Ch. Fourteen: The Poor Rich Boy
"How could you do this to me, Darcy? I tried to help you and this is the thanks I get?" Chappu demanded into his phone.
He picked up his plate of a turkey and cheese sandwich with chips and walked into the living room to settle down on the plaid couch. Auron was at the restaurant and Wakka was probably there too. He had decided to wait to figure out his education.
"What did you want me to do? Rot in jail alone? After all, you were the one that carried it out."
He sighed deeply. He couldn't believe this girl. He had to go to court on Monday and find out what his future held. Auron said that if he and Wakka spoke on Chappu's behalf, he had a very good chance of just doing community service. Wakka had even convinced Mr. Isaaru to come and give a statement about having Chappu as a tenant at the Mika house. It looked very good for him and he was glad. He didn't want to go to jail, not even for a year. He didn't know or care what would happen to Darcy. She was on her own.
"I did it for you. I thought you cared about me," he said bitterly, biting his sandwich.
"I did. But, you know what it was, Chappu. You needed me. I needed you."
"So, why are you calling me?"
"I don't know. I felt guilty about giving the cops your name. Even though they would have found out, anyway. They had a surveillance tape."
"I know. Don't you think they told me that? Doesn't matter. I'm not doing jail time. My family will look out for me. Auron's got me a really good lawyer, too."
"Good for you. Must be nice to have family," she said sarcastically.
"You have a father, but you hate him, so you won't accept help from him."
"I don't need a lecture. My father is dead to me. In fact, I wish he were. I should have put a hit out on him before I left."
"Left? You've left the city? You can't leave the city," he said, remembering that being a condition of his bail.
She was silent for a long moment. "Listen, Chappu. I don't have anything. I have no one. The only person I had was Tidus and he left me. My court appointed attorney got them to give me low bail. That's the only thing my poor excuse for a father did for me. He did bail me out. I don't know why. I didn't go see him. I got on an airship out of Zanarkand as quickly as I could. I'm never coming back."
"Where are you?" he asked, putting his sandwich down.
As much trouble as she had caused him, he couldn't help the way he felt about her. He felt sorry for her and still wanted to protect her. Maybe he could convince Auron to help her, too. After all, she was still young. She should be expected to get into trouble every now and then.
"It doesn't matter," she said dryly.
"Maybe I can help you. I can get Auron to…"
"Don't bother. I'm not returning. Besides, Wakka hates me. I'm going to go someplace and start over."
"I wish you would tell me where you are, Darcy."
"I can't. It's too risky. Maybe you'll hear from me again when everything settles."
"Darcy, listen…" he broke off as the line went dead.
He put the phone down and thought for a moment. He had been a fool. She had never loved him. Only Tidus. Even right now, she considered him the only one that she could depend on. Well, the hell with her. He was going to get his life on track. The front door opened and Wakka walked in.
"Hey," Chappu said, surprised.
"Hey."
"I thought you were at the restaurant."
"I didn't feel like it yet," he said, sitting in the overstuffed recliner and sighing deeply as he closed his tired eyes.
"Something wrong?" Chappu asked.
Normally, he would have voiced no such concern. But, Wakka had surprised him. He had really been there for him. He had gone out of his way to find ways to help him. It was ironic, really, since he was the older brother.
"It's been a really bad month," Wakka moaned.
"Hey, want something to drink or eat?"
He opened an eye. "What'cha got?"
Chappu shrugged. "Turkey and cheese sandwich with chips and a big glass of cold lemonade."
"Sounds good."
"While I'm fixing your sandwich, why don't ya tell me what's wrong?"
"Ya okay," Wakka agreed.
He needed somebody to talk to. He could have talked to Baralai, but he wouldn't give his problems the attention that they deserved. And he was still mad at Tidus, so he was out of the question. And he didn't feel comfortable telling the Abes his most personal problems.
"This is about me and Lu. I trusted her. She gave me a STD."
Chappu looked up abruptly. "You did say Lulu, right?"
Wakka nodded. "Ya. She fucked some guy while I was in Besaid. During our break. She lied to me about it, and then we had sex. Next thing I know is my piss is burning. I go see the doc and she told me I had gonorrhea."
"Wait, hold up. Doesn't that mess up your swimmers?"
"It can. I don't know. Dr. Kawasaki got my results, but I'm scared of what she's gonna say. I thought I hated kids, but knowing I can't have my own, ya know, it bothers me."
"I can't believe Lulu would do that. She just doesn't seem like the type to me."
"I'm learning this year that I don't know nobody as well as I thought."
Chappu paused in putting slices of turkey on the bakery bread. What Wakka had just said made him think. He shrugged off his troubling thoughts and continued.
"Ya love her, right? Maybe want to marry her someday?"
"I don't know. She's my first girlfriend. And no, I ain't whipped."
Chappu grinned. "Ya sure?"
"Ya. I thought we were a team. At this rate, Paine and Baralai are the only couple at the house that are still together and that's sad. They can't stand each other."
"Hey, thanks for helping me, Wakka. I know I ain't been easy to get along with, but I want that to change. I want us to be real bruddas."
Wakka looked at him as he handed him the sandwich. In the back of his mind, he was wondering why the sudden change of heart. But then he realized that he should just accept it for what it was. He debated telling him Roland and Auron's story. He decided not to. After all, the results were the same. He would tell him eventually that the old man was their maternal grandfather. It added another member to their small family, so that they weren't truly alone with Auron.
Rikku coughed discreetly and tried to concentrate on her textbook. She had been sitting in the living room studying for a math test she had coming up. She'd been so caught up into working on her practice problems that she didn't look up when someone else had entered the room. For whatever reason, a chill had run down her spine. She'd looked over and saw Yuna settling into one of the overstuffed recliners, her lap filled with books. She knew that Yuna had obviously seen her there. But, she hadn't run over to pull the hair from her scalp. It had been three long weeks since the two girls had spoken. Well, Rikku had tried to begin a conversation.
After an hour of silence, she decided to try again.
"Yuna…" she said.
"What?" she asked, still concentrating on her reading.
Rikku sighed deeply. "I want to talk to you about Tidus."
"What about him?"
She felt nervous suddenly. Why was Yuna speaking to her so calmly? Why wasn't she yelling at her? Threatening to kill her even?
"I just want you to know that I'm sorry. Again."
"Why? You and Tidus are consenting adults."
"Yuna! Don't do this. Don't pretend like you don't care. I need to feel your anger with me. It's the only way I can…"
She broke off as two multi-colored eyes stared at her. The obvious pain was still there, though Yuna was trying to hide it.
"You can what? Date Tidus? You certainly don't need my permission for that. You didn't ask before."
"Okay. I deserve that. I deserve a lot actually. And I'm willing to go through all of it if I know that you will forgive me in the end."
"I can't do that, Rikku. Even coming into this room where you were was painful. But, I live here, too and I'm not going to let you and Tidus make me feel like I've done something wrong."
"Of course you haven't. I just want us to be friends like we used to be. I miss you."
Yuna sighed deeply. Why had she come into this room? She could have gone to her own room and studied in peace. It was bad enough that she'd had to get seven stitches in her finger. But, that had been her own careless mistake. She didn't intend to make any more.
"I think I'm going to go to my room," she decided, gathering her things. "I'll say this, Rikku. I trusted you. And although I still love you, I can't be your friend any longer. You see, friends don't betray each other. I only hope that it was worth it."
Rikku sighed deeply and watched her leave the room. She and Tidus had mutually agreed that it probably hadn't been worth it. However, her body would definitely have a different verdict. Before Yuna had returned, she and Tidus had been together several more times. For two straight weeks, they'd been unable to keep their passion under control. And then the day before Yuna had returned, they'd met in her room after dinner for another tryst. But, neither had really wanted to go through with it. Well, she had, but she could tell that he wasn't in the mood. Had it been worth it? Yuna had just asked. Her mind and heart said no, but her body screamed Yes!
She gathered her things. She was done studying. She left the living room and almost collided with Tidus. He was wearing his Tornado uniform.
"Hey. I forgot you were back at work."
"Heh. Wakka's back and things are better without Chappu there."
"So…um, maybe you want to hang out when you get off tonight?"
"Rikku, I thought we agreed that we were done with that. Besides, Yuna's back."
"So? That wasn't her name you were moaning."
He blinked. "It's different now. We can't do that anymore. We agreed to just be friends."
"I know all of that. I was just thinking of a way to say goodbye, that's all."
"We already said goodbye. It was fun for both of us, but we know that we can't make it as a couple. It just wouldn't work. I'll see you later," he said, starting down the hall again.
She followed him outside. "You're still in love with her," she accused from the porch.
He jolted and slowly turned back to her. "What's the matter with you? You're acting jealous. What do you want from me? I thought we were friends."
"We are. I'm just…feeling withdrawal. We were close before Yuna got back and it seems like you've been avoiding me…"
He didn't know what to say. He felt worried. She was behaving like a mistress. He had never given her any indication to believe that he might love her. None at all. They had both enjoyed the sex and had agreed that it had begun to go cold. It was no longer thrilling. Maybe because it wasn't exactly a secret any longer.
When Tidus got off of work that night, he was tired. He'd received a message from Jecht asking why he hadn't been by in so long. He had called him and promised to visit him this coming weekend. He opened the door and locked it. He saw Wakka and Baralai sitting in the living room. Strangely, Baralai had a Tornado uniform in his lap. Confused, Tidus stood in the doorway.
"Just getting off?" Wakka asked.
"Yeah. What's with the uniform?"
"Baralai's going to be working with us at the Tornado now."
"You're kidding."
"Why is that so surprising? You work there," Baralai demanded.
Tidus shrugged. "I guess it's not. I'm tired. I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"We're having a guys' night tomorrow night in my room. Don't come if you don't want to air any dirty laundry," Baralai said.
"I'll be there," Tidus assured him, continuing down the hall.
He had no secrets. He rounded the corner and paused. Yuna's door was open and she was lying on her bed, reading. He knew that she didn't want to talk to him, but he had things to say. He walked in and closed the door. She lowered her book immediately. Upon seeing the intruder, she scowled.
"Before you kick me out…I'm going to explain a few things," he said, sitting in her desk chair.
She reluctantly sat up. "Okay. I just want to get this over with."
"Is it that easy for you to blow me off?"
She shrugged. "I'm learning as I go."
"How's your finger?"
"Fine. What do you want, Tidus?"
"I want to take back everything I did the last few days of the summer, but I can't."
Yuna shrugged helplessly. "I just want to know why. I mean, why Rikku?" she asked, hoping her voice still sounded strong.
"I don't know. She was here," he shrugged.
"Do you love her?"
"No."
"Then she's just another Darcy to you? And she'll wind up hurt, too?"
"You'd like that, wouldn't you? It's not like that. She doesn't love me. I mean, she's not in love with me. It was just a fling. A careless fling. We were just two lonely people this summer."
"I knew you would try to blame me."
"I'm not. This is why it happened. Look, Yuna, I don't expect us to be able to pick things up and start again. I just want you to…"
"Forgive you? Rikku asked me the same thing earlier. I can't. I loved you both. We all need to move past this, though, so that we can still stay here comfortably."
He nodded. "You're right. Where are you going?" he asked suddenly, realizing that she was dressed up a bit for a shut in.
She looked at her watch. "I'm waiting for my date to pick me up."
"At this hour?"
She shrugged. "He had to work," she said as the doorbell rang. "That's him. I'll see you," she said, picking up her purse and heading out into the hall.
Normally, he would have been dying to see who her date was, but now that an unspoken line had been drawn in the sand, he would have to respect her decisions. He left the room, closing the door. He felt sick, but he had no one to blame but himself, as usual. He'd put his needs before anything and hadn't gave a damn about the consequences. He knew he would hardly sleep tonight. He would lie halfway awake, listening for Yuna's return. He grabbed his things for the shower and went to the bathroom. Under the spray, he wondered if she should pursue a relationship with Rikku. He couldn't. He'd hurt Yuna enough already. Besides, although Rikku was a wonderfully spunky delightful girl, she wasn't his type.
"So, how've you been, really?" Mallet asked as he sat in the window seat of Gippal's room.
Gippal shrugged. "I'm doing better. I still get the cravings but it lessens as the days go by. Listen, man, I know I've said it a lot lately but I'm sorry. I keep blowing things for us when we get on track."
"It's okay, man. We had been going non-stop anyway. We all needed a break. Besides, your health is more important than the band. We need you top notch."
"I guess. Dr. Sanders says she thinks I can leave in another month or so. I can't wait. It's more than a little boring here."
"I don't doubt it. Besides your doctor, I haven't seen any hot chicks walking around."
"Major drought, man. But, Pepper's been amazing. There's nothing she won't do for me."
"What's her deal, anyway? She follows you around like a little puppy. It's kind of creepy."
"She's just shy. And she's a virgin, too. I make her extremely nervous."
"I'm sure you do. You're too much man for her to handle."
"She's not going to get the chance, anyway. I've been thinking since I've been here…I'd like to see Rikku. I know she's probably doing her own thing now, but…here in Zanarkand, I'm filled with nothing but memories of her."
"You want her to know you're here?"
"Not really. I don't want anybody to know, but I don't think she would tell."
"I'll try to see if I can find her without going to that house where she's renting a room."
Gippal nodded as a knock sounded at this door.
"Enter," he called.
"Hi, Gippal. They were serving tuna sandwiches in the cafeteria, and I didn't see you there, so I brought you one," Pepper said, holding a bag.
Mallet raised an eyebrow. Physically, she wasn't Gippal's type or his. She was short and overweight with a heavy bosom. Her white blonde hair was cut into a chin length bob with blunt cut bangs. She wore a pair of red rimmed square shaped glasses.
"Thanks, doll. What would I do without you? You take such good care of me."
Pepper blushed. "Thanks, Gippal. I see you have company."
"Yeah. This is my friend Mallet."
She nodded. "Well, I'll leave you alone for now, but I'll be watching for you later."
"Okay."
Mallet watched her leave. "She's crazy about you. Why is she here?"
"I don't know. She doesn't like to talk about it."
Mallet frowned. There could be a number of reasons why a girl like that was here. Maybe she had been abusing pills. Maybe she had a problem with alcohol. There could be a number of reasons. He hoped she wasn't developing an unhealthy obsession with Gippal. Did she know of Penance? Probably not. She didn't strike him as a music fan.
"Hi, Wakka. It's been a while," Talynda said, settling comfortably on the seat of the booth.
She didn't want to admit it aloud to him, but she had been disappointed that it had taken him so long to contact her. She had thought that she'd left him with a lot to think about in Besaid. But, he had finally called her and she was more than ecstatic.
He glanced out the large squared shaped window at the cold October day. It had been a very long month for him, but things were finally looking up. He had convinced Auron to allow Chappu to come back to work at the restaurant. Not as a manager or even assistant manager, but there nonetheless. They were beginning to grow closer. He liked that. Dr. Kawasaki had given him good news. He wasn't infertile. He hadn't realized how important that was to him before. Though he had no immediate plans to have kids, he thought that he would make a good father some day. He wasn't sure who the mother would be. He hadn't spoken to Lulu since the night she'd told him that he'd gotten the STD from her. He still didn't know where she had gotten it.
"Ya. I had a lot of heavy stuff going on, but now it's over."
"Yeah. Why aren't you at the restaurant in Besaid?"
He shook his head. "You'll never believe it, but somebody burned it down."
Her green eyes widened. "You're kidding. Who would do that? I thought it was great."
"It was. The insurance paid off, but now Auron's hesitating to let me re-build. I don't blame him for that, but it's not a reason to run scared."
"I don't know, Wakka. How are you going to keep that from happening again?"
"Security," he said easily, as their waiter came over.
She smiled at him. He was so smart. He had everything figured out. She only hoped that he could figure out that she was the right girl for him. After they placed their pizza order, she thought she should try to approach the subject of them possibly dating. He could say no as he had in the past, but she really wanted him to say yes.
"So, you're not back together with Lulu, are you?" she asked, playing with her straw.
"Nah. That's over. When you lose trust in somebody, it takes time to regain it."
"What did she do to make you lose trust in her? Did she cheat on you?"
"Nah. It's not important."
"Listen, Wakka…I want to ask you something. I know that you were still on the rebound in Besaid, but it's been a few months, and I was wondering…can we go out?"
"This ain't a date?"
"Yeah, but I want to do this on a continuous basis."
He picked up a breadstick and bit it. He knew what she was asking him, but could he risk trusting another girl? What would she say if he asked for her most recent medical history? He didn't want to be paranoid, but he didn't need any more surprises.
He smiled at her. "You must be crazy to want to go out with me."
She broke a breadstick in half and smiled back. "I guess I am."
"Okay, we'll give it a try."
"You won't regret it."
"I know Yuna's back by now. Why haven't you brought her around?" Jecht asked as he looked over a stack of mail in the hallway.
"We…broke up," Tidus said dryly.
Jecht turned to him abruptly. "What? Why? What'd you do?"
"How do you know it was me?"
Jecht shrugged. "I know you. What'd you do?"
Tidus sighed deeply. "I came by because I thought you wanted to see me."
"I don't have to see you to know that you're breathing. You want to cut the suspense already?"
"I…slept with another girl."
"I knew it! I don't understand you. I keep trying to tell you things and you refuse to listen. If you'd came home for the summer, it wouldn't have happened. At least not under my roof."
"I didn't come here for a lecture, Dad. I came to see if Zalora was home yet."
Jecht folded his arms. "You telling me what to do in my house? If I feel like lecturing you, I will. Zalora will be home soon enough. You're the one with the problem. Who'd you sleep with?"
"It doesn't matter."
"Rikku?"
Tidus looked away quickly. Jecht scowled. He had known from the moment that Tidus was spending most of his summer with that girl that the two of them would wind up in bed. He didn't blame Yuna if she never spoke to him again. Oh, well. It had been his own fault for placing too much hope on the boy.
"How's Yuna? Is she still at the house?" he asked, opening a bill.
"Yeah. She left at first, and then she came a few weeks later."
"Talking to you?"
"Only when she has to."
"Good for her. You deserve to suffer."
"I deserve to suffer? Zalora deserves to suffer? Who made you the ruler of pain?"
"No one, but I'm still waiting on the call any day now."
"I have to go. I have a term paper to write."
"Fine. I'll tell Zalora you asked about her."
Tidus nodded and left.
He had already been to the library to gather books. It was a bitterly cold day and all he wanted to do was get to the house and settle down in front of the fireplace in the living room. He hoped his housemates would be either in their rooms or busy doing something else. He wanted to be alone. Hell, he had been alone. For four weeks straight. He had been on two dates in that time frame, but neither girl had been interesting enough to see again. He didn't really have the time for a relationship right now, anyway. School and work kept him busy, but…he missed having a girl in the house to at least talk to. Darcy was gone, and he wasn't upset about that. Yuna didn't really want to talk to him. He had never been comfortable talking to Lulu or Paine alone and Rikku…talking to her seemed forbidden.
He hurried into the house, glad that it was warm. He took off his coat and carried his books to the living room. He paused in the doorway. Comfortably sitting on the couch already were Yuna…and Teenan. He tried not to grimace. It had been no secret that she was seeing someone. And he guessed by the speed of it that she was on the rebound. Now, seeing Teenan confirmed that.
"Hey, Tidus," Teenan greeted, smiling widely.
"Hey. What are you doing here?" he asked, pretending not to notice the arm around Yuna's shoulders.
"Why do you think he's here?" Yuna asked with irritation.
Tidus shrugged with a truly dumbfounded expression on his face. "I don't know. I figured he'd have a girlfriend by now."
Teenan held his smile. He had expected nothing less. The ex-boyfriend.
"What about you? You seeing anybody?" he asked, though he knew the answer.
"No."
"What's taking you so long? Rikku's single."
"Let's not do this, guys," Yuna interfered.
She had seen the mixture of hurt and anger in Tidus' eyes. Perhaps she shouldn't have told Teenan the reason for their breakup. But, he had asked and she didn't know what else to tell him except for the truth. She hadn't been totally surprised to find him single. He had made it no secret the last time they'd been together that he would be waiting for her. So, when she'd called him and asked him out, he had immediately accepted.
"Yuna's right. I have a term paper to write, anyway," Tidus said, leaving the doorway.
He wasn't pleased. Why was Yuna with Teenan again? To him, it was almost the equivalence to being with him again. She was because she liked him. A lot. It was going to be a cold, lonely winter. He rounded the corner and headed down the hall to his room.
"Hey, Tidus," Rikku said, coming down the stairs, holding a thick math textbook.
"Hey. What's up?"
"I'm doing my math homework in the kitchen with a cup of hot chocolate. It's really quiet there. Datto and some of the Abes are playing video games in his room."
"Want some company? I'll be quiet. I'm writing my term paper."
She shrugged. "Okay."
He followed her to the kitchen and took up the opposite end of the island counter with his things. She made him a big mug of hot cocoa and they did their studies in silence. Yuna entered the kitchen. She paused when she saw them. But, as it had in previous weeks, her anger had almost diminished. She continued to the cupboard to grab the box of hot cocoa. She turned on the kettle and absently looked out the window as she waited for it to get hot.
Rikku stretched and looked around. She noticed Tidus watching Yuna's profile. She could tell from the intense look of longing on his face, that he missed her. She did, too. Someone was going to have to make this right and she had a feeling it would have to be her. Lulu had slipped into a mysterious depression and she wouldn't be much help. Her phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Rikku, it's Mallet."
"Hey, Mallet. What's up?" she asked, wondering why in Yevon he was calling her.
Throughout her entire on/off again relationship with Gippal, he had never called her.
"Well, um, I was wondering if you're busy right now."
"Just doing some math homework. Why?"
"Can you get away to take a ride?"
Baralai slowly took off his work shirt and tossed it on his desk. He was tired. And he had good reason to be tonight. Auron had put him on dish duty in the kitchen. He had simply stood at the sink for fifteen minutes staring until Wakka had come over and filled the sink with water and soap. He'd shown Baralai where the rubber gloves were and told him that was all that he needed to know. It hadn't been. He also had to rinse and sanitize the dishes, too. The dishes never stopped coming. It had been downright degrading. Actually, any job at that restaurant was degrading except for being the manager. He'd tried to reason with Auron that he was working on a degree in business management, but Auron had told him that everyone had to start at the bottom.
He'd smirked. He'd never been at the bottom before. From the moment he'd left the womb, he'd been at the top. He sat on his bed and tugged his boots off. He had made his bed. His parents hadn't contacted him in a month. His bank accounts were frozen and his father had his truck removed from the Mika house. For the first time in his life, he took the time to learn the subway system in the city. He could have asked Paine to borrow her car, but he simply didn't want to. He hadn't told her why his parents had taken his truck. He pulled his paycheck from his pocket and laughed. How on earth was he supposed to support himself on this? He would probably have to cut back on a lot. Food. How necessary was it for him to buy it? He could eat at work with a discount.
When his father had frozen his accounts, he'd only had fifty dollars in his pockets. Strangely, Oscar had never thought to check his pockets for gil. He'd cleaned his wallet, though. Baralai had tried to explain this to Braine while he was digging their graves. But, Braine had waved him off, impatiently asking him why he thought he needed gil from a dead man's pockets. Well, he did now. He looked around his room. Maybe he could sell a few things. He knew that he had tons of jewelry. Excited, he got up to check his small piece of luggage that he hadn't unpacked when he had returned. He couldn't find it. He frowned, trying to remember his return. Damn. He must have left it at the mansion. He looked at the small television set that sat on his dresser and the stereo on his desk. How much gil could he get for those? He looked at his closet, its contents overflowing with clothes and shoes. He walked over to it. Could he bear to sell his clothes? He fingered the sleeve of a black long sleeved silk shirt longingly. His clothes would be the last thing to go. Maybe he could get another job. Who was he kidding? He was dead tired now from one job and school. He looked over at the desk and sighed again. He had two term papers to write this weekend.
Was being with Paine really worth all of this? He had no social life. He decided that she was. She was one of the best things that had ever happened to him. And except for this, she hadn't cost him anything. Sure, she was more than a little rough around the edges, but that excited him. The door to his room opened. He was about to demand who had enough balls to barge in without knocking until Paine came into view.
"Hey," he greeted her lazily.
"Hey."
"You weren't here when I got off. Where've you been? Did you have to work today?"
She shook her head, dazed. "No. I was at the police station."
He frowned. "Why? You didn't know anything about my kidnapping."
"You didn't tell me anything," she corrected.
"Look, baby, I'm tired. Let's not fight tonight."
"I don't see any way around it. I went to the police station to…identify the bodies of my parents."
He felt his blood drain to his feet. "What?"
She looked directly at him. "They were recently buried in Gagazet. Some creep killed them and a couple of hikers with their dogs stumbled upon their graves by accident."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Are you? They were buried not too far from the cabin where you being held."
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"It's pretty coincidental, don't you think? You were there around that time…"
His eyes bulged. "You think I killed them?"
"Did you?"
"Hell no."
"Did you know they were there? Don't lie to me, Baralai. Our whole relationship depends on this."
"I did lie to you when you asked me if I found out anything about them while I was there. I did find them."
"Why did you lie about it? Did you have a hand in what happened to them?"
"I told you, hell no."
"Why don't I believe you?"
"Because you don't want to? I didn't want to tell you anything about your parents, Paine. I wanted to protect your memories of them."
"Well…what about them?" she asked tightly.
He looked her in the eye. "They kidnapped me."
"What?!" she asked with obvious disbelief.
"They kidnapped me. They held me for weeks."
"I don't believe it. My parents are dead. I always assumed they were, but to know that they've been alive this entire time…and now you want me to think they kidnapped you?"
"They did. Why do you think you didn't know they were alive?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I don't care. You had no right to keep this information from me!"
"You wanted me to tell you that your parents were some no good motherfuckers?"
"Shut up! You're lying! You have to be! They wouldn't have just left me. They wouldn't!"
"Paine, you're upset right now. Please calm down and I'll explain it all to you."
"You wouldn't have told me anything. I found out and now you're trying to cover your tracks."
"Cover my tracks? What the fuck is wrong with you? I was the one kidnapped."
She shook her head stubbornly. "Not by my parents. Maybe they were kidnapped, too."
"For what? Some cows and chocobos?" he couldn't help asking sarcastically.
"You should have told me. I'm never going to forgive you for this," she said coldly.
He stared at her incredulously. He had been the one to go to Gagazet to find information for her. He had been the one strapped to a chair for six weeks. He had been the one on the verge of starvation. He had been the one who'd been trying to protect her from finding out the truth about her parents. He had been the one to give up everything to be with her. He had been the one that had circulation so poor in his legs that Braine had to carry him all the way to the airship.
"Fuck you! After all the shit I've been through because of you, fuck you!" he exploded.
"Fuck you!" she yelled, opening his door and slamming it shut.
She walked down the hall to her room. How dare Baralai try to label her parents as kidnappers? They had been murdered and he had shown no compassion. None at all. She would go to the farm where she could grieve in peace. She had requested that the police bring her parents' bodies here so that they could be buried on the land.
End of Ch. 14.