"Distance"
Tifa's POV
It's been a week since he left. I know he said he would be out for a couple of days, but this is taking too much for me to handle.
A few days ago, Cloud came back from a delivery from Condor Fortress and he said they offered him a job. It was something temporary but it would take a while to get it done and the pay will be high. He accepted the offer and promised he would come back as soonest the job was done.
I can't help thinking what kind of job is he doing there, but whatever it is, I just hope he's okay. I don't want him to get hurt or anything. I know he's strong and he can take care of himself, but no matter what I do, I just can't stop worrying about him.
Days go by, and still no sign of him.
I call him twice a day to see how's everything; but as usual, he never answers the phone. I always try to keep him abreast of the situation around here, so I leave him messages every time I call him; that way he won't get worry about us either. The last thing he needs is another concern in his mind.
Everything feels so empty when he's not around.
The children miss him a lot, but they are not entirely sad because they know he'll come back home soon. Me on the other hand, can't help feeling lonely. Now that he spends more time in here, I guess we all grew a costumed to his presence. He became part of our lives and it's only natural that we miss him that much.
One night, I decided to close the bar early so I could get some good rest. It's been hard to sleep these days because of my constant fears and my worries for Cloud. I wish he would tell us in a message that he's okay.
I finally lay down on my bed and picked my cell phone to review the messages I sent him. I read every one of them, hoping that I would find a replay. Suddenly, I realized that I had several missed calls from a strange number. How could I miss that? Was I too blind to notice that there were almost 7 missed calls? Where was my head? Oh right, you were thinking about Cloud.
Anyway, I put the phone on my night stand and then turned around to try to get some sleep.
Later that same night, my phone started to ring. I opened my eyes and took the cell phone to see who it was. It was that strange number again. It seemed too suspicious to call me at this hour of the night, so I waited until the message took over.
Finally, the phone stopped ringing, but there was no message. Once again, the phone started to ring and I decided to take the call and see who it was.
"Hello?"
There was no response.
"Who is this?" I asked again with anger in my voice.
"Hey..."
My heart skipped a beat when I heard his voice.
"Cloud?" I said doubtful.
"Sorry for calling you at this hour."
"No, that's okay. Um... How... I mean, what happened to your cell phone?"
"Oh, about that, well..."
I fought a chuckle when I heard him stutter. It's always a sign that he's either nervous or embarrassed.
"I broke it."
"You broke it? But... how?"
"It fell from the handlebar and I ran over it when was parking Fenrir."
"Oh man... that's terrible."
"I know. That's why I couldn't call you back."
"I see."
I felt so relieved just to hear his voice. It made my heart rejoice to think that he also wanted to contact us.
"So, how's everything?" he asked randomly.
"Well, you know, same routine, different day." I giggled a bit.
"And the children?"
"Wrapped in their beds, as usual. They miss you a lot."
"I know. I miss them too."
There was a silence after that and I tried to break the awkward moment.
"So, when are you coming back?"
"Don't know yet. There are still some things I need to do before I go back."
"Oh, I see..." I trailed off.
I couldn't help feeling a little down when I heard him say that. I was hoping he would return soon but I guess it was too much for me to ask.
"Teef?"
I snapped from my trance when I heard him call my name. I totally forgot about him for an instance while I was drifting into my thoughts.
"Oh! Sorry about that."
"Are you all right?" His voice sounded worried.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
Pause.
"Is just that, I was hoping you would come home this weekend. Everything feels so..." I sighed. "Just so..."
He didn't say anything after that.
"I wish you were here."
I couldn't stand the distance anymore. My heart was aching because of this. I wanted to see him, to hold him, to let him know how much he means to me.
I wanted to tell him everything.
I hesitated for a moment, but then I took a deep breath and say the one thing I've been wanting to say ever since I started talking to him on the phone.
"Cloud, I uh..."
"I know, Teef." He said suddenly.
That caught me by surprise. He knows? How could he possibly know if I haven't told him yet? I wanted to tell him so badly, but I knew it wouldn't be fair for him.
There was an awkward silence after that. Tears started running down my face.
"Don't worry about a thing. I promise I'll come back as soonest I finish the job."
Even if it wasn't what I expected to hear, I felt so relieved and warm when he said that, because I know he never breaks a promise.
"Say hi to the children for me, okay?"
"Okay."
That was the only thing I could say. I didn't want him to know that I was crying.
"And Teef..."
My heart skipped a beat when I heard him say my name.
"Yes?"
I could hear his breathing through the phone. I knew he was trying to tell me something but he didn't have the words, so I tried to reassure him by letting know it was okay.
"It's okay, Cloud. I know..."
I could swear I heard him smile.
"I'll see you in a couple of days."
"I'll be waiting."
"Good-night, Tifa."
"Good-night, Cloud."
And with that, he hanged up. I stood there for awhile listening to the tone and then closed the phone. There was this warm feeling inside my chest that soothed me. I finally felt calm and I was able to sleep that night.
To be continued...
A/N: Here it is! :D The first part of my new fic :3 I'm also going to write Cloud's POV ;3 so stick around to read the outcome XD and don't forget to leave me a review ;D I love to hear from you ^w^
Please excuse my bad english in case you find some mistakes in it u/u but I would really appreciate if you point them out for me, so I can improve my writing skills 8D