The Fallout – Chapter 1

This is my first actual fanfic, so bear with me. I also make AMV's with stories. Find me at /user/Sannex7.

There was complete silence in the house as she sat on the bed. She stared down at her fingers. She heard faint movement in the hallway, and the next moment, her door opened.

"Tifa?"

There stood Marlene, her eyes half-shut. Tifa looked up and quickly exchanged her look of concern for a smile.

"What is it, sweetie?"

Marlene didn't answer. Her large, brown eyes darted from the made bed to Tifa's face.

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I can't sleep," Tifa said. The lies came easier every day.

"Then why are you in Cloud's room?"

Tifa's face froze. She didn't have an answer for that. At least, not an answer appropriate for Marlene.

"Why are you out of bed, Marlene?" Tifa asked calmly.

"I'm thirsty," she complained.

Tifa went downstairs with Marlene and fetched a glass of water. After that and a kiss on the head, Marlene fell into a deep sleep. Deep enough for tonight to have been pushed out of her mind.

Tifa stood in the hallway, staring into Cloud's room. She didn't want to go back and sit on his dusty bed. But she didn't want to go to bed either. Just in case. She had been repeating this for the past month. She was exhausted and fell asleep while teaching the kids sometimes. They didn't talk about Cloud. Nobody offered to, so the subject remained untouched.

Tifa suddenly turned around and walked down the stairs and to the front door. She unlocked it and opened it, hasting outside. She took the key out of her pocket, looked around her briefly. She quickly stuffed it under the flowerpot that stood there. The flowerpot with her flowers. They were dying. Tifa had casually suggested to do something about it, but Cloud refused to throw them out. After a few attempts, Tifa decided it was best left alone.

"You have reached the voicemail of…"

Tifa's heart thumped against her ribcage, even though this was a daily event.

"Hey, it's me. I left the key under her flowers… just in case, you know, you want to come home. Wherever you are… please come home soon. We miss you. I… I miss-"

The merciless beep ended her voicemail message.

Swearing internally, she hung up and closed her cell phone. She just noticed the sky was unusually dark tonight. She looked up to locate the moon and saw only a small sliver.

Shivering, and not because of the cold, Tifa turned around and bolted the door behind her.

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