Chapter 9: Over Emotional

The car ride home was a little nerve-racking. Through a majority of it Cloud and I sat in silence as he drove back towards home. And when we did talk, it was only about Reno, and wondering if he and Tifa were okay.
“I’m not worried about Tifa, I’m worried about Reno,” Cloud laughed lightly. “Tifa has the tendency to talk a lot in the car… I just hope Reno doesn’t go insane.”
“I’ll call him as soon as we get back to my house…”

Silence once again filled the car, with the exception of music ever so lightly coming from the radio. Cloud reached over the armrest in the middle of the seats and grabbed my hand.
“He’ll be fine, Kim,” Cloud barely whispered as to not break the silence. “Reno’s careless, but not when it comes to something like this… Plus Tifa’s there with him…”
Thankfully, the light in the car was minimal and Cloud couldn’t see the tears running down my face. Moments later we pulled into the driveway.
“You call me in the morning, okay?” Cloud handed me a piece of paper. “Just to let me know you’re alright.”
“Uh huh…” I answered. “Thank you Cloud, for everything.”

He patted my head and smiled as I opened the car door.
“Do you want me to call you when Tifa gets back? So you know Reno’s okay?” he said from the street with his window down.
“Yes please,” I smiled slightly. “Have a good night, Cloud. And drive safe!”
He didn’t hear the last part though… He had already rolled up his window.
“Be safe…” I echoed to myself.

Suddenly I felt two arms wrap around my waist. I knew immediately who it was by the gentleness in his grasp.
“Is everything okay…?” Vincent whispered into my ear as he kissed my head. “Kim?”
A sob escaped from my mouth, making it sound as if I was having trouble breathing (and in truth I kind of was). The grip around my waist tightened as Vincent pulled me back towards him.
“I… I don’t know why I’m crying,” my voice cracked with each word to leave my mouth.
“You’re crying because you care…” his voice resonated through my back. “And you have every right to cry.”

Vincent quickly leaned down and lifted me off my feet.
“Why are y-you carrying m-me?” I sounded like a two year old. “I’m p-perfectly capable of w-walking…”
“I’m doing it because I can,” he looked straight ahead as we neared the front door. “And because I want to.”
I didn’t argue. I was shaking so badly that he probably would have wound up carrying me anyways. I laid my head against his shoulder as I continued to cry.

As we entered the house, Vincent carried me to the bathroom first. He grabbed a washcloth, ran it under cold water, and then placed it ever so lightly onto my forehead. Upon entering our bedroom, Vincent carefully transferred all of my weight to one arm as he untucked my side of the bed. He then in the gentlest manner laid me down. Normally I would have argued about sleeping in my clothes, but this time I didn’t. Within seconds, Vincent was laying only inches away from me. I rested my head against his side. A final sob escaped from my mouth as I sighed from exhaustion.
“Sleep, Kim…” Vincent ran his fingers through my hair. “Just sleep…”