Distance Ch. 2

Cloud's POV

That morning, I was preparing myself to leave for Condor Fortress. They offered me a temporary job and I was going to be out for a couple of days. I didn't tell Tifa what kind of job it was, because I knew that she wouldn't approve; and besides, I didn't want her to get worried.

I said goodbye to the children and Tifa. It was really hard for me to leave them like that, so they all gave me something for the trip.
Marlene gave me a drawing with all of us in it. Even Yuffie was in it, but I didn't complain because as much as I hate to admit it, she's been really helpful around the kids and Tifa.
Denzel gave me a small feather. He said it was for good luck. Though, I found it ironic that he gave me a Chocobo feather instead of a Phoenix Down.
Tifa gave me a kiss on the cheek, which made me blush like an idiot. Marlene found it hilarious and Denzel thought it was disgusting. I bet he won't find it disgusting when he starts to like girls.

Anyway, I took off after that and headed to Condor Fortress.

It was a long trip from Edge, but I didn't mind the distance since I knew that it meant nothing compared to other trips I had in the past. Besides, I like to ride Fenrir. It gives me peace and some sort of freedom; like there's nothing else in the world that can ever stop me.

I was wrong.

At that moment, a flock of Chocobos appeared out of nowhere, taking me by surprise. I tried to stop Fenrir but it was too late, so I maneuvered the motorcycle in order to avoid colliding with them.
I ended up dumping Fenrir and fell to the ground instantly. Luckily, I wasn't injured, but my phone wasn't that lucky. When I fell to the ground, the phone flew out of my pocket and landed on the highway.

I grabbed the cell phone and tried to make a call to see if it worked, but it was useless.

It was broken.

I sighed in frustration after I realized that I had no way to contact the others in case something was up. Even worse, I wouldn't be able to talk to Tifa and the children. I need to find a way to tell her that my phone was out of service; otherwise she will think I don't want to answer her calls.

I finally arrived to Condor Fortress. I tried to go through the entrance but there was a huge amount of monsters around the fortress. I needed a phone, and I needed it now, so I took First Tsurugi and smashed everything with a Blade Beam attack. There were no signs of any monsters after that.
I entered the fortress by climbing a rope and then found the owner of the store who hired me.

"Evening."

"Greetings, young lad. What brings you here on such a fine day?

Fine day? Yeah, right...

"I came here for the job."

"Oh, then you must be the delivery boy who came yesterday. Please have a seat while I go find the chief."

"Excuse me sir, by any chance, do you have a phone I could use?"

"I'm afraid the phone lines are out of service because of last night's storm. The only phones that work are those from Junon."

Great. Now I have to ride all the way to Junon just to find a freaking phone.

Later that same day, I went to Junon. Thanks to Fenrir, I didn't have to fight all the monsters from that area. That would've been a pain in the ass.
Once I got to the town, the first thing I did was to find a place to crash. I'm pretty sure Tifa already tried to contact me, so I had to find a phone fast. Thankfully, there was a private line at the inn I was staying, so I paid the receptionist and he let me use their phone; but when I tried to call, the phone didn't work.

"What's wrong with the line?" I asked the receptionist.

"Oh my... I forgot to connect the lines from yesterday's storm. Please wait for a moment while I reconnect the lines."

This day couldn't get worse.

Wrong again.

Suddenly, a huge thunderstorm hit the town, causing all energy engines to stop functioning; including the telephone lines. As expected, there would be no light all night, so I had no choice but to wait until the next day to call Tifa. I just hope she doesn't get worry.
That night, I laid on my bed thinking about everything that happened today. I couldn't believe how much bad luck I had in just one day; and to think that Denzel gave me his feather for good luck.
I grabbed my cell phone from the night stand and tried to make a call, but the phone still wasn't working. Frustrated, I let out a sigh and with that, I went to sleep.

The next day, it was pretty much the same and so was rest of the week.

It was getting harder for me to keep going. I needed to get this job done before tomorrow so I could go back. I've never thought I would miss home that much. But above all things, I missed my family. And I missed Tifa.
Back then, when I was hiding at the church, I always listened to her messages. In some ways, her voice was like a lullaby to me. I loved her voice. She sounded so sweet and welcoming, that even made me think I'd never left home in the first place.
Now that my phone wasn't working, I was so eager to hear her voice again. I guess this trip made me realize one thing;

I was miserable without Tifa.

Finally, I was able to make a call from a phone booth. It was really late but I didn't care.
I tried to call her a few times, but no matter how much I tried she didn't answer the phone. Maybe it was because this number isn't registered in her contact list. Or perhaps she can't listen to the phone because of the loud noise at the bar. Or maybe her battery died.

Whatever it was, it was driving me crazy.

I waited for a while and then tried to call her again. It rang a couple of times until the message took over. I hang up and immediately called her again. I have... no, I need to talk to her tonight. The tone kept on ringing and I was about to hang up when she finally picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

My tongue just froze when I heard her voice on the other line. I couldn't believe how beautiful her voice sounded on the phone.

"Who is this?"

Come on, say something you idiot.

"Hey..."

"Cloud?"

My heart was pounding faster and it felt like it was about to burst out of my chest.

"Sorry for calling you at this hour."

"No, that's okay. Um... How... I mean, what happened to your cell phone?"

"Oh, about that, well..."

Oh shit. I forgot about the phone. What should I tell her? What if she gets mad at me for breaking it?

"I broke it."

"You broke it?! But... how?"

"It fell from the handlebar and I ran over it when I was parking Fenrir."

Liar.

"Oh man... that's terrible."

"I know. That's why I couldn't call you back."

"I see."

I felt so bad for not telling her the truth, so I tried to change the mood a bit.

"So, how's everything?"

"Well, you know, same routine, different day." She giggled.

I love when she giggles like that.

"And the children?"

"Wrapped in their beds, as usual. They miss you a lot."

"I know. I miss them too."

Who would've thought I would get so attached to them. We may not be related by blood, but we are still a family.

"So, when are you coming back?"

"Don't know yet. There are still some things I need to do before I can go back."

"Oh, I see..."

For some reason, my heart sank when I heard her voice change. I knew she was also affected by all of this but I knew her, she was much stronger than this.
She was silent after that and I tried to break the awkward moment.

"Teef?"

"Oh! Sorry about that."

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

Pause.

"It's just that, I was hoping you would come home this weekend. Everything feels so..." She sighed. "Just so..."

I didn't say anything after that.

"I wish you were here."

That last line broke my heart. I never thought she would be as miserable as I was. I wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to tell her how much I miss her sweet voice.

I wanted to tell her everything.

At that moment, the phone started to send a message that the call was about to expire. It had no more coins to continue the call and I spent all my coins trying to call her.

"Cloud, I uh..."

"I know, Teef." I interrupted her.

I didn't want to leave things like this, but I had to.
Somehow, I knew what she was about to say, but I didn't want to hear those words through the phone. I wanted to be there when she says it.
There was an awkward silence after that. I could hear that she was crying and my heart was aching.

I wanted to be with her so badly.

"Don't worry about a thing. I promise I'll come back as soon as I finish the job."

I know it's not much for me to say, but at least she would know that I will come back soon.

"Say hi to the children for me, okay?"

"Okay."

"And Teef..."

"Yes?"

My mouth was open but the words wouldn't come out. What the hell is the matter with you? Just tell her! Tell her that you love her!

"It's okay, Cloud. I know..."

It was amazing how we both connected without using words. I couldn't help the smile.

"I'll see you in a couple of days."

"I'll be waiting."

"Goodnight, Tifa."

"Goodnight, Cloud."

I hung up.

I can't say I was satisfied but at least I could talk to her. I thought that calling her would make things better for me, but it made it worse. I missed her and I didn't care about anything else. Even if she doesn't realize how much she means to me, I wouldn't mind. I needed to be with her and this job is not going to stop me.

I have to go back.



To be continued.