Boy that last chapter was somethin else. I think it was my best one yet in this fic...
And, sorry for not updating. School is being...bleh.
He sat at the table receiving a hot cup of tea in his hands before she sat down across from him. The cup was warm, almost burning, but the heat that stayed in his hands from his recent assault still lay there. He watched the steam rise from the cup, saw the swirl of the liquid as it was laid upon the table, and sighed.
"I don't know why you tried to stop Cloud, Derkus. You honestly think that was the best thing for you to do?" The tone in her voice was almost angry, yet she was very concerned. Yes, for the safety and well-being of her son, but also for the sanity of the man at the table with her.
He looked at her. "Yeah I do. That boy needs to learn his place." He showed no sign of regret, of remorse for what he did to the boy in the next house over. In fact, if anything, this grown man was still angry at the younger male for trying to interfere in this business. He focused on the woman, staring at her straight in the eye.
Marina's eyes narrowed. "You think I'm not doing a good enough job? You think bashing his head in is going to make him respect you?"
He took a sip of his tea. "It might. Maybe he won't try me anymore."
"And you feel no penitence for it at all!" She got up from the table, walking off.
He stood, coming for her and wrapping his arms around her frame from behind. "Don't be like that--"
She wriggled out of his grip. "Don't say that to me! You nearly killed my son with your foolish ways--"
"--I did not almost kill him--"
"--And then you feel nothing for what you've done!"
He scoffed. "Marina, you and I both know Cloud had it coming for him."
She shook her head. "Now, as his mother, I'm not going to stand for you talking about my son in that manner. The past doesn't matter anymore; what you've said in the past does not matter." She sighed. "But then again it does." At the confused look Derkus was giving her, she showed him a disgusted face. "You don't even know what I'm talking about."
Derkus shrugged. "Humor me then Marina. What are you talking about?"
"Your daughter Derkus." He stared at her as if he'd been slapped in the face. "Yes. That young lady you and Reania had together? Yes, her. Do you know what you've done to that poor child?"
He laughed. "Marina, don't you try and take this out on me. It's not like I've been doing this all by myself." He walked up to her. "I'm not the one that came to you the first time, remember?"
She shook her head. "That doesn't matter right now. You kept this from her."
His eyes widened, his hands waving in the air. "Okay? You could've told her. You could've told Cloud, but he had to find out just like Tifa did."
"No he didn't! I wasn't banging Tifa's head into the wall when he found out."
"Yes, but you didn't tell him either; he had to find out on his own as well." She turned away from him, crossing her arms and shaking her head again.
"Look, we're both wrong. I should have told Tifa, but I wasn't sure when the right time to tell her would be. When she would be old enough to understand. She was too young and . . ."
Marina quickly turned back to him, waiting on some sort of answer. When he didn't finish his sentence, she huffed. "And what? And Reania? How you might as well have killed her before she had to suffer?" Before Derkus knew it, his hand had gone right across Marina's face. She stared at him, her hand up to her cheek, her eyes wide and mouth agape. She wasn't afraid; if anything, Marina was more shocked than she thought she ever could have been. He gazed at her with a mournful look, and before he could even try to defend himself, she whispered, "Get out."
He took a few steps toward her, holding his arms out in an effort to hug her. "Marina, sweetheart, I didn't mean--"
Her finger pointing at the door, she yelled, "Dammit, I said get out!" Her hand was shaking, and she didn't even notice until after he left. A couple of moments passed as Derkus stared at her. He sighed, walking past the chair with this jacket hanging on the back. Grabbing it, he swung it over his shoulders before going out of the front door.
Marina sat down in a nearby chair at the table. Her face in her hands, she sobbed for a few minutes, thinking of and regretting all the things she's done wrong to both her son and his best friend. She didn't know what to do; what to think, what to say when Cloud got back home. If he ever does. Marina wasn't sure if her son was to come back home ever again, especially after today. He spends most of his time with Tifa and Vincent. I never see him anymore, and that's my fault. It's my fault for practically putting this man before my own son. My own flesh and blood. When she looked up, all they saw was the cup of tea across from her, the steam rising and swirling above the mug before disappearing from sight.
She stared straight ahead, her eyes never leaving the television set that sat in front of her, staring at it, but not seeing it. The blond on the sofa behind her stared, the black-haired youth bending over the sofa stared, the brothers stared, but no one saw anything. It took a moment for everyone to actually comprehend what she was saying, let alone think they heard it right. Cloud was the first to say something.
"Tifa, it's been nine years."
She turned to him. "So? My parents were married for ten before my mother died."
Cloud shook his head. "They couldn't have! We'd have noticed something way earlier than this."
Aaron's voice could be heard from the table in the dining room-kitchen. He didn't sound too sad about any of the things they were saying; in fact, he talked as if he were trying to solve a mystery. It's not that he was being sarcastic, or trying to seem like he did not care. He just didn't know how to respond when it came to situations like this. "Maybe your dad did have an affair, but he and Cloud's mom broke it off or something a long while back. That might be why the two of you never noticed anything before. I mean honestly, over the span of nine years, it doesn't matter how young you were. One or both of you would have seen something!"
Matt snorted. "Man, shut the hell up. You sound like Sherlock Holmes or something."
Tifa gasped, thinking about the words that came from Aaron's mouth. "What if he's right? What if my dad was having an affair and my mom found out . . ." Her voice trailed off, her mouth slightly open at her wandering train of thought. She sat there in front of the sofa for a moment, not really believing what she was thinking. The others watched her as she sat, not wanting to say anything for fear of their speech ruining her thoughts. They wanted her to arrive at a logical conclusion before asking questions and trying to figure things out.
Tifa gulped. "But, what if years don't really matter, and my dad and your mom were having an affair? What if my mom found about it Cloud?" She stared right at him, her eyes focused, but welling up. "Cloud, you know that depression and stress can lead to unhealthiness. My mother was sick, and she might've gotten worse because . . ."
Cloud sat up abruptly, causing Vincent and Matt to quickly back up. "Tifa, you're getting a little out of hand. That wouldn't happen."
She huffed, fed up with him not trying to at least think about what she was saying. "And how would you know that it wouldn't happen? You didn't know anything until almost two months ago."
"Yeah, and you didn't know anything until about ten minutes ago."
"So what Cloud?" Tifa stood up, staring down at him. "Why won't you try and think about what I'm saying? What are you being so damn stubborn about?"
He stood up as well, his eyes averting themselves downward. "Because it doesn't make any sense. My mom wouldn't do that to yours; they were friends Tifa!"
She crossed her arms, scoffing. "So? It's pretty obvious that neither one of them cares too much for what we think or feel. I mean, we're friends, and our parents are still deciding to screw around with each other."
Just as Cloud was preparing to open his mouth and fire another retort, Vincent came in the middle of both of them. "Listen, let's not fight about this. There's been enough of that for today, and I get enough of this bullshit all the time. I'd expect this least from you guys. I mean, you're in the same situation; can't you find a common ground?"
Tifa shook her head, plopping down onto the couch. I don't like thinking the worst in people either, but it's possible. I know I might be jumping to conclusions, but if that's what really happened . . . oh dear God. She sniffed. "Look Cloud, I don't want to think these things about your mother, nor about my father okay? It's just . . . I'm not leaving out any possibilities."
The one addressed looked at her. "Tifa, they couldn't have had an affair. That was nine years ago. No one stays with something that bad for too long. Especially when the end result might have been the death of someone who was close to the both of them."
She sighed. "I know. I just . . . I don't know what I'm saying anymore." She crossed her arms. "I feel like I don't even know my father. It's like he's a complete stranger, more so than he was after my mom died. He's been lying to me for who knows how long, and I just . . . I mean, how many times has he left the house saying he was going on a business trip? Loads. He's gone at least twenty days out of every month. And out of those twenty days, how many as he really been out of town? How many has he been at your house Cloud?" She shrugged. "I guess I'm just kind of fed up. I mean, do I remind him so much of my mother that he really wants to be away from me that bad?"
He shrugged, sitting next to her. Aaron decided not to interject into the conversation, seeing he wasn't in the same situation. Instead, to occupy himself, he looked through the DVDs Tifa and her father owned. It was the only thing he could do to keep himself from getting depressed and continue following the conversation. Vincent stood behind the couch, his back to it, leaning against it. Matt sat on the sofa arm, his arms crossed as well, his head bent down and his eyes closed.
Cloud put an arm around Tifa's shoulders. "If he doesn't want to be around you because of your resemblance to your mom, then that might be some kind of sadness. I don't know."
"Or guilt," Tifa mumbled.
Cloud sighed. "Alright, we'll play this your way. Or, it could be guilt. But, I've been at your house a lot of times, most of which were to get away from your dad when he was over. But sometimes he wouldn't be there, and I would still be here. Vincent and I. Because he's never here, it's like your house is a safe haven Tifa."
She looked at him. "Why would you be here if my father weren't there?"
"To get away from my mom. I can't really stand being around her anymore. She always smells like cigar smoke now, the kind your dad prefers. And she's always trying to get me to see the good side of him, but to me, there is none. Almost my entire life, he's treated me like shit, and he's just about treated you the same way, for no apparent reason! Why should I try to see through this guy if he won't even give me a chance eh?"
Tifa shrugged. "Yeah. I know." She laid her head on Cloud's shoulder for a minute, sighing. "What are we going to do you guys?"
Aaron looked up, but the sight at the window kept his sight from Tifa. He stared for a long while, trying to figure out what was going on outside. "Well, I can tell you one thing; Vinnie's parents looked pretty pissed with your dad Teef."
Everyone looked up and out of the same window that had caught Aaron's attention. There was a brunette woman standing next to a burly man with very short pale blond hair. They were both shouting at Tifa's father, who stood there with a very angry look on his face. Like he just couldn't take much more of anything for the day. He was taking the verbal assault pretty well though, his hands in his pockets, not uttering a word it seemed to them inside. There were people gathering outside watching the commotion that was unfamiliar to them. Everyone had a curious face; some mixed with confusion, and some mixed with apprehension. What would happen? No one knew.
And no one was expecting what happened next.
Vincent watched his father the most, making sure he didn't move his hands towards his back. He watched the man with disgust, but also with caution. Tifa's dad might be an asshole, but that doesn't mean he should die or anything. He looked on with the others for a few moments longer, just to see what would happen. Maybe he left it at home. God I hope he left it at home. I really hope he's not that petty to go and pick a fight with someone. Why would they be so mad at Derkus? What has he done to me that my parents don't like? Or maybe they're yelling at him because of the relationship I have with Tifa . . . He continued to watch, his eyes flickering to his mother or Derkus every now and again.
And then he saw it. His dad slowing reaching into the back of his pants. "Shit!" Vincent ran for the door, swinging it open with such ferocity that it clashed with the wall adjacent to it. The other four did not immediately react, and they saw him rushing at his father, shouting something.
Tifa was the first to move. She ran out, the others following her, and yelled, just as Brison was turning around, "Vincent!"
There was a bang, and everything was silent and still. No one moved; many did not breathe. Brison's eyes widened as he stared at his son, who stood there in front of him. Vincent did not know just how to respond; he wasn't sure how to move anymore. He just stood there, his hand over his stomach as if trying to stop something from coming out. He grasped his shirt in pain. There was a red pool gathering around Vincent now, and no one knew how to reply to what was forming. Tifa gasped, Cloud gulped, Matt and Aaron both stared. Everyone was staring. No body moved. Especially not Vincent.
Until he fell over into that pool of his own blood.
Oh dear. Just what have I done now?
And, please review. That lets me know that someone took the time to read the chapter, and that makes me feel happy. Me getting no reviews makes me feel like no one cares, and then, I'll start to not care.
NOTICE:
This story is now on some sort of hiatus. I am not getting as many reviews as I expected, and if you will visit my profile I have a thorough enougn explanation as to why.