Letter to a Soldier, part 10

By: Hotaru

Notes:

--Tuesday October 21st 1:30--

Billy and Rebecca went to a pay phone, different from the one she used earlier, just to be safe. Billy sat on a concrete wall, banging his heels into it while Rebecca waited for someone to answer on Chris's end. After about seven rings, someone finally answered.

"Hello?" Chris answered breathlessly.

"Hey, Chris, it's me. What's wrong?" Rebecca greeted as a cold wind blew, chilling her to the bone.

"Nothing, I heard the phone from all the way on the other side of the office. Anyway, I talked to the rest of the group."

"Is it bad?"

Billy glanced at Rebecca and tried to read her emotions while listening to her side of the conversation. He silently wished he had a thicker jacket. It was particularly windy and cold that day.

"Oh, really? That's great! When...Friday? Yeah, a week before Halloween. Sure...I'm sure I can scrounge up the cash. Thanks so much, Chris. I'll call you back on Thursday or something, I guess...yeah. Okay, talk to you then. Bye!" Rebecca hung up the phone and Billy hopped down from the wall.

"So?" He questioned.

"He said you could stay with them!"

"Great. When do I leave?"

"Jeez, don't be so eager."

Billy smirked, wrapped his arm around Rebecca's shoulders again and pulled her into his side. "Hey. Don't get all depressed now. I just have a feeling like someone's watching me here. And it won't go away till I'm on that plane." He said.

"Which is cheaper..a plane or train?" Rebecca questioned.

"I don't know. Never really used either. How far does this guy live?"

"East coast."

"Damn. I've got some cash saved up, but I don't know if it'll be enough for a plane ticket. I'd rather not take a train. Too many opportunities for people to get on, you know?"

Rebecca nodded and shivered slightly. "I have some money saved up, I'm sure. We'll figure something out. We can always have Chris wire us some if we don't have enough."

"I don't want this guy to think I'm some bum or something." Billy mumbled.

"I'm sure he won't. Don't worry about it. It's understandable that you don't carry a lot of money, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

They walked the rest of the way home in silence, neither having anything particularly important to do. Carlos wouldn't be home for a few hours, so they wouldn't have to worry about hiding out in Rebecca's room. "I'm starving." Billy announced when they got home.

"Yeah, me too. I guess we should have some lunch. What do you want?" Rebecca replied.

"What'ya got?"

"Ah...soup. Tuna fish, left overs..frozen stuff."

Billy shrugged.

"We'll have tuna sandwiches cause I don't feel like making anything else." Rebecca decided.

"Whatever." Billy said, resting his head on the table.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah. Just dizzy."

"You want to lay down or something?"

"I get self conscious if I sleep when other people are around."

"You could go upstairs."

"I'll just take a shower. I'll be fine."

Rebecca watched him get up from his chair and head towards the stairs with concern, before starting on lunch.

About ten minutes later, Rebecca had finished lunch, and brought two plates up and put them in her room, before walking to the bathroom to tell Billy that lunch was done. As she raised her hand to knock on the door, she heard the sound of keys. Looking down the stairs towards the front door, her eyes widened. Carlos stood there, hanging up his keys and pulling off his coat. Without thinking, Rebecca twisted the door handle and ran into the bathroom, and closed the door as quietly as possible. Billy pulled back the shower curtain, shocked.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He hissed.

"Shut up! Carlos is home." Rebecca replied in a hushed voice.

"What's he doing home this early?!"

"I don't know, maybe he's sick. Just...be quiet until he goes to his room or something." Rebecca put the lid on the toilet down and sat down. What a predicament she got herself into. Listening, she heard Carlos walk up the stairs and open the door to his room. /Hopefully he's going to go to sleep for awhile if he's feeling sick./ She thought, drumming her fingers against her knee.

The flow of water stopped, and the shower handles squeaked slightly. Billy reached his hand out and Rebecca put a towel into it. She wanted to tell him that Carlos was in his room, but it was right next to the bathroom, so they should refrain from talking until they were in her room. The curtain was pulled back and Billy stepped out, a dark blue towel wrapped around his waist. He glared and Rebecca briefly before gathering his clothes. She put her fingers to her lips, and went to the door. Once there was silence, she opened it slowly, and let Billy go in front of her. Once they were in her room, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'll let you dry off, I'm going to go see what's up with Carlos, okay?" She whispered. Billy nodded, and she left the room and walked back down the hall. She knocked on Carlos's door, hoping she wasn't waking him up.

"What?" Carlos spat.

"Ah..it's just me. I wanted to see why you're home so early."

"Oh, you're back huh? I feel like shit, that's why."

"Is everything okay?"

"No. I want to get some sleep, so.."

"Okay..sorry."

Rolling her eyes, Rebecca walked back to her room in a huff. "What an asshole." She said quietly, when the door was closed.

"What is it?" Billy asked from the floor. He had taken her advice and layed down, thankfully wearing a pair of grey cotton work out pants.

"He just..had an attitude. I show that I'm concerned and he's just like 'I want to get some sleep'."

"Don't pay any mind to him."

"..you can rest on my bed if you want. The floor isn't really comfortable."

"I don't want to impose any more than I am."

"Billy. If you're not feeling well, then you should get a good, _comfortable_ rest."

With a sigh, Billy got up from the floor and layed down on Rebecca's bed. "Do you get dizzy often?" Rebecca asked, sitting on the end of the bed.

"Not really." Billy replied, staring up at the ceiling.

"Oh. That's good I guess."

"Yeah." Billy closed his eyes after awhile and drifted into a peaceful sleep. Rebecca watched his sleeping form, despite what he said earlier about being self conscious.

Sliding to the floor, she took a plate and bit into the sandwich. She thought of the past, and about her parents. She knew she had relatives outside of Raccoon City, but couldn't remember their phone numbers, and they probably wouldn't be online anywhere. She had never driven to any of their houses, either so she couldn't find her way there. "There's always the operator." She mumbled to herself, placing her empty plate on the floor with a sigh. /I hardly got along with them, and yet I'm hellbent on finding them. I can barely sleep anymore./ Closing her eyes, she remembered a song her mother used to sing her when she was little. An old Beatles song.

"Picture yourself on a train in a station, With plasticine porters with looking glass ties. Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile, the girl with kaleidoscope eyes." She sang softly to herself. Behind her, the bed shook slightly, and Billy sprang forward with a sharp intake of air. Rebecca jumped and turned around.

"What?!" She exclaimed. Billy blinked and put his hand on his head.

"A dream." He breathed, falling back with a sigh.

"You scared me."

"Sorry. You can go down and do whatever if you want. You don't need to stay here with me."

"What if you need something?"

"I'll be fine."

She smiled slightly, and turned to go downstairs. She went to the phone and dialed for the operator. "Hi, can you please tell me if you have the number for Don and Helen Chambers of Great Falls, Montana?" She said into the phone. She didn't really know her aunt and uncle too well. She only met them once or twice, but she figured her father's brother might know where he was.

"One moment please." The operator replied. Some jazz piece flooded Rebecca's ear. She tapped her fingernail against the kitchen table, waiting for the woman to return. "Yes we do, ma'me. Would you like me to connect you?"

"Yes, please."

The phone rang a few times, before someone answered. "Aunt Helen?" Rebecca questioned.

"No, hold on. Ma! Phone!" The other person replied. Wincing, Rebecca held the phone away from her ear briefly.

"Hello?" A voice asked finally.

"Ah, hi, Aunt Helen. It's Rebecca."

"..Rebecca..! Oh dear, we haven't heard from you in ages!" The woman replied.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I was wondering if you or Uncle Don knew where my parents were."

"...you don't know where your own parents are?"

Rebecca hesitated, wondering if she should tell her aunt what happened. "No. Our town needed to be evacuated, and I don't know if they ever got out, or where they went. I was hoping you might know." She said finally.

"Well, I don't know, honey. Maybe your Uncle Don might. Let me ask him." The woman disappeared, and didn't come back for close to ten minutes. This led Rebecca to believe that she and her husband knew _something_.

"Hey, Becky, it's your Uncle Don. How're you doing?"

"I'm alright, Uncle Don. Have you heard from my parents recently?"

"Why don't you know where they are, sweet heart?" They still talk to me as if I was a little kid.

"They were in Raccoon City, you know that."

"What happened to Raccoon City, then?"

Rebecca closed her eyes and sighed. "There was a virus outbreak and the town had to be evacuated. Not everyone made it out, though, and a lot of people died. I was out of town at the time, and I don't know where they went." She replied.

"How long were you out of town?"

"Just a day or so, but the town was evacuated within that day. The city wasn't safe for anyone to go look for survivors, so I stayed with some friends. I haven't heard from them in a long time, so can you please tell me if you know where they are!?"

"Alright, calm down now. Last I heard from your father...he was...somewhere..shoot, hold on."

"Jesus Christ." Rebecca breathed.

"Riverton. Someplace called Riverton." Don said finally.

"Do you have a number or anything?"

"No, I'm sorry, I don't. You know...your father and I didn't talk much."

"Yeah, okay, thanks. I have to go. It was nice talking to you."

"Wait, don't you want to talk to your cousin? You haven't seen each other since--"

"I really have to go. Bye."

Hanging up, Rebecca sighed. /Riverton./ She said to herself. Going to the living room, she grabbed the laptop she and Carlos shared and turned it on. "Riverton.." She said outloud, trying to think of where this place was located. As soon as Windows had loaded, she fired up a search engine and typed in Riverton. "Riverton, Wyoming. That's not far from here at all." She searched, trying to find how long it would take from her location, but couldn't find anything without a specific address. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced at her watch. A little after three. Three days until Billy would be on his way towards Chris and the others. He had barely been asleep for a half an hour. She couldn't wake him up just yet.

/I'll see if he needs his clothes washed before Carlos wakes up/ She decided, going up the stairs quietly. When she got to her room, she opened his suitcase and smelled the clothes inside. "Definately in need of a washing." She said, tossing the clothes in a basket. Walking into the hallway, she bit her lip. Carlos stood in the bathroom, hands resting on the sink, water dripping from his face.

"Hey." He greeted lowly.

"Hi. Are you okay?" Rebecca asked, quickly using one of Billy's tee-shirts to cover the clothes.

"Not really. I feel like shit."

"You drank a lot."

"I know. She left me, you know."

"Annie? But why?"

"Said I had feelings for you, bunch of stuff."

Rebecca swallowed deeply. "Are you going to try to call her or something? I mean, you can work things out right?" She questioned.

"I don't know." Carlos replied.

"You shouldn't give up. If you really cared for her, then.." Not wanting to discuss it further, Rebecca started back down the stairs. Carlos, luckily went back into his room to sleep off his hangover.

With a shiver, she went to the laundry room and loaded Billy's clothes into the washing machine. Putting extra soap, she set it and went back upstairs to watch some t.v.

A little while later, she put the clothes into the dryer and watched the news. Nothing interesting. Cold weather would be moving in, police are searching for a convicted felon wanted in ten states. Flipping the channel, she watched the end to a movie she'd seen at least five times, to pass the time until the laundry was finished. Turning, she glanced back at the keyboard that was set up behind the couch. Frowning to herself, she walked over and sat down in the chair in front of it.

With her left hand, she let her fingers move across the keys for a bit. "Damn. Why can't I remember it?" She said outloud. "I thought it started with D.." Sighing, she turned off the keyboard. /I've played the Moonlight Sonata a thousand times, and now I can't remember how to play./ Piano was one thing she actually enjoyed, and didn't mind her parents forcing her into. Playing on a keyboard didn't have the same effect as playing on a piano, but it was a lot cheaper. "Maybe if I looked at the sheet music.."

Giving up on the Sonata for the time, Rebecca went to the laundry room and tossed Billy's clothes into a basket. She could fold them upstairs, where it was less creepy. Walking towards the stairs that led upstairs, she heard voices. "What the...oh no." Balancing the basket on her hip, she ran up the stairs to find Carlos with his gun drawn. She pushed past him and stood in front of a just-woken Billy. "What the fuck is going on!?" Carlos asked loudly, despite having a killer headache.

"Carlos, put the gun down!" Rebecca exclaimed, holding her arms out.

"Not 'til you tell me who the hell this is!" Carlos retorted.

"He's a friend of mine."

"Since when do you have friends?"

"Watch it, asshole." Billy spat, before Rebecca had a chance to reply.

"What'd you call me?" Carlos demanded, thrusting the arm with the gun forward.

"You heard me." Billy replied.

"Please, stop it! Carlos, put the gun down. He's not going to want to talk when you're aiming at his damn head." Rebecca said, despite the fact that they seemed to be disregarding her for the moment.

"Who is he?" Carlos said, enunciating each word.

"Billy Coen. My friend." Rebecca replied slowly.

"Ah, the murderer you've been longing for has finally shown his face."

"He isn't a murderer. He was wrongly accused, and he's just staying here until Friday."

"What's Friday?" Carlos questioned.

"He's going to stay with Chris and the others. They trust me when I told them he wasn't guilty." Rebecca replied.

"So you expect me to let him stay in my house til then?"

"Where else is he gonna go? People are after him, and he's not even really safe here. It's just until Friday, we've managed to stay out of your hair, right?"

"How long has he been here?"

"Since last night."

"You were passed out on the couch." Billy added, not helping.

"Hey, my girlfriend left me! I have a right to want to drink." Carlos said defensively."You doin' his laundry, now, Bec? Can't he do it himself?"

"You would have seen me if I did, jackass, so get off her fucking back." Billy said, bumping into Rebecca as he stepped forward.

"You think I'm gonna let you stay here when you're cursing at me?"

"If you guys want to get into a pissing contest, that's fine, but Carlos, can he stay, or not?" Rebecca interrupted.

Carlos looked firm, and lowered his gun. "Stay out of my way, don't eat my favorite food and I don't got a problem." He said, going to put his gun back.

"Jesus. And you have the hots for this guy?" Billy whispered. Rebecca elbowed him.

"I did your damn laundry, ya ungrateful bastard."

"I ate a cold tuna fish sandwich."

"And?"

"Toast is supposed to be warm."

Rolling her eyes, she walked past him and went into her room to fold the clothes before they get wrinkled. "Really, I don't know what you see in that guy." Billy said, going in after her.

"Sometimes, neither do I." She replied, pulling a t-shirt from the basket.

"Well...what is it, then?"

"I guess...that we're alike because of Umbrella. We have a common ground that you won't find with most of the population."

"So? You can find similarities with other people."

"Yeah. But Umbrella made such a huge impact on our lives...I guess it's like the biggest similarity we could have, you know?"

"I guess I see where you're coming from. But he's still an ass."

Smiling, she pulled another shirt from the basket. "Well thanks for sticking up for me anyway." She said.

"When?" Billy replied.

"When he said I had no friends. I guess it's true though."

"Hey, don't be like that. You have friends, that Chris guy..me, that loser." Billy said, gesturing towards Carlos's room.

"You know, it doesn't really bother me, if I think about it. But if someone points it out...it does hurt."

"How many friends you have doesn't mean shit. I bet that dickhead's got tons of friends. But he'd not the ideal person, is he?"

"You're wise for a convict." Rebecca said, shaking his head by his chin. "Wise and stubbley."

"Why thank you. I haven't had access to a bathroom that I can call my own." He retorted.

"I bet he'd get mad if you used one of his razors so you can use mine."

"A lady razor."

"Yeah. I'll change the blade, don't worry. Just let me finish folding this for you."

--Friday, October 24th 8:00 a.m.--

"Okay, so your flight leaves at two, so we should leave here around 12:30. That'll give us plenty of time to get you there and everything." Rebecca said cheerfully.

"Good morning to you too." Billy replied, wincing from the bright sunlight.

"You're usually up way before me. Sleeping til eight isn't like you."

"I think he's been keeping me awake on purpose. Thumping around and crap. He's a pain in the ass."

"Well, you won't have to worry about it tomorrow. So get up, take a shower, brush your teeth and I'll start on breakfast. Bacon and eggs okay?"

"Yes ma'me."

Rebecca went to the kitchen with a smile and turned on a burner and put a skillet over it. "You're too cheerful." Carlos said, leaning on the doorframe.

"You're too glum. Want some breakfast?" Rebecca replied.

"Sure. I got some time before work."

"How do you want your eggs?"

"Whatever. So you happy he's leaving?"

"No. I'm happy he'll be safe.."

"Why do you want him around?"

Rebecca turned. "Well, he's my friend. And I enjoy his company." She said smugly.

"So that's what you've been doing, locked up in your room all day? Enjoying his company?" Carlos sneered.

"You dirty pervert! How dare you?"

"What other conclusions you want me to jump to?"

"We stayed in there because we didn't want to be a bother to you. It feel right if I were to leave him alone, so I stayed."

"Suuure."

"Have you called Annie yet? I'm sure she's going to give up on you soon."

Carlos snorted. "Why bring her up? As far as I'm concerned, what's done is done."

"So you're just going to let her go and believe a bunch of BS?" Rebecca questioned, really wondering what she see's in the guy.

"It ain't my problem if she's jealous of you."

"Jealous of me?"

"She doesn't like the idea of other people likin' me."

"Well she doesn't have to worry."

"What are you saying?"

"She's sayin' she doesn't like you no more." Billy interrupted. He took the seat across from Carlos and smiled sarcastically.

"When are you leaving?" Carlos asked, crossing his dark arms.

"Not for a few hours, buddy boy." Billy replied, resting his elbows on the table. Rebecca shook her head, and plated the eggs and took the bacon from the microwave.

"So you takin' a taxi to the airport?" Carlos asked as Rebecca put his food on the table.

"Yes. I'd ask you but you have work, and you don't particularly get along with Billy."

"I wonder why you do."

"Maybe cause I'm not a cocky stuck up ass like you are." Billy offered.

Carlos stabbed into his eggs, tempted to fling them at the man across from him. "I'll just be glad to come home tonight, to an empty house where I can do whatever I want." He said with a sigh.

"...I'll still be here.." Rebecca interrupted.

"You're not going with lover-boy here?"

"No, and I don't know what gave you that impression. You're such an asshole!" Rebecca erupted, tempted to take the food away from the ungrateful bastard.

"Hey! Relax, Becky! You just were goin on about it like you were goin' too." Carlos said defensively.

"I did not! You're so oblivious!" Rebecca retorted, going back to the stove before Billy's eggs burned. "If you want me out of the house so bad just say so."

"Becky, you're putting words in my mouth!"

"Only after you put them in mine. Never once have I said anything that would insinuate I was leaving. Although now that I think about it, maybe it'd be better if i _did_ go!"

Throwing his fork down, Carlos stood up. "Fuck this. I'm going to work." He spat. "See ya 'round." He saluted Billy sarcastically before storming out of the house. "Ungrateful bastard." Rebecca spat, scrapping the slightly burned eggs from the pan onto a plate. Billy got up from the table and put his hands on her shoulders, and rested his chin on her head.

"He didn't even eat his bacon." He said, hoping to get her to smile. She did.

"You can have it if you want." She replied, holding her head in her hands.

"Are these mine?" Billy asked, looking at the plate of eggs on the counter.

"Yeah. They got a little burned. I'll eat them if you don't want them." Rebecca replied. Billy took the plate and sat at the table.

"You'll find there are a lot of differences between me and him." He said.

"Oh?"

"I actually appreciate when someone goes out of their way to do something for me."

"I'm glad. I feel like such an idiot."

"Why's that?"

"Before..you said you don't know what I see in him. And I don't either. It was probably just some stupid crush. Things got messed up because I couldn't just ignore it."

"Becky..you're too considerate sometimes. The way that he talks about that girl, it's like he didn't really care. She's probably better off without him anyway."

Sighing, she stirred her eggs, hardly giving them time to cook before moving them around again.

"I actually liked Annie. She wasn't some bar-hopping bimbo for once. It's like he put thought into who he'd give keys to his house to for once."

"I guess that's why you have a key lock for your room."

"Yeah. I wish I could go to Chris's with you. I don't want to be stuck here."

"What about all your stuff?"

"I'll just bring clothes and what I need. The stuff can stay for however long it has to."

"...you wanna come?"

Sitting across from him, she smiled. "I think so." Winking, Billy took a piece of bacon and bit into it.

"Alright. You got enough money for a ticket? I will pay you back, you know, I just got to get a job." He replied.

"Don't worry about it. I had extra from money my parents saved up since I got a bunch of scholarships and stuff."

"Cool."

"The only thing that bothers me...I called my aunt and uncle, and they said that they think my parents are living in Riverton."

"Where's that?"

"Wyoming. If we go to the east coast, I won't be able to see them."

"You have an address or something?"

Frowning, she shook her head. "Well...knowing they're living there should be good enough. If you don't know where they're staying, then you'd have to look all over for them." Billy said.

"Yeah. I just...it's not that far from here, so I kind of wanted to drive up there just...to be there." Rebecca replied, eating her breakfast slowly.

"That's understandable. But, you know they're alive."

"So there's nothing else I can really do."