Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ My Happy Ending ❯ Destination: Anywhere ( Chapter 26 )

Chapter 26 - Destination: Anywhere

“Out of failure be a man's ambition anyway,
Striving for the future just existing day to day.
I can't escape the truth inside this boxcar of the shell,
But at least I'm not reminded of the time I spent in hell.
Destination anywhere...
Oh a one way ticket to get away from here.”
- Kenny Price “Destination: Anywhere”

Raye had taken Cid home the very next day, and the two hadn't spoken since. In fact, very little conversation took place even on the ride home, and the awkward silence was almost more than the two could bear. Cid exited the vehicle with a `thank you' and that was the end of it.

Frankly, what could be said? Anything that passed between them would almost certainly end in a fight, and Cid wasn't much in the mood for arguing today - or sharing his feelings. The conversation between them the previous night was more than Cid wanted to say to begin with. But Raye's confession…it was something so personal. Seeing her like that kind of startled Cid and he could think of nothing else or anything else since that night.
       In fact, Cid had thought a lot more than he should about Raye since he'd met her. He hadn't wanted to admit to himself that he was growing attached to that crazy redhead over the several months he'd known her. Maybe it was the vain hope that Shera would eventually come home, but Christmas was the confirmation he needed, though he didn't want to hear it. Now all that was left was figuring out how to move on.
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        Ray e busily packed items into the family vehicle in preparation for the New Year's festival in Cosmo Canyon. As she marked items off her mental checklist, she found her thoughts were always wandering back to Cid. Had she gotten more attached to him than she previously thought?
She shook her head and frowned. He's just another Alan…
“Hey, Sis, I got your bow!”
Raye turned around to see that Mark was standing before her with her beloved archery set in hand.  She took it from him and placed it carefully inside the vehicle.
“Thanks, Mark.”
“I hope you win the contest this year,” he told her, handing over a bag.
Raye smiled. “I have every intention of beating Atrayu into the ground. I'll shoot him if I have to.”
Mark laughed. “I still think you should have won last year.”
“So do I, so do I…”
Mark returned to the house leaving Raye alone with her thoughts once more. And once more they returned to Cid. She wondered what he would be doing to ring in the New Year. Drinking himself stupid? Work on his airplane like she knew he would with his broken arm? She sighed, conflicted. A part of her wanted to call him and another part of her never wanted to see him again.

Raye remembered some items in the house she needed to pack. As she passed by the counter in the shop, she glanced at the books Cid loaned her to study. Shit…I made a promise…
After some deliberation, Raye finally decided to grab the books. Snatching them off the counter, she ran upstairs with them, tossing them into her messenger bag along with her music player, a novel, and her sketchpad.
The family vehicle was a large van that Raye absolutely hated riding around in. In fact, she hated to even be seen in the thing. It was an old vehicle with clear coat and paint beginning to chip off the sides so badly that it was even rusting in some spots. The roof already had a good streak of rust down it from the weather, and when her father fired it up, the engine roared to life rather than giving its quiet affirmation that it was running. And oh, the noise it made - Raye could hear the thing coming from over a block away because the muffler was worn out. The van proudly bore the name `Ghetto Banger' because when you shut off the ignition, it would backfire in the driveway, making the neighbors think that a shotgun had gone off. It was so awkward and bulky, but really, what else could a family of seven do when they had to all be somewhere at once?  Rick had meant to work on it and have Raye repaint the thing so that it, at the very least, didn't look so shameful, but he had not the time, and frankly, neither did Brad or Raye. But after the festival, none of that would matter because the Shields family would be coming home in such good spirits that not even another Meteor attack could shake them.
Rick jumped into the driver's seat of the van. “Well, Raye, are ya ready?”
The redhead nodded. “I think so, Dad.” She turned back to everyone in the back. “You all had better pee or do whatever it is you do because there will be no stops.”
After a nod of affirmation from everyone, Rick fired up the van, and they left for the day's long drive to Cosmo Canyon.
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      &nbs p; Back in Rocket Town, Cid was having problems. He fumbled with the wrench in the left hand he'd broken and tried twisting a screw into place. He only wound up fumbling the wrench straight into the innards of the engine with a loud clatter.
“Gah, damn it!” he groused. “I can't get a fuckin' thing done with this bum ass arm!”
Cid grumbled and got down from the Tiny Bronco. Captain lay on a canvas tarp somewhere in the corner of the hangar watching his master fumble his way around the hangar. From the dog's point of view, Cid must not have looked very intelligent, and his constant swearing and flailing of his good arm must have made him quite the demonic sight.
       The blond-haired man heaved a heavy sigh, grabbed a can of beer from the mini cooler he kept out there, and plopped onto the cold floor of the hangar beneath his airplane. He popped the tab of the beer and took a long drink, emptying half the can in that long, cool swig. Cid wiped his mouth on the back of his leather glove and paused to think for a while.
       Captain, feeling that it was safe to approach his owner, ventured up to him and rested a small, grey head on his lap and looked up at him.
      “Whaddaya want, Dog?” Cid asked gruffly. He patted his companion's head. “What a shitty day, huh? Sorry ya gotta listen to my idiot ass bitch and moan all day. You're `bout the only one who'll listen these days.” He sighed. “The world's gone to shit since Meteor, I can't fix my goddamned plane, my arm's busted, and I drove away the only woman I probably ever gave a shit about. And Raye…fuck who knows with her. What a fucking mess I let my life become.” He looked down at his dog. “You gunna abandon me, too?”
       He half expected the dog to reply as though he were Nanaki who was always there to give him some words of wisdom. Nanaki, however, was a special kind of animal all his own, and no commonplace little miniature schnauzer was going to ever start talking for him. Hell, if it did, Cid decided he'd probably roll over and die from the heart attack he'd be having.  
       He polished off the beer and tossed aside the can. It hit the floor with a bouncing clatter and rolled off to one side to be forgotten until the next time Cid cleaned his hangar out, which would be God knew when. He tilted his head up to look at his poor baby sitting above him in shambles and decided that sitting around and moping would not be a good way to deal with his ever culminating problems. He could go down to the tavern and drink himself into oblivion to forget them, but the problem with that solution was that it wasn't really a solution - his problems would only return along with one bitch of a hangover. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with heaving his guts out into his toilet while attending to a bum arm on top of that.
       Cid decided he was done for the day. He hadn't gotten shit done today, and very little the entire week he'd tried to work on the Bronco. He stood up, and Captain followed suit.
       “C'mon, pal,” he told him. “Let's go inside an' see what we've got to eat.”
The house was cold and empty, as usual, when he went inside, and he filled Captain's bowl with some dry dog food and refilled his water bowl. As his dog ate, Cid opened up his refrigerator to see if there was anything inside, and it wasn't much - a half-eaten jar of dill pickles, a fourth of a bottle of milk, some molding cheese, and some week old leftovers that he was almost certain would not be good for him to eat.
       “Well, fuck me,” he remarked. “I ain't got shit for me to eat here.”
He needed Raye. Despite her attitude problem, she always had a way of making the most out of what little he had in his cabinets. In fact, everything seemed better whenever she was around, and it was less…lonely. And boring.
       He ran his good hand through his hair and decided that he just couldn't stay here. He wanted to get out of the house and go…anywhere. Anywhere was more appealing than staying there. He stood up, grabbed his coat, and his dog's leash.
       “C'mon, Captain. We're goin' for a ride.”
       Cid didn't even bother with packing anything because he didn't know where he'd be going or for how long. He just wanted to drive and go wherever what was left of the roads would take him. And drive he did.