Safety, and the Price We'll Pay to Get It

When Mom died, Dad said that I was all he had left.

He said that because he didn't have Mom anymore, he wanted to treasure his little girl, and keep her safe. He said the only man a girl can trust is her Daddy.

So he kissed my lips a lot. Just chaste little pecks, but they were frequent. He came into my room at night and cuddled with me, and I didn't like it, not one bit. But I didn't want to upset him, because I saw the way he treated my older brother until he left home, and I didn't want him to hit me.

So I let him.

The only person who knew was Indie, my best friend since I was four. She and I were inseparable: Indie and Arlo, all the time. Indie and Arlo. Arlo and Indie. We were a package deal, like salt and pepper, or shampoo and conditioner. She knew all about my dad and I's relationship, and she was always there to hold me when I cried. She always let me come over on nights when he was getting particularly touchy-feely, and I loved her for it.

One afternoon, my dad was taking his Luxray, Teddy, over to visit Indie's mom's Absol, Eon. The two got to talking, and Indie's mom was somehow able to convince my dad that me having a Pokémon was a good idea.

Me having a Pokémon, in my dad's mind, signified me growing up, and, eventually, leaving him; so he was reluctant, but due to all the teasing for being an overprotective parent and the way other kids looked down on me, he decided that finally, at thirteen, I could have my very own Pokémon. I was absolutely elated, to say the least.

Indie had had her Ekans-now-Arbok Snuggles since she was seven. We would train her together, and we were both there when she evolved. We used to play games where she was the bad guy who had one of us captured, and we had to fight off the "Evil Dragon" to save our damsel in distress. Indie knew how I was always jealous of her for having her own Pokémon, although she was always careful to not show her off or make me feel uncomfortable on purpose, so she was psyched to come with me to pick out my first Pokémon.

The choice wasn't hard, not in the slightest. I released my three options from their Pokéballs, and interacted with them each individually. Charmander was sweet and positively bursting with hyperactive energy. Squirtle had a cool kind of vibe, and, frankly, seemed a little stuck up.

But as soon as Bulbasaur burst from the Pokéball, I felt its smooth, blueish-green scales nuzzling with a nature so nurturing, near-forgotten memories of my mother surfaced in my mind; and for me, that was it. I was looking for a companion, not for something to battle with or show off. Bulbasaur offered just that: compassionate, constant companionship.

-=-

From then on, Bulbasaur and I were always together.

I named him Leo, because I thought it sounded like Arlo, and we spent the next few moths together. We trained and played with Indie and Snuggles until Leo evolved into an Ivysaur. A few nights after Leo's evolution, Indie was sleeping over at my house. The two of us were cuddling on my twin bed, and Leo was sleeping on his bed in the corner of the room. Snuggles prefers to sleep in her Pokéball, so that's why she wasn't out.

Lately, my feelings towards Indie had grown to be more... intimate than they used to be. I didn't know what was going on at the time, but now I know that the giddiness I felt when I held her or the concern that swept over me when she was stressed was none other than a good old fashioned crush. And I had a hunch that she felt the same way.

"Hey," I breathed into her ear, my leg nestled comfortably between her own, "Indie?"

"Mhm?" Indie replied sleepily, pushing her back harder against my thumping chest.

"Do you feel like... I dunno, like... we're... closer than we used to be?"

"What do you mean?" Indie turned around to face me, our noses touching now. Her emerald-cut eyes shone brightly in the dark as they peered into the icy blue beneath my eyelashes.

"I... I mean..." I breathed and looked down at her lips. "I think I like you, Indie."

While I was expecting a laugh, or an "Ew!", or for her to take Snuggles and leave without another word, she instead pressed her nose harder against my own. She smiled. "Good," she smoothed my hair back with one hand as she moved closer to me, "because I think I like you too."

And with that, she kissed me.

It was the first of many; although we didn't officially start dating until a few weeks after that night. The only other living beings who knew about our relationship were our Pokémon, and we intended to keep it that way. But, as many things are in my life, my father ruined that.

"Charlotte?" he yelled down the hallway.

"Yes?" I replied timidly, poking my head out from around the corner. My stomach dropped when I noticed the fury in his eyes.

"I need to have a talk with you. My bedroom, now."

I made eye contact with Leo once I reached my own bedroom, and I knew that he could sense the terror in my veins. Reading me was one of his hidden talents, and he always acted accordingly; Leo followed me to my father's bedroom.

"No, Leo. No. Out," Dad scolded, closing the door to his room. Leo's ears flattened to his head in silent anger, his big eyes narrowing as he bared his teeth. We both knew that I was in trouble, and I began my heart begin to crawl into my throat as he locked the door behind him before gesturing to the bed. I sat, and he stared at me with more intensity in his eyes than I knew to be humanly possible. "I'm not going to beat around the bush here, little girl. I know about you and Indie, Charlotte, and your recent behavior is absolutely unacceptable."

Oh, fuck, I thought as my eyes widened. I felt nauseous. I felt sweaty. Was I sweaty? My vision got blurry. Was he moving closer? Wait a minute, why was his hand on my thigh? Everything was spinning.

"Daddy, I––"

"Shut that pretty mouth of yours, sweetheart. You got curious, didn't you? Curious about intimacy?" He leaned close to my face. I didn't respond. "Answer me, Charlotte!" Now he was yelling.

"Y-Yes sir," I gulped, beginning to cry. My hands were shaking.

"I'll bet you slept with that little whore. Did you fuck her, Charlotte? Because whatever she did to you I'll bet you I can do better." He was using one hand to hold my teary face and the other was painfully gripping my thigh. It was happening too fast. I didn't know what to do but squirm. "Don't bother wiggling. The faster you give in, the faster it'll be over. Now be a good girl and take your top off."

The faster I give in, the faster it'll be over, I told myself as I pulled my shirt over my head, tears streaming down my cheeks as I cried, shoulders heaving. ''The faster I give in, the faster it'll be over. ''His mouth was on my neck. ''The faster I give in, the faster it'll be over. ''His hands were holding my chest over my bra. The faster I give in, the faster...

"Daddy, please," I begged. "Please, Daddy, stop." I was crying harder now. Louder. I yelped in pain when he bit my neck, warning me to keep quiet. "No, Daddy! Stop! No!" My defiance grew with my fear, and with that came volume. I continued to cry out and he continued to bite various parts of my body; my neck, my jaw, my stomach. His mouth was at my ear as he took a painful fistful of my hair.

"You don't get to tell me no, you slutty little dyke," he spoke in a throaty, growl-ish voice that scared me even more. He hooked a finger beneath my underwear.

CRACK!

''"Venu-saur!" ''Leo roared, his new, bigger body slamming against the door as it shattered. He was quick to examine the scene, and he was quick to tackle my father. In a fit of rage, one of Leo's vines wrapped around the top half of his head, and another wrapped around the bottom.

CRACK!

Boom.

My father's body hit the floor, limbs twitching as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. I stared, horrified, at what my Leo had done. Although I was relieved to be out of that situation, watching the most important Pokémon in my life mercilessly murder my father rattled me.

"Leo..." I murmured as the Pokémon came to comfort me, wrapping the same vines he just used to kill my dad around my shaking but otherwise unmoving body. "L-Leo, you––"

"Arlo!" I heard a familiar voice call, listening to the front door close. "Arlo, where are you? Ar––"

Soon, Indie was standing in the room as well. She saw Leo, now a Venusaur, holding me close. She saw my shirt on the bed and she saw my skirt unzipped and unkempt. She saw my red, teary face, the purple marks on my body, and quaking frame. She saw my father, lifeless, on the floor. "Oh my Arceus," she breathed. "Arlo, are you okay?" Indie spoke softly as she approached quickly, placing her hands on my shoulders. I barely managed to shake my head.

Her hands traced my bra straps down to the start of the padding, which I knew was just her way of assessing the situation. Then she froze.

Violent gurgling sounds erupted from her throat, and soon, blood was pouring from Indie's lips and spilling onto the floor. I will never, ever forget physically feeling the life leave her hands as she convulsed, blood still pouring from her mouth even after she had collapsed.

My eyes drifted to Leo from the cause of my girlfriend's grisly demise.

A slit across her neck, and a single, glinting, now-red razor leaf embedded in her bleeding flesh.

"Leo..." I could barely speak, I was merely inhaling and coughing rather than talking, "what have you done?"

Credited to Bulbasaurus