Within a month, Ellone seemed to disappear. She was no longer at school. One day she'd been absent and never showed up again. Julie told her mother she thought someone had taken her friend away. "No, she's fine," said Rinoa. "Her mother called and told me where they are. Would you like to go see her sometime? We can go after school if you'd like."

"Okay," Julie said. The next day, after school, Selphie volunteered to drive them to their destination. At the apartment across town was where they stopped. Rinoa rang the bell on the panel by the glass door for room 206 and Raine came down to open the door.

"Well, at least you'll be able to see who it is before you open the door. And they can't get in."

"Not necessarily. If you pull the door hard enough, it'll open. No real use for the key… Get through the door and it'd probably be easy to get into the four apartments. Well, come on." They followed her up the skinny staircase up to the small balcony where the two wooden doors were embedded into the colorless walls. "Ellone misses Julie so much but … I'd rather she not get hurt…"

"He hasn't hit any of you, has he?"

"Not yet. I thought he was going to so I took Ellone and left. I'm not sure if he's looking for us or not."

"You should be safe here for a while at least…" The apartment was almost bare. They'd left in a hurry and didn't bring much with them. There was hardly anything in Ellone's room, not very many toys. There wasn't a couch yet so the adults sat around the small table on the floor. Raine asked how Squall was doing. "He's, uh, he's good…"

"Ellone said Julie told her you fight a lot. Why, may I ask?"

"Well, uh… I don't know how to say this… Squall's developed a bit of a drinking problem." Raine bit her bottom lip in response to hearing this. So Squall had fallen into the exact same habits his father had. As his mother, she'd always feared this. She wanted him to have a better life than they did but it seemed his family was following the tracks left behind.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know. He keeps promising he'll stop and he will for a few days then it'll just start up again. I don't think threatening will do any good."

"No, I doubt it…" Selphie stood up and went to find the bathroom. She didn't want them to see the tears welling up in her eyes. All of it made her sad. She felt helpless because it seemed she could do nothing. Irvine hadn't yet gone through with his plan to talk to Squall. She would have to push him to do that. It couldn't wait any longer. She'd get all the guys together and all the girls together, each group separated from one another. Then they could all talk. Rinoa would get the chance to let it all out while Zell and Irvine would put the pressure on Squall. Maybe they'd get him to think seriously about quitting. She'd tell Irvine about this plan as soon as she got home. The plan would go into action that weekend. Rinoa let the girls come over to her house and the guys went over to Irvine's, which was actually Selphie's. Zell sat on the floor with his legs crossed, Irvine sat down on the bed, and Squall grabbed a chair from a small desk in the corner of the room.

"So, you're dating Quistis now, huh?" Squall asked.

"Yeah," Zell said. "I'm surprised she wanted to go out with me. Lucky, I guess."

"That's one way of looking at it."

"Shut up."

"How are things with Rinoa?" Irvine interrupted. "Going well?"

"Uh, yeah," Squall said. Suddenly he got defensive. "Why did Selphie say something to you?"

"Not exactly… Heard you had a little problem- well, not really little but… Have you been drinking a lot?"

"Oh don't start."

"Everyone's worried about you: your friends, your wife, your kid! To tell the truth, I'm more worried about your family than you. Do you know what kinds of things you're capable of when you're drunk? What would you do if the next morning you find that you've injured Rinoa or maybe Julie? What would you do then?"

"That's not going to happen!"

"How do you know?"

"So I have an occasional drink. Who cares?"

"An occasional drink? You're in denial. Take a step off your pedestal and take a look at yourself! You have a problem. Give yourself a chance to fix it."

"Is this why I was brought here? So I could be lectured?"

"Not trying to lecture you. All of us want you to quit. That's why you're here. Do me a favor, at least talk to Rinoa about it. Listen to what she has to say."

At Rinoa's house, the three girls were engaged in conversation. Quistis was telling them about college, answering Rinoa's question. "I stayed in a dorm for a while," Quistis said. "But not for very long. My roommate irritated me so much. I ended up getting a small apartment nearby."

"Do you like college then?" Rinoa asked.

"Yeah. It can be pretty tough but I like it. The people there are more tolerable than the ones we went to high school with, which is good. I hated those pricks… need to be slapped… Anyway, how have you two been? Haven't seen you in a while."

Selphie said, "I'm fine."

Rinoa forced a smile and answered, "Fine."

"Tell her, Rinoa. Let your feelings out. This is your chance to say what you want and not get into trouble. We wont tell."

Concern washed over Quistis' face as she said, "What's wrong? What's happened?"

"It's okay, Rinoa. Let it out."

Tears appeared in the young wife's eyes as she told Quistis everything. The whole time, Quistis had her hand to her mouth. She was shocked. "Every time I see him drink, I want to break a plate over his head. But I don't do anything- say anything! I just sit there and watch him fucking do it!" She paused to take few breaths to regain her cool. "I love him, I really do but I can't watch him do this. He's going to kill himself."

"Or you or Julie. Have you told him how you feel?"

"Sort of, I guess…"

"Well he needs to know. That's why I wanted Irvine to talk to him. I thought, maybe, he could get through to him, but you might have to."

"I can't."

"Yes you can. Just tell him everything."

"You can do it, Rinoa," Quistis said. "If he doesn't listen, maybe you should leave. It sounds bad, but you shouldn't risk Julie's life or yours."

Talking to them made Rinoa feel better. She decided to leave Julie with her mother. Squall came home not long after the girls left. He wasn't very happy; she could feel it. Immediately he went to the cupboard but Rinoa stopped him. "Don't touch that," she yelled at him. "We need to talk now. Come in here and sit by me." The growl that escaped his throat reached her ears. He didn't sit by her; he stood. "You need to quit drinking. You're going to get someone hurt- you, Julie, me…"

"No I wont," he said. "I had this fucking discussion with Irvine."

"Well maybe you should listen to them, damn it. No more drinking. I'll pour your fucking beer down the fucking sink if I have to."

"No you wont."

"Yes you will! If you don't start trying, I'm taking Julie and getting out of here."

"What? Where will you go?"

"Where do you think? I'll go with Selphie or my mom or Quistis, anywhere away from you. If I have to I'll get an apartment somewhere else like your mother did."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Your mom moved out of the house. She's living in an apartment. If you don't start trying, I'm going to do the same." He just shook his head but made no comment. Did the message get through to him? That was unclear. The two didn't speak to each other very much throughout the rest of the day. Silence hung in the air around them at dinner. Rinoa stared down at her plate and moved the food a bit with her fork.

"Why don't you eat?" Squall asked.

Rinoa said, "I'm not really hungry…"

"I don't believe that."

"I had something earlier."

"Why do you lie to me?"

"Why do you?"

"I don't," he said.

"You're right," she said. "You just can't follow through on things you say you're going to do."

"… Nice to know you have some confidence in me…" He stood up from his chair. She thought he was going to leave. Instead, he walked over to the cupboard in the kitchen. She sighed; he could hear it. "Since you don't…" The cracking sound of the can being opened was deafening. All she could do was growl. And he smiled, slightly but it was surely there. Everything had built up inside of her by then. It all came out in a way not even she expected. So when her first made contact with his arm, he was surprised. She continued to beat on him in a blind fury. The blows stung but did no real damage to him. Finally it stopped and sobs come from her mouth. Squall pulled her into a hug. She just shoved him away.

"Don't you touch me," she said through her teeth. "Go ahead and drink since that's obviously more important to you than your family. But don't be surprised when you come home from work and find the house empty." With that hanging in the air, she went to bed.

Squall sat down in a chair at the table with his head in his hands. What she'd said was true. He didn't deserve the two of them, he'd wondered. "I'm already losing them," he mumbled to himself. He picked up the can at the end of the table and chucked it at the wall. "Fuck! What the fuck am I doing?" The aluminum cylinder broke droplets of beer sprayed on the surrounding surfaces. It made a puddle on the floor like blood. Finally he went upstairs to the angel he'd hurt so badly. "Rinoa." He crawled in bed next to her.

"What?"

"You're right. I'm sorry. You know I love you more than anything."

"… Sometimes it doesn't feel like it."

"I should let you go so I can't hurt you anymore and you can find someone better. But I'm selfish and I want to keep you." She rested her head against her chest and he kissed the line where her hair parted. "I love you, Rinoa."

"I love you too." Their lips met in a sweet kiss that actually felt loving. A feeling Rinoa hadn't experienced in some time. They got the chance to express their feelings without worrying about their daughter walking in, without roughness, without Squall being drunk.

In the morning, Rinoa called her mother to ask if Julie could stay over there a while longer. "We're going to see Raine. We'll come by and get Julie afterwards," she said. Then the two went on their way. During the drive, Rinoa stared out the passenger window. The trees moved by a blur of green and brown. She began to wonder if it was a bad idea to take Squall over there. 'Maybe I should've asked her first,' she thought. But now it was too late. But what would possibly happen? When the glass door to the hall was opened, Raine came out and hugged her son. It seemed a long time passed before they let go and Raine hugged Rinoa.

"Come in," she said. "We'll have to be kind of quiet, Ellone's still sleeping." In the apartment, she invited them to have a seat. "Would you like something to drink?" Both politely refused.

Squall said, "Mom. Why are you living here by yourself? Do you even have a job?"

"I'm fine. I got everything taken care of except your father. He wont see me until he can prove he's quit drinking for good."

"But wont you miss him?"

"Of course. But I'd rather that Ellone and I live to old age instead of being killed by your father."

"He wouldn't kill you."

Then, as she was holding a coffee cup to her mouth, her gaze directly met his. Something cold slithered its way down his spine. "People are capable of many things… especially when they're drunk and don't know what they're doing," she said, after which she took a sip of the black liquid. He knew what she was getting at. She was warning him. No response was thrown back at her. "How have you two been getting along?"

"Fine. Haven't taken any money from Rinoa's parents in some time. They still offer though."

"I meant relationship-wise, not financially."

"Oh… well." He pauses a moment. "We've had our problems but overall, I'd say pretty good."

"If I were to ask Rinoa, would she answer differently?" The young couple exchanged glances, hers worried and his confused. It happened in an instant, from the corner of their eyes. Quickly his gaze turned to his mother's. "Did you not understand the question?"

"I got it," he said. "Ask her and see. Isn't that the best way? To test out your theory?"

"Perhaps, but I don't want to get her in trouble for something I did." In her mind, Rinoa thanked Squall's mother. It seemed as though she got the message. A comforting smile tugged at Raine's lips. The conversation bounced between Squall and Raine. Rinoa spoke up to answer a question now and then. She was careful about what she said in response to questions about the two of them. If her answers made a stab at Squall then he may get mad at her. After half an hour of being there, the conversation was interrupted by the presence of Ellone. She blinked when she saw Squall.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Squall said, "I'm visiting. What are you doing here?"

"I live here." He smiled at her and she went to sit on her mother's lap.

Raine said, "Did you sleep good?"

"Yes. I did… I think. I don't remember."

"Well, would you like some cereal or something for breakfast?"

"Yeah." Raine picked her daughter up, taking her into the kitchen, the adjacent room. Cereal fell into a glass bowl, each piece making individual clink noises. The young couple in the living room sat by one another, waiting. The tips of Squall's fingers brushed his wife's knuckles lightly. Her eyes remained fixed upon the floor. He wondered what she was thinking. The corner of her bottom lip was trapped between her teeth but still she looked beautiful. No signs of emotion could ruin that angelic face. In his heart he felt the urge to hold her and kiss her tug painfully at him. A breathy sigh floats from her lips. Squall watched her breathe.

"What are you guys going to do for your anniversary?" Raine asked as she sat back down.

Squall said, "We're not sure yet."

"Oh. Well you still have a lot of time. I just wondered if you had anything planned yet."

"We probably wont do a whole lot," Rinoa said. "At least, we probably wont go spend the night anywhere. I don't want to make my parents take care of Julie all the time so we'll have to work out something different."

"How long can you hide from Laguna?" squall asked, deciding to change the subject.

"As long as possible," Raine answered. "If I have to move, I will. But I'm not going back until he quits drinking."

"What about Ellone? She may get tired of moving."

"Squall, I can't believe we're having this conversation. I'm not going to risk her life or mine so he doesn't have to be alone. Hopefully, if he's smart and misses us enough, he'll at least try to change. But we'll see." Only ten minutes after the young couple left, the handle on the glass door popped open. The distinct sound reached Raine's ears. It's an unusual noise. She goes over to her apartment door expecting to find someone outside who'd forgotten his or her keys. But that's not what she saw. The glass door swung open, smacking against the wall hard. Laguna started up the stairs. While Raine propped a chair under the handle of her apartment door, she called to her daughter, "Ellone! Come here! Hurry!"

"What is it, mommy?" the little girl said.

"Come here, baby." Raine grabbed her child and went for the sliding doors to the balcony. "Hold onto me tight. Hold on." Small arms wrapped tightly around Raine's neck but not tight enough to choke her. "Wrap your legs around my waist. Hold on." She climbed over the railing of the balcony. The chair against the door sounded as though it would break at any moment each time Laguna pounded against it. It wasn't a long drop to the ground floor but Raine was afraid Ellone might break a bone if she dropped down herself. Though the fall made Raine's legs ache and jolted Ellone, they were both fine. The mother leaned against the outside wall under the balcony where her husband wouldn't be able to see them. For an hour the two sat there listening, waiting. After they saw a familiar car drive away, they went back inside.

Raine started searching for a job as well as someone to care for her daughter for when she got one. Right now they were spending the money that Raine had saved up. But soon that money would run out and they would be stuck. Rinoa's mother offered to take care of Ellone from time to time. "Let me pay you," Raine said.

"No, no," Julia answered. "I don't mind watching her once in a while. Plus she loves being able to play with Julie. It's nice to have a little bit of company while my husband's working." At the local grocery store, Raine received a job. She started saving up again incase they needed it for an emergency. The first thing the family of two did (once they had the money) was more into a different apartment within the same complex. Raine didn't want to completely leave but she didn't want Laguna to find them again. She had to pay a little extra money for a few damages inflicted by her husband.

Seasons changed, holidays went by swiftly and Rinoa's rocky relationship with Squall was slowly smoothing out, very slowly. He was beginning to quit the drinking. Rinoa always told him how proud she was and comforted him whenever he had a tough time. Then something happened. Raine came over a few days after school had started up again with Ellone in her arms. Tears stained their faces. Ellone was absolutely hysterical. "Is Squall home yet?" Raine asked.

Softly, Rinoa's voice came out, "No. Not yet but you're welcome to come in and wait for him. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Do you have something to drink?"

"Yeah. Sure. Have a seat. I'll get something for you."

Ellone hugged Julie then followed her up to Julie's room. While Julie comforted Ellone upstairs, Rinoa tried to comfort Raine downstairs. Finally, Squall arrived at home and walked through the door, surprised to see his mother. "What are you doing here?" he said then quickly added, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Your father," she mumbled.

"Yeah, what about him?"

"He's gone."

"Gone? What do you mean gone?"

"Dead. He died."

Squall sat down next to her. All the energy suddenly drained from his body and he had to sit down. "Dead?" Squall asked. "How?"

"Took a handful of aspirin with a whole lot of liquor."

"He killed himself?"

"No, I doubt it. Your father isn't the type. Even if he was in pain, he'd hurt others, not himself… Anyway, he was probably drunk and probably had a headache."

"You don't seem too upset."

"I'm all cried out. And soon Ellone's tears will dry out too. But she'll still feel it in her heart as I do. And she'll wear it on her face."

"Waste of time," Squall spat. He wandered to the other side of the room as he continued, his words full of malice. "Fuck him. He never gave a fuck about any of us, any of us. He just wanted to control us."

"No. You're wrong. He did care. He loved every one of us. He had a problem, Squall. I'm not asking you to forgive him and you can be happy if you want. But I want you to know that he did care. The alcohol controlled him. If you're not careful, it'll do the same to you." After grabbing her daughter, Raine left. The familiar sound of a can popping open made Rinoa sigh. They were back to square one.

The funeral came that weekend. Raine spent a large sum of her savings on it. Why did it have to cost so much to give a loved one a last, pleasant goodbye? Many of the people there came out of respect for Raine- Squall's friends, Rinoa's friends, Rinoa's parents, and a few parents of the friends. With an exception of Rinoa (and of course blood relatives), none of the people there really knew Laguna. But Raine appreciated them showing up. Rinoa hadn't personally experienced Laguna on his bad days- however, to Raine's dismay, it appeared that she would through Squall. Looking at her son, Raine wished she could scare him out of the bad habit he'd developed. If she couldn't do it to Laguna though then how would she be able to do it to Squall?

The day was brisk, the sun was hiding behind the clouds, and the colors seemed faded. Maybe it was because of all the black people wore. Everyone had found a place to stand around the stone slab marked with Laguna's name. Ellone and Julie stood by one another with their fingers interlocked, tears streaming down their faces as the priest began to speak. Hardly any tears fell from Raine's eyes. She'd cried them all out and could only express her heartache through facial features. In a strange way, she was afraid someone might think she didn't care, mistaking her feelings for the way Squall was trying to act. Both his mother and his wife could see through his seemingly cold stance. Pain in his eyes shined like lightning at midnight. He was having trouble concealing it.

"I don't know whether to feel bad or not," Quistis whispered under her breath to Zell. "I don't mean that to sound rude but he did hurt his family…" Zell nodded. He also had mixed feelings about Laguna's death, as did many of those who were there. Was it ill of them to feel that way? Perhaps but who could say for sure? Many of them cried or felt some sadness in their hearts as the priest droned on about a man he barely knew.