Chapter 2: Cloud
"Anything you need for you first day dear?" a brown haired woman asked her blonde haired son.
The boy simply shook his head, not moving from his position of laying across his bed.
"Cloud, are you ever going to talk to me?" she asked, voice cracking.
Cloud sighed, he had once again succeeded in making her cry. He deserved to be enrolled into a school for fucked up people.
"I wish I knew what the problem was, is it just me?" she asked. "I know I'm not your real mother but…"
The blonde shook his head vigorously, hoping to calm her down a little. He wanted to speak to her, tell her it's nothing she had done wrong. He opened his mouth but no sound would come.
The woman dried her eyes with her hand and turned to leave the room, hearing a shift behind her. She barely turned back before Cloud's arms wrapped around her in a reassuring hug.
His step-mother forced a smile as he let go.
"Don't stay up too late, school in the morning." she smiled, leaving and closing the door behind her.
Cloud crossed the room and layed back down on his bed. He listened for her steps to descend downstairs.
"Sure thing Aerith. By the way, you may not be mom, but you're a close enough exception. " he said aloud in a quiet voice.
He turned off his lamp and curled up on his side, facing a picture from when he was ten.
Him, his dad, and his mom stood on the beach smiling happily. He smiled back at the picture.
"Goodnight dad, Aerith… mom." he said in a near whisper.
A tear slid down his cheek as he shut his eyes.
If only he knew why he couldn't talk around people.