She sat there. Waiting.
She looked around. Still waiting. The rain should've been one reason for her to leave.
The other reason? He hadn't shown. He had asked her to wait there for him.
There was no other park bench he could have meant. It had to be here. In this city. On this day. This park. He wasn't here and yet she sat in the middle of the pouring rain, her white blouse clinging to her body just as she clung to the flicker of hope that he'd appear.
Maybe she should've asked him to stay. If she had her way, he'd always stay. He wouldn't have to leave her in the middle of the night or during their evenings out everytime someone in Raccoon felt threatened. But no, being the captain of the elite STARS demanded every day, every last ounce of him.
She had last spoken to him yesterday. Just when they had managed to finally take some time off together.
They had driven out of the busy city and into the suburban area. He had an estate there that he had been wanting to show her. When they had arrived, Claire had been captivated by the tall trees that surround the area. From the view in the car, she could already make out a large pond and a barn towards the back.
"This is yours, Albert?"
"Has been for a very long time now, dear heart." She knew he was smirking by the arrogance in his tone but that didn't stop her from enjoying this moment any less.
When they got off the car, the first thing she saw was rose bushes. They were the brightest and most vibrant shade of red she'd ever seen.
"You grow these yourself, captain?", she teased as she handled on the roses gently, lifting it to her nose.
She sniffed it for a second before and a hand came gently under her chin and tilted her head up.
"Funny," he quipped with a smirk ghosting across his lips, "but actually, there's something else I'd be interested into caring for at the moment. Would you be interested in finding out what it is?"
"Yes, sir."
The next few hours had been all for themselves with no interruptions. It was pure bliss.
Then it happened. The sun was close to setting when his phone rang. He had one of those rare smiles on his face before the call happened and it seemed to be sucked out of him."Why's your college buddy Will interrupting our fun time?"
She remembers the look on his face. It was that serious look he only had during his worst times as captain.
"Dear heart, can I have a minute please?"
Next thing she knew, the pair was rushing out of the estate and were returning back to the city.
"Albert, what is it? Please, tell me."
His face held no emotions. He was as stoic as ever. Only when he finally decided to answer her could she see the look on his face. His jaw was clenched and his eyes held a look that she only now labeled as guilt.
"Claire," he started with a heavy breath, "there's been an incident. We're being sent in, and I have a feeling. Now please, tomorrow. I need you to wait for me on the bench in Raccoon Park. The one right by the pond. Where I first asked you out to dinner."
"What's going on Albert. Why-" she was quickly cut off by him and left her no room to argue.
"Dear heart, don't ask me why. Claire, just listen to me. I need you to be there at noon. No later. Please."
"Fine Albert. Whatever."
"Thank you."
They drove in silence the rest of the way. He made a stop by the apartment they shared to drop her off and before she exited the car, he grabbed her by the chin, looking deep into her eyes one last time.
"Claire you know I- You know you mean a great deal to me, right? You," he sighed heavily and she swore she could see real desperation in his eyes, "You know I would never hurt you intentionally?"
"Albert," she started slowly, "you are starting to scare me. What is happening?"
"Nothing, Claire, nothing. Just...just remember. Be there at noon. And, I-I love you, Claire Redfield. Like there's no tomorrow." something about that comment struck a heartstring in her and she began to tear up. He had never told her he loved her. It was always "adored" or "trusted", but never loved.
"Come back to me, Albert." Now the tears were threatening to spill over. He knew that if they did, he wouldn't leave. Seeing her like this wasn't what he had planned. His plan was to go to Arklay, gather the data, and take Claire with him. He had to make sure.
"Tomorrow. I'll meet you out there tomorrow."
And now she was here. In the middle of the pouring rain. In the city on the park bench. Alone. She checked her watch once more. 1:03.
She pushed back the red locks that clung to her face and let the tears mix with rain. She breathed out, letting her emotions set in.
"Claire?" She recognized the voice behind her but not as Albert's. She turned around and walked into the open arms without hesitation.
"Chris. He-," she coughed out and it broke into a cry, "he never came."
"Claire, last night-," he was ready to inform her of the events that occurred last night. Starting with Wesker's betrayal and his death but he was cut off by his sister.
"He said he'd meet me here. He- he said he loved me like no tomorrow." She clung to the front of his jacket, balling the material in her hands. She sobbed into her brother's chest, knowing well that something had occurred last night. Albert never went without a phone call or even a message. "Tomorrow never came, Chris. It never came."
"I guess not, Claire. I guess not."
XXX
This is a quick one-shot that I had archived for a while. The song inspiration behind this was Lana Del Rey's "Tomorrow Never Came". Something about that song just reminded me of my favorite ship. I will be uploading multiple stories that I recently found that I haven't published, but for those who do read my longer works, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE THEY'RE COMING SOON! Redfield's Lost in Nightmares is coming especially soon as I recently finished re-writing the first two chapters because I was very discontent with how it was flowing. Not many changes in the first chapter, but the second was lengthened quiet a bit because it personally felt a little rushed. "Ada's Vendetta" is going to take a little more time just because I'm trying to fix the original plot I had settle on. Also a possible Overwatch story is being developed. Anyways, I'll be uploading soon!! Cheers!