Welcome to Chapter 8! A lot of what I wanted to put in the last chapter ended up being in here, if anyone was wondering. It just became too long, so I rewrote some of it. Thanks again to the reviewers! A guest was wondering why it's M rated. Mostly just to be safe, and so I can take any liberties I want. I don't want to have to worry about what's acceptable for a teenager, etc. It's mostly going to be for language and violence, but there may be more reasons laatteerrr huehuehue.
Anyway, hope you enjoy. Thank you for patiently waiting!
-Blink
The second my sister told me to try on a sweater she thought would look good on me, is the second I realized what I've been missing out on in life. I had the best dad a kid could ask for, but he moved around so I didn't really make any friends that would be worth keeping in touch with. My dad's friends would all look out for me, and I ended up with Jordi long term… but I never had someone who I could, well, be a girl with. Nicky was there, but it was always about the kids with her. And she never made me feel like I could be myself, because she was Aiden's sister. I had to get along with her, even if I didn't want to. So I never gave her a reason to dislike me.
Sarah understood me, despite us being so apart. We were opposites, but she knew that, so I didn't have to pretend to be someone else. She had to accept me. Just as I should of accepted her all these years. I was mad at myself. She tried to reach out and I shunned her away. No wonder she only contacted me every couple of years.
"With your dark hair, red would look soooo good on you!" She insisted, handing me a long red sweater to try on, "And with some dark leggings and some boots, it'll be perfect!"
And she was right about the whole outfit. She said this style is simple. Hell if I knew. I always just wore some form of jeans and whatever shirt I felt like wearing. I was kind of girly about my hair, but that was about it. I got bored a lot so experimented with it and got enough practice out of it. Though, I wondered… Would Aiden think I looked cute in this?
He doesn't care about cute. He cares about tight jeans, leather jackets, and Mohawks.
"What about a leather jacket?" I asked her.
She pondered for a second, "With that outfit? You could pull it off."
I nodded, "Just wondering," What was I thinking? That Aiden would leave that other woman just because I had a leather jacket on? When did I become the type of woman who would change herself to grab a man's attention? Oh yeah, when I lied about my age on our first date.
I bought the outfit and changed into it, but I settled for my current black peacoat.
"Feels kind of weird wearing this," I admitted to Sarah.
She giggled, "You were always such a tomboy. Just go with for the day, you'll get comfortable. You look really good."
I smiled, "Well thank you."
"People can't stop staring at you!" She whispered loudly.
"Oh god, it's because I look stupid! They know! I'm just a little girl playing dress up and they can tell!" I wrapped my arms around my shoulders.
"No, it's because you look so beautiful! People would always be staring, you just never notice! If only what's his face could see what he's missing," She said the last part quietly. I knew who she meant and I thought it was weird she kept bringing him up. I guess I never really had any other boyfriends she would know about. "Can I see your phone real quick?" She asked casually.
"Why?" I asked handing it over.
She held it up to me, "I'm going to take a picture and send it to him!" She cheered.
"Oh GOD, Sarah, please don't!" I said and reached for my phone back. I almost dropped it in the process.
"Why not?" She asked.
My phone's ringing interrupted our conversation and I looked over to see an unknown number that has been calling once a day for the past 3 days, "This number again."
"They'll leave a voicemail if it's important," She said.
"I keep thinking it might be Aiden, but he'd have left a message or text by now…" I said waiting for the number to stop calling.
She looked over to me and sighed, "You're clearly not over him like you said you were!"
I shook my head, "We're still friends, I think… I haven't heard from him in almost a week. He told me to call him a few days ago, and he never answered. Just worried about him."
"Well if he doesn't want to respond to you, you shouldn't go through the trouble of worrying about him," She said.
It wasn't that easy, but I thanked her for the input.
Then Sarah's phone went off and she answered it. We stopped walking, so I took this time to look around. My eyes caught the attention of a television playing the news inside of a convenience store. I don't know what force made me look over, but maybe it was the OWL MOTEL ON FIRE in big bold letters on the screen that held my attention. My heart sank and I walked inside to the counter, never taking my eyes off the small TV.
"Excuse me, can you turn the volume up?" I hurriedly asked the person behind the counter.
"I sorry, speaker do not work," The employee said, with a European sounding accent.
I looked back up to confirm that the fire was definitely in Aiden's room. And questions were flying through my head. Did he blow up his place? Did someone else bomb him? Was it an accident? Was Aiden even there? The TV was indeed too small for details, but I could see bodies of dead fixers or criminals or even tenants lying on the ground. I don't believe in a higher power, but I prayed that Aiden wasn't amongst those bodies. I panicked and ran outside to see Sarah looking around, left and right, until she saw me walk out.
"There you are-!"
"I have to go," I cut her off.
Her face fell, "What? Did I say something? I'm sorry about the pictu-!"
"It's not you," I interrupted her again, "it's an emergency. Thanks for the date,"
"Can I help?" She asked as I hugged her.
"Call you soon!" And I walked away. The first thing I did was try Aiden's phone one more time and sure enough, no answer. I don't know if tears were forming out of fear or frustration, but I tried to keep my composure as I couldn't help but think about what could go wrong. No answer. I hung up and thought about going to Jordi's to help me track him down, or go to Owl Motel. Both were far. My phone began to ring, causing me to lose my train of thought. I hoped it was Aiden's number that would appear on my screen, but it was the unknown number yet again.
Maybe it was Aiden, and there was a reason he couldn't leave a message or text. I decided against answering it. I stared at the number; feeling like it was ringing for hours. Once it stopped, a text from the unknown number arrived:
-Watch for cars-
I looked up to see a car fly past me. I stopped dead in my tracks. I was one step away from walking right into traffic. How cliché.
I wanted to reply, but I didn't even know what to say. Good thing I got another text.
-You're running out of time. Owl Motel is already on fire-
The number called again right after. I hit accept as quickly as possible and held it up to my ear, "Who is this?" I asked quickly.
"About damn time you'd answer," The voice on the other line said. It was a male's voice; sounded a bit older... familiar.
"Answer my question," I demanded.
"A friend. And if you want my help, you'd better do everything I say," He spoke very calmly like he was mocking me.
"Your help with what?" I spat.
"You saw the news right?" He asked.
"About Owl Motel; Yes" Before he could answer, I spoke up again, "Can we talk face to face or something?" I asked
He stayed silent for a moment, "Behind The Shore," he said and hung up.
The Shore was an old breakfast place that closed down recently. Nothing took it's place yet. It was such a dingy place; Aiden and I would always joke about going there and we'd go somewhere else while still talking about it. Aiden... where are you? I turned around to the outdoor seating section and saw a man there. He was wearing a beanie, drinking something from a coffee thermos. I immediately recognized him as the man I saw at the cafe I was at with Sarah last week. "You look familiar," I said with a deadpan expression and sat down.
"Nice to see you again. Ripley, was it?" He asked.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"You called me here," He retorted, and reached down to bring up another thermos and he handed it to me, but I ignored it.
"You've been calling me for over a week!" I yelled.
"You didn't seem to be in such a hurry when I tried calling you. Relax," He set down the thermos on the table and took a swig. There's no way coffee was in there.
"So are you going to tell me who you are?" I asked crossing my arms.
"I already told you; a friend," He sighed.
"Friends know each others names," I said.
"You want to know more about me or your boyfriend?" He asked taking another swig of the thermos.
"Aiden?" I asked quietly and quickly, "You know him? Why didn't you say that at the cafe?"
"I couldn't talk about it in front of so many people. It's too late now, anyway."
"What do you mean it's too late?" I asked.
"Uh, how well did you know him? Owl Motel was his hideout," He said to me like I was stupid.
"Yeah...so?"
He stared at me with sympathetic eyes, "He was in there. Fixers were going after him... I couldn't warn him in time, and he didn't escape. I'm sorry."
My eyes widened. I couldn't speak.
"He mentioned you before. Said he didn't want you getting caught in all this. I was going to offer an alliance with you in secret to save him, but well...Guess I just wanted to let you know," He said.
I heard him, but I didn't really register it. There's no way Aiden was...dead. I couldn't even think it. The stranger moved the thermos closer to me. I took a swig. Rum? Tasted like it. "W-Wh-Why were people after him?" Was all I could ask, throat burning from the alcohol.
"He screwed over a lot of people," He said letting some of his words draw out. "But listen, he and I were friends for many years. I promised him that if anything happened to him, I would take care of you and his family. In fact, I was looking after you well before you guys even broke up the first time."
I heard him speak, but I could only register every fifth word coming out of his mouth. I tried so hard to focus, but my brain forced me to think about the news I just heard. I wasn't even sure if I believed it. I never met this guy, what were his credentials? "Okay?" I whispered, afraid to say it any louder without crying.
"But, I need your help. Here's what I'm going to propose. You help me recover something, and I won't kill you and everyone you know," He smirked.
I was finally able to focus. My head shot up and I made eye contact with him. Did I hear that right? I could see the evil that I noticed deep in his eyes shine a bit brighter now, "What?" I was terrified, "What about everything you just said?"
He laughed a bit longer than I would have accepted, "Aiden's dead, sweetheart. I don't have to run errands for him anymore. You work for me now," He held his hand out for me to shake, "Partners?" He asked.
I stared at him, "What did you need for me to recover?" I asked first.
He put his hand back on the table, "I have a gun under this table. If you don't agree with me in five seconds, I'll shoot you and find someone else," He... reasoned.
"Go ahead and kill me. I don't have anyone that'll miss me," I reasoned back.
"Miss Parker, I've been digging in the database for years to try to find any living family members of Roy Parker. What a shame it'd be if I wasted all that time searching for you only to kill you a few days after I meet you," He smiled the whole time, but I could tell he was frustrated.
That was my chance to get inside his head, "Sounds like you really need me," I responded. "What a shame it'd be if you killed me, indeed." I was shaking on the inside, but my sharp tongue wasn't faltering.
He frowned for a second but then leaned back and sighed, "You're a pain in the ass already. You and Aiden were meant to be. Too bad," He looked me up and down smirked again, causing me to make a disgusted face, "I know you're searching for dear old dad, so if you help me recover this information, I have some information about Roy that I would love to share with you. Like...who killed him."
"Blackmail?" I asked.
"Isn't it the best?" He gloated.
"Why should I believe you? How do I even know...Aiden... is really...um... gone?" I whispered the last part, still unable to admit it to myself.
"You think if Aiden is alive, it'd be smart to threaten his girlfriend? I would've been dead from just thinking about it," He chuckled, raising his hand back up to me "So what do you say...Partner?" He asked again.
I took a swig from the rum and slowly reached my hand up to shake his. I hoped the alcohol was actually poison and would just kill me. I stood up and started walking away.
"Your ass looks really good in that tight dress," He said in a low voice, "You ever get bored later, let me know."
I turned around to look at him, still walking forward, "Go fuck yourself," I said flipping him off.
I turned the corner and continued walking along the Shore Way for a block before I leaned against a building and started holding my chest. All the tears that I was trying to hold in were then pouring out of eyes like a faucet. It was getting harder to breath and I felt sick. I threw up for what felt like forever. Whoever that guy was, my new... 'Boss', was a psychopath. Aiden... may have been dead, but maybe he wasn't. Boss was right, though. If he threatened me while Aiden was alive, he'd be dead.
He also knew about my dad. I should have asked him more. Working with him can only lead me to more answers... Boss doesn't know what I'm capable of. I'll kill him before he kills me. He's working for me just as much as I'm working for him; He just doesn't know it.
Dad, what the fuck have you gotten into without me? I thought we were a team.
I finished throwing up and just sat on the wet, cold, ground. Guess I wasn't dying from poison, I chuckled to myself. I started shaking uncontrollably. I didn't even feel that cold anymore. Is this what pneumonia felt like? What if I just gave up instead? I didn't want to die, but if that's what was going to happen, then let it happen. I pulled my phone out and dialed Jordi's number; Possibly for the last time.
"Ripley! So glad you called, but uh... I kind of have my hands full right now," He sounded rushed. I shivered. My hand was so numb, I couldn't even feel I was holding my phone. "Ripley, I can hear you breathing. This isn't scary, it's just weird."
My eyes were still full of tears and I shut them real tight as my lip started quivering, "...I... love you... Jordi," I said, speaking through my shaking or my crying, I couldn't tell.
"What? Hang on," He said to me. I could hear him talking to people in the room, over the line, "Excuse me fellas, I'll be one second. Don't go anywhere! Hahaha, ahh, you'll be fine," And I heard a door closed, "Ripley you still there? Are you okay?" He asked concerned.
I sniffed, "No," I said, "I think I'm going to die," I whispered.
"You're just going to decide that? What, you and Aiden broke up again?" He asked. I didn't respond right away, "Fuck. If you're on a roof somewhere, pretend I didn't say that. Hey, just come home and we'll talk, okay?"
I laughed and sniffed, "It's so far," I said.
"Then I'll come to you, where are you?" He said.
"Do you love me, Jordi?" I whispered through my tears.
"Okay, seriously. What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you in jail or something?" He joked.
He wouldn't say it. I shook my head even though he wouldn't see it, "No. Later, Jordi." I said as quickly as I could and just hung up. My scrunched my eyes tight.
...
The next thing I remember was hearing breathing next to me. I opened my eyes and saw a dog sniffing around my face. I straightened myself up and I must have scared the dog off because he started running. I assumed I wasn't dead, but you know what happens when you assume... It was still dark, but lighter than before. I wasn't sure how long I was asleep for, or if I ever was asleep.
I looked ahead and in the distance, I saw her. I saw the mohawk woman. I wasn't sure if it was her right away, because it was dark, but I recognized the hair. She was walking quickly, with a purpose. A shot of adrenaline must have went through me, because energy I didn't know I had caused me to stand up and walk in her direction. I was staggering and could barely even feel my feet touch the ground, but I was heading forward. I shouldn't have followed her, but maybe she would know what happened to Aiden or something. Maybe she even had something to do with it. She entered a homeless area, while I was still in a tree line. After some time, she looked over in my direction as I was following her, and I ran right behind a tree, falling to my knees. I was far enough to where she wouldn't see me. She doesn't even know who I am. I don't know why I was so paranoid. When I looked back around the tree, I lost her. I cursed. I looked around, over the river, and realized where I was.
The Bunker. I was no stranger to it. My dad doing what he did; having the friends he did; The bunker was never a legend for me. I can't recall ever actually being inside it. It's been dead for what feels like forever, anyway. It was just the test site, but then again, why would they go through the trouble of disabling the bridge that led to it, if the bunker didn't mean anything anymore. Maybe this is where my dad's data led to.
I headed for where the bridge would connect. There had to be a way inside. Even if it led nowhere, there was no harm in checking. Maybe I just secretly wanted to have my own hideout to hide from the world. I have a new Boss that will kill me. Jordi will be fine. I guess I'll miss my sister.
I walked along the edge of the ground toward the bridge until I saw two figures followed by voices. I saw the mohawk. The other was wearing a hat. A hat? Either it was Aiden or Aiden's killer stole his hat. I got closer, and all my fears just went away.
That was certainly Aiden. I picked up my pace and I think I called out to him, but it may have came out as a whisper.
Aiden and that woman were looking ahead toward the bunker and I finally walked out of the tree line and shrubbery that I was mixed up in. My jaw felt numb, I could barely hear myself saying his name. "Aiden?" I said a little bit louder. Apparently my voice was heard that second time because he looked over.
"Ripley?" He asked confused and surprised.
It was real. I covered my face with my hands, shaking, "You're alive," I said to myself. I was scared, but I didn't realize just how terrified I was about him until I saw he was alive.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, approaching me.
I ran over to him and hugged him tighter than I can ever recall hugging him, "I thought you were dead!" I buried my face in his neck and sobbed, repeating my words over and over. More to assure myself that he was in fact, alive...if that makes sense.
He put both of his arms around me, one hand on my back, holding me tight, "Shh I'm alive. I'm right here," He said comforting me.
"The motel," I continued to cry. "He-"
"That was me. I blew it up to get away," He answered right away, still holding on.
"Why wouldn't you answer me," I asked.
He slowly moved his arms to my sides, which led me to let go of the hug, much to my dismay. As I unwrapped my arms from his neck, I looked away as I wiped away my tears and smudged makeup. He still had his arms on my sides. I looked back up to him and just wanted to kiss him and tell him I loved him. At that moment, I didn't care who he became; Aiden would always be Aiden and I wanted him any way he was. But I couldn't tell him that.
"Rip, I didn't want to pull you into anything. I'm sorry," He said.
"Why couldn't you just tell me?" I pushed him off. As much as I loved the feeling of his hands on my sides again, I was angry with him. "Why couldn't you tell me where you were going to be?"
"It would be dangerous for you. I don't know who would be tracking my calls," He explained.
"Then why didn't you say anything before you left me at the motel?" I asked him quietly. I could feel the other woman's eyes on us, listening, but I didn't care. All I could see was Aiden. "I would have understood... but not hearing anything from you... I was thinking the worst!"
"I didn't have time. Rip, I'll explain everything. I...I have to find a way across this bridge. We'll talk later, I promise." He reassured me, putting his arms on my shoulder.
I looked right into his eyes. I really wanted him to stay longer, but I knew he had things to do, "Yeah" I whispered, wiping the tears and makeup yet again.
He pulled a quick smile and let go of my shoulder, "Clara, this is Ripley," he introduced us.
"It's nice to meet you" Clara smiled.
"Hey," I said quietly without even looking at her.
"We have to find someone. Do you want to come with us or wait?" Aiden said and I nodded.
"I'll wait," I said and sat down on a rock. As they walked off, I leaned my head forward, resting it into my hands. He was...alive. I started crying from the realization that he was alright. I just saw him. It was so unreal. I shouldn't have even doubted him. Aiden always has a way out. He's always one step ahead of everyone. Boss must really want my help. Why would he say Aiden's dead? To get me to cooperate? I had to play it up that I still think Aiden's dead. What if he already knows I'm with Aiden, and is testing me? I didn't know what I was going to do... but only one thing mattered at that moment: Aiden was alive.
My adrenaline was wearing off and it was starting to get cold again. I wrapped my arms around myself and kept my head down.
A few minutes later, I felt something warm drape over my back. I looked up to see Clara placing a blanket over me.
"That should keep you warm," She said. I noticed she had a French Canadian accent. Great, she was 'exotic', too.
"Thanks," I mumbled.
"I think it'd be suspicious if we stayed here," She started, "Want to find a warmer place to wait?"
I looked up to see her smiling. She seemed really friendly... for a bitch. I nodded. We walked over to the homeless camp.
"Too bad this one's locked," She said under her breath.
"Which one?" I asked and she pointed to a red door. I pulled my picks out and was able to jam it through the crack, forcing it to open. I walked right in, without saying a word.
"Wow, if only Tobias was in here," She marveled.
I sat down on the floor, leaning my back against the wall, and cuddled harder into the blanket. The room we were in was bigger than expected and Clara was going through this person's belongings. I kept my eye on her the whole time. She was tall, and thin. Her skin was flawless, but full of ink and piercings. Her mohawk isn't exactly what I thought it was when I first saw her. Her head was shaved on the sides, but her hair in the middle was long and pulled together, not spiked up. "Sorry you had to see that," I said, finally breaking the ice.
"No need to apologize," She smiled, "Have you known Aiden for a long time?"
I nodded, "You?"
"Not really. We've worked together before, but we only met in person a week ago," She explained.
A week ago was when I saw them talking in the underground parking lot. They've known each other for a while, I bet, but they fell in love online and had to meet in person. Maybe I had it all wrong. "You don't have to worry about Aiden and me. We're just friends..." I said.
She smirked and crossed her arms, "And what exactly would I be worrying about?" I couldn't tell if she was mocking me. In retrospect, she wasn't. She was just making a weird situation lighter. However, in that moment, I wanted to tell her to fuck off. I never responded. I just sat there, wishing Aiden would hurry up. I shut my eyes, thinking it was the best feeling in the world. I ended up falling asleep again, only this time not on the brink of death.
"Ripley, wake up," I heard in my sleep. I opened my eyes to see her leaning over, waving her hand in my face. "Aiden is getting the bunker powered on," She smiled.
Love triangle or no love triangle? I can't really decide. I will be following game events, but Ripley won't be in all of them so I'm not going to be copying dialogue. You know what happens in the game, you don't need me to rewrite it :)
Thanks! More to come soon!
