Best Left Forgotten

Sunset pinched the corners of her comforter, spreading it wide and draping it over Wallflower’s slumbering form. Her friend seemed peaceful enough, although her talk of nightmares and the events of the past few hours left Sunset wary of how helpful sleep would even be for her.

After clicking off the bedside lamp, Sunset leaned against the loft railing. Her eyes darted towards the window, where the first glows of dawn were peaking over the horizon. With a heavy sigh, she looked back to the bed. Seeing Wallflower sound asleep tempted Sunset to collapse back onto the couch for a few hours, but her own rest would have to wait.

Checking her phone, Sunset found that the pharmacy would be open in about half an hour. It would take almost as long to walk there, so she pulled on an old hoodie and collected her keys and wallet. A wayward glance at the couch left her groaning. She had slept for maybe an hour before Wallflower’s cries had woken her up, and while she was ultimately glad to see Wallflower was opening up to her a little more, the lack of sleep and late night conversation had left Sunset just as exhausted as her friend. Nonetheless, she slipped out the door, making sure to close it as silently as possible.

As she began making her way to the pharmacy, her mind wandered into worry. She was more than well-versed in the biology of human cycles after so many years here, and such a long span between periods—almost forty days—was certainly uncommon. It wasn’t impossible, but it was just as likely that Wallflower’s assaulter had gotten her pregnant.

The thought made her stomach turn. She had promised Wallflower that she would not go looking for him, but if she was being honest with herself, part of her wished she hadn’t. At the time, she was more concerned with coaxing Wallflower into opening up to her, and she’d said what she had to for that to happen. While Sunset would never go back on a promise, the thought of such a monstrous person roaming free left her with a scowl that could kill.

She could understand Wallflower not wanting to see her attacker again, though. As cathartic as it was for Sunset to think about him being hauled away in chains, any legal proceedings would inevitably boil down to a “he-said; she-said” argument. Should Wallflower attempt to seek justice, she would have to spend months of her life being constantly reminded of what she’d been through, and there was no guarantee that it would be worth it.

Still, Sunset thought, it was possible that Wallflower would change her mind about it. For all intents, she had really only had this one day to process what happened, despite the assault happening over a month ago. Regardless of what she decided, though, Sunset would support her. It was all she could do, now.

What did supporting Wallflower mean, though? What would it entail? Sunset mentally ran through a list of her monthly expenses—groceries, social outings, phone and internet bills... She had been lucky enough to be given a room-and-board agreement by her employer, but that meant that her apartment came at the cost of a sizable cut in pay. It wasn’t normally a problem, but there was no way she could afford taking care of two people unless she took on a lot more hours.

A shiver ran down her spine as she recalled the reason for her morning walk. Goddess forbid, she’d have to take care of three.

When confronted with a seemingly impossible dilemma, Sunset always fell back on her preferred method of problem solving. Eliminating any possibilities that were completely unacceptable would narrow down her choices until something made sense. In this case, Sunset would sooner jump into traffic before kicking her friend out. Wallflower needed someone to look after her, and Sunset was the only person she had. The two of them were going to be living together for the foreseeable future, that much was certain.

Sunset leaned against a street lamp as she waited for the crosswalk light to change. She couldn’t ask Wallflower to get a job, not now, and possibly not for a long time if a pregnancy test came back positive. She was still so damaged—it wouldn’t be fair to ask her for such a thing.

Again, Sunset’s mind returned to the purpose of visiting the pharmacy. It was more or less impossible to make financial decisions until she knew the extent of the situation, and that meant waiting until Wallflower woke up and was able to take the test. Sunset shuddered at the thought of what Wallflower might do if the test was positive.

Now that she thought about it, her apartment was nowhere near a safe place. There were kitchen knives, over-the-counter painkillers in the bathroom, a loft with a railing to tie something around... Sunset scratched her forearm beneath her sleeve, recalling the morbid creativity one could have if determined enough to hurt themselves. When she got back, she would need to inspect every inch of her home and either hide or remove anything Wallflower may be tempted to hurt herself with. Sunset was overcome with dread as she realized she would have to do so right away, before she could fall asleep herself.

It was such an extensive task, and only one of many. She had to figure out finances, bring over Wallflower’s belongings from her apartment, be constantly vigilant about Wallflower’s safety, as well as countless other necessities that fell to her. Sunset groaned, bitterness pulling her lips into a frown. She never asked for any of this.

As she came up on the pharmacy, Sunset shook her head, scolding herself. There was no time to indulge in self-pity, not while Wallflower was still so fragile. Maybe one day she could allow herself to complain about it. Maybe one day she could collapse beneath all the exhaustion and stress. Maybe one day she could take a break from being concerned about her friend, her future and herself, but not today. She had to stay strong for Wallflower until Wallflower could be strong for herself.

Sunset entered the pharmacy, the automatic doors sliding shut behind her. She quickly found the contraceptive aisle and located a relatively inexpensive pregnancy test. As she brought it to the checkout counter, the clerk raised an eyebrow.

“Uhm, these won’t really work the morning after,” the clerk said. She bagged them up all the same.

After a moment, Sunset realized what she was implying. “O-oh, it’s not for me,” she said.

The clerk gave her an incredulous look, and Sunset’s face went red. “Look, it’s... Ugh, nevermind!” She handed the woman the amount she owed, grabbed her bag and stomped out the door.

As she made her way back to her apartment, Sunset rolled her eyes. To be sure, a pregnancy test was not something she ever expected herself to purchase. Intimacy had never really been her thing. Flash’s numerous failed attempts to seduce her were proof enough of that.

Just then, a chime echoed from her pocket. Sunset looked at her phone, recognizing Rarity’s name as the sender of the message. She was inviting Sunset for early morning coffee, something Sunset desperately needed.

With a heavy sigh, Sunset replied. Sorry, can’t. Foreseeing Rarity’s inevitable protests of her vagueness, Sunset included a bit more. I have company over.

Before she could even slip her phone back into her pocket, the chime sounded again. Sunset read the message and slammed her face with her palm. Of course Rarity wanted to know who was staying over. Just like the clerk, she probably thought it was something scandalous.

Sunset stared at the blinking cursor on her phone, trying to think of what to say. Eventually, she settled on honesty. Wallflower Blush, she typed. She’s going to be staying with me for a while. I can’t really say more right now, sorry.

Less than a minute passed before Sunset heard the chime. She looked at the message and smiled. As much of a gossip as Rarity could be sometimes, she was very respectful of boundaries.

As Sunset at last pocketed her phone, her thoughts turned to the rest of her friends. Maybe they were the solution she needed—every one of them would be more than willing to help out her and Wallflower if they knew what was going on.

Of course, it wasn’t that simple. There was no way Wallflower would want to tell any of them what she’d been through, and Sunset certainly wasn’t about to say anything without permission. Would it really be okay to ask her friends to help her with a problem she couldn’t tell them about? Sunset sighed as she walked up to her apartment door. She would have to answer that question later.

She pulled the door shut, making sure to do so quietly. After slipping out of her shoes and putting down her keys and bag, she tiptoed up the stairs to check on Wallflower. She was still sleeping in the same place she’d been when Sunset left. As Sunset drew a little closer, she saw how tightly Wallflower was gripping the comforter. Even in her stillness, Wallflower looked incredibly uneasy.

Sunset's heart sank a bit. What if Wallflower was having a nightmare, right at that moment? Should Sunset wake her up so she could escape the tormenting dreams? Should she leave Wallflower alone, if only to let her body rest? Deep down, she knew neither of those questions had right answers.

Making her way back downstairs, Sunset moved to the kitchen. Just as she thought, there were quite a few sharp objects that she needed to remove for this to be a safe environment.

Stretching away as much of her exhaustion as she could, Sunset set about her task. Maybe one day she could relax. But not today.