Chapter 8

"Hmm. Oh, that guy?" One of Jeremy's neighbors crossed his arms and looked at the ceiling in thought, then shook his head. "You his girlfriend, or somethin'?"

"Co-worker," she immediately lied. Tifa had decided to dress in something to disguise her appearance, in case anyone had seen her that night. She also removed her earring and stuffed as much of her hair as possible under the baseball cap that she was wearing. She even tried speaking differently as well; all just to make sure nobody from Shinra could recognize her. "Hasn't shown up to work. Owes me some bucks, too!"

"Aww, that sucks!" he replied as he rubbed the scruff on his chin. "Guess he must'a moved back to that hometown of his, uh, Nir-Nifl-ah can't remember it!"

Nibelheim, she thought, and felt her heart go quicker.

"But not telling anyone about it?" he tsked. "He seemed like a reliable guy. Even hired some dudes to ship his stuff back home, can ya believe it?"

"He did?" she asked in surprise, and a feeling of dread nestled itself deep inside her. The only stuff inside his place were the photos and clothes. Everything else had already been there before, so he had no reason to take it all with him. Yet the place was completely empty.

"Yeah. And not just any. One of the real reliable ones from the plate. Those don't come cheap. Must'a spent his savings to get back home." He shrugged. "City life's just not for everyone. Anyway, sucks about the money, but what can ya do?"

"Yeah." She nodded almost mechanically. "Thanks, anyway."

She heard almost the same from all his other neighbors. That he had seemingly moved back home and that some shipping company had picked up his stuff. Only an older lady seemed to know a bit more.

"Oh that nice young man? Yes, I saw him at the post office recently," the lady told her. "He looked pretty upset. Heard he got into a fight with his girlfriend just the other day, but I didn't want to pry. Anyway, he probably sent a letter back home like he always did."

"Ah. Thanks..." she said and walked off. She headed down the street as if on autopilot.

A letter…

If he wrote a letter addressed to his father about what she had said, that meant Shinra would have intercepted it, and if they learned that he suspected anything…

She ran. She ran like she was hunted by a Tonberry, taking the most elaborate detours that she could think of until she arrived back at the clinic and inside the safety of her room.

That had been nearly two weeks ago now. Two weeks of locking herself into her room and only coming out when it was absolutely necessary.

Dr. Hiragi had only asked a couple of times, but after receiving no answer he had left her well alone.

What have I done? She asked herself for the hundredth time, sitting in a corner of the room, far away from the window, and hugging her knees to herself. Because of her outburst Jeremy was now...she didn't want to think about it!

She should have just ignored him that day. Pretend she was someone else and moved along. Maybe he would still be blissfully unaware then.

Sobs racked her body as she held onto herself, guilt gnawing at her like a Nibel wolf on a freshly hunted carcass. She wanted to turn back time. Wanted to go back to how things were, to escape this nightmare that Shinra had brought into her life. She wanted her friends back, her father…

...Cloud. You promised!

She buried her face into her arms, letting her tears run free. She just couldn't go on anymore. She was so, so tired of it all.

A knock on the door made her shrink back like a frightened animal.

"Ms. Lockhart?" it was Dr. Hiragi. Why was he now bothering her of all things? Maybe if she just ignored him he would leave again so that she could continue to wallow in despair.

But not today.

"I'm coming in," he said through the door, followed by the sounds of a key entering the keyhole and unlocking the door. She felt a breeze of air enter the room as the door opened, but didn't look up at him and instead buried her face even deeper into her arms, too afraid and ashamed to look at him. Steps approached her and she heard as the older man knelt down in front of her.

A hand gently placed itself on top of her head, simply remaining there as a silent gesture of comfort, telling her without words that he was there if she needed him. Slowly, Tifa started to lift her gaze to meet his, carmine eyes settling on his brown ones.

"Tell me what happened," he said to her in that calm tone of his. Her first instinct was to clam up again. But the look that he was giving her, filled with understanding, had a calming effect on her. She brushed a few tears away before finally managing to speak.

"I made a mistake..." she hiccuped. "And now someone I knew is...dead..."

She watched as a frown crossed his features, but his eyes never changed. Gently he helped her up from the ground and sat her down on the edge of her bed while she muttered "I'm sorry," like it was a prayer.

"Shinra?" he asked her, and placed a hand on her forehead.

"Yes."

"I assume you met this someone the other night?"

"I ran into him while I was looking for a job, and he asked me if he wanted to hang out. It was a dumb decision, but I was so relieved to see someone from my past still alive that I still agreed to it," she explained, swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat. "But we got into a fight. He mentioned some things that hit too close to home and in my anger I told him what happened. That everyone was dead, that Shinra was involved in the whole thing. But he didn't believe me, told me that he had received a letter from his father. When I heard that, I panicked and ran away."

"So that was why you were acting so strange." Dr. Hiragi sighed. "I'm sorry. I should have said something back then, maybe I could have helped you somehow."

Tifa shook her head. "When I finally had the courage to go check up on him, I found his apartment completely empty and open for rent. I asked his neighbors, but they said he moved away, back home...after I ran away he must have sent a letter to his father and Shinra intercepted it and now...and now…"

With another loud sob Tifa jumped forward, throwing her arms around his neck as the dam broke once again, and she started to cry into his chest. She felt his arms go around her as he pulled her into a hug. He patiently let her cry until she calmed down enough to speak again. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be," he whispered to her.

"But if I—"

"Shhh." he gently pushed her away and looked her in the eye. "I know what you're feeling right now. 'What if I had done things different?', but you can't change what happened. You said he wrote a letter, didn't you?"

She nodded.

"You couldn't have known he would. For all you knew he'd just dismiss you and move on. Listen, Tifa, I know it hurts. It hurts a whole lot. I know it, because I was in the same place as you once, remember?" She did remember. How he had once helped a Wutaian spy and had to give him up to Shinra for the safety of his daughter. But instead of wallowing in self-pity he had decided to bear that cross and move forward.

Guilt was weighing her down, pulling her into a sea of sorrow. But as she was drowning she felt a hand grasp hers, lifting her back onto the shore and keeping her there. He was right, she had to move forward, as much as it pained her. "I understand," she said, trying to absorb as much of his calming presence as she could right now.

"Good," he exhaled. "Did anyone see you?"

"I don't think so. I disguised myself as best as I could when I asked around, but I can't be sure." she looked at him with unsure eyes. "What are we going to do now?"

His expression grew grim as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, nodding. "I'll get into contact with someone that will help us."

"Help us with what?"

His eyes locked onto hers once more. "Turning you into someone else."

When it rains it pours doesn't it?

I wonder what's next in store for Tifa?