Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters portrayed in this story. I'm just borrowing them from good, ol' Capcom. ;)
Claire stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was in utter disarray, her long bangs were matted with sweat. She was pale, her eyes bloodshot, her lips quivering. The last 6 months had been hell. She had been in and out of psychiatric departments, but none of the doctors nor the prescriptions for various drugs had helped her the least bit. Ever since that fateful incident, she had experienced the same reoccuring nightmares. Dreams of Alexander Ashford, of the ruthless Tyrant. Of Steve, and the gruesome abomination Alexia Ashford had turned him into. In her dreams, she could still smell the strong stench of rotting flesh, she could feel the slimy touch of the bandersnatchers. But what really took its toll on her well-being, was the last three words Steve had uttered before passing on. Claire gazed into the mirror, tears forming in her eyes. All the memories now flooding her mind, she particularly remembered what she had repeatedly told him throughout their ordeal. That they would survive this. That they would get through this together. That they would escape. "I...I promised you", she shrieked before sinking down onto the floor.
"Claire?" Chris had awoken to the sounds of his sister yelling. He already knew what would meet him when he entered the bathroom. He opened the door slowly, its hinges creaking. And there lay his sister, sprawled out on the bathroom floor. "Claire?" he cried, taking his sister in his arms and lifting her body from the floor. "Claire, are you okay?" he asked desperately. "Claire...Claire!?"
She coughed, her eyes opening slowly. "Y...yes. I'm okay," she grumbled weakly. Chris exhaled in relief. "Claire, you can't live like this. You have to put this behind you." She nodded in response. "Yes. Yes, I know..." She tried to sound strong, the way she would always sound when faced with opposition in the past. But like every single time for the past six months, she crumbled, and Chris saw it. Tears were starting to form in her eyes again. She hugged Chris tightly, and wept vigorously into his chest. "I know...but it's so hard..." she cried. Chris patted her back lightly, and whispered soothingly under his breath. "Yes. Yes, Claire. I know."
Getting up from bed that morning was tough. Claire had gotten little to no sleep, and to top it off, she had to work extra long shifts today. Just thinking about it made her groan.
But Chris was being awfully nice about it all, just like he always was. He had gotten up early and made breakfast, he had made her lunch and poured freshly made coffee into her thermos. Sometimes, she couldn't for her bare life figure out how he endured her. All the late nights, her nervous breakdowns and constant need for comfort. It was beyond her comprehension. She was barely able to withstand her dysfunctional being herself.
"Chris?" she asked faintly. He stopped flipping the eggs and turned around to look at her. "Yes?" Claire didn't return his gaze. She was too ashamed to. Instead, she just stared down into the table. "How can you stand being around me?" Chris frowned, a bit taken aback by her inquisition. "What do you mean Claire?" he asked surprised. She slammed her clenched hands into the table. "How are you able to...to..." she stuttered. Claire could feel a heavy lump form in her throat. "How are you able to be so nice about everything when...when...when I'm like this?" She threw her arms up into the air in exasperation, and then buried her face in the palm of her hands. Her outburst earned a sympathetic look from Chris. "You're my sister! I'd do anything for you. You know that." He squatted down next to her, and cupped her cheek with his left hand. "Look, if you don't feel like going to work today, I can call you in sick." She turned around to look at him, her eyes teary. "I'd really appreciate that." She hugged him and started to clean up after herself. "Oh, don't worry about that," Chris chimed. "I'll take care of that. You just go get some sleep."
She looked at him, her eyes divulging the gratitude she felt towards him. "Thank you, Chris. I don't know what I'd do without you." Chris smiled at her comment. "Well, you would've had a lot less traumatic events to contend with during your adolescence for one." She chuckled lightly at his bad attempt at a joke. Chris and his hotheadedness would always get her into the worst of situations, and she would more often than not suffer the consequences. Reminiscing about her and Chris' past as children managed to bring a little warmth back to her face. "All right, big bro. I'm off to sleep again. Thanks for everything." Chris smiled and waved her off. "Oh, don't mention it. You're my sister after all."
Author's note: Yes! I'm finally at it again. Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been extremely busy with school lately, but now it's all good. Vacation is imminent and whatnot(is that even an expression?), so expect a lot more frequent updates. :) And sorry for the short prelude, but I just had to get this story up and going. The ghost of came sauntering into my bedroom last night, pulling at my covers and yelling for me to get my ass into gear and post this story. So here you go. Hope you liked it so far. :)