Hello everyone who clicked on this story! So, I decided to write this while on my break so sorry if it's short and what not. I might change the cover of the story-heck! I might even take this down and revise it...not sure. I want to see how this chapter does, I'll probably continue on with this story regardless, I kinda like my OC I made right now and I want to explore her plus I want to try something different with this story...maybe different locations and possibly more fluff. So please leave a note and a comment it really helps to know what you all think!
It occurred to her like a hard slap to the face that her grandmother's intention was to keep it a secret. She never meant to tell Ellie, her own granddaughter the truth, ever.
Something this big. This important...and dangerous. And her grandmother planned on keeping Ellie in the dark about it her whole life.
It's just the two of us, Ellie. We tell each other everything from now on.
"That's what you said, but you still lied to me. Me!" Ellie kicked a pebble with a grunt down the sidewalk and shoved her hands in her jacket.
She didn't so much care about what the secret was but more of the fact that her grandmother, the very woman who raised her, had kept such a huge secret from her. She shook her head making the strands of her hair tickle her nose in the process.
"You worked for umbrella?!"
"Ellie, please. At the time Umbrella was a respectable place to work at." Her grandmother retorted hotly. "I had no idea what was going on there at the time."
"But you knew that Spencer guy and were all buddy buddies with the lead teams. How didn't you know what was going on." Her grandmother's lips thinned, her face as strained as the tension between them.
"Ellie bear-"
"-Don't!" Ellie hissed. "You lied to me. Me! After the whole no secrets bullcrap."
"Language young lady!"
"Did you help create some of those BOW's?!" Her grandmother remained silent. "You did didn't you?!" Ellie gasped.
"I didn't know what their real intentions were at the time. I was a young scientist working alongside some of the greatest in our field. I was happy to be able to work with them. If I knew what they were planning I wouldn't have stayed." The older woman sighed.
Ellie clamped her hands into fists by her side, grinding her teeth. "Did your research kill dad?" At the mention of her son's name her eyes drooped, regret and pain flashing behind the aged, worn eyes.
"Ellie...you know how much I loved your father. I didn't tell you any of this because I feared it would have upset you like it already has." She took in a calming breath and shifted her gaze up to her granddaughter. "What happened to your father and your mother was all my fault. I didn't know they would have been after me...but they were. The only thing I'm grateful for is that I was watching you that night. I don't think I would have wanted to live knowing I lost not only my son and daughter-in law but also my beautiful granddaughter as well." Tears pricked in her eyes, trailing down the aged, wrinkled skin and down her chin.
"If you would have told us we could have been prepared!"
"Ellie, there was no way of-"
"-We could have hid! Or...or tell the police!"
"Ellie," She laid a hand on Ellie's shaking shoulder. "The police wouldn't have stopped them. Those were Umbrella's men. They would have came regardless. Umbrella gets what it wants, like the men that founded it and like the men that brought it down." Ellie ripped her shoulder out from under her grandmother's grip and stumbled back a step with tears in her eyes.
"This is all your fault!" Ignoring her grandmother's pleas to stay, Ellie took off out of the small apartment and flew down the sidewalk. She ignored the odd looks people gave her as she past them and wiped the tears that wouldn't stop flowing.
So here she was. In early November with nothing but a light jacket on and alone in the city her and her grandmother just moved to. Not a soul to turn to and not a place to go. The only person she knew was her friend, Sara back in their old home in Edonia, but Ellie didn't bring her cell phone with her. She cursed under her breath. She couldn't go back to the apartment-not yet anyway, she was too angry to face her grandmother. She wasn't a child, she was an adult and had every right to go where she pleased whenever she wanted. Ellie nodded her head with a huff making her breath puff out in front of her. Her tears froze on her face, making it stiff and hard to breath as she stomped down the street.
She hugged her jacket closer to her thin frame hoping to keep some of the heat inside as a cold breeze blew threw her. "God it's so freaking cold. And it's only early November!" She rubbed her arms up and down while scouting the street for any shelter to get out of this cold evening air from. A smile touched the corner of her slightly blue lips as she spotted a coffee shop across the road. The smile turned sour as her face smashed into someone's chest. Their mumble of apology was swiftly cut off by her growl of agitation.
"Watch where you're going jerk!" She stopped her mouth from falling open when she glared up at man that bumped into her. He's good looking. But his looks wont get him out of slamming right into her no matter how golden his eyes or pouty his lips are.
"S-sorry I didn't see you there, Ma'am."
She snorted at his manners but batted it away as she saw the BSAA logo on his shirt. "I thought soldiers were supposed to be more aware of their surroundings." She didn't mean to take her anger out on him but he did run into her so she's justified to some extent. His eyes narrowed.
"Maybe you shouldn't daydream while walking down the sidewalk."
She grinded her teeth together, plastering on a fake smile. "Well, next time watch where you're going, soldier boy." She twirled on the balls of her feet and stalked off across the road.
What an arrogant prick! I thought the military beat out their smartass remarks on the first day of training!
As soon as she stepped inside the coffee shop the wall of heat hit her in the face making her frozen cheeks tingle. A sigh of relief washed over her, melting away her anger as she headed towards the cash to order something hot.
"What can I getcha'?" The lady at the cash asked her.
"May I have a hot chocolate please-medium." The lady nodded her head and punched in some numbers on her cash and smiled.
"That will be three dollars and seventy-five cents please."
Ellie dug in her jacket pocket and patted down her jean and let out an annoyed groan. She left her wallet in her other jacket back at the apartment. Of course. Shaking her head she lifted her gaze to the cashier.
"Sorry, I forgot my wallet. Forget about the order." Before she could take a step a male voice piped up behind her.
"Here, I'll buy you your hot chocolate." She was about to politely decline the man's offer until she saw who it was.
"You! Are you following me?!" The man she had run into outside returned his attention to the cashier with a small smile.
"Anything else today?" The cashier perked up at the sight of the new man, shamelessly eyeing him up and down. Typical women, perk up at the sight of a good looking guy. Ellie snorted making the man raise an eyebrow and slip her a bright hazel eye her way.
"Yes one coffee please. No. I'm not following you. I was coming to get a coffee on my break when you bumped into me."
"You bumped into me!" She jabbed a finger up in his face. The lady behind the cash flicked her eyes from the man to Ellie. Her brows furrowed as she prepared the coffee while the gentleman in the uniform paid for the drinks. "I don't need you paying for my drink." She grumbled.
"Think of it as an apology then." He turned to face her, a small smile touching his plump lips and making Ellie's breath hitch. "I'm Piers by the way." He said while extending out his hand towards her.
"Ellie." Ellie took back her hand and was about to grab her hot chocolate but Piers beat her to it.
"Why were you crying, Ellie?" He asked while grabbing their orders and moving to the side.
"You buy me a drink and now you want to hear my life story? You sure you aren't some sort of stalker?" She tried to grab her drink but he moved it out of her grasp, annoying her further.
"I was just asking because you looked upset."
"I wasn't crying." He raised a skeptical bow. "I wasn't! Are you going to give me my drink?"
Piers ignored her last comment and took a seat at a table by the window. Placing her hot chocolate across from him he motioned her to sit down.
"Why don't you sit with me. You look cold." What was he doing? He runs into her, offers to buy her a drink and now wants her to sit and drink with him?!
This guy's weird. She thought to herself.
She was cold-freezing. She was planning on drinking her hot chocolate in here but she didn't want to drink it with him. But she felt like she owed him...he did buy it after all...it would be rude to take it and leave. Reluctantly, she plopped down in the chair across from Piers-who smirked, making her heart fumble once again. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and took her cup in her hand.
"Why do you care about me anyways?" She said while cautiously taking a sip of her drink. The hum of satisfaction as the hot liquid trailed down her throat and warmed her insides spilled out of her. When she opened her eyes again she noticed Piers silently staring at her. "It's rude to stare."
"Well as a jerk I guess I'm expected to be rude, huh?" Warmth spread across Ellie's cheeks.
"I, I didn't mean that...I'm sorry. I was upset."
"I could tell. Obviously not by you crying-since you weren't crying." Ellie glared up at him over the rim of her cup as he smirked. She rolled her eyes.
"Okay...so I was crying."
"Really? Why?" He propped his elbows up on the table and leaned forward.
"I had a fight with my grandmother." She didn't know why she had told him that but the words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them.
"Your grandmother?"
"She raised me since I was little." Piers caught the distant gaze in the woman's eyes and right away he understood.
"Oh...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to overstep-"
"-It's fine they died a while ago. Ever since then it's been just me and my grandmother."
"In any case, I'm sorry." He offered up a sad smile towards her. She shrugged her shoulders and took another sip of her drink.
"Thanks. I owe her everything. Raising a brat like me wasn't easy on her," She chuckled. "And I made sure to make it hard on her. I tell her everything...I always could. That was our thing. No secrets between us...ever." Her voice trailed off and the threat of tears pricked her eyes again but she blinked them away.
"You two seem very close. It's nice."
"Ya it is. But then I found out she was hiding a huge secret from me and then we had a fight and then I ran out the door..."
"And then you ran into me." He teased at the sight of her pointed glare. "Well we both ran into each other. What was the fight about?"
She scanned his face for several moments in silence.
"If you don't mind me asking." Piers added.
"About everything. Her old job, my parents...everything. She lied to me my whole life and she wasn't even going to tell me. I found out on my own."
Piers noted the hesitancy to speak so he didn't push her to spill everything, instead, he nodded along. "But you'll forgive her right? Maybe she kept it a secret to protect you."
"No. She kept it a secret so she wouldn't have to tell me and then have me yell at her."
Piers' smile dropped. "You're not going to forgive her then? Kinda harsh don't you think?"
"You don't understand." He didn't and that thought just dawned on her. She talked to Piers as if they were long time friends who just happen to bump into each other and decided to catch up over coffee. "I have to go. She's probably worried about me."
Ellie pushed her chair back and climbed to her feet, stumbling back as Piers shot to his. "Wait!' He reached out and latched onto her arm, making her freeze. "I didn't-if I overstepped-"
"You didn't. This is my problem not yours." His hand slowly slid from her arm but froze as his fingers swept over the insignia on her jacket sleeve.
"STARS...how...where did you get that jacket from?" She blinked her eyes from Piers' stunned face to her sleeve.
"It was my fathers."
"Your father was part of STARS?"
"Y-ya? He was apart of Charlie team. But he died when I was young. Why?"
"Oh, er, my captain used to be in STARS that's how I recognized the insignia." This time it was Ellie you who blinked back in shock.
"Really?! What's his name?" Ellie learned everything she could about her father's job. She always thought her father died protecting the world and wanted to learn more about her hero. She learned all the names of the men and woman who laid down their lives to protect everyone.
"Redfield. Chris Redfield." She blinked up to Piers, her mouth gaping open.
"Your captain is Chris Redfield?! Shut up!"
"You know him?" His mouth twitched higher, making his eyes crinkle.
"Not personally but I know everything about STARS and all the people that used to work for them. Chris is a legend."
"He is. He's a great captain." His full smile softened at the mention of his captain. "I'd follow him into anywhere. Your father, what was his name-maybe Chris might have known him."
"Glen Mah."
"Glen Mah," Piers repeated with a nod of his head. "I'll ask him when I get back to the office." He flicked a glance over the woman's shoulder and over to the door. "You still leaving?" Ellie nodded her head sadly, her previous mood returning once more.
"Ya...I should go and make sure she's alright. We just moved here and she's probably worried about me."
"Oh, where you from?"
"Edonia-not originally. We moved out there for a while but then we came back to America...suddenly." She scrunched up her nose at her grandmother's sudden interest to move to America.
"Far from home." He grinned, making his dimples appear. "Well, if you're ever in need of a guide, I'd be happy to help."
"I-I that...ya, sure." His smile widened as she fumbled more with her words and tried to ignore the rising blush on her neck. "I have to leave! Thanks for the drink." As he opened his mouth to say something, she twirled on her feet and started for the door, sparing him a simple glance before she left.
Her blush halted on her cheeks as the sudden cold wind swept up. The warmth of her drink diminished, leaving her cold once more.
She wrapped her jacket around her once more soaking in the remaining heat from the coffee shop. Without realizing it, her eyes wandered over to the window of the cafe only to find Piers staring back at her. With an awkward smile, she waved goodbye. His hand jolted up and returned her wave, his smile crinkling the corner of his bright eyes as she turned to leave.
What a strange guy indeed. She chuckled to herself as she crossed the road.
Piers dropped his hand back to his side as he watched Ellie shuffle across the street and out of sight. Even with her gone, the stupid smile he still wore wouldn't leave his face. And here Chris had to force him to take a break. He ever glad he did.
He took another sip of his coffee, content to just sit and stare off at where Ellie disappeared from. He was going to ask for her number but she didn't give him a moment to slip that question in. Oh well, guess he'll just have to make a few more trip down to the coffee shop then.
So...what did you all think of this short chapter?
