Hey, it's Teni.
So here's the second chapter to this. I'm so glad people have already reviewed saying they really enjoy this story. I hope you keep enjoying it! Let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions of what you want to see come out of this. These chapters aren't going to be very long, maybe a little more than 1,500 words per chapter, but I hope you like them all the same. Thanks for the support!
"Tifa, I'm home!" Marlene called as she opened the door to the 7th Heaven.
"Hi, Sweety! How was your day at school?" Tifa asked as she moved in front of the bar counter and walked towards Marlene.
"Good. I got to write on the board today and we got to draw pictures of our favorite animals and I…" Marlene stopped talking as she saw a boy in baggy clothes sitting on one of the bar stools. They made eye contact and the boy quickly looked away. "Who's that?" Marlene asked Tifa quietly. "And why is he wearing Cloud's clothes?"
"We have someone new staying with us for awhile." Tifa told her, and then she brought the girl to stand in front of the boy, whose eyes nervously flickered to her and then back to the plate of uneaten food in front of him. "This is Marlene, who I was telling you about." Tifa told the boy. "Marlene, this is….well, he's going to be staying with us for a while. He's going to be sharing your room." Marlene walked up to the boy and sat on the bar stool next to him.
"What's your name?" she asked. The boy just looked down at his plate of chicken he barely touched and didn't say anything. "Do you go to school?" Marlene pressed as she leaned forward to try and see the boy's face, but he just turned his head the opposite way. "Don't you talk at all?" she asked, only leaning even more forward. The boy refused to look at her. Tifa could see the shyness and slight fear on the boy's face.
"He doesn't talk very much, Marlene." Tifa placed her hands on Marlene's shoulders to pull her away from leaning into the boy's face. "Here's your snack." And Tifa reached for a fruit bar on the other side of the counter to place it in front of Marlene. The little girl munched happily on the bar as she swung her feet back and forth. Tifa went back to polishing and setting out the glasses for the night from her spot behind the counter.
The sound of the back door opening came soon after Marlene finished her fruit bar. "Cloud's home!" Marlene exclaimed, and she hopped off the bar stool while Tifa kept her eyes on her work. The boy remained motionless and continued to stare at his hardly touched plate. Marlene ran to the back door as Cloud closed it behind him. "Cloud!" she exclaimed, and Cloud smiled softly at her.
"Hey, Marlene. How was school?" following closely behind Cloud, Marlene immediately went off into a story about her day as they entered the bar area. The ghost of a smile on his face from listening to Marlene fire off her story was wiped away almost immediately when Cloud saw the boy sitting at the bar wearing one of his old shirts and a pair of paint-splattered shorts. The boy quickly looked down at his food after being caught looking, and Marlene slowly stopped talking as she saw Cloud's expression change. She followed his gaze to the boy and looked back at Cloud.
"Cloud?" Marlene questioned innocently. Tifa looked at Cloud as she polished a glass in her hands with a rag waiting for what he would do. Cloud looked at Tifa, back to the boy, set his jaw, and walked towards the stairs without a word. Marlene looked after him, and Tifa just sighed quietly as she went back to setting out glasses.
"What's wrong with Cloud?" Marlene asked.
"Marlene, it's almost time to go upstairs. How about you grab the games you want from the closet and then head on up?" Tifa suggested.
"Okay." Marlene said, a little discouraged, and she went into the back room.
Tifa turned to the boy still sitting at the bar, taking note of his hardly touched plate. "Aren't you hungry?" she asked as she finished setting out the glasses and flipped the towel across her shoulder. The boy was ever-silent. "Is there something wrong with it? Do you not like chicken?" Tifa had never known someone who didn't like chicken and rice. It wasn't like she was trying to give him Brussel sprouts. Tifa leaned on the counter in front of the boy. "Well I can't know what to cook you unless you tell me what you like."
He said nothing.
"I know you can talk. You talked to me on Cloud's phone yesterday, so you aren't fooling me." She teased him. The boy's eyes flickered to her, but then moved back down to his hands in his lap. "Look," Tifa started quietly. "I know a lot's happened to you, but that's all behind you now. I promise. We're going to take care of you."
Silence.
"Won't you tell me your name?"
Nothing.
Tifa sighed, then, brushing a strand of hair from his black forehead, she stood up. "Cloud and I run the bar here at night. We have Marlene stay upstairs while we do. The bar isn't really a place for children. It opens up in a few minutes, so you should probably head upstairs too."
Wordlessly, the boy slid off the bar stool and moved towards the stairs. "I'll be up to check on you when it's time for bed." Tifa called after him as she removed the full plate from the counter.
"Knock knock." Tifa said as she opened the door to Marlene's room. Marlene was sitting on the floor brushing her doll's hair while the boy sat on the bed looking at his hands. "All ready for bed?"
"Uh-huh!" Marlene nodded as she scampered up into her bed and under the covers with her doll. "Tibby's ready for bed too!"
Tifa smiled as she looked from Marlene to the boy. "I set out a toothbrush for you in the bathroom if you want to brush your teeth before going to bed." The boy wordlessly moved from sitting on the bed and kept his eyes down as he moved passed Tifa to the bathroom. Marlene looked up at Tifa with a troubled look, but Tifa just smiled sadly at her and sat on the edge of her bed. "Are you warm enough? It's going to be cold tonight." Marlene nodded as she snuggled Tibby closer, but then turned her big eyes onto Tifa.
"Is he okay?" Marlene asked quietly.
Tifa considered how much to tell Marlene. "He's not feeling so good, Marlene. He hasn't eaten in a few days, and he's just tired."
"Too tired to talk?"
"He didn't say anything while you were up here?" Tifa questioned, and Marlene shook her head. Tifa sighed. "I guess he's a little sad. Sometimes when people are sad, they don't like to talk about it. But it's important to be extra kind to people when they're sad, so just keep on trying with him, okay?"
Marlene nodded. Just then, the boy entered the room again after quickly brushing his teeth. He climbed under the covers and pulled the quilt up almost passed his head. Tifa turned back to Marlene.
"Alright. Sweet dreams, Sweety." Tifa kissed Marlene on the forehead.
Marlene moved quickly and wrapped her arms around Tifa's neck in a hug. "Do you think he'll be this sad tomorrow?" Marlene whispered into her ear. Tifa pulled back, confused, then seeing Marlene's eyes shift to the boy in the other bed, Tifa shrugged.
"We'll see. I hope not." She said quietly as she still hugged the girl. "We're just going to have to do what we can to brighten his spirits. Cloud's too. Okay?"
Marlene nodded as she let go of Tifa to lay back down. Tifa stood up and noticed the boy's old clothes resting in a pile on the chair in the corner.
"Those clothes look pretty worn, don't you think?" Tifa asked the boy, who peeked out from under the covers. "Do you mind if I throw them away? I'll have better clothes for you tomorrow." She waited for his response. After a moment, the boy slowly nodded. Relieved that he actually responded to one of her questions, Tifa gathered the tattered and worn clothes into her arms. "Goodnight you two, sweet dreams." Tifa flicked off the light.
"Good night, Tifa." Marlene replied, and Tifa pulled the door until it was almost closed to dull the sounds of loud talking and laughter coming from the bar downstairs. Tifa was about to go down the stairs when she heard quick footsteps hurry into the hallway from the children's room. Turning around, Tifa was suddenly met with the boy grabbing at the pair of pants in her arms.
"Hey!" Tifa tried to hold onto the clothing as he tore through the pockets of the pants. He finally retrieved something from one of them and stowed it in the pocket of the shorts he was wearing. Before Tifa could question what it was, the boy hurried as fast as his skinny body could take him back to the door and slipped back into the dark room. Taken aback at the abruptness of what just happened, Tifa slowly moved down the stairs wondering what could have been in the pocket to bring about the look of desperation and fear she saw flash on the boy's face.
So that's Chapter 2! Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you liked and what you want to see more of. Thanks for the support. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter in a few days or so.
-Teni