TAFDI

When we arrived at the hotel and got out of the car, the valet parking boy gestured for the keys as another man took our bags from the car to the reception desk. Lara, however, ignored the valet parking boy.
"Ma'am." He said as Lara got back in the driver seat after helping unloading the bags. "I'm going to need your keys, it's not allowed for guests to park themselves."
"Well, Sir." She said sarcastically. "It seems you are in possession of your drivers license no longer than a couple of months." The boy did look very long, but that's mostly the case since they're so cheap. "Either you come sit in the passenger seat, or I'm parking it by myself, because no way you're getting behind the wheel." I laughed as the boy hesitated for a moment, and then got in the passengers seat. The look on his face was priceless. Honestly, normally Lara isn't so condescending to people, however it sometimes felt like she treated that car as a long lost, priceless artifact.
"I'll see you inside." I said before I walked to the front door of the hotel. My flip-flops made a sound against the marble floor as I walked inside.
"Croft." I said to the lady behind the desk as she asked what name I booked under. Lara joined me again just before I was about to make my way upstairs after having received our room keys.
"Was it parked safely and alright?" I asked with a grin.
"Did you see how young he was?" Lara pointed out.
"And you have decades of driving experience?" I laughed
"Which side are you on?" She poked my ribs.

Our hotel was directly adjacent to the beach and the enormous windows offered a spectacular view of the sea. We shared the large bedroom and the bathroom was amazing, with one of the biggest showers I've ever seen. Good, I love showers. After looking around some more we decided to get dressed for the beach, since it was a quarter past eleven, already. I was already curious if Lara was going to wear a bikini at all. She wasn't really the bikini wearing type, if you know what I mean. I never understood why. I mean, even after half a dozen scars she managed to collect on Yamatai, her body looked amazing. I'm not bad myself, if I say so myself, and I will never pass on the opportunity to wear a cute bikini. I guess Lara was just not that kind of person. As long as she didn't wear a hoodie and cargo pants to the beach, because that would just be embarrassing to be next to. Even though we were only staying a couple of days, I decided to pack all my 14 bikini's. That way, I could easily change my mind on what bikini to wear! I picked the lemon green one, put my green summer dress over it and went to the sitting area of our room. Lara was already waiting for me while playing with her phone. She was wearing swimming shorts to her knees and a t-shirt.
"You ready?" She smiled.
"I hope you're wearing a bikini under that, because you could use some sun, sweetie." I smirked.
"Why are you so keen on seeing me as naked as possible?" She said, crossing her arms and raised her eyebrows.
That startled me as I didn't expect the question.
"Because you're so super hot, duh." Take it as a joke, take it as a joke, take it as a joke.
She laughed, thank God. What was wrong with me?
"Don't worry." She continued. "I'll get some sun. Let's go." Lara walked to the door and I followed her out.

I woke up after baking in the sun for a while and turned around so I was laying on my back. It was past noon and the sun was actually quite hot, even for my taste. I looked next to me at Lara laying on her back on her towel holding a book above her face. At least she took her t-shirt off, revealing something that was somewhere between a sports bra and bikini top. I decided not to comment on it since it was far more than I expected anyway.
"I have no idea what you read all day long, every day. You're always up in that study room, reading books and notes and whatnot." I said.
"You never ask." She didn't take her eyes of her book.
"I know." I sighed. That was because I never wanted to bother her. "That's true. Anyway, I'm asking now. What are you reading?"
She looked at me from above her sunglasses. "You don't have anything better to do or are you really interested?"
"A little bit of both." I grinned.
"Seeking safety." She said still looking at me.
"Cool, what is it about?" I asked, honestly intrigued.
"A treatment manual for PTSD." She said calmly while she turned her attention to the book again. I'm not sure how my face looked at that moment, because I was busy making sure my heart didn't pop out of my throat. A treatment manual for PTSD? How? Why? Why would she read that when she has me to talk to? Was that because I wasn't there for her? Or at least made that clear? I wasn't sure how I suppose to feel, but I did feel like the worst "best friend" in the whole fucking world right now, shit. And how come she has spontaneously accepted she has PTSD? Hell, does she even has PTSD? I'm taking too long to answer her. Say something.
"Oh." I managed to blurt out. WAS THAT IT?! Say something more, you idiot. "Do you always read that kind of books?"
"Not really." She said, still as calm as ever. "Just… recently, actually. This is the first one on the subject."
"Well, why did you start reading them?" I got up and sat on my knees next to her. Lara put the book away.
"I don't know. Perhaps I have PTSD, perhaps I don't. Just educating myself, I guess."
"Okay, and?" How can she be so calm about this? How is this not groundbreaking for her?
"I don't know yet, Sam, I'm just reading. I called a specialist last month and he said I showed some signs. Obviously, he can't be sure from just a single phone call. He invited me for a first session."
Really?" How much stuff isn't she telling me?
"Yeah, I didn't visit him." She sighed deeply. "I declined."
"Why? You probably have PTSD!" I almost yelled.
"Why?" She got up and leaned on her elbows. "Why does everyone just assume I have PTSD? You know those soldiers that come back from war, those people that go through stuff far worse than what I saw? You think they all have PTSD?"
"Well, no, bu-..."
"Exactly, just because I went through some fucked up stuff doesn't mean by default I have PTSD. I might have, yes. I might not. That doesn't mean that it has to be shoved down my throat every single time we talk about it. I'll figure it out, okay?"
"Sweetie, we barely ever talk about it…" I said feeling more guilty every second. I've been a horrible horrible friend, haven't I? "Do you talk to someone else about
it?"
"No." She laid back down and picked up her book again. "Just stop talking about PTSD okay? I'm getting annoyed just hearing that term. PTSD, PTSD, God, just stop it. I might be fucked up, but I'm not sick."
"Sweetie, I don't want you to do thi-..." I was interrupted by Lara getting up faster than I could blink my eyes. She reached for something in the air, which made me gasp and fall onto my back in the sand. She opened her palm and there was a beach tennis ball in it. Judging from the look on her face it would've probably hit me or her in the face if she didn't heroically intercept it.
"Sorry, sorry, my apologies!" A guy in swimming shorts came running in our direction. He had a slight German accent. "I truly am sorry!" He said as he kneeled next to Lara. He had blue eyes and blond hair that reached just below his ears. He was actually quite handsome. Lara sat up straight and handed him his beach tennis ball back.
"Again, I truly am sorry." He smiled.
"It's fine, don't worry about it." I said, before Lara might've decided to murder him.
"You two girls don't look fine, to be honest. Let me make it up to you! We're having a campfire going tonight at the beach. You two girls want to come?"
Yes! I thought. It'd be fun and good for Lara to meet some people. I looked at Lara with puppy eyes.
"Sorry." The guy said before we could answer. "Where are my manners? My name is Felix." And he shook Lara her hand. "And I promise this isn't some lousy pick up line." He laughed as he shook mine. "My girlfriend is right there." As he pointed to a group of people in the distance.
"We'll come!" I practically yelled.
"Great. It's at 9, but come and go as you please. The beach isn't ours, obviously. Oh, and there's booze!" He got up, waved, and went back to his group.
"It'll be fun." I said turning to Lara before she could say anything.
"Oh, please. I'm not going." She said as she went back to her book.
"C'mon, it'll be good for you. We can make some new friends and stuff. Let's talk about it over lunch, it's almost 2, let's go eat something."
"I'm not hungry." She said.
"Jesus Christ, Lara, ugh... Fine, see you around." I had enough of her childish behavior. We were on a trip for Christ's sake. I put my green summer dress on and
started walking back to the hotel. Why didn't she talk to me more, and why would she not want my help? Admittedly, I haven't really asked her what kept her in that study room all day. I just figured she wanted to be left alone for a while. Still, I have asked her plenty of time to talk to me, to tell me how she feels. I've told her numerous times that I'll there for her, whenever she needs me. And this is how she repays me? By being annoyed at me? Screw it then, if she wanted to deal with it alone, I'll let her deal with it on her fucking own.

I made it back to the hotel and entered the dining part, thankful for the cool breeze from the AC. I didn't feel like eating at any of the restaurants along the beach. I walked through the buffet and mashed together some sandwiches. When I sat at a table I realised I was alone in the entire hall. I didn't let it bother me and took my first bite. I still had a knot in my stomach about Lara and I wasn't sure how to approach it. First there was the PTSD issue, whether or not she had it. How will would we find out if she has it or not if she won't go to some sessions? And if she does have it, how do I deal with it? Maybe I could talk to someone about it? I'm not sure how she would feel if I talked to people about it behind her back, especially after our little fight a couple of minutes ago. I guess I'll just have to make her talk to me, somehow. And then there's the fact I have feelings for her. When I thought about that I kind of startled myself. I stopped mid bite and looked around as if someone near me would've heard me think that out loud. Still alone. Oh God, did I have feelings for her? I mean no doubt she was absolutely gorgeous. And I've had flings with girls before, but that was limited to sex, not actual feelings. The scariest part was what it might do to our relationship. I wouldn't be able to handle losing her. God dammit, why was this so complicated. I looked at my sandwich and didn't realise the man until he took a seat in front of me. I looked at him and then to the left or right as if perhaps the entire dining hall had filled and there was no room left anymore which caused him to sit at my table. But no, just him and me.
"Uhm…" I looked at him with an open mouth. "Hi?"
"Miss Nishimura?" The man asked. He had very short gray hair which seemed to overflow in his beard perfectly, as it about as short and gray. He had a worn out face, as if he's seen all the horrors in the world and didn't care anymore, accompanied with a scar on his left cheek. Though, the most off thing about his appearance where his dark clothing, since he was wearing a black sweater and cargo pants in this weather. Perhaps hiding even more scars? His sweater had a logo which consisted of a silver shield with a blue T in it.
"Y-Yes...? Who are you and how do you know my name?"
"I'm Connor Bennet. I work for the TAFDI. I know you're name as I know you've been involved with the discovery of Yamatai. I would like to talk to you about that." My eyes widened the moment he mentioned that wretched island. I immediately felt uncomfortable.
"Yamatai..?"
"Yes, sorry if that brings up some bad memories, but I'd really like to talk to you about it." The man continued. Yup, time for Lara. I wanted to stand up and look for her straight away, but the man put his hand on my shoulder and pushed me down again. Well, pushed might not be the correct word, he just nonchalantly lowered his hand on my shoulder. I could already tell there was no way I was getting up if he didn't want me to, his hand felt like warm concrete.
"If you hurt me I'm going to scream so loud you'll die, just so you know." I said softly. My instinct said to reach for my phone, but realised I decided to leave it in the hotel room, and not take it to the beach. Funny, how I thought that was a good decision a while ago. I looked around to see if perhaps someone had come in, but I was still alone with the man. The exceptionally large dining hall was deserted.
"I have no reason to hurt you, miss." The man said, he smiled. Despite his ravaged face he tried his best to look as friendly as he could. "Just hear me out, okay?"
"Doesn't look like I have a choice." Although I was really curious what this guy had to say about Yamatai, specially since it seemed it was being covered up.
"Great." He smiled again, moving his scar on his cheek. "I have some information regarding Yamatai, and I know you were involved in a very special way."
"You could say that. By the way, what's TAFDI?"
"The Trinity Archeological Findings and Discovery Institute." He said as he tapped on the logo on his sweater.
"Okay, so now what? What is it you wanted to talk about it. Stop being so vague and tell me what you want." I was getting really anxious.
"Fair enough. We need your help."
I frowned. "My help? What on earth could I help you with?"
"Could I invite you to a meeting with my superior so he can explain in detail?"
"No, you can explain it to me right here and now."
"Miss, I can assure you it's safe. We can meet in a public pl-..."
"No! Of course not! Of course I will not go with you. I don't even know you are, how you know my name, or what you want from me! Are you insane?!" I crossed my arms. "You either explain yourself right now, or I'm leaving."
Connor took a deep breath. "Fine then. We need your help retrieving a stone from a hidden city inside the Amazon rainforest."
I looked at him for two seconds with my eyes wide open. The absurdity of his sentence, in the current situation, made me burst out laughing. "What?! Are you serious?" I said when I calmed down a bit. "Where are the hidden camera's?" I looked around me to check. I half expected a film crew popping out from under the table or something.
"I'm serious." The man said. His smile disappeared. "Could I please interest you in a meeting with my superior? He can meet you anywhere where you want."
"Why me? Why not Lara? She discovered the island."
"We will involve her, too." He leaned back in his chair.
"Stop being so vague! Where is she? Did you talk to her already?"
"No not yet. We will involve Miss Croft if you agree to meet my superior."
"I'll have to talk to Miss Croft about this." I said and got up from my chair. This time Connor didn't stop me from leaving. "You're weird. Very weird." I pointed my finger at him as I walked by towards the exit. Before I reached the exit I was already running. Running towards Lara. I needed to tell her this. The longer I was running the more it struck me how bizarre everything was. Why was Yamatai being covered up? Why could we not reach Harry anymore? And, most importantly, why was there a man asking for my help to retrieve a stone in the amazon rainforest?! Jesus, this must be a prank.

My skin was glistening with sweat when I reached the beach. I saw another girl talking to Lara which I recognized from the group Felix pointed to earlier since her haircut wasn't average to say the least. She had a blonde mohawk, while the sides of her hair were black. It actually looked quite good on her. She was sitting next to Lara in the sand and I could see she had a tattoo in the shape of angel wings across her shoulder blades.
"Lara, we need to talk." I said half out of breath as I reached them. The girl turned her head towards me.
"Hi, I'm Livia." The girl said. She reached out to shake my hand.
"I'm Sam, great to meet you. Lara, I need to talk to you." I said, ignoring the girls hand. I really had no time for pleasantries.
"Sam, I'm busy talking to-..." Lara said.
"Please, Lara, this is really important. I wouldn't interrupt you if it wasn't."
Lara squinted her eyes. "Okay, then talk?" She gestured me to sit down.
"In private, please." I replied.
"I'll leave you girls to it." The mohawk girl said, and she got up. "Thanks for the chat, Lara. See you girls tonight!" She waved as she walked back to her group.
Lara looked up at me and gave me a look. "What?"
"There's a man." I said as I pointed towards the hotel. "He's talking about Yamatai and he knows my name. He also talks about a stone in a city in the Amazon rainforest. He wants my help and h-..."
"Wow, wow, wow." Lara said as she got on her feet. She instantly looked focussed. "Calm down. Who's talking about Yamatai?"
"A man in the hotel! Uh...Connor. Connor something, something with a B." I pointed more vigorously to the hotel.
"Okay." Lara picked up her towel and book. "Walk and talk. Let's go."
We made our way to the hotel while I explained everything that transpired. Lara had looked very worried and she hadn't said a thing, she was just listening to me. As we entered the hotel we immediately made way for the dining hall. Somewhere I expected it to happen, but I was still disappointed when I realised the man had disappeared. At least I was back in an airconditioned room again.
"Right here!" I said as I pointed to the chair Connor had sat in just several minutes ago. I saw that my half eaten sandwich was still there. "I swear to God, Lara, he just left."
Lara just looked at me, she looked pretty serious. I wasn't sure if she had a hard time believing me.
"You don't believe me?" I asked pouting.
"I do. Of course I do, Sam." She said. "I am just thinking what our next move would be." That warmed my heart.
"Google the Trinity Archeological Findings and Discovery Institute?"
Lara looked at me with a plain face. "That makes more sense than I'd like to admit. Okay let's go upstairs." She said as she turned and starting walking to the elevators. I had trouble keeping up with her. She pushed the elevator button and waited impatiently for the doors to open. I saw her eyes moving about and knew she was thinking about something.
"What do you think this all means?" I asked but she didn't reply. "Lara?"
"What?" She looked at me. The elevator doors opened and we walked inside.
"What do you think that all means?" I asked again. "The cover up of Yamatai, this man, everything."
She looked downwards and clenched her jaw. "I don't know."
"It looks like you know something."
"It's nothing." The elevator was zooming in the background.
"I can tell when you're thinking about something, Lara. Just tell me!"
"Sam, honestly, I'm just thinking what it might mean."
"Don't close me off on this one, Lara."
"I won't." She looked at me.
"Promise."
"I promise." She smiled at me. The doors went open and Lara sped out towards our room. I loved it when she got this agile badass thing going on. When I entered our room Lara was already tapping on her phone. I sat on the leather couch next to her and looked at the screen.
"Anything?" I asked.
"Not on TAFDI, anyway." Lara said annoyed. "I'm trying to find something on just Trinity now." She said as she typed the word in Google and the page loaded.
"Just bands and universities." I said.
"Yeah. Shit." She said disappointed. She kept scrolling for a few more pages, but everyone knows that everything is useless on Google's third page and on. Finally, she closed her phone and leaned back in the couch.
"Maybe it was a prank?" Lara said as she looked at me.
"Well, I didn't see any camera's." I replied. Lara closed her eyes. "I'm thinking he'll try again."
"Probably, which is why we need to be careful. We don't know their motives."
"I'm going to the campfire tonight, though! You can't make me stay inside." I poked her. She opened her eyes. "And you're coming with me!"
"Is that so?" She said as she raised her eyebrows. I then got off the couch and placed both my knees on both sides of her legs so I was facing her on the couch.
"Yes, of course. you're my savior, which means you're my bodyguard, which, incidentally, means I'm in charge. If you don't listen I'm going to have to tickle punish you."
Lara burst out laughing. She still had her arms besides her, as if she felt like I wasn't a threat. This made me initiate a full assault straight away. My motive, I assure you, was purely friendly and playful. However, the moment my hands touched her bare stomach, to start tickling her, I got this feeling in my gut. You know that feeling you get when you're about to do something very naughty with someone? That tingling in your gut, light headedness and deep breathing you get when you know you're about to see the other person naked for the first time? We had tickle fights in the past and I've touched her in a friendly way before, but this time was different. Where was this coming from? It was so out of the blue it was surreal. Was it because of the adrenaline caused by what just happened with that man? Was this just sexual or was there more? Her skin was so silky smooth and warm. I wanted to move my hands up to her ribs. I wanted to take her sports bra/bikini top,
whatever it was, off and just…
"Ahh!" I was violently pulled back to reality when Lara let out a playful scream after she couldn't take my tickling anymore. I took a second to get my bearings. Oh my God, what was I thinking? She's my best friend! I was amazed by myself I was actually still tickling her, and not sensually straddling her body. She was far stronger than me and easily pushed me back with her muscled forearms. Those lovely muscled, yet thin and feminine forearms, that… STOP IT. I quickly stepped off the couch.
"Oh, scared for retaliation, I see." Lara said grinning, completely oblivious, and got up. I firmly stood my ground when Lara stood before me, still grinning from ear to ear. Our noses almost touched.
"Nope. Just showing who's boss here." I said with a straight face right in front of her, with my heart beating in my throat. She looked me in the eyes, as if she was inspecting me. God, I hope my cheeks weren't too red.
"Fine, boss." She finally said, and then laughed. "Let's go downstairs to eat, because I haven't yet." And she walked past me towards the door while I stood still for two seconds to get my bearings once more. This was bad, so bad. Well, at least we weren't fighting anymore, I guess.
"Sorry about before, by the way." I said as we stood in the elevator once more.
She smiled at me. "I should be sorry. I'll try and talk more. You know, about me being fucked up and stuff."

I gave her a hug. Just friendly intentions, I swear.