Chapter 30: Donna's Eighteenth Birthday

September 20, 0001

Donna was wearing a blue spaghetti-strap sundress as she stepped out of the car at the Bolaton diner.

Zeke and Ellie had taken her to her birthday breakfast. They went to their booth and had their food. The morning went mostly uneventful, until Donna handed Cloud a gil.

"There's a claw machine near the bathrooms," she giggled. "Win something for the birthday girl?"

"No problem," Cloud agreed as he got up and made his way to the claw machine.

He put the gil in and dropped the claw. Unfortunately, he missed.

He then turned, only to see Donna standing next to him.

"Hi!" she greeted with a smile.

"Hey," Cloud greeted back. "Sorry, I didn't win anything."

"Look," she began, "I actually sent you here for a reason. So we can talk in private. I need to tell you something."

"What's that?" he asked.

"It's about what I was trying to tell you after the fair," she continued. "Before my dad interrupted us."

"Go ahead," Cloud permitted. "I've been wondering for two weeks."

Donna took a deep breath.

"I'm leaving," she announced.

"You're leaving?!" Cloud whispered in surprise.

Donna nodded.

"I can't stand it here anymore," she continued. "My parents are way too protective."

Cloud stood in silence for a few moments.

"I don't know what to say," he finally said.

Then, Donna took a deep breath.

"I'm telling you because I want you to…"

She then noticed Zeke approaching.

"Tell you later," she mouthed.

LATER…

Cloud jumped into the pool to join Tifa and Donna, who were wearing identical one-pieces. Zeke and Ellie were nearby, relaxing in the hot tub and drinking champagne.

The three youngsters spent a couple of hours swimming around the pool, playing Marco Polo and squirting each other with their hands.

Then, Tifa made the announcement.

"Who wants to play video games?"

"Me!" Cloud agreed.

"Great!" Tifa exclaimed as she climbed out of the pool, wrung her hair, and dried off.

Cloud quickly followed suit.

"I'll catch up with you," Donna said.

"Don't take too long," Tifa called back.

In reality, the fourteen-year-old girl was hoping she would. The more time she spent alone with Cloud, the better.

She led him upstairs to her bedroom, which had a television and two gaming systems.

They started playing, still in their swimsuits, waiting for Donna to show up.

But she did not.

Stay down there, Tifa thought. I want some Cloti time.

She saw the fifteen-year-old Cloud was absorbed in the game.

A wicked grin appeared on her face as she poked his torso, causing him to lose.

"You ruined my goddam game!" he playfully snapped.

"You're not allowed to say 'goddam' in this house, remember?" Tifa laughed.

They then resumed the game.

"Donna is sure taking her sweet time," Tifa observed.

All the better, she thought. But just how can I get him to notice me? I can't just ask him out as long as we live here.

They continued to play for several minutes before Tifa hit the pause button.

"I have to go to the bathroom," she announced as she got up and walked to the respective room (she had one in her bedroom). "You better not unpause it!"

She walked slowly, hoping he would check her out as she did.

Sure enough, he checked her out.

But it did not change the fact that she had the competition she was unaware of.

MEANWHILE….

As soon as Cloud and Tifa went upstairs to play their video games, a menacing drama unfolded at the pool.

"Donna," Ellie called. "I think it's time for lunch soon."

"Not hungry, Mom," Donna, who was still in the pool, replied without making eye contact.

Food was the last thing on Donna's mind; she was thinking about how to tell her parents she was leaving.

She was also thinking about how to tell Cloud what she had failed to tell him.

"You have to eat," Zeke chimed in. "And you will, by the way."

That hit a nerve.

"I'm eighteen!" Donna snapped. "I'm officially a grown woman. You can't tell me what to do anymore."

"As long as you live here," Zeke retorted, yes we can!"

I guess that wasn't so hard, Donna thought. Now's the time to tell them!

"Then I'll leave!" Donna insisted as she climbed out of the pool and dried herself off. "I'm eighteen! That means I don't have to live here if I don't want to!"

"Where will you go?" Zeke asked.

"Anywhere but here!"

"Do you have a job?" Zeke reminded her. "Not to mention a place to live?"

"I'll live in my car if I have to!" Donna retorted.

"My car," Zeke reminded her. "It's in my name, as is everything else on this farm."

Donna was silent. It was not something she had considered.

"The only way you can leave here is on foot," Zeke continued. "But it'll take days to walk to the nearest town."

Donna sighed in defeat.

"In a few years," added Ellie, "when you get married, you can finally leave here. And you can wear a bikini and stay in the pool all you want if your husband doesn't mind, because, by then, it'll be none of our business."

Donna was silent. Her mouth was quivering.

"Look, why don't you clean up," Ellie suggested. "Then we can have lunch."

Donna nodded.

She then turned, and, without a word, stormed into the house. She marched right to her bedroom and, without thinking coherently, grabbed a pile of clothes. She then marched into the hall bathroom, slipped out of her one-piece, and tossed it down the laundry chute. She then turned the shower on, stepped in, and washed and rinsed her hair and body, taking a few extra minutes to cry in solitude.

Donna then turned the shower off, dried herself, and blew her hair dry. She tossed the towel down the laundry chute and put her bra and shirt, which turned out to be a red and purple striped baby shirt, on. She then realized, half to her amusement and half to her horror, that that was all the clothes she had brought with her.

"Goddamit," she muttered.

Donna opened the door, poked her head out, and checked both directions. The coast seemed clear. She stepped out of bathroom half-naked and fast-walked toward her room.

As she turned the corner, she saw Cloud standing, facing her, in the middle of the hall.

"Excuse me!" she quickly said as she darted past him and stopped at her door.

Donna then, to her own surprise, stopped, and slowly turned around to face Cloud.

"Well, you already saw everything," she sighed as she placed her hands on her bare hips. "You can't unsee it."

"I'm sorry," Cloud apologized.

"Don't be," she insisted. "We already know we like each other."

Without another word, Donna took Cloud's hand and led him into her bedroom. She closed the door behind her. Then, she sat down on her bed and started crying.

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked as he sat down next to her.

"I'm just fucking pissed," Donna replied as she placed her head in her hands. "I'm a grown-up now and my parents are controlling everything about my life."

"Donna," he began, "did you tell them?"

"I told them," she replied as she wiped a tear. "They basically said I can leave over their dead bodies."

For a while, they sat there in silence. Then, Cloud felt Donna squeeze his hand.

"Right now, I just want to start making out with you," she laughed. "But first, there's something I need to do."

With that, Donna stood up, and led Cloud by the hand once more. She took him out of the her bedroom (neglecting to cover her lower half), through the hallway, and into her parents' bedroom. She opened the closet, revealing a safe. She then began to fiddle with the knob.

"You can stare at my butt if you want," she fake-giggled. "I am your girl, you know."

Cloud, however, was more concerned with the contents of the safe, as well as Donna's behavior.

"The combination's my birthday," Donna said. "Nine-twenty-eighty-three!"

A moment later, the safe opened, and Donna reached inside.

A moment later, she turned around, and produced a handgun, whose model Cloud did not recognize.

"He thinks I don't know about it," she said. "But I do."

She then led him to the window.

Cloud nervously followed.

"Look at this shit," she muttered.

Cloud could see Zeke and Ellie in the hot tub.

"They're still in the hot tub after they told me to get ready for lunch," Donna continued. "But this…..this will make sure they never tell me what to do ever again!"

Cloud was speechless. He had never seen Donna behave this way in the three years he had known her.

This was a sharp change from the fun-loving County Fair date just two weeks earlier.

He had to say something.

"If you threaten them…" he began.

He stopped.

He could not think of what to say next.

"I'm not going to threaten them," Donna replied. "I'm going to kill them!"

"Donna!" Cloud exclaimed.

"I'll never be free," she insisted. "Not as long as they're alive!"

She then looked out the window.

She pointed the gun right at Zeke.

Without hesitating, she pulled the trigger.

Cloud stood in shock.

"Zeke?" he heard Ellie call. "Zeke!"

He then heard her scream at the top of her lungs.

Donna wasted no time. She aimed the gun again, striking Ellie in the temple.

The screaming stopped.

And then, Donna, not moving an inch, began to sob.

"Mommy…."

For a few moments, she remained still, only shaking from her sobs as she became fully aware of her actions.

Then, she suddenly turned around.

"It's done," she announced as her whole body shook.

"Donna…" Cloud mouthed.

He could not vocalize, so he mouthed it.

"Now we can get away," she said. "We can take your boat and go far away, just you and I. We'll sail around the world, and, on your eighteenth birthday, we'll get married!"

"Just you and I?" Cloud asked.

"Just you and I, Kyle," she replied.

He knew whom she had left out. He was almost afraid to ask, as she had just taken two lives, but he asked anyway.

"What about Kate?" he asked.

"Forget her," Donna dismissed. "She can take the blame for the murders."

Cloud was horrified.

"I can't leave her behind," he insisted. "And I can't let her take the fall. I'm sorry."

In response, Donna smiled, and raised the gun, aiming it at Cloud.

"Donna, no!" he pleaded.

"You're a witness!" she hissed as tears streamed down her face. "If you're willing to die for your sister, so be it!"

She began to squeeze the trigger.

A gunshot sounded the room as Donna's forehead seemed to explode.

Donna fell to the ground, dead.

Cloud turned to see Tifa, still in her swimsuit, holding his salvation; he realized that Donna did not know about the other gun her parents had hidden.

"And I thought my childhood was traumatic," he said to himself.