Rising Phoenix - Chapter 3

Quistis' eyes narrowed as she scanned the bar. Rinoa was nowhere to be found. She stood in the doorway for ten minutes to be sure that her eyes weren't deceiving her. Finally convinced, she sat down in a stool and watched the female bartender that was taking Rinoa's place. Her hair was short, about the same color as the streaks in Rinoa's hair, and it bobbed up at her shoulders. It was an interesting look… not one Quistis would go for, but cute, never mind the fact that Quistis also wasn't quite a fan of yellow clothing.

"Hi, can I get you something?"

Quistis looked her over cautiously. "Is Rinoa working tonight?"

The girl behind the counter was surprised to hear a regular customer refer to Rinoa by her first name. She blinked, then gave a perky smile. "Yeah, she's in the back."

"Can I see her?"

The girl seemed reluctant. "I don't know… she's really upset. As soon as the boss left she started crying and hasn't stopped since." She noticed the pain crossing Quistis' face, and after a minute of thought she spoke up again. "You're Quistis… aren't you?"

Not caring how this girl had found out her name, the professor nodded and stood up. She unbuttoned her jacket and stared Rinoa's co-worker down until she crumbled under her hard blue eyes.

"Well, since the boss is gone, I guess it's okay. Go through that door, and Rinoa should be in the door to the left."

Quistis nodded her thanks and walked off. She easily found the door, and beyond it was a small closet room. Her throat gagged up in reaction to the potent bleach and citrus fumes lingering in the air. She stepped in, almost tripping over a broom in the process, and listened for any hint of the dark-haired angel.

The darkness overcame her. She was still. Unmoving, basking in the atmosphere, letting it take her in and make her its own. Deep, heart wrenching sobs reached her ears. They touched her like nothing else. She walked along the road of sadness, and at the end of it she found Rinoa sitting on the floor, with her face in her knees and her hair concealing the entirety of her beauty. All that escaped were two shaking columns with naked little toes clenched up underneath them.

Quistis carefully got to her knees. Unsure whether Rinoa was aware of her intrusion, she tried her best to reveal her presence without startling the upset girl. Quistis had never consoled someone, or been consoled, but the longer she stayed there and heard the echo of Rinoa's wails resonating off the walls, the deeper the pain burrowed into her chest.

As softly as she felt she could manage, Quistis placed her hand on Rinoa's shoulder. "…Rinoa?"

A long time passed before there was any change, and Quistis began to question whether Rinoa had heard her or not. The young girl lost the strength to hold her knees up, and when her legs hit the floor Quistis crawled between them so she could cradle Rinoa's upper body against her chest.

"…Is it you?"

Quistis wasn't sure how she should respond to that question. One of her hands found the top of Rinoa's head. Trying to ignore its softness, she began finger-combing the locks, hushing Rinoa in the process. "It's Quistis…"

Rinoa's cries got loud again. Quistis did her best to suppress them, but her attempts were in vain until the exhausted teenager finally slipped into slumber. Quistis sighed, a bit relieved when the streams of tears were replaced with heavy breaths. This was the closest the two had ever been. Rinoa's form was slouched against the length of Quistis' body, unmoving besides the heaving of her chest.

Quistis glanced in the direction where she thought the door was, hoping to find a crack of light coming in from the other side. She leaned her head down, took in the odor of alcohol, cigarette smoke and musk that was embedded into Rinoa's hair, and wondered where she was supposed to go from here…

When she closed her eyes she was in the darkness, and when she opened them she was in the light.

Fear struck her. Was she in a hospital? Everything was so white…

Yet there wasn't the faint beeping of machinery, nor the smell of bile and anesthetics. No, it was much more pleasant. As her senses focused, she realized that instead of Life Support there was faint piano music playing, and instead of medicines and sickness she caught a different, familiar smell.

What was that smell?

It smelled like… Quistis?

Rinoa sat up in bed. The sheets were white, silk, and slid against her bare legs so smoothly that she felt goosebumps forming on her flesh. The room was classy, sophisticated, and though it was barely furnished it didn't look like it needed much of anything besides a bed, nightstand, and shades for the windows.

What happened last night? Oh, she had been crying. She went to work, even though she shouldn't have, and she went into the closet and cried alone. No, she wasn't alone. She was with the woman who was slumped over in the chair beside the bed she was occupying. Was this… Quistis' bedroom?

"Good morning, Rinoa."

Rinoa was able to look at Quistis for a brief moment before looking away apologetically. "I'm sorry Quistis…"

"To be honest, it isn't morning, it's more like night… You've been asleep for a couple of days."

The bartender almost didn't believe Quistis at first. She felt too weak to get up to the window, but with closer examination it did look like dusk outside…

"I'm sure you're hungry. Come on… let's get you something to eat."

Quistis left the room, and Rinoa spent some time stretching and grimacing at the smell of her own body odor. She eventually emerged from the bedroom, and met eyes with a breathtaking condo room. The common theme seemed to be glass and the color white, but there were hints of maroon and violet strewn into the upholstery and painting. The next ten minutes were spent in wonder and amazement. Quistis didn't seem to take any notice. She hardly ever had company, especially company that slept in her bed, but she remained characteristically calm and well-mannered despite the awkward situation.

Rinoa made her way into the kitchen, which had tabletops made of glass instead of stained wood, and leaned against the counter while she watched Quistis stir some soup on the stove.

"Quistis… you didn't have to bring me here, really. I mean, I'm grateful and everything, but you shouldn't have gone out of your way to-"

The blond reached into a higher cupboard and took out two bowls of soup. She set them down on the counter beside Rinoa and smiled. "All I do on the weekends is grade papers, so don't worry about it." She looked back at Rinoa. "I trust you'll be all right here tomorrow while I go to the University. That is… unless you'd like to come along."

Rinoa watched Quistis pour the thick red soup into the bowls without spilling as much as a drop. "I… Well, okay. Yeah, I'd like to tour the campus."

"Good," Quistis handed Rinoa a spoon and the two of them sat down at the table. Also made of glass, Rinoa noticed, bewildered that she could see her feet poking out beneath her soup bowl. Quistis chuckled into her spoon and watched Rinoa while she paid more attention to her surroundings than her food.

"I make enough money to feed a family of eight. And since I don't have any particular hobbies or side interests, I need something to spend my money on," she explained. Rinoa grinned sheepishly, realizing she must be acting like a five year old in an amusement park. After looking back at her food, Rinoa realized how hungry she truly was. The tomato soup disappeared before Quistis could finish half of hers.

Quistis stood up and took Rinoa's bowl from her. Her face, still gentle with a touch of amusement, bore into Rinoa's soul and the young girl had to look away. "Since your appetite's returned, I'll make you a sandwich. How does that sound?"

Rinoa's cheeks turned a shade of rose. "I'd like that… thank you."

Quistis disappeared into the kitchen. While she was gone, Rinoa leaned back in her chair. The lulling piano melody reached her ears again. She looked around for a radio of some sort, but had no luck in finding one. "What are we listening to?"

"The television in the other room. I left it on a satellite radio station. Easy Listening, or something like that…"

The song continued on, and when it was almost finished Rinoa was fully convinced. "That's one of my mother's songs."

Quistis presented her with a turkey and cheese sandwich. "Really?" she tapped her fingernails on the glass of the table. "You didn't tell me your mother was a superstar."

Rinoa shook her head. "I wouldn't go that far. A local celebrity, maybe… But if she was really popular, I guess I'm the wrong person to ask."

A pained look crossed Rinoa's face. Quistis was unsure if it was the talk of Rinoa's deceased mother that was bothering her, or something entirely different.

"Quistis?"

"Yes, Rinoa?"

"You aren't going away… are you?"

Quistis ruffled her hair and put a firm kiss on Rinoa's forehead. "Of course not."

Rinoa leaned forward, but from her seated position she only had Quistis' stomach to rest her head on. A blank expression took over, and though Quistis couldn't see her face she was doing her best to fight back the oncoming tears.

"Rinoa… What's wrong? What happened?"

Two hands clamped onto the front of Quistis' shirt.

"…He's never coming back."

Quistis looked at the floor and cursed under her breath.