CloTi Story

CloTi part 7

"Cloud," Vincent's voice said from the other side of the phone, "something is going on between Peter and Tifa. Something bad. I talked to her earlier to express my concerns but all she would say is that nothing is going on. I talked with everyone else about it. We think Peter's threatening Tifa and we all agreed that you should be the one to take care of it. I know that you most likely don't want to, so here's some incentive: Yuffie was walking by the bar once and heard arguing. She looked in the window and saw Tifa and Peter arguing about you. Peter insulted you and Tifa rushed to your defense. He slapped her for it. I'll leave it to you." And he hung up.
Cloud stood next to Fenrir, stunned. His mind was reeling with questions. Peter slapped Tifa? And yet she still defends him? Why? He knew that he had to find out. He was going to have to post-pone his trip with Yumikia for another time. He had to get back to Tifa. Yumikia had obviously known he was going to do this because she was on Fenrir already. "Are we going back or not?" she asked after waiting a few minutes. "Something important has come up and we need to go back, right? We can save this for another time. I'm in no hurry to retrieve my memories."
Cloud nodded and got on behind her. He put his shades on and started up Fenrir. Within minutes, they were out of the town they were in when Vincent called Cloud and headed back to Edge. Cloud was confused by Tifa's actions. "If he slapped her, why did she stay? Why didn't she fight back?" he thought. Peter had something on her, but Cloud just didn't know what it was. That bothered him. He had been gone from Edge for only a couple of days. It would take him a couple of days to get back. He wished that he could get there sooner. He wanted to kill Peter for everything he had done. He wanted his head to roll."He will pay," Cloud thought, fuming with anger.
Night fell and he had to stop. Yumikia was tired and so was he. Cloud started a small fire and cooked a simple soup for them while Yumikia set up their beds for the night, which consisted of a blanket and bundled up clothes for pillows. They ate quickly and went to bed. Cloud wanted to get an early start tomorrow. He wanted Edge to be in sight before dark.
Cloud awoke before dawn and roused Yumikia. He made a quick breakfast and they left. Anticipation and a lust for Peter's blood sent Cloud to push Fenrir. The speed limit on the road on which he traveled was seventy-five miles per hour. He was pushing on one-hundred. Yumikia tried to correct him only to be told to shut up. Shortly after noon, Edge was in sight. He flew toward Edge, anger and hate for Peter building in him. He zoomed past Zack's grave and into Edge, heading toward Seventh Heaven. He hoped Peter was there waiting.

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Denzel and Marlene sat in the living room and watched TV while Tifa and Peter were in the bar, Tifa cleaning and Peter watching. "Ya know, I'm kinda glad that Cloud's gone," Peter said. "Makes it easier."
"For you," Tifa said.
Peter glared at her. He turned to the kids in the living room. "Hey," he said. "It's a nice day out. Why don't you guys go play outside instead of sitting in front of the TV?" The children nodded, turned off the TV, and went to play with the children in the neighborhood. "I take that Cloud means a lot to you? Remember our deal, Tifa. You go back on it, and something bad could happen. Surely you don't want that?"
"No, I don't want anything bad to happen," she answered. "But at least Cloud was kinder. He actually cared. I care more for him than I do for you."
She said her words thoughtlessly, obviously unaware of the consequences. She heard his chair scoot back and when she turned around he was there and he punched her in the face. She went down heavily, bringing a picture of Cloud, Denzel, and Marlene, glasses, and plates with her. Before she could get up, he was on her. He punched her four more times in the face and then stood and kicked her. Soon, he turned and walked out the door. Tifa groaned and stood up. She looked in the mirror and saw her face. She was bloody and had a broken nose. Peter had slapped her before but he never punched and kicked her and now she was scared. "So this is what my life is gonna be like until I die, huh?" she said softly to herself. She went upstairs to her room and got out her make-up box. "From now on, this will probably be to cover up bruises and cuts instead of getting dressed up." She put on her make-up and covered up her bruises and cuts. She put a brace on her nose. She looked at her dresser and saw the picture of her, Marlene, Denzel, and Cloud. "Cloud. Where are you?"
"Tifa, are you okay?" Marlene asked. Tifa whirled around and saw Marlene and Denzel in the doorway, hand-in-hand. "We heard a loud sound and then Peter walked out looking really mad. Are you okay?" she asked again.
"I'm fine, sweetie. C'mon. Let's go for some ice cream," she said, trying to be optimistic. She took each child by the hand and went down the stairs and out the door.