Chapter: 7
FYI guys, I post usually when it's 2 a.m, sleep deprivation leads to mistakes. Sorry.
With the draft biting at her exposed skin, Claire decided to make use of the fireplace that sat in the living room. Sitting close by the fire, she lost herself in her thoughts only to be shocked back to reality by Wesker standing by her.
"For a moment I thought you were burning the house down." He stated, going toward the clock that sat directly above the fireplace.
"I'd be lying if I said the thought never crossed my mind." He turned to her with a smirk and sat by her. She tensed up, pressing her lips together. It was silent for a few moments, both Wesker and Claire continued to watch the flames lick each other, dominating one another.
"How old were you when your parents died?" He asked suddenly, she turned sharply at him, stunned with the out of the blue question, the silence continued to eat away at the two, her body tensed.
"Why do you care?" She replied sharply, instantly putting up her defence.
"When did they die?"
"That's none of your concern."
"Redfield, you're trying my patience." He bit out, staring at the fire with his chin tipped up, his jaw clenched.
"I don't need to tell you anything, if you so damn well please, it's public record. Look it up yourself." She said standing, clearly angry and upset. She walked towards the stair case only to be stopped by Wesker's voice.
"They died in a car accident, you're dear brother told me back when he found me... admirable," he continued. "That's why he joined the Air Force, then went into law enforcement. What I want to know is how old you were when they died." He stood, walking towards her. "I remembered the story when HUNK mentioned what happened today." his body towered over hers, feeling intimidated, she finalized with a shake of her head, grabbing a hold of her wits, standing up to him in the same stance, her feet planted firmly on the ground. "There's no reason to concern yourself over something that happened long ago."
"You wouldn't ever understand. You don't know how it feels to love someone as much as I loved my parents." She almost felt disgusted talking to the man about emotion. He simply nodded, almost as if agreeing with Claire, except his retort made her think other wise.
"Love is an emotion that's gets in the way of things. And even then, you're holding onto a love that doesn't exist anymore." He replied, holding his hands behind his back relaxed, almost as if to mock her past. Claire glared at him, sending hallows into his skull, although he was telling the truth, it hurt Claire deeply, the memory of her parents was something she hoped in never forgetting. Her bottom lip trembled and she looked at him with anger.
"So maybe you are right, but no matter what I'll always love them." She gritted out, digging her nails into her palm in an effort not to punch the devious man.
"Do as you wish, although it's futile. It'll help you, you know, cope." He nodded, going up stairs now, Claire looked from the bottom of the steps in wonder, her eyes bounced from the mirrors that hung by the stair casings.
"Where are you going?"
"The kitchen if you lost your vision dear heart. I feel a bit of pity for you since all you've been eating is cold sandwiches." Claire's rolled her eyes, still with a tinge of anger built in her still and turned into the bedroom, wanting to be as far as possible from the blonde. Not much was different, the bed was the same and everything's seemed to be in place just as it was the first day he showed her the room. Her eyes hung after sitting for 20 minuets in just darkness. She heard the bedroom door open, a delicious aroma filled the room and perking her head up curiously to see Wesker holding a hot plate.
"I thought you were kidding." She mumbled, her eyes rolled across the room. "I can cook, I just don't want to."
"I'm not one to be humorous. You choose to starve your self of nutrients since you're too lazy to make a proper meal?" Claire let out a mirthless laugh, feeling above being fed from such a man.
"That's not what I said." Claire clipped out. Wesker now made his way to the edge of the bed, setting the hot steaming plate by the night stand.
"That's how I understood it." Rolling her eyes again Claire leaned onto the night stand, staring at the food that sat before her with a tilt in her head.
"What did you even make?" Claire asked, it seemed like a plate you'd see off of the food network, there was even a garnish on the side of the white platter.
"Stir fry." Claire's memory reverted back to the first time she got food poisoning, and the purpose was because of a stir fry place Rebecca invited her to go to before leaving out of town for a medic job in New York.
"I'm not a big fan of stir fry, and besides I'm not very hungry." She gave a half smile, still not completely over her rage from earlier. Just as she finished her sentence, her stomach let out a groan of distress.
"You say that but your body disagrees." He gave a smug smirk. "Beggers can't be choosers."
"Then why do you get what you want?" He gave an arrogant laugh turned his back toward her.
"I really hope you don't assume I beg. I have not done such a feat ever in my life. You see, when you have authority and power, you get anything you desire." He moved onto the other side of the bed, removing his turtle neck, showing his abdomen for a few moments, causing Claire to look away suddenly, standing up suddenly, leaving the plate unattended and moving towards the door.
"Something the matter?" She turned to see him with a raise of his brow. Shaking her head quickly she simply left the room with not much else to say, feeling her face heated from seeing the man's flesh for the first time. She walked up the steps, hearing the floor boards creak behind her, turning to see the man changed into a fresh new black shirt.
"You're a very peculiar woman, you know that?" He said, looking back at her with the barriers of black glass blocking her view from him. "You constantly lie, ask a question and leave in the middle of conversing."
"I guess you're growing on me." The retort made Wesker's familiar smugged smirk appear once again, opening a cabinet for a flash drive it seemed.
"Why did you ask that anyways, you know how old I was when my parents died..." He paused, seeming to be in question himself as to why he asked in the first place.
"It seemed appropriate, early separation of parents lead people to have traumatic states which they usually break down in certain situations due to lack of affection or security a parent would usually give a child in young adolescence."
"We'll I always had Chris. Do you ever have break downs?" She tilted her head, wanting to know why he knew this in detail.
"I never knew my parents." The blunt response caused Claire to frown at him, her eyebrows knit in confusion.
"Never knew them? And you're not sad about that?"
"Why would I depress myself of someone I have no knowledge of." Claire frowned, feeling a slight pity for him. The act of never knowing your creators and having such ill feeling about the situation caused Claire's frown to deepen.
"Did you ever try looking for them?" Claire murmured, her eyes wide with thought.
"No, that'd ridiculous." He shook his head away from her and began to walk away.
"I was 9... 9 years old when my parents died." She sighed out, Wesker paused, his back towards her still, taking it as a sign to continue she shook her head, the dreaded memory returning fresh into her mind. "I didn't go to school for a week and a half when we got the news. Chris tried his best to be strong for the both of us, but every time we walked by their room, we would burst into tears. The police came up to us after the funeral and asked if we had any family members we could stay with until we were of age, we stayed with our grandparents." She took a shaky breath and looked to see Wesker had turned now, almost interested in what she had to say. "Our grandma died 3 years later, a little after so did our grandpa. Chris was in his freshmen year of college and knew he couldn't go to school and work just to make ends meet for the two of us. So he joined the Air Force, and from there you should know most of my life."
"You seem upset over a choice he clearly made." He disappeared for a moment, returning back and ascending up the stairs to where Claire followed, looking down at the young girl, his brows raised in curiosity.
"Wouldn't you?"
"No." He simply said, taking a seat in one of the 3 seats that lined the black and chrome kitchen island.
"Of course you wouldn't, you have no heart." He gave a dark chuckle and nodded in agreement.
"Apparently, I don't, but why get upset over something out of your power?"
"I feel like it was my fault, if Chris didn't need to take care of me, things would have been different."
"They would have, you wouldn't be in the position you found yourself in." Claire looked at Wesker through her lashes and contemplated.
"Would you still be the same if you knew your parents?" Wesker paused, looking up with a locked jaw clearly displeased with her badgering of his past, seeing her reflection she saw a speck of red flash, and bit down on her tongue. He didn't answer, but that was an answer in itself.
"You sure do know how to cook." Claire complimented, finally giving into eating, knowing that if she didn't eat, no one would. She decided to eat away from the man, opting for the table while he continued to sit in the kicthen island, blowing away the steam from the heated plate.
"It's not that difficult when you have clear instructions." He scoffed, descending down the stairs only to arrive back with a notebook, taking his seat again, leaning forward to look closely at his screen, jotting down a few notes.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Claire asked when he placed his pen next to his notebook, not making any move to serve himself.
"I'm not hungry." Puzzled Claire wiped her mouth with a nearby napkin, looking aimlessly around the room. The soft light kitchen gave a nice glow to the area and soon she found her eyes travel to Wesker. She remembered a time when she first met him and thought he was almost an angel sent from heaven itself.
"Hey Claire, I have to do some paperwork really quick, wait here and I'll be back out." Chris ran off the opposite direction, Claire's eyes trialled down the hall to see Chris bump into Brad's thin body, the thud and bickering could be heard, Claire's head shook in disapproval, sighing out, taking a seat by the vacant receptionist who went to take some papers toward Bravo teams captain. After what seemed to be hours of waiting, the opening of a door sounded and Claire looked up to see Jill leaving a room directly behind the receptionist desk.
"Hey Claire, you sure you wanna wait for your brother still? It's getting kind of late." Jill spoke over the counter towards the the young girl, her head tilted. She gave an eccentric nod, not wanting to give up the opportunity of spending what little time she could with her brother. A small smile spread across the brunette's lips and gave a nod of approval towards her. She asked Claire about school and soon they began to have a full fledged conversation, only to be interrupted by a slicked blonde haired man, one that Claire found herself unfamiliar with and he towered over the two women. Memorized with his facial structures as well as how well as how his body was built, Claire's eyes darted nervously from Jill's to his sunglasses back to Jill's, her cheeks beginning to get slightly flushed with her stomach turning in knots at just the sight of him. His light blonde hair easily gave him the perception of being angelic in some sort of way and he seemed to carry himself with confience and made it clear to everyone else he knew what he was doing and if anyone was in charge, it was him.
"Valentine, I hope you started the report with Redfield." His voice broke through the facility, cutting the cold silence with his sharp voice and giving Claire warmth instantly. Jill's eyes rolled, still facing Claire and instantly straightened herself when she turned to Wesker, leaving Claire with a smile spread on her face.
"Yes, Captain Wesker, Chris just got around doing it, finally. I'm just keeping his sister company until he's finished with his half of it." He raised a brow and shifted his gaze towards Claire, his lips thinned.
"So you must be Claire, Chris speaks highly of you, I understand you want to major in literature." Claire shook her head in disagreement and rolled her eyes at the man.
"Guess my brother doesn't know me well enough, Psychology, if anything." She corrected him, her face was burning, being 17 years old and deathly shy when meeting new people she failed to notice Wesker's hand outstretched for the longest. She quickly took his gloved hand, engulfing hers with the black leather, giving a firm shake, one that shook Claire's whole body.
"Albert Wesker."
"Claire Redfield, but you already knew that." She gave a small shy smile, her face on fire. She heard footsteps down the hall, spying her brother jogging down to her direction with Wesker's back turned towards him.
"Jill! Jill! Just the girl I was looking for!" Wesker instantly let go of Claire's hand and crossed both behind his back, visibly irritated by Chris's yelling. He turned toward Chris causing him to begin walking and straighten out, but it was too late to correct the deed.
"We are in a facility that does not require yelling to be heard Redfield. I'm sure Miss Valentine nor Miss Redfield do not find the need for a busted eardrum from your carelessness." He coldly drew out, Chris nodded, swallowing hard as well as murmuring a sorry. He handed the papers to Jill who took it effortlessly and turned on her heels.
"It was a pleasure in meeting you Miss Redfield." Wesker dismissed himself and Claire eyes followed him until he was behind the door with closed blinds.
"So did Captain Wesker fire on you too?" Chris asked once he returned back from clocking out, walking out the double glass doors with Claire close beside him, scratching his head in thought.
"No, why?"
"He flames on pretty much everyone, even girls. He doesn't hold back on anyone." He laughed and ruffled Claire's hair. Claire then looked back to the station and gave a small smile.
That was in her naive days, the same man who sat across from her hasn't aged a day since but it didn't change her perceptions of him. As time went on, his beauty began to be over looked as more and more of his persona began to be revealed and soon he was just a beautiful face with an monstrous personality and alter motives. Claire sighed out and stood with the plate in hand, half eaten her appitite ceased. Washing her plate and going towards the couch, she deemed it a good time to call Leon who seemed to have not attempted to call her, and it's been a couple of days since she attempted to call her old friend. Wesker hadn't offered if she wanted to call her brother nor Leon since her first few days of arrival, and she didn't want to badger the man who seemed clearly annoyed of her presence for the night. She's been wanting to tell Leon about her where abouts and hear from him while her stayed visit with the blonde tyrant, but never picked up the times she tried to contact him. Searching for her bag, she finally finds it deep under the couch, rummaging through the nap sack she opened the front pocket to search it's contents only to find nothing, continuing the process for every pocket she began to look more feverently eventually dumping everything on the couch to find nothing.
"Fuck... No..." Claire groaned out putting her head in her hands. She searched all over the room and walked down stairs, retracing all her steps of the home, finding nothing. She lifted the couch cushions and checked once again underr the couches as well to find nothing.
"Looking for something dear heart?" His mocking tone gave Claire suspicion and narrowed her eyes at him to see the monster of a man was still at the table, paying no mind towards her.
"Yes... Happen to know where my phone might be at?"
"No idea." His hum of a response sounded convincing enough which gave Claire a bit of despair, her heart plunging deep into her chest.
R&R guys :)