Stained Halo
Chapter 6: Fall and Sink
"You shut your mouth
How can you say
I go about things the wrong way
I am human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does"
- The Smiths
Aeris felt as if she were naked in the middle of a masquerade. There was no one paying any mind to her, but somehow, she knew she was more exposed than ever. There were masks all around. Cover-ups. And she felt far too bare amidst all the costumes.
She'd been sitting at the bar for nearly two hours now. No one apart from the bartender had exchanged any words with her. There were fleeting glances from men who looked somewhat interested, but that amounted to nothing once they saw she did not have a crimson smile painted on upturned lips.
It wasn't that Aeris was new to this. She'd spent her entire life going to functions with Luke, playing the part of the loving daughter as he made a spectacular show of being a good father.
It was the damn champagne.
For the first time in her life, Aeris was well on her way to being drunk. And she had lost both the skill and desire to wear her mask for those around her. As she dug deeper into her thoughts, she was quite certain that it wasn't that she had been stripped of her disguise, but that she had actually never learned how to wear it properly.
She always tried so hard to see the good in people, because she knew in her heart that it was there. No one was all bad and everyone had their reasons. That was the saying she always repeated to herself when someone hurt or disappointed her. But somehow, her alcohol-induced haze yielded new revelations.
Like how it was futile to look for the good in people when they wouldn't even let you get near them. Everyone hid so deep within themselves that they shielded who they truly were from the world around them. Her whole life had been a relentless dance in this same dull masquerade.
She had no idea how much time passed between her fifth glass of champagne and Gloria's appearance through the crowd. It could have been an hour; it could have been five minutes. All Aeris knew was that she was no more eager to feign happiness for Gloria than anyone else.
"Darling! Oh honey, I've been looking everywhere for you!"
In fact, Gloria's stupidly flushed smile went so far as to irritate Aeris. Did she really think she was that stupid?
"I've been sitting in the same place all night."
Had Gloria not been staggering around like a fool, Aeris would've thought she was purposely ignoring her anger. The truth was, she was too drunk to notice the very thick tone of annoyance in Aeris' voice.
"Oh honey, I've got a great idea," she squealed as she took Aeris' glass out of her hands and lifted it to her own lips.
"I'm pretty much ready to go now, but I was thinking you could stay the night at my apartment!" Her eyes lit up like she'd just presented Aeris with the best opportunity of her life.
"And then tomorrow we'll make a girl's day out of it. Luke's busy anyway, so he'll probably prefer us leaving early, and his mansion can be so boring."
Aeris didn't really have time to respond. Gloria was already grabbing her by the hand and leading her out of the crowd. She wouldn't have resisted anyway. As upset as she was at Gloria for abandoning her the whole night, she would much rather go than sit at the bar pouting for another hour. Besides, the way she was feeling, if she ran into Luke she was sure she'd say a lot of those unsaid things that were best left silent.
As they stepped out of the club, the night air hit them, and for once Aeris enjoyed breathing in Midgar. Despite the grime, it was a lot cooler than inside the club. But the effect of walking out in the open proved to Aeris just how drunk she really was. She wasn't quite sure whether she was walking straight, but her better judgment told her she wasn't. She followed Gloria towards Luke's car, where his driver was sitting inside sleeping.
Gloria knocked loudly on the window, waking him. They stepped in and drove away.
After Gloria gave the driver instructions of what to tell Luke, her and Aeris entered her apartment building. It was actually Aeris' first time there. Gloria had never invited her before.
Her place was very nice. Everything looked expensive and painfully stylish.
"Well this is very you," Aeris mumbled as she looked around.
"Thank you."
Gloria shot her a gorgeous smile and motioned for her to follow her to a room on the left. It was the guest room.
"Bathroom's over there," Gloria pointed to the back of the room.
"Alright, thanks," Aeris said, sitting on the bed.
"I'm going to bed now, I'm really tired. You really should go to sleep too," Gloria advised as she pulled an extra nightshirt out of some drawers for Aeris to wear, "I'm going to wear you out with the shopping tomorrow."
With a flip of her golden hair, she walked out and Aeris heard her footsteps disappear down the hall. She lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.
Physically, she was ready to slip into slumber, but her thoughts prevented her from doing so. So many emotions were swelling within her, pushing their way forth from where she'd hidden them all along.
She was lonely. She hated to admit it, but she really was. And the fact that she had no one in her life that gave a damn about her really stung. All her family was dead, she'd shut the Cetra out and Luke cared about no one but himself. She really didn't have many friends. She'd been home schooled all her life, and although she knew some of the kids of Luke's associates, they'd never gotten along too well. Her mother still spoke to her sometimes. Still whispered to her here and there. But that was so different. In fact, her mother's bittersweet tone mainly reminded her how secluded she really was.
Gloria was the closest thing she had to a real friend. But even she…
Aeris' thoughts were suddenly interrupted. She'd heard a voice – a man's voice. Definitely in the apartment. What was a man doing in the apartment?
For a second she was afraid she was drunk to the point of imagining things, but then she heard it again. Quite clearly. Followed by Gloria's laugh and a "ssssh."
Aeris slowly lifted herself off the bed and crept towards her door. Opening it as quietly as she could, she peered through a tiny crack and had to stop herself from gasping.
There, in Gloria's living room, being led to Gloria's bedroom was the red haired man from the party.
They were speaking softly, but Aeris could have sworn she heard the words "had a good distraction" come out of Gloria's mouth before the pair disappeared behind her door. She felt numb with betrayal. It was the absolute perfect icing on the goddamn cake that was her life.
Everyone…
She stormed towards the bed, hot tears burning her eyes.
…does nothing…
Feeling trapped with her rage, she made the sudden decision to head for the door. Through the hall.
…but use me.
And out the front door.
She descended the stairs in a hurry. Not that there was a chance of her being heard with Gloria so occupied, but her fury kept her at a speedy pace.
It wasn't even like what Gloria was doing was so shocking. She'd seen worse, lived with worse. But the fact that the one person she thought actually respected her would betray her trust, made every negative emotion that the alcohol had brought out in her intensify. Gloria had outright lied to her. She'd told her she wanted her over so they could spend time together. But all it was was a way to keep Luke out of her hair as she had her little revenge on him.
Anger really was blinding, and as a result Aeris had hardly noticed where she was going. She took a look around her, and saw a strip of cafés and clubs surrounded her. Gloria lived right in the heart of upper Midgar, in the midst of the trendiest area of the town. And there was no other place Aeris would have liked to be in less.
Everything up here is a lie...
Darkly, she eyed all the glitz and glamour around her, wishing there was a way for her to leave Midgar altogether. But the sway in her step and the slight numb feeling in her head told her she had better sit down somewhere lest she fall down in the street.
She walked to the closest café, and collapsed into a chair by the first free table she saw on the patio. And with her head in her hands she let herself drown in all the hopelessness and despair she usually found so easy to fight off.
He had a tendency to whistle while he walked. Especially when he was in a good mood. And right now, Zack was in a very good mood.
It had been a great night out. 1 gil you-call-its, him and his friends, and everyone kissing the ground they walked on because they were SOLDIERs. That was what was so great about Midgar. A good time was so easy if you were in with the right people.
His night had been made even better by a late night call from a waitress he'd met some nights ago requesting to "hang out" later. Her shift was ending in a half hour's time, and he was on his way to pick her up and head to her apartment. Really cute girl. He didn't know much about her, but that didn't matter in Midgar. People were very straightforward about what they wanted, and left out all the introductions.
He stepped into the café, and spotted her across the room making a drink for someone at the bar. After catching her attention, he pointed behind him at the patio outside, to let her know where he'd be waiting for her. She smiled, biting her lip, and nodded before getting back to her customer.
Stepping outside, he looked around and found an empty seat. Feeling that his night was far from over, he decided to relax a bit before she got done. After a few moments, he felt someone grab his shoulder roughly. Grinning, he turned, expecting it to be his waitress friend.
"Off early, eh?"
But it wasn't her. Instead, it was a small girl with long brown hair scowling down at him.
"You're in my seat."
"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize."
He stood up, offering her the chair. Without a word, she sat down, but to his shock, missed the chair entirely and collapsed onto the floor in front of his feet.
Immediately, he crouched down to her and asked if she was all right. She stared back at him with a confused expression, as if she had no idea why she was lying on the ground rather than sitting in the chair. Zack shook his head, trying to hold in his laughter. He wrapped her arm around his neck and lifted her onto the chair while she blinked drunkenly at him. It was past midnight on a weekend night. He was used to seeing girls fresh out of clubs stumbling all over the place.
"You Midgar girls are crazy."
Her confusion seemed to fade, and she looked at him as if she were angry.
"Don't call me that."
It was Zack's turn to be confused. "Call you what?"
She gave him the type of look reserved for only the dumbest of questions.
"A Midgar girl. I am not I a Midgar girl," she slurred.
Zack's better judgment told him it was time to go back inside and wait there, away from the angry drunk girl. But his logic always lost against a much stronger part of him – the part that always played hero. The fact that the girl was so drunk was good reason not to leave her outside alone. So he pulled up a chair, and sat down across from her.
"Okay, I'm sorry. Then where are you from?"
She looked down at her hands.
"Somewhere you can see the sun," she answered softly.
He let out a chuckle again, "That's basically anyplace but Midgar."
The emerald of her eyes almost sparkled.
"Exactly," she answered with a sad smile.
He decided not to push the matter.
"Look, are any of your friends here with you?"
She shook her head.
"Just you, eh?"
"Just me."
Zack ruffled the black spikes atop his head a bit, trying to think of what to do. The girl definitely wasn't his responsibility. And there was probably a good reason her friends had ditched her. But as she rested the side of her face on her arm, and her honey hair spilled over her eyes, he thought that despite her intoxicated state, she was the most innocent looking thing he'd ever seen in the city. His conscience would kill him if he just left her there.
"Alright, well, how about I call you a cab?"
She seemed to find what he said quite funny.
"I don't need a cab."
"Well, what do you need?"
She simply stared for a while, as if the question was one worthy of launching her deep into thought. Then, remembering he was there, she looked up at him with a slightly confused look.
"Who are you?"
He smiled at her, "I'm Zack, and you're?"
"Dead tired," she yawned.
And with that, she put her head in her arms again, and closed her eyes.
"Well you can't sleep here, let me call you a cab to take you home."
She didn't respond, so he reached across the table and shook her slightly.
"Huh?"
"Look," he said, his tone slightly more stern, "You can't stay here. You need to go home."
She closed her eyes again.
"I can't do that."
He sat back to think the matter over. The girl certainly didn't look homeless. In fact, he was sure she wasn't. She was probably just not supposed to be out, and he didn't want to spend the rest of the night babysitting a rich girl that couldn't handle herself outside of daddy's mansion. He decided to give her another five minutes and then just have the manager deal with her.
"Zack."
"Yes?" He answered, leaning his head on his fist tiredly.
"Thanks for caring enough to ask."
He looked down at her and saw she still had her eyes closed. He felt she'd just mumbled the sort of small truth people only reveal whilst half asleep. It didn't really make much sense to him since he had no idea who she was, but something in the way she said it got to him. Something that sounded way too sad for someone her age to express.
"Hey do me a favor and don't move, okay?"
But she was already asleep. Slightly berating himself for what he was about to do, he lifted himself off the chair and walked inside the café and up to the bar to try to explain to his date why she should wait for him while he left to drop a strange girl off at a hotel.
It didn't add the perfect touch to their night, but she agreed and he headed back out.
She was still where he'd left her: unconscious on the table. He tried to shake her awake, but she just kept slapping his hand and mumbling something that sounded like "go away".
"Fine, I guess I'll do this the hard way."
He lifted her up, and laid her on his back, so that her arms were dangling over his shoulders, and her legs over his hips. Crouching forward, he began walking to the nearest hotel he knew of. During his SOLDIER training he had to carry things twice her weight while sprinting and dodging attacks. In comparison, this was a piece of cake. But the strange looks he got from people as he walked through the street didn't make the situation that fun. He shot them nervous smiles, hoping it'd clear any suspicions.
After about ten minutes of walking, he reached the nearest hotel. The street was lined with upscale lodging, and it wasn't a particularly busy tourist season, so he was sure there'd be a vacancy. He entered the lobby, and laid the girl on a couch in the waiting area before going to speak to the concierge.
As he approached the counter, he saw the man behind it looking at the girl with a slight frown.
"Hi, I need a room for the night."
The concierge was a thin middle-aged man, with a moustache that Zack thought looked idiotic. At that very moment, the silly moustache was curled upwards in a badly hidden sneer.
"We're all full."
Zack let out a groan.
"You got to be kidding me."
The man looked at him with waning interest, and began to shuffle through some papers.
"I'm afraid not."
However, Zack wasn't going to give up so easily.
"But you didn't even really check. There has to be at least one room open."
With a look that clearly showed that he was tiring of Zack's presence, the concierge cleared his throat.
"This is a hotel. Not the Honeybee Inn."
Understanding dawned upon Zack, and his anger flared.
"It's not like that, she just needs a place to stay!"
But the man didn't seem to believe him. He merely stood behind the counter with his hands clasped in front of him.
"Listen, I'm in SOLDIER!"
Again, it was futile. The concierge held his silence, and Zack was left with the options of arguing with someone who wouldn't budge, or just going to the next hotel. And with his date surely getting impatient by now, and there being plenty of hotels on the strip, his decision was made rather fast. So with a rude hand gesture, he went back to Aeris and carried her outside again.
To his extreme irritation, the same thing happened in the next two hotels. He let out a string of curses after being turned down for the third time. Why would no one believe that he just wanted to help the girl out? Were Midgar people really that suspicious of everyone?
Apparently so, for as he walked on miserably, the few club goers left on the street were all shooting him dirty looks. He'd stopped caring at that point, and was left to ponder what to do. By the looks of it, he wouldn't be able to get a room for her. He definitely couldn't take her back to his date's place. And although he was slowly regretting ever speaking to her, he wasn't willing to just leave the girl on the street somewhere.
It was after fifteen minutes of walking on miserably that a man leaning by the entrance of a building with a bright neon sign that read "Sugar Inn" called out to him.
"Hey man, need a place to stay?"
Zack looked at the place, and was tempted to say no. But he really didn't have many other alternatives.
"You got vacancies?"
The man grinned at him, throwing down a half smoked cigarette and waving for him to follow him inside.
There was no lobby. There was simply an entrance hall, and a counter on one side, which the man from outside was now standing behind. The place reeked of cigarettes and liquor.
"You're in luck, we've got our finest suite available. Water bed and all."
The man winked at Zack and leered up at the girl he was carrying. Zack frowned and shook his head. It was people like this man that had everyone in the other hotels paranoid. But he was far too tired by now to argue.
"Look, whatever, just get me a room."
He paid the rate, and got his key, leaving the man behind with a sleazy grin on his face. The room was the furthest down the hall, but it wasn't difficult to find. He unlocked the door, walked in, and had to roll his eyes at the fact that a huge heart shaped bed was taking up most of the space.
But whether the bed looked ridiculous or not didn't matter anymore. He set the unconscious girl down, and collapsed next to her. After looking at his watch and finding the time to be 3 AM he let out a soft curse. Had an hour really passed since he left the café? It seemed longer.
He looked over at the girl who had caused him so much trouble. She was lying on her side, fast asleep, with her hand laid out in front of her face. Had there not been a slight frown on her pretty features, she would have looked quite serene.
He'd leave her a note, and then get out of there. There was still enough time to go over to his date's apartment if he hurried. Closing his eyes for one more moment of rest, he stretched a bit, and lifted himself up on one arm in order to get off the bed without disturbing the girl too much.
Just as he was ready to get up, she rolled over and threw an arm around his chest, preventing him from moving. Softly, he tried to pry her off, but it only caused her to tighten her grip around him. After a few seconds of struggling against each other, she buried her face into the side of his ribs.
"Hey, hey listen, I have to go," he whispered.
She opened one eye slightly, allowing brilliant green to poke through her dark lashes.
"Please," she murmured, before closing it again and returning to her previous position against his side.
He fell back against the pillow, staring up at the ceiling, feeling quite frustrated. It was as if the girl was set out to ruin what little was left of his night. There was no way the waitress would ever speak to him again if he stayed, and chances were that when this girl woke up, she'd be less than appreciative of waking up next to a stranger. He observed her a bit, feeling her breathe softly next to him.
"Whatever."
If his night was meant to be spent taking care of a strange drunk girl, then so be it.
Aeris felt herself slowly waking. She felt so warm and comfortable that she didn't quite want to be fully conscious just yet, so she just laid there enjoying the coziness. Her bed seemed a lot softer than usually, and the pillow she always hugged while sleeping felt more snug for some reason. She squeezed it, trying to mold it to fit her new position as she rolled over a bit. And to her horror, it nudged back at her, not wanting to be moved.
Her eyes shot wide open. Suddenly she became very aware of her surroundings. The smell of alcohol and tobacco. The strange mattress below her. And the pillow that was not a pillow at all. It was someone's back, and she was hugging it.
She moved her arms away slowly as her mind raced to figure out what was going on.
The party…I was drinking.
After lifting herself up on one arm, she saw that the person lying next to her was a man. His messy black hair hid his face from her, but it was definitely a man.
Am I at home? No, I went to Gloria's…
Slowly, she edged off the bed, which she now saw was heart shaped and covered in dark red sheets. Looking around her, she found she was in a pretty small room with no windows.
Am I at Gloria's? No, I left, I ran out.
She was filled with dread as she realized she couldn't remember anything past leaving Gloria's apartment. Her mind pieced everything around her together. She was in a strange room with a heart shaped bed, with a strange man.
"Oh my god!"
She covered her mouth with her hands and cursed at herself for her sudden outburst. To her added dismay, the man before her was now stirring awake. Her eyes scanned the room quickly for a weapon. Just before he turned to face her, she grabbed the lamp on the nightstand by the bed, and held it out in front of her.
He turned and looked at her. His brows furrowed together, as if he didn't remember anything either, and had no idea why some girl was standing in front of him holding a lamp. After a few moments of staring at each other, his expression changed as realization hit him.
"Who are you?" Aeris demanded.
Her question seemed to confuse him a bit, "I'm Zack, don't you remember?"
She ignored him, "Why did you bring me here?"
He got off the bed too, and stood on the other side of it yawning.
"Look you were drunk, and…"
His explanation was cut short by the lamp crashing to the ground. Aeris had a horrified expression on her face.
"No! Nothing happened!" He yelled, waving his hands, "Look, just listen to me and I'll explain."
Aeris nodded in agreement, wide eyed, scared, and confused.
"You were drunk and I found you half passed out at a café. I tried to get you a cab, but you said you didn't have anywhere to go, so I decided to find you a room."
He awaited her response.
Aeris swallowed slowly, "Okay, so you brought me here," she looked down at the bed, "And decided to stay with me?"
Zack realized how far-fetched his story sounded considering their surroundings.
"I know how this looks," he laughed a little bit, "but no other hotel would take us because you were, well, you weren't the ideal guest."
Aeris felt her cheeks burn hot with embarrassment.
"And I only stayed because you, uhm," he looked as if he was deciding what to tell her.
"Yes?" Aeris asked, hoping that she hadn't done anything to humiliate herself further.
"Because there were some shady guys around."
She looked down at her feet, taking in what he told her.
"Look, I know it all sounds pretty made up, but I'm not lying."
Aeris studied him a bit. There was no trace of a lie in his expression, and she'd always been able to read people very well. She nodded her head slowly.
"I believe you."
Sinking down on the bed, she rested her head in her hands.
"I'm sorry for causing you all this trouble."
He walked around to her side, and sat down next to her.
"Don't worry about it. It was just common decency, anyone else would've helped you too."
She looked up at him, and saw he was smiling at her. This time he was lying
"Thank you very much."
She stood up, avoiding his gaze.
"I never caught your name."
She was messing with her dress and hair, trying to make both look a bit more decent.
"I'm Aeris."
"Look Aeris, you don't have to be embarrassed. It happens to the best of us, it's okay."
He chuckled, but she didn't find the matter funny at all. She felt like the world's biggest jerk. After making the stupid decision to run out of Gloria's apartment drunk, the only nice person in Midgar had found her and given her a place to stay, and in return she was going to hit him with a lamp.
"It's really not," she responded, "I'd probably be lying in a gutter right now if it hadn't been for you."
He shrugged. "But you're not, everything worked out okay."
Suddenly remembering something, she slapped her hand to her forehead, "What time is it?"
He looked down at his watch, "Almost eleven," and seeing her anxious expression asked, "do you have to be somewhere?"
She looked away from him again, feeling really stupid for what she was about to say.
"I probably need to go back home. I kind of just ran out last night without telling anyone."
Understanding, he stood up, and grabbed a cell phone out of his pocket.
"You can call whoever you need with this."
She thanked him before taking it and dialing Gloria's number. After only one ring, she picked up, sounding worried.
"Hello?"
"Hi, it's Aeris."
"Aeris! Where are you? I got so worried when I saw you weren't in your room."
Although she'd been far too drunk to remember anything that happened after she left Gloria's apartment, she still recalled what caused her to leave very clearly.
"I'll be there soon, I need you to pay for my cab when I get there, I've got no money on me."
"A cab? What? Where are you?"
"Just be outside in ten minutes."
"Look, you can't just leave without telling me! What if Luke had called?"
"Then you could've told him you were too busy cheating on him to notice me leaving. I'll see you in ten minutes."
Aeris hung up the phone. She hadn't planned on confronting her about what happened in that way, but it made her feel somewhat better imagining Gloria's expression.
"Sounds like a crazy night."
Aeris turned back towards Zack, who was leaning against the wall watching her. For some reason, she found it very difficult to meet his eyes. She hadn't really noticed how tall he was before. He towered over her by about a foot, and by the look of his toned arms, he was in great shape. And if she wasn't mistaken, his eyes were so green they were glowing. Seeing him made her wish she could crawl into some hole.
Staring down at the floor as if it was extremely interesting, she said, "I don't have any cash on me right now, but I promise I'll pay you back whatever you paid for this hotel."
He waved her off.
"Don't worry about it. It was nothing. Just call yourself a cab home, and sleep off your hangover."
Aeris noticed for the first time how much her head hurt.
"No, really, let me pay you back."
He smiled and walked closer to her. She felt herself blushing.
"Alright, you can pay me back, take me up on a drink and we'll call it even."
Aeris stared at him dumbfounded. His smile wavered a little.
"I'm just kidding, you don't have to if you don't want to."
"No…no, it's not that," she stammered, "I just can't believe you're not angry after all the trouble I caused you."
He rolled his eyes, "Cut that out already. Here give me my phone."
She handed it to him, and he dialed a number.
"Yeah, I'm gonna need a cab."
While he spoke to the cab company, she snuck a peek into the mirror behind her. Her hair was sticking out all over the place. She felt like such a mess.
"Alright Aeris, cab'll be here in five. Let's wait outside."
She followed him out the door and out of the hotel. It was pretty busy outside, with people sitting along the street having breakfast on café patios. They waited on the sidewalk for the cab to arrive.
"So, how old are you?"
"Just turned seventeen."
She played with her bracelet a bit.
"Cool. I'm eighteen. And where are you from?"
"Here," she answered glumly.
He gave her a searching look.
"You don't like Midgar, do you?"
She shrugged, "It's okay."
At that moment the taxi arrived, and Zack waved it over. He turned back towards Aeris.
"Need me to go with you?"
She smiled, touched by how kind he was, "No, it's okay. You've already helped me more than I can thank you for."
"Oh yeah, that's right," he walked over to the cab driver and said something to him Aeris couldn't hear. A second later he approached her with a pen. Taking her hand in his, he began to write a number down on it.
"If you ever need anything again..."
She felt as if her hand tingled a bit where he had touched it.
"Bye Aeris."
Aeris climbed into the cab and waved goodbye to him. She gave the driver Gloria's address, and closed her eyes as the car began to move. She felt dizzy. Whether it was from her hangover or from Zack's smile, she wasn't sure.
It took about fifteen minutes to get to Gloria's apartment. During the drive Aeris had some time to think about the events of the past night. In the span of about twelve hours, she'd gotten drunk for the first time in her life, discovered Gloria cheating on Luke, and wound up in a sleazy motel with a complete stranger. All in all, it could've turned out far worse. She could've wound up in a sleazy motel with a sleazy stranger.
As the car pulled up to its endpoint, the sight of Gloria broke off Aeris' amused thoughts. She felt her anger returning as she saw her standing in her bathrobe by the street with her arms crossed. So she'd just woken up a while ago too. Must've been really tired.
"She'll be paying," she told the driver, as she climbed out of the car.
Gloria glanced nervously at her, but Aeris ignored her. She brushed past her and climbed the stairs while Gloria paid her fare. The apartment was unlocked, so she let herself in and walked over to the guestroom bathroom.
After returning back to the kitchen, she found Gloria sitting at her breakfast table picking at her nails. She looked up at Aeris with a worried expression, not bothering with the smile this time.
"Did you, uhm…"
"Did I call Luke and tell him you're doing the exact same thing he's been doing for the past year?"
Gloria's eyes carried just the slightest hint of anger at Aeris' words.
"No, I didn't. And I won't. I don't care what you two do to each other anymore."
She thought she saw a look of relief flash across Gloria's face.
"But if you ever use me again…"
Gloria shot back at her, "I didn't use you!"
"Right, you didn't use me. I wasn't a distraction, right? A convenient excuse for you to bring in that idiot from the party and not have anyone suspect a thing?"
Gloria said nothing.
"If you use me again, I'll blow it. I'll tell everyone everything. And he'll leave you. Obviously that's the only thing you care about, so do yourself a favor and stay away from me from now on."
Apparently she'd pushed Gloria as far as Gloria would allow. She rose to her feet, standing proud before Aeris.
"And what were you doing just now Aeris? Out all night, and coming back with a number on your hand. Luke wouldn't like that either."
Aeris laughed at the absurdity of Gloria's retort. The woman had no strength in front of Luke, but still tried to exercise her authority over everyone else. Who could blame her when it worked so well? People were intimidated by her. Aeris had seen her as a queen at one point, but that was a long time ago.
"God, Gloria, give it up. Unlike you, I don't care what Luke thinks about me. I could partake in a wild orgy and as long as it doesn't get out and reflect badly on him, he wouldn't give a damn."
Gloria crossed her arms, "So you…?"
"Yes Gloria, I ran out of here drunk last night, andgot the first guy Iran across tocomfort me. And I've got you to thank for it."
She didn't mind telling a blatant lie, becauseshe wasn't very worried about morals when it came to dealing with Gloria anymore. She turned to walk out of the room, but turned back after a moment, meeting Gloria's livid glare once more.
"The only thing that gets me is I really thought you were different."
Something in Gloria's expression softened, and her resentment faded into what appeared to be sadness. Usually, that would be all it took for Aeris to try to comfort her, but not this time. Never again.
"I want to go home," she said quietly.
Gloria nodded and disappeared into her room.
After a while, she came back with her car keys. They left the apartment and descended the stairs silently. The car ride back to Luke's was also noiseless. They had nothing more to speak of. It had all been said.