"So you become fearful when someone comes into close contact with you," Rufus stepped forward.
Verna turned her back to him and gripped onto the counter tightly with her hands, "Stay away from me!" She closed her eyes tightly to try and stop herself from crying. "Just stay away!"
Rufus raised an eyebrow, "I just want you to answer my question. If you do, I'll give you all the space you need."
Verna opened her eyelids half way and she stared down at her bandaged hand, "What question is it?"
"Who runs the newspaper?"
Verna shook her head as her mind raced, "I can't betray her."
"So it's a female that runs the paper?" Rufus quirked an eyebrow, that certainly narrowed things down.
"O-Or him!" Verna squeaked.
Rufus narrowed his eyes, "You already said her…" He stepped closer to her. As he did so, he noticed her entire body tense up. "Now tell me who it is."
Verna's eyes filled with tears, her body tried to contract within itself to get away from him. She looked for an escape, but she was cornered. She could feel herself slowly slip into a panic attack. If she didn't tell him she most definitely would have one.
"What's her name?" Rufus placed one hand next to her to show how close he actually was to her.
Verna felt a tear drop roll down her cheek, "P-Patricia." She coughed trying to get rid of the lump in her throat, "Patricia Lynn."
Rufus removed his hand and stepped back from her. A satisfied smirk rested on his face. He got what he wanted just by using a little bit of fear. Things always worked out in his favor when he did something like that. He still couldn't wonder why she had such a fear, though.
"Thank you, Verna," He spoke before moving some hair out of his face. "I'll make sure that she is arrested."
Verna remained quiet as she wiped her tears from her face. She kept her back to him. He couldn't see the small smile on her face. He fell for her lie. The fear was all too real, but the name was not. It was her uncle that ran the company, not Patricia. No, but she would feel satisfied having her arrested. After all, the two did know each other.
"I hope you do realize that I did need that name and I don't have time for something like that," Rufus spoke to her.
"You didn't have to be so cruel," Verna snapped. "Those rumors about you being so cold really were true, weren't they?" She turned around, hatred burned through her eyes. "Just because you're the president of some fancy company does not give you the right to do that. You can't just use a person's fear against them! You have no idea what kind of emotional damage they might have!"
Verna walked up to him and stopped until she was about two feet from him. She looked up at his cold blue eyes. She took a deep breath. Her hand stung in an instant. Rufus's face was to the side with a red hand print starting to develop on his cheek.
"You're a sick bastard," Verna whispered before storming out of the room quickly before Dark Nation could arrive.
Tears ran down her face as she found a bedroom in the building. She slammed the door shut and locked it behind her. If she left, Verna was positive that they'd find her, but they wouldn't grant her as much freedom as she originally had. Verna slid down the door and buried her face in her knees as she sobbed quietly.
Her mind was racking with mixed emotions. She was still terrified of him having been in such close proximity. Still, she regretted slapping him across the face. Now, she was also scared of the consequences that would follow her slapping him. Would he hold a grudge? Most likely. He probably would turn her over to Heidegger and Palmer.
Verna stopped crying as a small smile appeared on her face. She sure did have some nerve. Not only did she hurt two of Shin-Ra's top managers, but not she slapped the most powerful man on the planet. She looked up at the ceiling; Shin-Ra was most definitely her enemy. AVALANCHE didn't seem to trust her either. They thought she was a spy. She couldn't run to them. She doubted Sephiroth would take her in. After all, he did try to kill her. The only place she could go was her uncle's, but that would put him in danger. A laugh escaped from her lips, she was royally screwed.
Verna stood up from her spot and wiped her tears away with her sleeve. Sniffing once, she looked around the room she was in. Her eyes trailed to a picture frame that was on a wardrobe. Shuffling over, Verna picked it up. She frowned. A young woman was holding a young boy in it. The boy looked like a child version of Rufus. It must be his mother.
Verna sat on the bed as she examined the picture. Why would he have this? She bit her lip, did his mother pass away? A frown made her way onto her face. Not having a mother was hard. Even if they were adults, it was too young.
Her head poked up as she heard the door unlock and it open. Verna held the picture frame close to her body as she noticed Rufus walk into the room. She watched him carefully as he walked in. His eyes watched her and moved down to her arms.
"What are you holding?" He asked simply.
Verna looked down at her arms and showed him the picture frame. Rufus took it quickly and placed it back where it originally was. Verna flinched at his manor and stood up to move away from him. His voice stopped her.
"Why are you so afraid of people being close to you?"
Verna opened her mouth to speak, but closed it when nothing came out. Closing her eyes, Verna turned her back to him and shrugged off her jacket. She hesitated before lifting her shirt over her head, leaving her in her bra. A slight blush covered her face as she moved her hair to reveal her back.
Rufus narrowed his eyes as he examined her. There was a scar on her back, most likely from a stab wound. The possibilities of where she earned it were limitless, but it definitely something that caused some emotional damage. A small part of him regretted his previous actions, but he didn't show it.
"I was stabbed in the back," Verna spoke before putting her clothes back on. "Both figuratively and literally. The first guy I actually had feelings for me was after my father. He manipulated me to try and get information out about my father, but I didn't know anything. When I thought we were close I let my guard down. We were hugging goodbye after hanging out and then he stabbed me in the back when he knew I wouldn't be of any use to him…He ran away and hasn't been caught. He left me for dead. If my uncle wasn't home that night I would have died."
Verna stood up and turned so she was now facing Rufus. She examined his face for a couple of moments, "I now ask you not to use my fears against me any further. I'd rather be locked up in a cell than that happen."
Rufus nodded his head slowly. His mind racked with questions about just who her father was and who the boy tried to kill her was. He would most definitely do some investigation on that. With Shin-Ra's data base it wouldn't be difficult to find out. Everyone, within that past forty years of living, was in their data base. Yes, he would find the monster who stabbed her.
His eyes blinked and he knitted his eyebrows in confusion. It was particularly odd for him to get an emotional response such as that from a mere story. Yet, a part of him felt wrath towards the man that stabbed her. He wasn't angry with Sephiroth for stabbing his father in the back. No, he was the one who met secretly with the ex-SOLDIER to give the order. Why was this different?
-A/N—
Two more reviews for a photograph of a female formal Sephiroth~! (must be from two different people~! They can be from Wattpad, , mibba or quizilla…Yes…I actually am deciding to post this on quizilla and mibba…*sighs*)