Shadow of a Doubt

Amy Worries

(Maria)

The next morning Maria awoke to the sound of dishes clattering quietly in the kitchen. As she got up and stretched she noticed that her arm was sore and throbbing a bit and the bandage had loosened. She quickly got dressed, brushed her hair, and sat in front of the mirror.

As she slowly unwrapped her arm she prepared herself for the wound that cost her her consciousness. The gash she found shocked her with its unusual appearance. It started just above her elbow and snaked up and around to finish just under her shoulder. It was red and raw but looked a lot less bloody than the bandage.

She slowly stood, always watching the gash should it split and start to bleed, heading to the bathroom across the hall. After rinsing the wound and bandage, she hung the wet strip of cloth up to dry. She remembered something about how it was good for cuts to breathe, so decided just to be very careful until the bandage dried.

As she walked into the kitchen she was greeted by Amy who was sitting in front of the stove. Amy had set the table and was frying eggs that made Maria's stomach growl.

"Oh my god, Maria!" Amy exclaimed bringing Maria's attention back to her. "What happened to your arm?!" She asked walking over to Maria, grabbing her arm to get a better look at the cut.

"Its fine, Amy." Maria soothed. "Its how Sonic found me. I just rinsed both the cut and the bandage and am waiting for it to dry. Also, its good for cuts to breath." She said taking her arm back from Amy and sitting down next to where Amy had sat.

As she looked the cut over for the second time, Amy joined her at the table, still a little on edge.

"Did you sleep well?" Amy asked as she returned to the eggs unsuccessfully trying to sneak glances at Maria's arm.

"I slept great. How about you?" Maria asked, pretending not to see Amy's glances.

"Pretty good. Though I could have slept longer." Amy admitted sliding the eggs onto each plate.

That's when Blaze stepped into the kitchen, looking from Maria to Amy to Maria's arm.

"So that's what the bandage was for. I was wondering why your arm was wrapped up." Blaze calmly said, sitting across from Maria.

"How did you sleep Blaze?" Maria asked as they began to eat.

"Quite well, Maria. Thanks for asking." Blaze answered looking into her plate. That's when Maria noticed that both Amy and Blaze had a slightly guilty expression as they avoided eye contact with Maria.

"Is everything Ok?"

"Yeah, it's just..." Blaze paused, looking to Amy then back to Maria. "You don't mind staying home alone, right?"

"No, why?" Maria asked puzzled.

"Well, we both have dates tonight. This means if we don't make other plans, you'll be home alone for the night." Amy answered.

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine with staying home alone." Maria reassured them with a smile. "I'll even help you guys get ready."

"Are you sure?" Asked Blaze.

"Definitely."

After cleaning up breakfast the three of them sat down to watch a couple movies to pass the time. They decided to have a mini Disney marathon and started with Beauty and the Beast. It turned out that Maria already knew the words to every song, so they all decided to sing along.

"There must be more to this provincial life. Look there she goes, the girl is..." Maria sang as Blaze and Amy looked to her shocked.

"Oh my goodness, Maria! You have the most amazing voice!" Amy praised hugging her tightly.

"Yeah, Maria! I think it's the most beautiful I've ever heard." Blaze agreed smiling widely.

"Oh, you're just saying that." Maria said blushing. That's when another splitting headache hit her. "Ow!"

"Maria, what's wrong?" Amy asked, pulling away from the hug so she could see her face.

"Just another headache, ugh." Maria replied rubbing her temples.

"What do you mean 'another'?" Blaze asked turning her attention from the movie back to Maria.

"Well, I got one at Tails' house, but I thought it was only blood loss." Answered Maria, avoiding eye contact by watching the screen.

"It could be that you subconsciously recognize something from your past and your brain is trying to tell you. That's what happened to Shadow..." Amy said thinking it over.

"Wait, what?!" Maria asked confused.

"Well, when we first met Shadow, he had lost his memory. If he saw or was told something that was linked to his past, he would get a horrible headache. Sometimes he would even have a memory attack." Blaze informed Maria matter-of-factly.

"What's a memory attack?" Maria asked, still massaging her head.

"Its when a lot of memories run through your head all at once. Shadow has had some bad ones in the past. He would just yell out randomly, collapse on the ground, and stay in a trouble, unconscious state for a couple hours." Amy sighed. "He has a sad past. It must really pain him to remember."

"Oh... can we just watch the movie?? I think the headache's going away." Maria asked trying to enjoy the movie and forget about the pain, for it had only gotten worse as they talked.

"Maria, can I just ask one question first?" Blaze asked, causing Maria to look back at her.

"Sure."

"What did you or someone else do when you got the headache?" She asked.

"You mean what might have caused it." Maria stated, looking back to the TV. She paused, considering if it'd be ok to tell them. Then she sighed and said, "I got the headache the moment I made eye contact with Shadow." She closed her eyes afraid of what that might mean.

"When did it go away?" Amy asked in shock..

"When the three of them left for the movie." Maria answered calmly still not looking at them.

~!~

After finishing the movie and eating lunch, they started to watch The Little Mermaid. As the opening song started the phone rang.

"I'll get it!" Amy yelled running to the kitchen landline.

"She's just hoping it's Sonic calling." Blaze whispered, as they giggled at Amy's reaction.

"Oh! Hi, Sonic!" They heard Amy say, which sent them into a renewed fit of giggles.

After spending a good twenty minutes talking with Sonic, Amy joined them in the living room. She sat back down between Maria and Blaze.

"So, what'd he say?" Blaze asked with a teasing shoulder bump.

"Sonic and Silver think Maria should join us tonight, smarty pants!" Amy answered giving Blaze a playful shove.

"Really?" Maria asked, not knowing what else to say.

"Yep!"

"Did he say where we're going?" Blaze shifted her sitting position.

"Yeah, he said we would meet them at that fancy restaurant on Quinpool. It's supposed to be really formal and expensive!" Amy answered with a content sigh. Obviously she was thinking about Sonic.

"How long 'till we meet them?"

"We have about four hours. So we can finish the movie, get ready and head over at around 5:30." Amy suggested before turning to Maria. "So, are ya gonna come with?"

"I don't know... I don't want to intrude on your date." Maria answered, timidly.

"You wouldn't be intruding! Come on, it'll be fun!" Blaze encouraged.

"Oh, Ok."