Broken Wings - Chapter Twenty
Aralyn was evicted from Seventh Heaven well after dark when Yuffie more or less dragged her out. "You've done plenty," she said. "Now get home!"
Hugging her threadbare coat tighter to her to ward off the cold, she wandered the empty streets of Midgar and Edge alone. The path was icy from the snow that had been packed by so many footsteps, and more than once she found herself on her back looking up at the starry sky.
"Gloria?" A man's voice rang through the streets, eerily loud against the stark silence of the city. Aralyn paid no mind and continued.
"Gloria? Gloria!"
Aralyn decided to turn and found an unfamiliar man ran toward her, arms outstretched like he recognized her. Following some unjustified instinct, she ran.
The icy patches slowed her, however, and she slid on one she had missed and fell painfully to her knees. The man had been fast and strong anyway, there had been no hope in the first place.
The man gripped her and turned her so that she faced him, looking at her for a moment. She examined him as well. He had black hair that fell past his ears, and it clearly had a rebellious streak to it. His eyes were a startlingly light icy blue.
His lips broke out into a large smile. He gripped her under her shoulders and lifted her in the air, twirling her around once before gentle perching her back on her feet. She was not released; instead she was surrounded by his arms and crushed into his chest.
"Gloria!" the man cried, slightly breathless from the chase. "Gloria, you're here!"
"I'm not…" she choked out as she struggled to get away.
But he didn't seem to hear her. Instead, he cut off her futile protests by pulling her chin up. Just after their eyes had locked, he abruptly forced her into a fierce and passionate kiss.
Aralyn's heart stopped. When she could catch her breath again, which took several moments, she fought with all her strength, tearing her lips from his and screaming.
The boy recoiled as if he had been struck. "Gloria! What…what is the meaning of this?"
"I'm sorry," she gasped, clutching her heart, which felt as if it would burst from her chest. "You must have mistaken me for someone else. I'm not Gloria."
"No, Gloria," his thumb traced her jaw line and she slapped his away. "You're just confused, baby, that's all!"
"My name's not Gloria!"
But he still pulled her closer.
"Don't you dare!" Aralyn screamed.
"Gloria…"
"My name is Aralyn!" she cried. "And I'm married so you better let me go!"
That must have struck a nerve. He leapt back, releasing her like she had burned him. He looked at her for the longest time. "You're…married?" The last word was so quiet that the breeze stole it away, leaving Aralyn to read his lips.
Aralyn held up her hand, the golden band glimmering in the faint lamplight. The boy's breath caught, shock and horror written plainly on his face.
"Gl—ah," he sighed. "Miss Aralyn." He was shaking as he said the name, like it was from a foreign language. "Oh, Gloria…!"
Aralyn turned and ran.
She knew that he would follow, but her declaration had left him momentarily stunned. She needed that time. Unfortunately, it wasn't long. He followed every turn she made through the winding streets, calling both "Gloria" and "Aralyn" frantically.
But when he took the final turn, he found himself staring straight into the shaft of a three-barreled gun.
A/N: Twenty chapters already? Wow! Thanks for hanging in there, and I promise I won't leave you hanging in there for long!