Chapter Eighteen:

A/N: Short chaptercrap? Not necessarily, but this chapter probably isn't the best example of "short and sweet." But for those who were wondering about Tessa's hatred of men, a large discussion about it occurs and there's even a mini-flashback.

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"Who's that?" Phelan asked as the two women struggled in carrying the third into the student cabin. "What happened to her?"

"She was… attacked by her husband," Rinoa said, choosing her words carefully. "Will you two get off the sofa, please?"

"Sorry, Miss Heartilly," Adette said with a salute as she jumped off the sofa. At her feet, her lone suitcase lay open, containing a student uniform and several handguns. She also had parts of a sniper rifle out, which she had obviously been cleaning, but Tessa was too preoccupied to notice. "Get up, Phelan!"

"I'm up!" Phelan said as he threw his magazine across the room. It landed in the bottom bunk. He stood back and watched as the woman was laid on the sofa. "Who is she?"

"How the hell should I know?" Tessa replied. She scowled and brushed hair from her face. She looked at Adette and changed tones. "Could you get my pack for me? It's in the hall, and I need to treat these wounds."

"I've got it," Phelan said. He smiled at Tessa and put a hand on her shoulder before leaving, closing the door behind him.

"He's cute," Rinoa said. She smiled at Tessa and tried to search her eyes, with no success. "Why are you always so bitchy to him?"

"What do you mean?" Tessa asked as she grabbed a wrist to check the woman's pulse. It was slow but regular. "Phelan's not cute, and I'm not bitchy."

"You jumped down his throat when he asked about her," Adette said as she lay down on the bottom bunk bed. "And you were a bitch yesterday in the reception area of the Headmaster's office."

"If I am bitchy," Tessa said as she drew out the last syllable, "it's because of how utterly infuriating people are. Phelan just happens to annoy me more than others, so I receive the urge to hurt him."

"You hurt the one you love," Rinoa said as she brushed the woman's pale face with her fingertips. "As least, that's been my experience."

"I don't love Phelan," Tessa said with a laugh. "I could never love a man."

"You're a lesbian?" Adette gasped as she sat up. "I've never met a lesbian before, though that would explain your hostility to Mr. Dincht and Phelan."

"I'm not a lesbian," Tessa said. She held her hand over the woman's open wound, slowing the blood loss. "I just don't like men. That's it, okay?"

"Why not?" Rinoa asked. She stood up and wiped the blood on her hands onto her skirt. "Most of my friends are men."

"It's because…" Tessa began, but then her head began to fill with images.

A man pushed her down onto a dirt floor. She was wearing a student uniform; only it had a Lotia Garden symbol instead of Balamb Garden. Tessa was only twelve or so, and she was screaming and kicking at the man. It was night and she couldn't see his face as he grabbed her legs and spread them apart…

"Because what?" Adette asked. She picked up Phelan's magazine and began flipping through it. "Some guy dumped you at your old Garden?"

Tessa wasn't listening; she was reliving that night. "I'm sorry, what?" Tessa asked as looked at the wall and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, leaving a long bloody streak on her face.

"Nothing," Rinoa said, sensing that Tessa didn't want to discuss it. She stood up and brushed the unconscious woman's face. "I'll just leave you guys to take care of her. See you in the morning."

"Goodbye, Miss Rinoa," Adette said, completely oblivious to Tessa. She just continued looking at the magazine.

Rinoa opened the door and Phelan fell into the room. It was clear that he had been holding his ear up to the door and listening to the conversation. He caught his balance and stood up, laughing and rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand.

"Miss Rinoa," he said with a nod in Rinoa's direction. "Ladies."

"Give me the pack," Tessa said angrily as she grabbed the bag in Phelan's right hand. "I have work to do."

"Oh, I know you were talking about me," Phelan said with a grin. "All you women do is talk about me. I can't really say I blame you, though."

"I never talk about you," Tessa said through gritted teeth as she unzipped the pack and pulled the rather large first-aid kit out. "I only laugh at you, and I do it to your face."

"I guess I kind of get your point," Rinoa said from the door. Tessa looked up and saw her smiling. "But I still believe what I believe, remember that."

"Fuck off," Tessa said angrily, causing Phelan and Adette's mouths to drop open. All Rinoa did was laugh as she closed the door to the cabin. She glared at her two companions as she used a pair of scissors to cut a long strip of gauze. "What?"

"Nothing," Adette said quickly as she returned to Phelan's magazine.

"What she said," Phelan agreed. He yawned and stretched his arms. "I'm going to get some sleep. Night."

"Idiots," Tessa muttered under her breath as she began to treat the woman lying motionless on the bloodstained sofa.