Chapter 14: Aftermath
"The great thing about pain is it lets you know your not dead yet"
-Unknown
I smiled as I gave Jenny a quick hug. " Congrats Jenny. You and Dave must be pretty excited huh?"
She nodded." Yeah…but what about Squall? It'll get pretty lonely down here"
" Don't worry about him, you know he can take care of himself"
" Mmhmmm"
She smiled again and took off outside. I watched her run into the garden and sit down on the grass next to Dave. He had a book in his hand. Strange…I didn't know he read.
Behind me Quistis was happily bouncing her way up the stairs with an armful of clean sheets and towels. She looked a little pissed off. Maybe it was those new maids…
She walked up the stairs into the hallway. That when I saw her turn to Squall's door and open it up.
I'm not sure if I've ever heard a lady of her size scream so loudly. At first I thought it was just because Squall had neglected to clean his room for some time. But she dropped all her sheets and pressed herself up against the wall. Her eyes round in terror and shaking hands cupped over her mouth. She turned to me.
" Rin…Rinoa, sweetie. Call the ambulance ok? The number is by phone. Just go honey, quick. Please don't worry. Just go" She squeaked.
I didn't worry about why. I just bolted to the telephone and found the number, quickly punching into the phone and called up the ambulance.
When the ambulance arrived, Quistis took me into the main living room. I guess she didn't want me around to see what was in Squalls room. Dave and Jenny were also pushed in too, much to Dave's dislike. He was furiously trying to see what had happened.
" Lemmi see alright! What happened? Was it Squall?"
" Dave, please settle down. She'll tell you all now ok?" It was Ellone. She was sitting on the couch. I walked over and sat next to her.
Quistis fumbled with her dress for a minute before speaking. " Yes it was Squall. He…he was…" Ellone reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder. " Its ok Quistis"
She nodded. Smiling thankfully at Ellone. Once again, she cleared her throat and continued. " Squall was in his bedroom lying down. He must have…" She couldn't get the words out, so she held up her hand and placed a finger on her wrist.
Oh no.
It couldn't be…could it?
Dave put his head in his hands and mumbled something. I saw jenny place a hand on his shoulder look over at Quistis. " Quisty…was it that bad?"
The small maid nodded weakly. She sat back down and took in a deep breath.
I turned my head away and looked at the door. I heard a door close and a car driving off. The ambulance. Carrying Squall in it. Dead or alive…I wouldn't know.
It was night. I hadn't heard anything from Quistis or…anyone. No one knew anything about Squall's condition. I was sitting on my bed, my arms wrapped neatly around my knees. I heard someone in the hallway. They knocked on my door.
I slowly stood up to answer it. It was a lady. She was pretty tall and had an uncanny resemblance to Squall.
She smiled weakly and held out her hand. " I'm Raine" I smiled and shook her hand. So this was Squall's mother. " I'm Rinoa"
" I was wandering if you had heard anything about Squall…when they told me what happened. I…couldn't believe it, how could he do that?"
" I'm not sure. I'm as in the dark as you are. Sorry"
She smiled weakly again and looked down. " I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to him now. I've missed out on so much of his life already…"
I pitied her. She looked so downcast. Her only son was in a hospital, probably dying. She must have felt so torn. I took her hand.
" He'll be alright. I haven't known him all that well…but I do know how strong he is and he will get through this"
Actually…so far…I considered him to be a bit lacking of mental strength. But I had to keep up my hopes too.
After she left I was alone in my room again. I lay down and looked out the window. I was wondering what they would do with the sheets. The blood soaked sheets. Would they burn them, throw them out or scrub them until the blood came out so they could use them again?
I looked over Esthar. The sun behind had set, but an orange glow still resided around the outline of the tall buildings. Somewhere out there, Squall was either lying asleep in a hospital bed or dead.
I fell asleep and for the first time in a few weeks…I didn't dream at all.
Something prodded at my shoulder. I rolled over and flicked it away. Keeping my eyes pressed shut. As soon as I would open my eyes there was no hope of going back to sleep again. It's true.
" Rinoa" It whispered. I continued to ignore it. I wanted my sleep.
" Rinny quick wake up! Its about Squall!" The name 'Squall' registered something in my brain and I opened my eyes, coming face to face with Jenny, who was smiling from ear to ear.
" He's alive"
…
A/N: Thankyou everyone for reading this far! You guys are great! ~ I wasn't actually thinking of updating yet, but because of the enormous feedback, I decided to update quickly.
So thankyou for the reviews.
Next chapter~ confrontation! Oooooh!
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