Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to Square Enix and all those included in the making of Final Fantasy VII.

A/N: This story is set after the events of FFVII but before Advent Children. I take some quotes from the "Case of Tifa" which is a part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. If you haven't read it yet, it really is a great addition and gives more insight to Tifa's feelings before Advent Children.

A/N2: I was influenced to write this story while I was listening to the song "Exit Wounds" by The Script. It is a great song and I would recommend you listen to it before reading, just to set the mood. Lyrics from the song are in the story as well.

And without further ado, here's the story!

"My hands are cold, my body's numb
Im still in shock, what have you done?
My head is pounding, my visions blurred
Your mouth is moving, I don't hear a word"

Tifa was in her room, thinking about what Marlene had said to her moments ago.

"We're here with you but you're still lonely, aren't you?"

"...I'm sorry," Tifa answered honestly.

"It's OK. We're the same."

"I see."

"I wonder where Cloud is."

A pang of guilt hit Tifa's heart as she thought about what her actions were doing to Marlene and Denzel. She had always known Marlene had been more insightful than most children, but it felt as if Marlene understood her on a deeper level. She did not want to seem so weak in front of her children.

Probably because she feels the same...Tifa thought. She sighed while she sat on her bed, her elbows resting on her knees while she held her head in her hands.

Tifa's days were always filled with thoughts of Cloud. His sudden departure had been very hard on their family. It was even harder for her to not be able to give clear answers to Marlene and Denzel whenever they asked when and if Cloud was coming back. After a couple of weeks, seeing no change, they stopped asking the question because they could see how depressed Tifa had become.

She had not seen Cloud for months now. When she tried to reach him by calling him, it would always go to voicemail. It didn't help that it was just a generic voice greeting whenever she left a message. She might have felt better if it was his voice, asking to leave a message. It had been so long since she had actually heard his voice, she couldn't help but miss his husky voice. She missed everything about him.

Thinking about him again, Tifa's heart started to ache. Clutching her chest with her right hand, she couldn't help but feel angry at the same time. Why had he left so suddenly? Was it something that she had done to drive him away? Was he not ready to take on the responsibility of taking care of the children? Why hadn't she been a good enough reason for him to stay? She had no idea, but her heart started to ache more as she began to ask herself these questions.

"And I hurt so bad, that I search my skin
For the entry point, where love went in
And ricoshad and bounced around
And left a hole, when you walked out"

She felt this pain every day, generally at night time when she was about to go to bed. This was when she had the most time to herself, to wind down and to also let her thoughts catch up to her.

"I'm falling through the doors of the emergency room
Can anybody help me with these Exit Wounds?
I don't know how much more love this heart can lose
And I'm dying, dying from the Exit Wounds
Wounds, where they're leaving, the scars you're keeping
Exit wounds"

What made everything worse was that every time she became angry or upset at Cloud, she began to remember how much more had always argued after he had started his delivery service. He was never home, only during the early morning and late at night. Every night after dinner and finishing homework, Denzel and Marlene would stay up as long as they could just in case Cloud came home earlier. Denzel usually stayed up longer than Marlene because he had wanted to spend time with his idol, Cloud. However, a majority of the time Cloud came home late after midnight, where Denzel had already been asleep. Tifa never had the heart to tell him about the kids' routine. She didn't want to burden him.

"Yeah this is living but without the will
I'm backing out, I'm shutting down
You left a hole, when you walked out yeah
Marks of battle, they still feel raw
A million pieces of me, on the floor"

Tifa stated to think about the last time they had talked. Cloud had just told her that he had found Denzel at Aeris' church.

"Aeris didn't bring Denzel to you."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too."

"Aeris brought that child to us, didn't she?"

Cloud gazed at Tifa and finally smiled. It had the kindness that made her think everything was fine.

Tears started to flow down Tifa's face. She always cried silent tears, perhaps because it was her way of suffering alone. She did not want the children to know she cried like this and risk them hearing her cry. Lying down on her bed, she closed her eyes, smiling as she remembered Cloud's smile. She fell asleep, knowing that the only time she would be able to see him was in her dreams. She drifted off into her dreams, her right hand still on top of her heart.

Perhaps it was a way for her to try and stop the love leaving her heart, where the biggest exit wound was created.

End

Thank you for reading. I know it was depressing and that it has been a topic that has been written about many times before. But this song just makes me feel like Tifa could relate to it so well, so I put my own spin on it. I hope you liked the story!