Chapter XXXVI

"This is your house?" Sherry breathed as they stepped into the large mansion. Jake took her bag from her suddenly limp grasp and nodded, looking around casually and shrugging. His father was already moving up the stairs, ignoring the two of them, "this is beautiful."

"It's alright," Jake murmured and then wrapped and arm around her waist and began moving her up the stairs. "you like it?"

"Well, yeah," Sherry laughed softly, "it's beautiful." The laughter sounded strained, but it made Jake laugh, she was making an attempt to smile. That was enough for him, "it's much more grand then my tiny apartment."

"I like your tiny apartment much better then all of this, your apartment is home," he murmured quietly, "this place is way too big for my dad and I."

Sherry didn't respond to that, both transfixed by everything that she saw around her and also amazed at Jake's response. If he had ever told his father about that opinion she suspected that the man would not re spond kindly. But then of course, if the man was always working – as she imagined, then certainly the opinion that this house was not a home would not surprise him.

Jake led her to the second floor where there was a wonderfully intricate tiled floor. She relished in the sound of her shoes coming down on the wood, the soft tapping of it made her smile slightly. The walls were paneled with glossy wood. It made the space feel more narrow and cramped then it really was.

"Where's your room?" Sherry murmured, aware of the fact that Jake had yet to release her. This hold was protective and tight, as if something might jump out and yank her away.

"My room is right down the hall," he smirked, noticing Sherry's surprised stare, "did you really think that I wouldn't give you the closest room to me?"

"I… I thought you might," she admitted softly, and then looked up at him, "will your dad mind?"

"He's hardly ever here, he probably won't even know."

Sherry nodded, accepting this. Jake finally stopped in front of a wooden door and pushed it open.

"Are you kidding?" Sherry breathed. He grinned as she stared.

The room was large, much too large for one person. There was a big bed pushed against the wall on the left side of the room. And against the wall opposite of the door there was a large window. To the right of the room there was another door, which Jake explained was a bathroom.

The colors were all dark, there was indigo colored curtains against the window. The floor was wooden, and it had blue patterns running through it. The bed itself had a wooden headboard and black satin looking bed sheets. Sherry couldn't help but take in the lavishness of it all, and then become uncomfortable.

"This is really nice." She noted as Jake walked to the bed and put her bag on it, "this room I bigger then my living room."

"I'd rather be in your living room then in this house," he responded, casually throwing himself back on the bed. Sherry stepped forward towards Jake and did her best to keep her nerves down. This house was too royal. Everything felt overdone and perhaps to an almost uncomfortable degree. And yet, it retained its beauty nonetheless.

"Come here," Jake purred softly as Sherry stopped walking. His hands found hers and he tugged her forward until she stood between his legs. He smirked up at her shy expression, "you're nervous."

"Of course I am," she whispered, looking over all the things in the room, "this is so not me… I'm totally out of my element here. Its beautiful Jake, don't get me wrong, but I didn't want to come here. I didn't want to be a burden-

"Shut up," he purred, standing up and gripping her firmly by the hips, her breathing hitched as Jake licked his lips, "I want you here… don't you remember?"

"Of course I do Jake," a hard sigh moved through her, "I just have a lot of things on my mind… dad's funeral is in a week," her voice came out choked, "and I just don't know how I'm going to deal with it."

"I'll be there with you," he tugged her until she sat on his lap. Sherry melted in his embrace and resisted the tears threatening to build in her eyes. "I want to be there, but only if you'll let me."

"Of course I'll let you be there." She nodded, "I might just need a bit of quiet after it all…"

"Of course."

...

"Bullshit!" Jake yelled.

Sherry resisted a smile as Jake furiously hammered his thumbs into the controller for the game console. His stare was feral.

"Fucking lag!" He shut the system off and angrily set the controller down, "Chris better not call me with that fucking laugh of his."

"It's not Chris' fault that you suck," she shrugged with a smile, noticing how his stare darkened. "You just don't have any plan, you rush into attack, Chis bides his time. That's why he was able to kick your butt."

Jake released a soft growl and suddenly he was on her. Sherry released a short squeal that he cut off with his palm. He was settled between her thighs, her lips were only inches away from his.

"I bet I could kick your ass in this game," he murmured, kissing her jaw gently, noticing how she moaned softly under his palm. She released what sounded like a short protest but he just ground his hips into her, pressing his groin against her, relishing in the soft sounds she released.

Finally he took his hand away from her mouth and she smiled, "I will end you in this game Jake."

"We'll see about that," his lips pecked hers.

Jake and Sherry left the room after that, and decided to find his father. Sherry was more than anxious to find him since he had the letter that her father had written for her, or at least he said so.

When they found Albert Wesker he was in his office. Jake knocked on it tentatively and upon hearing a monotone, 'enter' he pushed the door open and pulled shy Sherry inside. The office was just as dark as she expected, the walls were crimson in color and the rug was also very dark. Albert Wesker sat behind a mahogany desk with a laptop before him, the glasses were still in place.

"Yes?"

"Are you busy?" Jake asked, stepping forward more and casually resting a hand on the table.

"I am always busy, Jake."

"Give us the letter," he demanded quietly, "we've waited long enough. It's not fair of you to keep holding it back from her when you know how important-

"Jake, stop," Sherry whispered, afraid of what the calm looking man might say in reaction to Jake's rather imprudent tone, "Mr. Wesker I only wish to read the note and get this over with. My father's funeral preparations are not finished and I would very much like to.. get all these thing in order… and if I could just-

"Here," Albert Wesker's tone was bleak, "read it in the privacy of your room. I am certain you will want it."

He reached for a drawer, pushing a key into the hole and then opened it. He pulled out a small envelope and slid it across the desk. Sherry silently took it in her hands and murmured a soft thank you before escaping his presence.

He terrified her.

She could sense Jake behind her. He moved like a man possessed, wrapping an arm around her waist and tugging her in the direction of her room. The note shook and blurred in her hand as she trembled. What could the note hold? A final goodbye?

When they reached the entrance to her room Jake stopped outside of it. Sherry needed to do this on her own, they both knew it.

"I'll be right out here if you need me, okay?"

She nodded, unable to speak. Jake kissed her cheek and then shut the door, eager to know what was in the letter.

…

Sherry sat down for a long while, trying to come to terms with what she suspected was in the note. Should it be a goodbye, she would do her best to not break down- after all there was no reason at all as to why she should do that. She knew that the day was going to come, but just the thought of it made her want to sob. It felt like he was still alive in a sense.

Carefully opening the letter she took note of the fact that it was on a small sheet. Could this really be all that her father had left to say to her? Was there nothing else? How could so few words be all that is left?

"Here goes nothing," she breathed, opening the note. Immediately her eyes watered at the sight of his hand writing.

Dear Sherry, it started, if you are reading this then it means that you are probably with Albert Wesker. Thank you for staying with him. These coming days will be hard for you, and I rather rest knowing that you have taken my thoughts into consideration and gone with him. Albert is relentless however, so I suspect that he was more imposing than is proper and that also swayed you.

I cannot begin to describe to you all the pain it gives me to write this note. I love you so much, sweetheart. But you must be strong. You aren't alone, there are people to support you if you look in the right places. Just don't put your trust in the wrong person. I don't want you to be hurt, ever again. And I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you when you needed it, and I'm sorry that I can't be there now.

Sherry, I am writing this to you because I need you to understand that my death had been a process. It is not a single moment, it is something that takes a matter of weeks, months, years, and I've been dying for a long time now. I need you to understand that my death was never accidental, it was completely on purpose. Forgive me. I know that taking my own life-

She released a hard grasp, standing up and breathing hard.

No. no, no, no, no! This can't be true, there's no way… there's no way.

But it was true, it was horrifically true, she continued reading, ignoring the sounds of Jake from outside, asking her if she was okay.

"Sherry, are you alright?"

I know that taking my own life is not what I should have done. But there are reasons for what I did. My work ruined me Sherry, it is the reason that I lie here now, it's the reason why my body feels like it's exhausted. And it's the reason why my hand is being forced. I can't do this anymore, but I need you to understand that I love you. And that my final moment was not painful. It was with thoughts of you, and about the great woman I know you'll grow up to be. I know that Albert will take care of you.

With all of my love,

William.

Live well.

She couldn't breathe. The room was spinning. Her father had killed himself, he could have still been alive and with her but instead he killed himself. The sounds of Jake and Albert furiously pounding on the door escaped her. This was too much, and so without energy she collapsed onto the bed, and then onto her knees as Albert and Jake burst into the room. Her hands were shaking horribly. Her entire body was quaking and Albert rushed over, laying her flat on her back as she shuddered and trembled. Jake's feet were nailed to the ground, unable to move as she hyperventilated.

"What is it?" Weskwe asked her, holding Sherry's face tightly between his hands as she gripped his wrists tightly, unable to think.

"D-dad he…"

"Sherry?" Jake ran over then, kneeling beside her and taking her hand, placing it over his chest, "breathe okay? Like this—

"he-he-

"God damn it Sherry, listen to me!" He exclaimed passionately, "breathe. Follow with me."

"Do as he says," Albert ordered, releasing her face and snatching the note off of the ground. His eyes ran over the page quickly, and two seconds later he crunched the note in his hands.

"Jake, oh god-he-he-

"Shh, Sherry please just breathe," he whispered and pulled her tightly into his chest, aware of the look on his father's face. The man looked like he was locked in thought from the slight furrow on his brow bone. She wasn't crying anymore, just shaking terribly hard against him with an arm over his shoulder.

This would be the last time she cried, she vowed. Her father had killed himself, leaving her.

"What's in the note?" Jake asked his father harshly, noticing that Sherry's shakes had died down slightly, and now she was simply sitting in his lap, silent.

"Dad killed himself," she answered before Wesker. It sounded strained, "he killed himself."

The betrayal left her numb and unfeeling. She was unsure that she would ever be able to cry a tear, nothing could compare to the hurt or the betrayal that she felt at that moment. Nothing.

One more chapter to go... and I know that a lot of you said that the story has slowed down and while I understand the dislike of that I have to explain that my stories will never been pure excitement all the way through. That takes away from the exciting moments that I would try to create. I hope that you all enjoy the last chapter, I think that you all will very much. :o I don't think it's going to be too long, but it will be filled with what I hope is unexpected stuff :)

and I can't wait to see your responses :)