The characters from the game belong to Capcom.
A/N:I'm not english native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.
It was already morning. J.D. was still at Evana's house making their breakfast while Evana changed her bandages in the bathroom when someone knocked on the door.
J.D. looked through the window to see who could be and then hurried to tell Evana.
"Eva, there's a woman at the door." J.D. informed her
"Do you know her?"
"Yes, she's the sister of Dora from Dora's Bar."
"What does she want with me?"
"I don't know" he replied with a shrug, "Will you answer her?"
"Yeah… it's the only option I have."
Evana headed to the door and opened it and looked at the tall brunette woman who had a serious face.
"Miss Scarlet." The woman spoke politely
"Yes."
"I'm sorry for showing up at your place like that, I'm Dara and I work at Dora's bar. I need you to pay the debts of your moody boyfriend."
"What? Boyfriend?" Evana said in shock
"Yes, the stray dog, everyone knows he lives with you, right?"
"Hum, but he's not my boyfriend…"
"I don't care about the status of your relationship; all I know is that someone has to pay for his bills and all the inconveniences he gives. You are the only 'relative' he has in town."
Evana didn't know what to say. That was something she never expected to happen. It never crossed her mind to pay for someone's bill, especially the bills of an absent person, however Chris wasn't just anyone and not having any other option she sighed in defeat by the woman's demand, "How much does he owe you?"
"In total, or just for last night's?"
Evana took a deep breath to think; "In total…" she spoke afraid to hear the answer
"650"
"What?" Evana shouted in surprise
"Your man consumes a lot of alcohol and last night he had friends!"
"Friends?" she widened her eyes
"Yeah, some young men looking for fun. He has paid a part, but it's not enough for me to pay my expands and tolerate him when he's drunk."
"How the hell did you allow him to consume so much without paying you?" Evana couldn't help the comment and spoke in impulse
"It would be worse to pay the repairs in the bar due to his aggressiveness if he broke things. At least while consuming it he gets quiet. No one wants a scene to scare the clients!"
"I won't pay for the friend's consume!"
"That number is just of your man's. I can prove you that."
Evana let out a sigh in distress, "I don't have all that money here, can I pay you a part today and tomorrow or later I pay you the rest?"
"At least half of it."
"Let me see how much I have. Excuse me." Evana spoke closing the door to get her purse to take all the money she had
"What happened?" J.D. asked following her
"She wants me to pay for Chris's bill at the bar, but I don't have all the money here."
"How much is it?" J.D. asked taking his wallet
"650, but you don't have to do that. He's my responsibility…"
"Don't worry about it."
"I'll pay you back when I get some money."
"Don't worry about it Eva, I know you won't work any time soon with that hand." J.D. spoke with a warm tone
"Yeah, but I have some money saved. Now more than ever I want Chris back home to make him work to pay his debt with you!" she said taking the money she needed to complete and pay all the bill and headed back to the door, "Here, bill cleared."
"Yes, thank you. Now you have to follow me." the woman said counting the cash
"Why?"
"He stinks and no one will touch him, plus he's your boyfriend..." Dara said, "I need him to leave the door of the bar, he slept there."
"What? I can't believe this." Evana passed her hand on her head in disbelief and taking a deep breath looking inside to J.D. and then both followed the woman until her bar.
"Dear Diary,
What the hell is going on with me? Things are happening to me and I have no idea of what to think about it. It feels like I'm sucked into it and I have no power to stop it. I'm talking about the "stray dog"…
I'm stuck into him since the first day… don't feel like I'm capable to let go of him, despite all the odds.
I know he can be violent, moody and did come home stinking… However, at home he's a complete different man… when he's sober… or wasted. All I can say is that with me he's just the opposite of what people talk and have witnessed. He helps me with home chores such as fixing things, or with some cooking, helps me with the groceries. He respects my privacy, he works out and brings some money home. I don't have to complain about his smell at home because he does take shower, most probably people don't like the cigarette smell on him because he does smoke when he's tense, but I don't mind about it… he's a good company to me… I really don't have any reason to complain about him, despite his act that night.
He spent almost 2 days absent and that got me worried. Many times I thought he had gone after someone else and got in trouble, while I'm so scared to leave the house! But his absence just got me even more preoccupied, I felt so vulnerable, so insecure… made me reflect on things. Once again I had to face I lost any credibility or dignity for the society eyes. Don't feel like I'm capable to start over…
Then, Dara knocked on my door telling me to pay his bill. The old Me before him would have mocked her or have said a loud No, but the current Me just sighed and paid it without reluctance… And I did more… I went to pick him at the bar as a mother that goes to pick their child at school, with a mix of feelings, yet I just went there and walked by the side of that tall, stinking drunk man that apparently didn't shower in days, for five blocks back home with the help of J.D.
Why didn't I just leave him in the streets back then?
Now I'm here babysitting him again. He's not that wasted since I had the thought he had drank all the time he was out, but it doesn't seem that way. He's more depressed than drunk. He is lying on the couch in silence.
It's going to be a long day...
PS: Why the hell do people think we are in a relationship?!"
(**)
The house was silent. Evana was sitting on the table writing notes when Chris stood up from the couch, "May I take a shower?" he asked politely
"Of course, you know you don't have to ask that anymore." She replied not looking at him
"It's your house anyways."
"Just go take your shower…" she said looking to the paper on the table
Chris noticed Evana's bandaged hand, "What happened to your hand?" he asked showing concern
She shook her head, "Nothing. Just a stupid cut." She told half of the truth
"Oh..,At least I can work in the house for you. It's important not to force it."
"Yeah, but I am ambidextrous, I can work perfectly with my other hand."
"Really? That's cool. I didn't know that." he said surprised, that was a detail he still didn't know
"Yeah. Now just go take your shower, you're stinking."
"Yes Sir."
Evana held her laugh. She knew things were still "shaken" between them. Strangely they looked like a real couple that just had a little mismatch, actually, their first mismatch. Another unexplored territory.
The first argument, like the first times of things, seem to be the hardest one to deal since no one can really tell how the other will react.
Surely in their case, the little distance between them wouldn't turn them into rivals or destroy their cool friendship, would it? It's not like they were best friends either, but there was some damage in the trust.
However, one thing was for sure, Evana was happier with her man back - that man back. Yet, there were things to be spoken.
Chris's POV
Here I am back to the house I didn't intend to go back, but that still feels like home after all. That time away made me get the courage to face myself and these feelings that are growing in my heart and I realized she didn't read the letter I left on the bedside table with some money. Everything is still in the same position I left and now that I'm back, I shall apologize to her face to face. I hope my sincere words worth more than that piece of paper. At first I thought she had read it and went to get me because she had forgiven me, but that's not the case. We barely talked since then. Uncomfortable silence. I don't know how I'm going to do that, but I know I have to do that and I hope I don't say more than I should…
TPOV
Chris spotted Evana still sitting on the table and walked to her direction after taking a deep breath. He had no idea what he was going to say; to express how much he was sorry was a tough thing to do. It's never easy to admit your own mistakes no matter how much aware you are of your actions.
He thought of several ways to break the ice while he took his shower, but now, all of his ideas had gone blank, but before he could say something, Evana made the first move.
"You have a bill with J.D." Evana spoke with a single tone looking at him briefly
"What? What do you mean?" Chris asked with a puzzled look as he took the seat in front of her
"He helped me to pay your debts at Dora's."
"What? Why did you do that? I told her I was going to pay!"
"She came to my house! I couldn't just say 'no I won't pay anyone's debts' and pretend I didn't know you at all…" Evana replied gesturing in irony
"You could've had refused it. It wasn't your responsibility."
"That's not what most of the town think!"
"What the hell the town has to do with it?"
"They say you are my responsibility because I am the only 'relative' you have in town!" Evana used Dara's words
"Relative? There's no way I can be your relative!"
"Tell that to them, not to me!"
"You shouldn't have paid! My mistakes, I take the responsibility for it."
"Yeah, you should start doing it by going to work. I told J.D. you are going to pay for his part!"
"He didn't have to, not even you had to!"
"The woman came to my house, where didn't you get it?" Evana raised her voice
"I left money on your bedside table alongside the letter I wrote to you to pay part of my debts with you!" Chris replied
"I didn't see that."
"Yeah, I know! I saw it's still intact."
"So that's great then, just go and give the money to J.D. End of conversation!"
"No, this is not ended yet."
"Why not? You have the money and give it to him!"
"Because you are still yelling at me!"
Evana bit her lips after taking a deep breath, still not looking at him.
"I know I owe you an apology for breaking the promise." Chris spoke with an ease tone
Evana laughed in distress looking to the sides, "Apology for breaking the promise…" she spoke with sarcasm
"You don't need that behavior; at least I'm here again to tell you in your face, admitting my mistake because you did the favor to not read the letter I wrote for you."
"I didn't have time to read stupid letters!" She shouted stepping up from the chair
Chris did the same, following her, "Stupid? Is that what you think of my feelings for you?" he spoke feeling offended by her words
"Feelings? What about my feelings? You just think about yourself!"
"What? What are you talking about?"
"You still ask? You didn't just break the promise!" Evana shouted bitterly trying to fight her tears, angry tears giving her back to him.
Chris stared at her trying to meet her eyes that she so much avoided to look back at him. He stepped closer to her from behind, trying to reach her.
Chris Redfield wasn't the man that knew how to deal with personal relationships, things that demanded intimacy, build and care. Everyone knew he was a man of physical action, of support, but not the lovey-dovey one. He was good when the matters weren't matters of the heart. And now, there he was standing in front of a woman who was taking him out of his comfort zones. He was standing in front of a woman that was making him break his own personal limits, as if reinventing him. Everyone knew Chris Redfield was an impulsive man, and there he was, acting without even taking notice of his so famous impulse and instincts to reach that woman who was clearly trying to tell him something that for others could be clear, but really not to him. Chris Redfield was used to deal with straight to the point things and people and not with people like him who used to keep distant from inner and subtle feelings. Moreover, she was teaching him how to develop a personal relationship, or maybe, both were learning with each other that lesson.
Chris insisted in looking for those icy-blue eyes. He needed to be listened. He needed to decipher them.
In the other hand, Evana was too hurt from life to open up easily to the one that damaged a bit more her heart. She had learned not to expose her inner feelings or fears to anyone. The point was that Chris wasn't just anyone. Chris was the one her broken heart claimed for as if he could be the only one to aid and ease all that pain she learned to ignore. She wanted to say those words, but they were stuck in her throat and she was too scared to let her eyes speak for her and that's why she kept hiding them all the time. She didn't think Chris would bring to the table the past, that wasn't typical from men to do, but Chris was proving once again he was different and he did care about their relationship, friendship, whatever, she couldn't classify it anymore. She knew it was now her time to give the next move and see whatever would happen between them because even with all the fear, she was willing to cede to her impulses as well.
The icy-blue pools finally met the jade ocean ones igniting a sparkle that accelerated their heartbeats, bringing life to feelings that just time would tell what was going to happen between them. They remained like that for some time; both needed time to decipher each other. That was the first time they looked at each other with passion.
Thank you Xaori, SUPASTAR89 for the reviews and thank you everyone who are reading the story :D
I decided to update earlier because I already have many chapters in advance and I thought "Why not?", "Why to wait a week?". Of course I won't upload everything in a row because I will run out of "ammo/chapter" and may delay and that is terrible for my OCD xD
I do plan to update this weekend as well. Stay tuned!