One Last Breath

Disclaimer: I do not own either the Final Fantasy Series characters or Creed's song "One Last Breath.". But I do own the stories. ; )

:::Please come now, I think I'm falling
I'm holding onto all I think is safe:::

Quistis Trepe sat lonely in her room, fingering the bottle of pills. It was funny; she was conservative, intelligent, and one heck of a fighter. She never thought she would be in this kind of situation. And she knew for a fact that no one else ever thought she would have to worry about these kinds of things.

:::It seems I've found the road to nowhere
And I'm trying to escape:::

But just because she was practically perfect in everybody else's eyes, she didn't feel that way at all. In fact, she pretty much hated herself. The way she acted too good for anybody, the way she acted better than anybody else. She had no control over it. With people praising her 24/7, they led her to believe all the things they told her. But most of all, she hated how gullible she was. I mean, how could she believe that a man like Seifer actually loved her?

:::I yelled back when I heard thunder
But I'm down to one last breath:::

Quistis opened the bottle and stared at the large horse pills. Just the thought of Seifer reassured her this was the right thing to do. The way he hurt her, the way he lead her on. The way she loved him and the way she thought he loved her. It all frustrated her. Maybe the thing that frustrated her was that at this moment, she still had feelings for him. Not the kind of feelings she wanted to feel. She wanted to feel anger and resentment, but all she felt was sadness and a yearning to have him back. But she knew that it wasn't possible.

:::And with it let me say
Let me say:::

Quistis got up from her spot and walked over to the bathroom. She poured a large glass of vodka and set it down, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She looked horrible. Her hair was oily and plastered to her face which was sweaty and wet from crying all night long. She hadn't showered or eaten in two days. There was no point. Who was she going to look good for? Certainly not Seifer. Quistis snorted. There goes that name again, she thought. She looked up at herself once more, disgusted at the person who was staring back. Before she could change her mind, she opened the pills and popped three in her mouth, downing half the glass of alcohol. She didn't even remember what these pills were for. She just found them in her medicine cabinet and figured there were enough to kill her. Quistis grabbed three more pills and swallowed them absently.

:::Hold me now
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking
Maybe six feet
Ain't so far down:::

"Why did you do this to me, Seifer?" Quistis asked herself, feeling the effects of the pills and vodka making her dizzy. "Why did you have to sleep with that other woman? Why couldn't you love me the way I loved you?" Quistis collapsed to the floor and stared up at the ceiling. For some reason, she never bothered to ask him those questions. She was too involved in her own depression that she only thought about crying.

I have to ask him, Quistis thought. I need to know before I'm gone...

:::I'm looking down now that it's over
Reflecting on all my mistakes:::

Quistis dragged herself to the couch, using that as leverage to lift herself. She steadied herself before moving forward. She bumped into the coffee table next to her, but surprisingly, she felt no pain in her leg. In fact, she couldn't even feel her legs at all...

:::I thought I found the road to somewhere
Somewhere in His grace:::

Groaning, she leaned against the wall for support, not even realizing that she was still holding the bottle of pills. Her stomach was killing her and she felt as if she were going to vomit all over the floor. No, keep it in. If you don't you'll have to do it all over again. Quistis swallowed the lump in her throat and continued on despite the spinning floor and translucent colors all around her. I will not die until I find Seifer.

:::I cried out, "Heaven save me!"
But I'm down to one last breath:::

"Wow, look at Quistis," she could hear from students passing by in the hall. She ignored their stares and comments, letting them slide off her back. She was good at doing that. But for some reason, she couldn't let Seifer slide down her back like everyone else. Suddenly, someone stopped in front of her, practically making her fall. "Quistis, are you alright?"

Quistis stared up at the woman. It was one of her fellow teachers, but her features seemed distorted. Quistis didn't even recognize her. She didn't respond. She just leaned against the wall and let it guide her.

Faintly, she could hear another voice in the distance.

:::And with it let me say
Let me say:::

"Seifer?" she asked groggily. When he approached her, he seemed ten feet tall. It was amazing how even now, he could make her feel small. It's just the drugs, she told herself, barely even able to think.

"Quistis?" he asked. "What the hell are you doing walking around like that?"

Quistis flinched. Even in her time of despair, he was still the cold bastard he always was. "Why?" she asked, feeling her knees buckle. "Why did you hurt me?" She let herself go and sank to her knees.

Seifer bent down and lifted her fragile body off the floor. "Quistis, what are you on?" he asked. He half dragged, half carried her down the hall towards the infirmary. "What did you do?"

"Answer me!" Quistis yelled faintly. Though she tried to sound firm and self assured, her voice wavered. "Tell me why you never loved me even when I gave you my heart. I-I..." Feeling another wave of nausea, she bent over and vomited all over the floor. Unlike before, this wave of nausea was much more urgent. She couldn't hold it. Seifer let her rest on her knees. When she was done, she fell forward into her own vomit.

"Quistis, you're not helping me any," he said. He had no idea that she swallowed a whole bottle of pills before. He just thought that she was putting on an act. Now he wasn't so sure.

He lifted her gingerly, careful not to touch her vomit, and pulled her away from her bodily fluids. He supported her head and stared down at her. Her eyes were rolling in the back of her head.

:::Hold me now
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking
Maybe six feet
Ain't so far down:::

"Shit," Seifer said. He felt Quistis' body go limp in his arms. She was still breathing, but barely.

Seifer looked down the rest of her body. She was having a seizure and he could tell that she peed her pants. Then he noticed something clenched in her slender hands. He looked carefully and saw an empty bottle of pills. Feeling his adrenaline pumping, he picked her up, not caring that her vomit got on is coat. He rushed past confused students to the infirmary.

:::Sad eyes follow me
But I believe there's something left for me:::

"Dr. Kadowaki!" Seifer yelled as he burst into the infirmary. He walked into her office, despite there was a long line of kids waiting to be treated on.

The doctor looked up startled by Seifer's entrance. She looked at Quistis. "What happened to her?" she asked. She stood up from her patient and led Seifer to an empty room.

Seifer placed her on the bed and quickly explained to Dr. Kadowaki what happened. "I'm pretty sure she took a bottle of pills. I just found her walking around. She vomited a bit in the main corridor. I think she was having a seizure."

The doctor looked up at Seifer. "Since she vomited a bit, it buys us some time to save her. Not much unfortunately. I'm calling the Balamb hospital. We can't do much for her here. We don't have the proper utensils." Dr. Kadowaki picked up the phone.

"Don't bother telling them to send an ambulance," Seifer said. "I'll take her myself. It'll be quicker. Just tell them that I'm coming."

:::So please come stay with me
'Cause I believe there's something left for you and me:::

Seifer looked at Quistis for a second, then fled to the parking lot to get his car. He screeched around the outside of the garden and parked near the infirmary. A student helped carry Quistis to Seifer's car. Once Quistis was secured in the back, Seifer sped off to the hospital.

He heard her groan a little bit in the back seat.

"Seifer?" Quistis whispered.

Seifer looked back at her for a split second. She looked around confused. "Where the hell are you taking me?" she asked.

Seifer didn't respond for a second while he swerved through the intersections. "Quistis, you need to conserve your energy. I'm taking you to the hospital."

"But-but I want to die," Quistis said softly. "I want to-"

"Quistis!" Seifer said. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Shut up!" Quistis yelled. "Ever since you hurt me, all I wanted to do was die."

"Ever since I hurt you?" Seifer asked, astounded. "You're the one who cut yourself away from me. I should be the one who's hurt."

"But you're the one who slept with another person, Seifer," Quistis said. "I saw it with my own eyes."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Seifer said. "I never slept with anybody else."

"Yes. It was Thursday. And you said her name....Rinoa." Quistis trailed off. Seifer looked back once again. She had her eyes closed. Her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. Seifer sped up and knew he had little time left.

Seifer thought for a minute. Rinoa?! Why the hell would I sleep with anybody else? Seifer thought back to Thursday. "Damn!" he yelled. He slammed his fist against the steering wheel. "Quistis," he said. "If you can hear me, it wasn't me who slept with Rinoa. Remember I told you my friend was visiting me? It must have been him. Quistis, I swear with all my heart, it wasn't me....."

:::For you and me
For you and me:::

Seifer finally made it to the emergency section of the hospital. There was an ambulance parked in the drop off area. Seifer parked behind it and ran out of the car. He ran to Quistis' side of the car and unbuckled her seat belt. He screamed for some help, even though the paramedics were already on their way over with a gurney. Seifer watched helplessly as they took Quistis into their care.

He followed them through the lobby and on the way to the ER. One of the nurses stopped him and led him back to the waiting room.

"Can you please move your car?" she asked politely. "We can't have you block the drop off."
Seifer almost exploded. "To hell with the drop off. What about Quistis?" He almost pushed her over.

"We understand. But an ambulance is coming in right now and you're blocking the way. You have to move your car." She paused. "Besides, there's nothing you can do right now to help her. Let the doctors take care of her and you take care of your car."

Seifer knew the truth into what she was saying, but he just didn't want to hear it from anybody. He knew he couldn't help her. Seifer sighed and walked quickly to his car. He drove it into a parking spot and headed back to the waiting room.

"Seifer!" somebody stopped him. He looked back. Squall, Rinoa, Selphie, Irvine, and Zell all stood there, chasing him.

When they caught up, Squall grabbed Seifers shoulders and shook him a bit. "What happened to her? Dr. Kadowaki told us that you took her to the hospital. That's all she said. What's the hell is going on?"

Seifer pushed Squall off of him. He knew that he was concerned, but he didn't need to have his hands all over him. "She overdosed on some pills," Seifer said.

Everyone gasped. "You mean she wanted to kill herself?" Selphie asked. "Why would she want to do that?"

Seifer scowled. "I don't know," he said. "I'm in the dark as much as you are." Seifer turned away from them and walked the rest of the way into the waiting room. Though he didn't tell them, he knew the exact reason.

A few hours later

"Seifer Almasy?" a voice called him.

Seifer raised his head. A doctor stood in front of him. "Yes?" he asked hopefully. He stood up sleepily. "Can I see her?"

The doctor looked at Seifer. "That's the thing," the doctor said. "Quistis didn't make it."

:::Hold me now
I'm six feet under and I'm thinking
Maybe six feet
Ain't so far down:::

Fin

A.N.: Should I write chapters or a sequel or something? I was going to finish it like this, but I realize that I just kind of dropped it off without an explanation. It also depends on reviews. :::Hint, hint:::