He smiled at her warmly. "You sure you want me to go with you?"
Claire looked at him with a discerning eye. "I thought you said you had school business to attend to."
"Yeah, well," He chuckled, "I'd really hate to see you leave."
"Silly, I won't be gone forever. I'll come back." She explained.
The young man sighed at the redhead. "Why can't he come to see you instead?"
"I'm sure he's busy with his job. Besides, I wanted to give him a surprise."
He looked at her. "A surprise, huh?" He began, "Watch him not be there when you arrive."
Claire rolled her eyes. "He better. It's quite a long drive."
"Tell me about it. I didn't let you borrow that motorcycle for wasteful purposes."
At this they both laughed together and soon found themselves in each other's embraces. It was getting late, and she'd be leaving in the morning. She'd be leaving him.
After grueling years having defeated Umbrella, sure enough of the fact that the company wouldn't interfere anymore in lives of innocent people, it was difficult to grasp the reality of the state of things as they were now. The idea of going back home and enjoying the remaining years of life was in fact a little unsettling to Claire Redfield, since she had come so adapted to assume that each passing day could possibly be the last. She was still alive, oddly enough as it sounded, and so were Chris and everyone else she had considered as family for the past few years. They fought together as a union bound together by the same ideals and insights, conscious of the same pain and anguish they all had presumably felt. They were the good posing as the force against the evil Umbrella had represented, and now that haunting shadow was gone. But now that the evil was vanquished, what held them, the heroes, together?
It didn't occur to Claire that at some point that their whole charade would end so abruptly, that it would leave them with the notion as to whether or not being with each other had anymore meaning. Fighting for the same cause was one thing, but all of them had prior engagements, other ties with family or friends they had to fix back home.
Such ties made her think of Sherry and Leon.
Claire sought to it that Sherry would be taken care of by her aunt when the whole ordeal was over, although Sherry herself had refused. Sherry would have rather stayed with Leon and Claire, who were more parents to her than any other aunt or uncle. Sure, Claire was pained on leaving her, but she knew it was for Sherry's safety. Indeed Claire had taken the role as a mother through Sherry's difficult time without her parents, and because of this, the little blonde girl had reminded of Claire so much of herself when she was growing up. Of course, Sherry was anything but a little girl now. She would be attending high school and leading a life that a normal 17 year old deemed to lead. Sherry was a strong young woman; much stronger than Claire could ever had been at her age. It was without a doubt that Claire was particularly proud of her.
And Leon. Well, Claire could talk endlessly about Leon Scott Kennedy. What could she say? She loved him, more than he or anybody else would ever know. It was when she came back from Antarctica that she had realized her feelings, despite previous events with Steve. And although Steve did admit his feelings for Claire, their short relationship wasn't based on overtly strong mutual emotions or anything beyond friendship.
It was fair to say that Leon had played an important role in Claire's recovery from misery and pain after Antarctica. It was plain fact. Over the next few years, they naturally became close but, as Claire had imagined, only as friends. She hoped so desperately that Leon had felt the same way about her as she him. That maybe together they could have lived at least peacefully with one another. After all they had so much in common…
In reality, was ignorant enough to even expect any romantic gesture from him. Not while a certain Ada Wong had left an impression on his heart. Thoughts of envy usually brewed itself in Claire's mind when it came to Leon and Ada's short-lived romance, but such thoughts she learnt to disregard and eventually let go. It made no sense to fuss over what wasn't hers—rather, what she didn't need. And she didn't need to feel hurt whenever she talked about Leon.
Yet, in the midst of things, there were times Claire admired the figure that was Leon, staring at him intensely without him realizing it. Times where she could not help but just think profoundly of her presence instead of Ada's. Claire thought of him and every aspect that made him, what he did, how he probably woke up in the morning. All of these actions were involuntary on her part, but that's because she was in love.
It drove Claire crazy to be so in love with a man in vain, especially since she was not the type of person to bestow sadness upon herself. Other women were usually successful in relationships whereas Claire found herself an infinite number of steps behind the rest. But what did it matter? Love was only momentary sentiment, or so Claire strongly believed. To love someone, that was all right, eventually that feeling dies out soon enough, anyway. She knew she wasn't missing anyway special.
It was all lies. Love was great, and Claire knew how good it was. Chris's love for Jill was an example of how great love was, although living with them proved to be unbearable for Claire. That's why she went on this trip, leaving Chris and Jill in their own home so they could do their own bit of "loving."
Home. That was an awkward word to say, even thinking about it made her question: Would she be remembered back there? She had left friends and a boyfriend behind. Claire didn't think there was much to go back to, not after disappearing so abruptly. What would they think? It was doubtful that they would remember her.
Yet she remembered a home long ago, but it was a mere blur in her mind, where her brother in his youthful gleam always smiled at her as she laughed, where a mother and a father had been there to tuck her into bed and kiss her goodnight. It was unbelievable that that had changed so quickly.
Claire never really dwelled about her parents. They were long dead ever since she was 10 years old. Although thinking of them usually made her depressed, she had cried her tears for them already.
Besides, motorcyclists didn't cry on the road.
It took her a lot of will to even drive all the way from Gainesville, Florida where she was originally staying with Chris and Jill to a small part in Coral Gables, Claire's previous residence. Claire didn't know why she had to go back, there was nothing of interest that could possibly have mattered to her, but there was this curiosity, this yearning of what had happened to those she cared about then. It had been 5 hours on the road…her ass wasn't driving all the way back.
Suddenly a knot formed in Claire's stomach. She was nervous. But of what? The past? She was only going to visit, not stay, so there would be nothing to worry about. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. She felt herself calm down a bit.
But as she drove through the quiet road sided with familiar residences she had seen before, the knot in her stomach throbbed more violently. She was actually here. Here, where she used to live.
All she needed to find was that single building amongst the many. However, it didn't take her too long. She recognized it faster than she had expected herself to. For that, she began to regret ever coming down here…
The rest of her movements were robotic, as if she had no control of her actions and no better options to resort to. Claire couldn't back away now, although her anxiety had generally gotten the best of her. She drove her motorcycle into the small, cramped driveway, taking the best space she could find to park and turned off the engine rather reluctantly. She sat there on her motorcycle, letting the feeling flow back into her ass when she herself knew she was only making excuse to stall. Only making this trip more unbearable. Get up, damn you, she thought to herself. With much self-refusal, Claire made herself get up. She didn't want to, but she did so anyway. The walk would be short.
Apartment 16, Claire remembered. She needed no paper, no reminder, for it never escaped her memory.
She wished that the number of improbable possibilities that she imagined were nevertheless true. Perhaps the person she was looking for had moved and wasn't living in the city. Maybe they died. Or maybe she was wrong about the address…any excuse just to go back, really.
Only one way to find out, Claire sighed as she stood there at the door. The number 16 in chrome lettering was posted familiarly on the door, mocking her for her silly worries.
She knocked three consecutive times, each knock stabbing at her heart in some odd way. After a few painstaking moments Claire figured no one was home.
But then, to her misfortune, she heard steps from behind the door. The sound became gradually louder until the locks of the doorknob became unlatched. An aged female figure stood before Claire, eyes agape and face atoned with disbelieve.
"Oh my God…" The woman breathed in her own peculiar manner, "Claire Redfield, is that you?"
A/N: Well, I hope you all enjoyed it. I always imagined that Claire had people she left behind before embarking to Raccoon City. Any suggestions you might have I'll be happy to hear it. I'll post again as soon as possible. Thanks and please R/R! Tell me what you think.