If Loving You is Wrong: Resident Evil Edition
Episode I
Bright rays of sun, birds chirping outside his window. Now was the perfect time to do it.
Chris stared across his desk hoping that what he was about to do wasn't crossing the line. A deep line formed on his brow until he finally picked up the phone.
"..."
"Hey Chris," Josh said nearly dropping the phone.
"Josh. Everything okay?" he said concern lacing his voice.
"Yeah, I was just working on some stuff." Chris could faintly make you the sounds of tools and clanking of materials in his shed.
"Don't hurt yourself." He said chuckling softly. "I was actually gonna ask you for a favor."
"Shoot."
"Jill has been acting a little strange lately. Could keep an eye out for her and the kids. I've been kind of swamped at work-"
"No problem!" He said. Taken aback, Chris paused and looked down at the phone.
"Really?"
"Sure, what are neighbors for? Especially since you helped Sheva out with that incident, I'd be more than happy to repay the favor."
"Oh no, that was-" He breathed recalling the incident just a few weeks prior. The whole neighborhood was shaken by it Somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought that was the reason for his wive's strange behavior. "I'm just happy nothing happened."
"Me too, but I'll keep an eye out."
"Thanks, man. I won't be here for too much longer." After they hung up Chris took a deep breath. It was nice to have neighbors that you can trust.
"What did he want?" Jill said breathing heavily.
"He wanted me to keep an eye for you. I'd say I'm doing a great job at that." He said kissing her neck. Her body was already flushed and her cheeks were stained with pink from her previous orgasm. The arms of her royal blue dress hung around her shoulders, and her breast nearly spilled out from breathing so hard.
"Wait-why?"
"He said you've been acting strange." Jill grew quiet and a pensive look washed over her face. "He's a good guy, but I wish he weren't." He said kissing her shoulder, but she pushed him away.
"He is. How did this happen?" She struggled to pull her clothing on. "We can't keep doing this."
"We can." he said leaning into her. The look of his full lips inviting her in had her in a trance. The second he touched her lips she felt that fire all over again. His fingers trailed up her thigh.
"No. I love my husband." She said trying to move out of the shed. "Oh!" She exclaimed seeing Sheva on her way inside. Josh slipped on his shirt.
"Hello Jill, what are you doing here?"
"Josh was just helping me find that basket we left."
"Josh," she said wagging her finger teasingly. "I told you I took it out of here and put in the kitchen pantry."
"Oh, I'm just going to go get it then."
"Okay, go head." Once Jill limped out, Sheva slipped into the shed. "Josh," She called in her most seductive manner. He turned away from his desk to look at her. She was unbuttoning her blouse revealing a bright red lacy bra. "I'm ovulating, so I think it's time to-" She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his earlobe between her teeth.
"Stop it." He muttered tugging away.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he exhaled. "I'm just not in the mood right now." Sheva tried to ignore the pang in her chest, but it didn't matter. She loved her husband.
"Well that's okay, just let me know what you want for dinner okay?" She smiled gracefully and pecked his lips before sauntering out of the shed. When she walked out he barely resisted the urge to punch a hole in his desk.
In the midst of trying to button up her blouse, she nearly bumped into Chris. "Oh! I'm so sorry."
"No, no. It's okay. I should have paid more attention. How are you?"
"I'm good. I'm doing better thank you."
"That's great. Is Josh out here?" Before she could answer, the man himself stepped out.
"There he is." She said before stepping into the house.
"Chris?"
"Josh, hey! I just wanted to check in on that favor."
"What?" he questioned then he remembered they're conversation earlier. "Oh, yeah. She seems fine."
"How's Sheva?"
"She's good, definitely better."
"Well, she looks good." He said with more provocation than he intended. The second the words left his mouth he regretted it. "I mean-" He fumbled with his words. "I would never look at your wife like that."
"It's okay. I get it." Josh said locking the door to his shed.
"Thanks man." Chris said heading over to his home, but he stopped "Oh a few of us are heading out to a bar for a drink you in?" Josh mulled it over for a bit. They were friends, and Chris was a good one. There was no reason for him not to go, but that means Jill would be alone and that would give him the chance to see her.
"You know what? I could use a stiff one."
Looking in the mirror, she smoothed down her red hair. Screaming, shouting and throwing things had her hair wild. "I can't believe this!" She whipped out her phone and dialed wildly.
"Sheva speaking,"
"That asshole!"
"What'd he do?" Sheva said about to pop open a bottle of wine. She was almost mesmerized by the cool glass beneath her fingers.
"He was fucking some whore in my bed. In my bed, Sheva!"
"No-" She said in shock. Quickly she undid the bottle and took a long swig of it.
"Yes! Shev-Sheva what are you doing?" She said after hearing weird sounds from the other side of the line followed by some gulping. Finally she heard a sigh.
"I was drinking some of my wine. How could Albert do something like that to you and your daughter?" She asked in disbelief.
"He doesn't care. He didn't care. I'm done letting him walk all over me. I'm divorcing his ass! I told him him that this was his final chance, and this is what he does. I deserve this." She said sobbing.
"No, you don't. I'm on my way."
The bar was dark and they were tucked into one of the corner booths. Brad and Josh were engaged in a conversation about football when Albert slammed his chair down.
"Chris your sister is crazy."
"First off. What did you do? You are always fucking up. You can't constantly do someone wrong and expect forgiveness every time. When she divorces you, I will have her side all the way." Chris said taking a swig of brew.
"Really, after all the years that I've known you. I saved your life-"
"Listen, you're lucky I don't kick your ass for fucking with my sister to begin with."
"You hear this?" Albert said gesturing to the larger male. "This is supposed to be the nice guy. You're supposed to say 'well family is more important than these small issues,' or some pansy shit like that."
"I'm not going to sit here and justify cheating on your spouse."
"We were separated at the time."
"Fuck that," Chris scoffed. Josh just chuckled. "What if you got an STD, or worse, what if she was pregnant?"
Albert went silent and scratched his chin. "You're right I might get one of those things you got."
"One of what?"
"I got a vasectomy a month ago."
"Does Jill know?" Josh asked.
"No, I hope she won't be too mad about it. It's just that I don't even have enough time for the kids that we do have. It's like half the time they don't even have a father."
"We are two different people, Chris." Albert said shaking his head.
"Damn straight and a vasectomy doesn't protect from STDs." He said sliding his long time friend a beer.
"So there's nothing we can do?" She nodded her shaggy blonde hair shook as she moved. "It's okay I'm gong to be fine." Her voice was always perky and uplifting. It was when she turned around that he saw it. Tears stained her cheeks as she walked away from the booth. She quickly swiped at her eyes when she noticed a guy staring at her. "I'm sorry." She said moving out of the way.
"It's fine. Is everything okay?" He asked. When she turned to look at him she noticed the scar on his cheek. It looked to be years old, but it gave his face an edge she hadn't seen before.
"I'm fine. My life's just falling apart, but it's okay." She mustered up a smile.
"No it's not."
"Yes it is." She said swallowing hard. "The only shred of family that I have is lying in a hospital bed my phone is dead and I have no way of calling anyone. If you want to mug me, go ahead, just make sure to fatally wound me first." She said holding out her arms in offering. She closed her eyes, but heard him chuckle making her snap them open.
"I hate to be laughing, but you're funny."
She narrowed her eyes before spitting out a "thanks," through clenched teeth. "If you're not going to end it all, bye." She said turning on a heel.
"How about instead of murdering you, I let you use my charger to call someone for help."
"Why would you do that?" She said making him lift a brow.
"I would offer to drive you to the hospital, but I kind of don't want to murdered by a tiny chick." He shrugged.
"Hardy-har."
"Can I at least have a name so I know what to tell the cops?"
"Sherry Birkin."
"Jake,"
"I'm really sorry about this."
"It's no big deal. Usually I would just walk away but-" Hew shrugged his shoulders before handing her the thin white cord.
With more conversation, he decided to just go ahead and take her to the hospital. The drive to the hospital wasn't as awkward as it should have been. Jake had successfully gotten her to laugh a couple of times but the sadness still hung in the air.
"The bitch calls me and tells me she's pregnant and needs to speak with Al."
"No way!" Sheva said handing her a glass of wine.
"This was after I found makeup on my favorite pillow." Claire chucked the now burned pillow across the room. Sheva's eyes were as wide as saucers. She took a long sip before speaking.
"Claire, I'm going to be as honest as I can possibly be. Leave his ass, and I'm not just saying that because I've been drinking. You can't let this go on. What will Lily think if she sees how you let him treat you?" The thought of her daughter witnessing this calmed her down.
"I know. I just- I hate to think that I've wasted all of these years." She said her blue eyes staring off. "What about you? Have any luck in the baby making department?"
"God no. I feel Josh is afraid to touch me sometimes." She said filling her glass for the fourth time.
"I can see why. Did you have those out all day?" She giggled pushing out her breasts comically.
"I did, and this is new." She lowered her eyes. "I think we're hitting a low in our relationship."
"I think I'm getting a divorce."
"He's Chris' friend right?"
"Yeah, they're old army buds. Al saved his life." Seeing the look on the other woman's face made a devious smile appear on her own. "I made him promise to not murder the father of my child."
"Okay. I was worried for a second. Chris can be pretty scary."
"Oh yeah! He scared off all of my boyfriends... except one." She said before blushing. Sheva didn't get a chance to catch it as she was trying to fill her glass again. "Whoa there! you might want to slow down."
"No! My husband keeps rejecting me, so I am going to drink." She snapped nearly chugging the contents of her glass. "You need bigger wine glasses."
"Josh is not rejecting you."
"Yes he is." She sighed. "You know I friend-zoned the shit out of him back in Africa. He was so nice and it's hard to have male friends when you're young and attractive."
"Pssh tell me about it."
"He was different though. I was drunk out of my mind one night. This guy was all over me and I kept blacking out, but all I saw was Josh pulling him off of me and beating the shit out of him."
"Did you call campus police or something?"
"No. " She shook her head. "All I remember was Josh taking me away from the party. He tucked me into his bed and slept on the floor the whole night. That's when I started seeing him romantically, and he stopped trying to pursue me. I think he thought I'd be damaged goods or something."
"Sheva, Josh is a really good guy, and after what happened to you last week we were all worried. Him most of all." Sheva snorted and rolled her eyes. "You don't think so?"
"It's just-sometimes I think I-we married too young. I'm twenty three. He's the only person I've had sex with even if it was only five times." Claire just gaped at her words. If possible, her jaw would be on the floor. "What's that look for?"
"Five times?"
"Now it's probably been less than that to be honest. I guess I should by a vibrator."
"Or you could-oh I don't know-talk to him?" She offered.
"And say what? 'Fuck me please?'" She said in her best imitation of a pornstar. "I don't think so cupcake."
Claire looked at her sideways before they both burst into a fit laughter. "You have definitely had too much to drink."
It wasn't like she was expecting a miracle, but anything else would have sufficed. Her eyes were already puffy and her cheeks were tear stained.
Jake wanted to offer some sort of support, but unlike her and many others he didn't fear death, and didn't mourn the dying either. He watched his mother struggle to lead a minimal lifestyle. It was a relief to see her finally move on and hope that something better awaits, but that feeling of sadness and loneliness never faded.
As she waited in the chair, he wondered why he stayed there. He should have left forty-five minutes ago.
"You can leave if you want." She said softly.
"No I have to make sure I don't see you walking in traffic."
"You have a very strange sense of humor." She chuckled lightly shaking her head.
"Says the one who wanted me to murder her." He nudged her arm. Even though he kept things light she still felt like the weight of the world was crumbling in on her. "Listen these things are tough, but the reality of the situation is we've got to keep going because the world won't stop for us."
"I'm just- I fix things. I bring people together." She brought her fingers together to emphasize her point. "I fix problems, but I couldn't fix him. That's what hurts." She didn't have to say it, but he could tell that she'd been hurting for a while. His phone rang just before he was about to say something.
"I gotta take this."
"I have to go meet up with someone anyway."
"Hello,"
"Hi Claire. I am here in L.A."
"Hey! Sherry you made it perfect."
"I'm looking for a nice hotel in your area."
"What? No, girl, I have a guest room with a private bathroom. You can stay here."
"Who's that?" Sheva mouthed silently.
"I couldn't possibly-"
"Nonsense!" There were very few people that could say no to Claire Redfield. Her brother was the only one known to mankind.
Less than ten minutes later, Claire's doorbell rang.
"Sherry! Oh my god! Look at you how old are you?"
"Claire, I'm twenty-three. Are you drunk?" She said almost trying to hold the other woman up.
"i'm sorry. I came over to crash her sulking. I'm Sheva. Would you like a glass?" She pushed the glass into her hand and filled it up with wine.
"I actually need this." She said pointing to it. "Let me drop this off. I'm Sherry by the way, a friend of Claire's."
"I'm an old friend of her brother's." She waved dismissively. "Claire is my best friend. We've been having a pretty shitty day, so we're drinking!"
The blonde girl dropped her bags of in the guest room and went back to the living room. "Where's my glass? Oh there." She sat on the sofa.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"I am under a serious like three year long dry spell, and-"
"Three years? Sheva you were married two years ago."
"You don't think I know. He could be cheating on me." She mumbled.
"Look at you?" Sherry said. "If he cheats on you then there is no hope for the rest of us."
"Don't flatter me." Her was accent slurred by drunkenness. "Because I saw him in college. He had a revolving door of women in his dorm."
"Yeah, but people change." Claire added. Inwardly, she shook her head. Not that much, she thought. "Where is that pizza?" She said wanting to change the subject. "How long are you down here for?"
"I am thinking about moving here. I want to take care of my Granddad." She said downing her glass. Out of nowhere Sheva pulled out another bottle of wine. Claire looked at her quizzically before turning her attention back to her friend.
"That's nice." She said knowing that he was the only true parent that she had. "We can help you go house-hunting tomorrow."
"You guys don't have to do that, really."
"Sheva, she is the most humble person I've ever met. We are taking her house hunting."
"Absolutely, but for the time being do you have any more wine?"
"What? Sheva you just opened that bottle."
"And?"
"Okay, no more for you tonight." Claire said. Sheva pouted, and began sputtering out her denial.
"Claire-we've all had a rough day let's just get drunk and forget about everything for a few hours." Sherry pleaded. The redhead sighed before looking to her West-African friend who still held her puppy pout. She melted instantly, and the other women cheered. "Wait who's making the drink run?" All three sets of eyes landed on Claire's cell phone. Only one person could possibly do this.
"All I'm saying is the Steelers' following is larger than the Cowboys' now." Chris said holding his hands up feigning innocence.
"No way in hell man."Josh said shaking his head.
"Come on, all the Cowboys have is hype."
"It's called respect." Josh said. "But anyway I'm gonna head home for the night." It was almost one in the morning. "See ya round."
"I think I'm gonna bounce too. I have to make sure I have a place to sleep since Claire kicked me out."
"One of these days man." Chris warned taking another sip of his beer. Once they had left he decided to settle his tab when his phone vibrated in his pocket. "Hey Sis." He said making his way to his car. The nice crisp air of the night night felt good on his skin. It was a pleasant change from being in the stuffy bar.
"Big Bro. I love you so much." He could hear the alcohol on her voice.
"Where are you?" He asked.
"I'm home. I just need a favor." Blue eyes looked to her and Sheva edged her on. "I need to go on a wine run, but I can't really leave the house. Could you maybe pick up a few bottles and drop them off here?"
"Claire, I don't really know what happened between you and Al, but I don't think drinking is going to help."
"Drinking is the only thing that's calming me down, Chris." She said honestly. Mulling over her words, he went silent for a few seconds.
"What do you want?" He sighed in defeat.
"Yes!" the girls exclaimed before Claire threw a glare at them. Chris hung up and headed to the nearest supermarket. He couldn't help the smile on his face. His sister was his only family and seeing her reminded him of how happy they had become without that. He tried to erase his thoughts of Al the time would come when he would get his, but right now he wanted to be there for his sister.
After exiting the store, he headed straight for Claire's which was in the same neighborhood, but around the block. It wasn't long before his knuckles rapped at the door. He could hear the television and giggles, but it took them his second round of knocks before he heard the knob twisting.
"Hey Cl-Sheva?"
"Hey Chris!" She beamed quickly taking the large paper bag from his hands. Chris tried to look at nothing but her forehead. Her shirt had fallen open revealing the cups of her bra and the mocha flesh it displayed. "Thank you so much." She popped a bottle open not caring what kind it was.
"Hi, I didn't know you were here." He said closing the door behind him. "Sherry! I didn't even know you were in town."
"Hi Chris, it's been so long." She said marveling at the massive man in front of her. The elder Redfield was much slimmer the last time she saw him. He was almost not recognizable if not for those signature Redfield blues. His were much darker than his sisters. Hardened and deepened by time and experiences his were so dark they were almost a midnight indigo.
"Yeah, you were just a kid the last time I saw you."
"That's what I said." Claire cooed pinching her cheeks.
"Claire you're like five years older than us." Sheva said rolling her eyes.
"I didn't know you back then, and I've hit my dirty thirties." She said rushing over to fill her own glass. His eyes flew to Sheva again then back to the television.
"I came here to check up on Claire, but I see you guys have that covered. I should go."
"No stay, you might have to take Sheva home. She's as drunk as an Irish pirate." Claire added in a whisper. The siblings looked over at the girl currently dancing in the kitchen to no music. The two cackled.
Sherry exclaimed something loudly garnering their attention. "I found the movie that is going to make use forget all about our day and fill us with love and hope." It took them a few seconds until they realized she was talking about the musical RENT. Sheva raced to the corner seat. Sherry and Claire claimed the main area of the soft sofa because Chris was partial to stretching out his legs on the connecting chaise.
He tried to ignore the unnecessary heat that rushed to his face from their proximity. This is ridiculous, he thought and very inappropriate, yet here he was with his heart thundering and his palms getting sweaty. He was so deep into his thoughts he didn't notice her pouting at him.
"Chris," She growled annoyed.
"Sorry what?"
"You're hogging the blanket." She said tugging at it.
"Here," he chuckled. "I don't really need it." He pulled it from under him.
"I get so jealous of Claire." She muttered looking over at the two sleeping girls.
"Why?" He asked folding his hands behind his head. She sucked in a deep breath.
"She has you." Chris blushed like a tomato. "I wish I had a brother like you. Sometimes I think I ruined any chance of that by marrying Josh." His brow furrowed at her words.
"You can have both a brother and a husband in him." the wild look she threw him made him backtrack. "No! I mean-"
"I want someone that I can trust beyond a romantic level that intimacy and sense of familial protection. I don't know. I'm tipsy and rambling."
"I think you are well past tipsy." She said staring a the large screen displaying the musical, but all he saw was a vague blur of lights. "What triggered that anyway?" It was her turn to blush with embarrassment.
"If I told you, I'd have to kill you." She sang. It wasn't long before they two fell asleep.
She had just finished tucking herself into bed when there was loud rapping at her door. Jill didn't even bother checking to see who it was. She swung the door open. "Josh?"
Disclaimer: The characters involved in this belong to Capcom and the initial outline of the plot belongs to Tyler Perry. All other elements and themes belong to myself. If you have seen the show, please be warned that this story is not going to follow that story line completely.
I don't know how far this story might go, but reviews are much appreciated. I've had this idea in my head. The premise is applicable to all of my favorite fandoms. I really hope I chose the right one for this.
xoxo