That afternoon, it rained. Usually, Steve liked the rain, but this time he'd been walking around in his camo-pattern shorts and didn't have an umbrella, so it was pretty cold. Of course, he'd never admit to it.
He walked down Main Street, trying to find something to do. His dad had asked him to stay at home and help clean out the gutters, so he'd ran out as fast as he could. Anything was better than dirty gutters.
So he walked, passing by many stores and restaurants, none of them interesting enough to take shelter in. He looked ahead and almost couldn't believe it; Claire was walking his way, also looking down and soaked. She looked mad, but that's how she'd looked since he met her.
"Hey, Claire!" he called out, waving.
Claire looked up, sighed, and stopped walking. "What do you want?" she asked.
He walked over. "Oh, come on, you're not still mad about yesterday, are you?" he asked. "It was a joke!"
"You left me alone in the woods and it started getting dark...How is that funny?"
Steve shrugged. "I didn't think you'd get lost, you seemed like a smart person," he said.
Claire shook her head. "Whatever. Anyways, I'm glad I found you," she said.
"Well technically, I found YOU," said Steve.
"Shut up a minute, this is serious. What did you do last night after ditching me?" asked Claire.
Steve thought a bit. "Well, I waited outside the woods for a bit but you never came back out, so I went in to try and scare you. I walked around all night but didn't find you, so I went home," he said.
"Uh huh..."
"What? I did! What's it to you anyways?" said Steve.
"So you admit you were in the woods last night," said Claire.
"Yeah, why?"
"No reason...I have to go find Jill, don't go too far," said Claire. She turned and ran back the way she'd come from.
"Hey wait! I'll come with you!" said Steve, running after her.
"No, you stay here," she said. She kept running, but Steve followed. She took a couple turns to try and lose him, but he never gave up the chase.
"Would you slow down!?" yelled Steve.
She looked back while running. "No! Stop following me!" she yelled back.
"LOOK OUT!"
As she cleared the corner of a building, a car was coming down the road but the building made it impossible for it to see her. She turned at Steve's warning and ran right into the side of the front bumper of the car. It stopped instantly, and she rolled over the hood, then to the pavement. She held her leg and yelled out, surprised she could still feel anything.
Steve ran to her side in seconds, as did the driver and a few others.
"I didn't see her! She came out of nowhere!" said the driver, panicked.
"Claire, are you okay!?" asked Steve.
She looked up with teary eyes. "I think it's broken!" said Claire.
"I'll call an ambulance!" said the driver, running in his car.
Steve looked at her leg. "It doesn't look broken," he said.
"Call Chris!"
Steve pulled out his phone, and blinked. "I don't have his number," he said. Claire gave him the number and he punched it in, and then waited. "I don't think he's there," he said.
The sound of sirens got louder and louder, and the driver returned. "They're on the way," he said. "I'm really sorry!"
Claire shook her head. "My fault," she said.
Steve got Claire's phone from her jacket and went down the contacts list until he found the home number. He tried that, but there was no answer. "I can't get a hold of Chris," he said.
Claire was in tears again. "Keep trying," she said.
So the ambulance came, braced Claire's leg to put her in the van and headed straight for the hospital, and the entire time Steve stood there trying over and over to get a hold of Chris. He felt somewhat responsible, but then again he wasn't the idiot who was running backwards into a street.
Finally, he gave up on Chris and called Jill. Unlike her partner, Jill answered the phone in less than two rings. "Yeah?" she asked.
"Hey...you sound tired, were you sleeping?" asked Steve.
"No...Who is this?"
"Oh, sorry...This is Steve, Claire's friend? We met yesterday at the river," he said.
Jill paused. "Okay...?"
"I'm calling you from Claire's phone."
"...Okay?"
"I was trying to reach her brother but can't, do you know where he would be?"
Jill sighed. "You kids always assume I know Chris' whereabouts, at all times...it's not like I have him on a tracker," she said. Then it clicked. "Wait, why are YOU trying to call him from Claire's phone?"
"Well, there was an accident...and she wanted Chris," he said.
"What kind of accident?"
Steve explained from his encounter with Claire to the painful end of the chase. "I mean, it wasn't really my fault right?" he said.
"Go to the hospital to bring Claire her phone back, keep an eye on it in case Chris calls, and try to keep her calm until I get there," said Jill.
Steve could tell she was wide awake and alert now. "Well what if you get there first?" he asked.
"Just get your ass to the hospital, Steve, I'll try and leave messages for Chris wherever I can," she said right before hanging up.
"Wow...bossy," said Steve. He put the phone away and asked the driver who'd hit Claire if he could give him a ride to the hospital. The man was still in nerves, but agreed anyways.
Jill walked out of the station, sighing. Chris hadn't been in all day, but everyone was in charge of telling him what happened if they saw him. Knowing Claire, this was probably something small like a fracture or even just a bruise, but if she was panicking, there was no doubt that Chris would be too. Besides, can't deny a kid of her big brother when she's hurt and scared.
She headed to the parking lot and got in her Jeep. After trying Chris' cell once more, she drove towards the hospital. Please be minor sprain, please be minor sprain...she thought.
When she reached the building, she sighed. There were ambulances everywhere, doctors outside having smokes, patients in wheelchairs doing the same, and she remembered that she hated hospitals.
She drove to the parking lot, parked, and went inside. The last thing Jill wanted to do was walk around a hospital all day, so she went straight for the reception desk and asked for Claire.
"Are you a family member?" asked the nurse.
"No, I'm a friend, I have to make sure she's okay since her brother's currently missing," said Jill.
The nurse turned back to her computer. "I'm sorry, I can't give out any information unless it's to family," she said. "Did you try reaching the police to file a missing persons' report or something?"
Jill sighed, reached in her pocket, pulled out her badge and showed the nurse. "I am the police."
"Oh! I'm really sorry about that! Let me just look here..." she checked her computer, while Jill put the badge away with a half-smile. "Oh, here we go, Claire Redfield was it? She's in x-rays right now, you can wait here if you'd like," she said.
Jill stared at her, and the nurse held her hand out towards the hallway. "Or just go right in, it's down the hall, left, and the second door on your right," she said.
Jill nodded and headed off. "Thank you," she said. She walked down the hall, turned left, and stopped. Next to the second door on the right was a bench, and on that bench was Steve. "Well then, I'm glad you showed up," she said as she walked over.
Steve looked up, standing instantly. "What's that mean? It's not like I'd run away with her phone," he said.
"I know, I was joking...So, what exactly happened?" she asked. She sat down next to him.
"I already told you," said Steve.
"Yes...but WHY was she running across a street without paying attention?" asked Jill.
"She was running away from me."
"Why?"
"...You know, I actually have no idea. She asked me where I was yesterday, and when I told her she just started freaking out and said she had to go find you," said Steve.
Jill stared at him blankly. "Were you in the woods?" she asked, grinning. Steve nodded, and her grin disappeared. "Wait...I think I'm slowly figuring this out."
"Figuring what out?" asked Steve.
Just then, the door opened and a doctor came out pushing Claire on a wheelchair. "Well you're lucky that's all you get, after jumping in front of a speeding car..." said the doctor.
"I didn't jump," said Claire. She looked up at Jill and sighed. "Great..."
Jill put her hands on her hips. "Great is right, what the hell? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" she asked.
"Yes, Jill, I want to kill myself."
"That's not funny, on so many levels," said Jill.
Claire sighed and looked back to the doctor. "Can I leave?" she asked.
The doctor shook his head. "There's still a lot of stuff to do...We need to fill in some paperwork, but it requires a parent or legal guardian," he said. He looked up at Jill. "Are you related?" he asked.
"No, I'm just a friend. I've been trying to contact her brother but he's nowhere," she said. She noticed Claire's expression, but wasn't sure if it was worry or sadness. "I'm sure he just fell asleep, we had a long night at work yesterday. Would I be able to take care of the papers?" she asked.
The doctor sighed. "I wish," he said, grinning. It was a creepy grin, which slightly scared Jill. He went on. "But you could bring her up for the fitting, it's on the floor above this one," he said.
"Fitting? What for?" asked Jill.
The doctor raised a brow. "The cast...that leg's got two fractures, and it needs to set," he said.
"What? I don't want a cast!" said Claire.
"Should've thought of that before jumping in front of a speeding car," said Jill.
"I DIDN'T JUMP!" yelled Claire.
The doctor put his hand on her shoulder. "Shh, it won't be so bad...It's only for about a month," he said. Jill caught Claire's expression again, but this time it was clear that the girl wanted to punch someone...and the doctor was at a dangerously close distance. "Okay, I'll take her up, and Steve here can wait in the waiting room to see if Chris'll show up or call. Keep Claire's phone so he can reach it," she said.
The doctor nodded. "That sounds like a plan. I'll have the papers waiting with the nurse down at the reception, just have her brother fill it in when he gets here. I need to run though, my pager's going off. And don't worry about the cast," he said again to Claire before turning and heading down the hall.
They watched him go. "Dude...Something is seriously weird about that doctor," said Claire.
"What do you mean?" asked Steve.
"He just...he acted weird," said Claire.
"Weird how?" asked Jill. "Was it the whole shoulder-touchy thing? Or the creepy grins?"
Claire sighed. "Touchy, no doubt about it," she said.
Jill almost laughed, then sat down on the waiting chair and looked at Claire. "So, how about we go get you a cast fitted, and get the hell out of here?" she asked.
"Aren't we waiting for Chris?" asked Claire.
"He'll show."
She sighed. "I doubt it, if he's sleeping he'll be out forever. Besides, he needs to do the paperwork," she said.
Jill smiled. "I'll take care of that, don't worry," she said.
Claire shook her head. "It's gonna need his signature," she said. Jill kept smiling, so Claire decided to drop it. "Alright do it your way, let's go," she said.
Jill dropped the smile and looked at Steve seriously. "I want you to sit right here, don't move, and wait. In about five minutes, try calling Chris again, and keep doing so every five minutes. We'll get him eventually," she said.
Steve sighed. "Can I at least walk around or go outside or something?" he asked.
"No. Park your ass right there and if you move the slightest bit, I'll know about it."
"...Gees, calm down," he said.
"I'm serious, I need to talk to you after this is over, and if you're not here I'll have to go find you...and trust me when I tell you that you will NOT want me to find you," said Jill.
Steve laughed. "You don't scare me," he said.
Jill reached over, grabbed two of his fingers, and pulled them backwards. She was careful not to break anything, but he still yelled out. "Okay okay! I won't move!" he said.
"Good boy," she said as she stood. "Be back soon!"
Steve watched Jill push the wheelchair towards the elevator, and looked down at his fingers. "What the hell is everyone's problem today?" he asked nobody in particular.