream. She looked so happy. I knew right then. There was no choice.

     I took a deep breath in. "I'm sorry, Clay, but we don't want you as our owner anymore. I'm not sure that we can trust you. You've already left us once; how do we know that you won't leave again? We have someone else living with us and I know that we can trust him."

     Cream looked from me to Clay. "She's right, Clay. Phoenix is really nice and would never leave us. I once thought that about you, but you changed that."

     Clay looked at both of us and laughed. Then he realized we were serious. "What? You don't want me back? I made one mistake and you give up on me?"

     Cream and I both nodded. "We can't trust you," I whispered. None of us had noticed, but Sugar had stopped breathing. The raspy breathing that had once filled the room had stopped. Cream noticed and started wailing. She collapsed on top of her sister. I too felt tears burning at my eyes.

     "You two are making the biggest mistake of your lives!" Clay fumed. He was about to leave. Both of us were looking after him and not looking at Sugar.

     "No, they're not, Clay," a raspy voice said. We turned to see Sugar glaring at Clay. Her eyes were open and she was breathing.

     "Oh, Sugar!" both Cream and I cried as we hugged her.

     "Dri," she whispered, "Clay is the reason I was in a coma." Sugar was still very weak and her voice was soft.

     "She doesn't know what she's saying. She's obviously delusional." Clay tried to defend himself. Sugar shook her head.

     "No, I'm not. When you're in a coma you gain temporary mental abilities. I read his mind. He cut different parts of the ice in hopes one of us would fall in. He saw Cream and recognized her. He pretended to be cleaning the ice while he was actually sabotaging it."

     Clay had turned visibly white while Cream turned to glare at him. "That was you at the rink? You did this? I can't believe that I was ready to let you be my owner again! Get out of here!" I had never seen Cream so enraged before. Clay did what he was told.

     When he was gone, we started talking to Sugar.

     "Do you really gain mental abilities?" I asked her with a grin. I had a feeling I already knew what she was going to answer. Maybe I'm a bit psychic myself. Or maybe I know her a little too well. My bet, it's the second one.

     "No," she giggled, "I made a wild guess and I was right. I did see him doing something to the ice earlier, but I wasn't one hundred percent positive that it was him." We all laughed about this. Sometimes, I like it when I am right.

     After this the twins got along really well. They got their hair cut just a little bit shorter, not much, just enough that it was noticeable. Each of them, much to my dismay, got one ear pierced. Phoenix was furious with Clay after he heard what had happened. He was really glad that I made the choice I did, and I was too. To this day Sugar has remained a little bit delicate, and she sometimes says that she's cold when it is hot outside. She finds this handy on very hot days. Phoenix was right. It is always the darkest before dawn.

The End… for now.

Author's Note: Hey, thanks for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it (which was quite a bit. I love writing stories, and for some reason these stories about Adrianna are my favourites). Yes, this is the second one. There will be a few more stories, I can't say for sure how many because, truthfully, I don't know! I write them as I go along. There will be at least one more anyways. Maybe even more, if people (and Neopets!) enjoyed them. If they didn't, well, one more it is. I'd love to hear from you and know your opinions on it! Some criticism might be nice, just be nice when you neomail me:) Well, I'm out! Thanks again for reading!