Holding On
Chapter VI
I wake up slowly, keeping my eyelids shut because I know that as soon as I open them, I'll be greeted by the bright sunlight that always comes through my window in the mornings. I roll over, but I'm puzzled when instead of the softness of my pillows, I find a solid object lying next to me. My eyes slide open a small amount, and I'm even more confused by the sight of dark blue fabric resting against my nose; definitely not something that I usually have in my bed.
When said strange, solid object moves beneath me though, and I recognize that I can hear breathing other than my own, I'm jolted into alertness. I sit up, propping my self up on my elbows so that I can investigate what's lying in my bed. I nearly laugh out loud at my own ignorance when I realize that Cloud is the thing that was lying beside me, because I can't believe that I forgot he went to sleep here with me last night.
I peer down at him, smiling at how peaceful he looks while he sleeps, and I have to bite my lip to keep from giggling when I see his nose twitch adorably. He shifts a little in his sleep, moving me as well because I'm lying halfway on top of him, and I notice that one of his arms is still wrapped around me; resting on the small of my back. I settle myself back down so my cheek is resting against his chest, being careful not to wake him, and I enjoy his warmth as I try to pretend that the future is very far away.
This peaceful moment doesn't last for long though, because several minutes later, to my utter horror, I hear the door to my room swing open. I know without looking that it must be my father standing in the doorway, and I also know that even though he's surely frozen with shock for the moment, he's going to be furious very soon. It won't matter that Cloud and I are both dressed, or that nothing happened between us last night; all he will see is that there is a boy in my bed.
Last night, when I asked Cloud to stay with me, I never even thought about the possibility of something like this happening. I figured that Cloud would probably leave before I woke up so he could get back to his house unnoticed, because he usually wakes up long before I do. Even if he didn't leave, my father never comes into my room in the mornings, so I didn't think there would be a problem. Apparently he decided to check on me this morning though, and now I'm going to pay for it.
I hold perfectly still, bracing myself for what I know is inevitable, and suddenly feeling bad that I won't be able to warn Cloud before my father tries to kill him.
"Tifa Lockhart!" my father yells, sounding even more furious than I thought he'd be.
I flinch, cowering into Cloud's chest, and he jerks beneath me at the sudden, thunderous sound. Both of us are instantly scared wide awake, and I can tell by the rigid feel of Cloud's body that he must be staring into my father's murderous eyes. I pull away from him slowly, and as I sit up Cloud moves into a sitting position beside me. I can feel that my father is glaring at me, but I try to focus on anything else in the room, because I'm afraid to look at him right now.
A few seconds of tense silence pass before my father speaks up again. "Out of bed and downstairs; both of you," he orders, thankfully in a much quieter voice this time, though it's still full of rage.
I hear him take a few steps out of my room and down the hall, so I take the opportunity to peer over at Cloud. His eyes are huge where I can see them under his messy hair, and he looks even more terrified than I'm feeling right now. I start to tell him that it's going to be okay, but my father's voice interrupts me, and the sound is still incredibly loud despite the fact that it's now coming from somewhere on the first floor of our house.
"Now!" he shouts.
This sends both Cloud and I scrambling out of my bed, and I don't even have time to think about getting properly dressed before dashing out of my room and descending the stairs as quickly as I can, with Cloud right at my heels. When we get downstairs my father is standing by the front door, pulling it open and motioning for us to go outside. I make the mistake of meeting his eyes for a second, and the fury burning in them makes me shuffle towards the door without a second thought, and without even considering trying to get my shoes on first.
I suppose that it's not really all that cold outside, because it's only August, but the shock of stepping out into the morning air with only my pajamas on makes goose bumps instantly appear across my skin. I wrap my arms around myself in response, following my father's path blindly before I realize with a jolt of terror that he's heading for Cloud's house. He must want to clue his mother in on what's going on, or what he surely thinks was going on, and that can't mean anything good for either of us.
When we make it to the front door my father pounds his fist against it a few times, and we're left waiting anxiously for the moment when Cloud's mother will answer, and she'll know everything as well. Cloud shoots me a wary glance when my father isn't looking, and shifts on his feet. At first I think that he's probably nervous, but then I realize that he must be cold like I am in addition to that, because he's only wearing boxer shorts and a shirt; the source of that dark blue fabric I had been confused by seeing earlier this morning.
It takes an agonizingly long time for his mother to get to the door, probably because she was still in bed this early in the morning, but by the time that she does I find myself wishing that I had more time before I'm forced to face her. The door swings open slowly, and I can hear her gasp as she takes in the sight of us standing on her porch; my father surely still looking furious and Cloud and I half-dressed and shivering in the cold.
"Do you know where your son was last night?" my father asks her, not even bothering to address Cloud by name.
Her focus is pinned to Cloud then, but unlike me with my father, he is able to meet her eyes and stare back at her. After all, we didn't do anything that we should be ashamed of, and Cloud's mother is much less frightening than my father is. A moment of silence passes as his mother studies him, and I find myself wondering if she can read his thoughts by looking at his eyes, like I'm able to do now.
Eventually she steps aside and opens the door wider, beckoning with her hand for us to come inside. The three of us follow after her into the house, and I realize that she probably wanted us inside not just because Cloud and I were freezing, but also so the neighbors won't all get to witness the discussion that's undoubtedly about to ensue. After my father shuts the door behind us she turns around, frowning at Cloud.
"What on Gaia were you thinking?" she demands of him, putting her hands on her hips. "I've raised you better than to behave like this," she adds, motioning vaguely towards me.
Cloud suppresses a sigh, looking like he feels bad even though he hasn't done anything wrong. "We didn't do anything, mom," he tells her honestly. "Tifa was upset last night, and I just…"
He trails off, and I realize that he's going to try and take responsibility for ending up in my bed with me, so I speak up quickly.
"I asked Cloud to stay with me," I explain hastily.
The whole room falls silent then, and when I hear my father make a disbelieving grunt, I understand that everyone here must have assumed that it was Cloud's idea. I turn towards my father, relieved when I see that the anger in his eyes has faded considerably.
"Nothing happened," I promise him. "I just wanted to be with Cloud before he left," I clarify.
My father looks perplexed by this bit of information, which I expected, because he doesn't know anything about Cloud leaving to join ShinRa yet. I'm surprised though, when I recognize that Cloud's mother is wearing the same expression as him; one of confusion and incomprehension. Cloud glances away from her guiltily, and I realize then that she must not know about him leaving yet either; he must have told me first.
"Where are you going?" she asks quietly, and the worried look in her eyes tells me that she must already be piecing together the answer.
"ShinRa's coming to recruit in a week," Cloud begins in a hushed voice. "I'll be eighteen, so I'm going to go with them."
Once again, everyone in the room falls silent, though this time it's much heavier with all of the tension. Cloud doesn't ever look back at his mother, probably not wanting to see the look of horror on her face while she stares at him. He glances at me once, just for a short second, and I try to give him an apologetic look for letting his mother find out this way.
After a long moment, his mother clears her throat, calling all of our attention. "Would you mind leaving us alone for a moment?" she asks.
My father must understand that she needs to have some time to talk with Cloud, so he waves me over to the door with him, and we leave without another word. He doesn't say anything on the way back to our house, because he seems to realize that his assumptions about something sexual happening between Cloud and I were wrong. I don't mention it anymore either, but after we get back into the house he finally chooses to speak up.
"I'm sorry I accused you of…" he starts, seeming uncomfortable with finishing his sentence.
"It's fine," I mumble dismissively.
He tries to say something more to me, but the feeling of grief is quickly beginning to close in around me, so I swallow back my tears and head up to my room. Somehow, now that our parents are aware that Cloud is going to be leaving, it makes it seem so much more real that it was yesterday when he first told me about his plans, and that in turn makes me feel all that much more miserable. Once I'm inside my room I fall onto my bed, and pray that everything is going to be okay.
To be continued…
(A/N) Happy Valentine's Day everybody! :D I guess this chapter wasn't exactly spilling over with romance though, was it? O.o
Anyhow, thanks so much for all of the reviews! They never fail to put a smile on my face. :3
-punkiemonkie