When We Say Goodbye - Broken Marissonshipping

Chapter 1

"Do I have to go to Daddy's house?"

Mairin glanced at the rear-view mirror at the small child in the back seat. The five year old girl was sitting in a booster seat, staring out the window. A limp Fennekin plush was wrapped in her arms, the small girl fidgeting as she watched buildings roll by.

"Don't you like spending time with Daddy, Faith?" Mairin asked the young girl, keeping a simple 'unfortunately' from slipping off her tongue instead. A pair of bright amber eyes met Mairin's in the mirror, a deflated look on her daughter's face.

Faith let out a loud sigh. "There's just nothing to do at Daddy's," She muttered, hugging her Fennekin doll closer. "We never do anything– Dad's just in his office all day until it's dinnertime or something, and I get so bored, Mommy. I never get to play with him."

Mairin's throat tightened at this news, but she had to force her gaze away from the mirror so she could focus on her driving. The woman's hands had noticeably tightened on the steering wheel. She stole one more glance at her dark-haired daughter, before looking out at the road.

"...Does he read you bedtime stories?" Mairin asked. "Tuck you in? Take you anywhere?"

"Nuh-uh," Faith replied, before adding on: "Sometimes he does tuck me in and give me a kiss– but usually he's in his office at bedtime."

Mairin gritted her teeth– she knew that her ex-husband wasn't the most cheerful and social person– but that did not mean he had the right to neglect their daughter. She swallowed the desire to turn the car around and take Faith home– but it was his week to have her. He had custody over her only one weekend a month, and then one week for the summer months, a schedule they had worked out for when Faith would be enrolled in school.

And here she was about to drop her daughter off for his week of June– and she was finding out that he barely gave her the time of day.

"I'll talk to your father when we get there," Mairin said, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "And I'll make sure he spends time with you this week."

"How much longer until we're there?" Faith asked, plucking at the tuffs of hair coming from the Fennekin doll's ears.

Mairin glanced around at the buildings– which were getting dingier by the block. "Only a few more minutes."

"Oh..." Faith said, voice void of any excitement. Mairin took in a deep breath, not wanting her daughter to see her angry.

But she did have some words in mind for when they'd arrive at Alain's.

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Mairin supposed that Alain's apartment was a decent size for the part of Laverre City he was living in– but that didn't change the fact that she was less than happy leaving her daughter there every month.

She was sure to double check that her car was locked as she parked it on the streets, the horn echoing in confirmation. Faith's hand was wrapped tightly in hers, the girl's backpack swung over Mairin's shoulder. She glanced around at the graffitied walls and the garbage blowing about the streets, shuddering to herself. She tugged Faith closer to her, before heading off towards Alain's building.

"Second floor, room twelve," Faith muttered as they entered the building. "Daddy says not to go anywhere else if I somehow get outside of his apartment, don't talk anyone else, just go up the stairs and find the twelve."

"At least he's done one thing right," Mairin said, mostly to herself as she lead Faith towards the stairs– she did not trust the elevators here.