CHAPTER TEN

First Fight

"I thought you had gone to the Wall Market for dinner."

"I was, but Elmyra needed help getting her wheel barrel home."

"Why couldn't you have just left after dropping her off?"

"Because she invited me in. It would've been rude of me to decline. Besides, she told me the food at Wall Market was bad, anyway."

With a heavy sigh, Cloud threw his head back and closed his eyes. He couldn't allow himself to get too mad at her. After all, she had no idea about his past history with Elmyra's late daughter.

Lightning tilted her head. "Are we done now here?" she asked flatly.

He anxiously ran his fingers through his feathery blonde hair, keeping his eyes closed as he straightened his neck. "Can you please just eat with us from now on?" There. Now, that wasn't so much to ask, was it?

"No."

His eyelids flew open. "Why not?"

"Because if I wanna go out to eat-whether it be at the Wall Market or Elmyra's-I'm gonna go out, got it?"

Cloud felt his blood pressure rising. But rather than go off on a tangent that would probably wake the whole house, he took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and said in a calm, yet firm manner, "Lightning, you have no idea what kind of lines you'd be crossing if you kept on visiting Elmyra."

On that note, she approached him, her face only inches away from his. "And you have no idea what lines you'll be crossing if you try to control me," she whispered back.

Cloud stood his ground, matching her expression. Even though she was mad, he still couldn't bring himself to look away from the breathtaking beauty of her eyes. Her hair. Her face. Each of these beautiful features were tense with anger, coupled with her lips firmly pressed together in a frown…

That's when her cell phone rang.

Lightning tore her gaze away from his and rushed over to the nightstand. He shoulders drooped when she saw the called I.D. "Why won't these two quite calling me?" she exclaimed in a hushed voice. "Haven't they gotten the message already!"

"How could they?" Cloud asked sarcastically. "You won't even call them back, remember?"

She looked over her shoulder and glared at him. "Why are you still here?" she snapped.

He shrugged. "Why shouldn't I be? You may be living in it, but I still own the place."

"Oh, so that's how things between you and I are gonna be, huh? In that case…"

Cloud closed his eyes again. Here comes the break-up monologue.

"… I think we need some time apart."

Wow. That was a surprise. "Huh?"

"I'll be making the next delivery job alone. By myself. That way, you can stay home and rest longer-not to mention think about what you really want out of a relationship, okay?"

Cloud exhaled. "Fine." Then he stomped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Lightning turned her cell phone off and headed for the dresser to get her pajamas. "Men," she scoffed.