Chapter 12: Trying Again
Chris got up slowly, still feeling the occasional throb of pain in his wounded hand. Mrs. Nivans finally moved back and stood in front of Chris. Her face was a radiant beam of happiness that seemed to slice its own way through the darkness that seemed to keep threatening to split up Chris and Piers. Mrs. Nivans put a hand on Chris' tired shoulder and squeezed it lightly, giving him even more reassurance of her thoughts on the matter. Chris smiled back, letting Mrs. Nivans lead him back to the dinner table.
On the short walk back Chris eyed the trail of blood he had left, almost gawking at the amount of blood that had followed him to the bathroom. It was all dried now, dark red spots staining the carpet and floor almost looking like someone had been shot in this house. Chris looked up from the floor to where Piers and his father were still sitting. Piers' father was looking down at his food, slowly eating but seeming extremely disinterested in it. Piers was trying to secretly look in Chris' direction, seemingly scared and hopeful at the same time. When Chris met Piers' eyes, relief and happiness washed over Piers' face. Piers' normally tense shoulders slumped into a more comfortable position and Chris couldn't help but break into a slight toothy grin.
Chris picked up the pace, still letting Mrs. Nivans lead the way to the table to be polite. Piers turned back around to the table as Chris and his mother took their seats at the table once again. The room was filled with a fog of nervousness so thick that you could slice it and put it on a plate. Chris avoided looking at Mr. Nivans, and Piers kept a watchful eye on Chris out of the corner of his right eye while he slowly started picking at his food again, wondering if something might happen.
Mr. Nivans was the one who actually dared to break the silence, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Mr. Redfield…" Chris finally looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "I'm… sorry… I didn't mean to offend you in any way with what I said."
Chris just ignored Mr. Nivans for a moment, trying to search for the words to say. He noticed the curious looks from Piers and his mother and all he did in response to them was shrug slightly. He kept looking at Mr. Nivans who still had not even looked up from his food yet, and Chris finally sighed.
"It's… fine…" He finally drawled out, dragging the words on slower than a snail could. Chris received a surprised look from Mr. Nivans. "I… probably would have been the same way if this was a conversation about my sister. Hell, I probably would have been a lot worse, so don't beat yourself up too much about it."
Mrs. Nivans raised her eyebrows at Chris but kept quiet. She was content with watching the somewhat awkward "conversation" unfold before here.
"So…" Piers said almost silently, clearing his throat and grabbing everyone's attention. "How have you guys been lately?"
Mrs. Nivans and her husband both looked grateful for the slight change in subject. "Not much going on honey, just trying to keep your siblings in line as always."
A slight twinkle came to Piers' eye at the mention of his siblings. "Just as much trouble as they've always been?"
Mrs. Nivans laughed with her husband chuckling right after her. "Natalia is even worse now that you aren't home to occupy her, and Tom is the same as he has always been."
Piers smiled, and Chris himself was even beginning to enjoy their little conversation.
"So Mr. Nivans, what exactly do you do with the U.S. military?" Leave it to Chris to steer the subject back to what caused the problem.
Mr. Nivans stayed silent for a moment, twirling bits of pasta around his fork. "I help with strategy and mission planning. More recently though… helping with the aftermath of Tall Oaks. Not everything can always be blown up with a bomb."
The corners of Chris' mouth twitched into a smile as he looked over to Piers. "Something I think we can all appreciate right now."
Piers returned the smile almost shyly as Mr. Nivans looked up to see Piers, smiling himself for once that evening. For Chris, it seemed like something might actually be going right for once tonight. Hope even went over and nuzzled Mr. Nivans' hand, who looked down at her quizzically but smiled nonetheless.
"Where did you guys manage to find a dog like this?"
Pier smiled and took the initiative to tell the story, short and sweet, just the way Chris preferred stories to be. "Captain Redfield found her while I was still in the hospital. It just so happened to be that I already knew her."
Mr. Nivans smiled, apparently content with that answer. The group of four sat together for a while longer, finishing dinner off in a much less awkward and bloody way. This time around, everyone managed to avoid shattering a wine glass with their hand, which Chris' carpet was thoroughly thankful for. All throughout dinner, Piers kept stealing glances at Chris' hand, he never once tried to move it.
After dinner they all retired for th evening. Piers took his and Chris' bedroom while Mr. and Mrs. Nivans took the guest room. Chris received a little bit of resistance but would never take no for an answer when someone was a guest in his house. Everyone else but Chris seemed convinced of the fact that he should take a bed on account of his hand, but he assured them he was just as comfortable with the couch.
After he was able to convince everyone else to take a bed, Chris sat down on the couch watching Mr. and Mrs. Nivans walk away while Piers stayed nearby. Walking over to lean over the couch, Piers stared at Chris intently for a moment. Chris returned with a stare of his own, his face a mask of emotions that were all but invisible.
"Chris… why are you staying out here, you know we can share the room right?"
Chris smiled and glanced back towards the Nivans' room. "Yeah, but I figured that I should try to keep the awkwardness down as much as I can, not really sure how your father there would take it."
Piers just shrugged and gave Chris a peck on the cheek. "See you in the morning, Captain."
Chris smiled again. "See you in the morning, Piers."