[AU] An Anxious Relationship (3 of 5)

The facility outside Raccoon City was a stretch of miles from the border. Outside the city was a mix of scenery of desert, forest and small institutions every few kilometers. They took the jeep that was used for unofficial business like eating out at the other side of the city on some occasions. It can be called the official-unofficial business vehicle because everyone chipped in to buy that beautiful blue beast.

Carla lay at the back because complained about not being able to lie down if she sat on the passenger seat in the front. “How long are we going to take? I’m getting bored already.” she uttered as she stretched horizontally at the back seat. “Quit complaining. You don’t have a say in this situation because I am the authority here!” Piers declared, giving Carla the angry squint on the rearview mirror.

“Well aren’t we gonna get some sleep? That rowdy crowd ruined my beauty sleep.”

“Beauty sleep? As if you were sleeping after that adulterer left you.”

Carla arched an eyebrow and sat up straight. She placed her hands on each the headrests of the front seats and pulled herself close to the driver. “What was that?” she raised to clear what she had just heard. Her gaze because intense, like she was a cobra that was ready to attack any moment. Piers felt the hot breath she was drawing, crawling on his cheek and neck so he chose to say “Nothing, just nothing.”

But Carla insisted he repeat himself or else. “I said it was nothing!” he shrugged before she reached for the wheel and drove the jeep down the side of the road infested with big rocks and sand. Chief Chris would not be happy about this. Just like Claire said her to be, very chaotic, and they weren’t even together for more than ten minutes and she goes do that.

She climbed out the side-turned jeep, unharmed and stomped off to the main road. Piers quickly followed after getting his head together. “Hey!” he shouted, “Hey! I’m talking to you!” Carla unlocked her arms and turned to him with a disdained face. “Oh talk, you want to talk now? I thought eavesdropping was your thing!” she accused.

“What? Eavesdropping?”

“Don’t act all innocent, handsome! How else would you know Derek left me! Unless you’re psychic, which I doubt, given your IQ.”

Piers got the picture and ran to her side as soon as she turned back around and continued to brisk walk. “Lady, only a blind man wouldn’t notice how red your eyes were when you woke me up earlier; and that talk about the only thing men know better to do is leaving? You’re not exactly the mysterious kind.” He explained.

Carla slowed down upon hearing his last statement. She remembered something a fortuneteller told her before, about a man who would see through her, the man who would read her like an open book but not take advantage of her; the man that would bring her to her own destruction and build her up again to be better because she will be his shinning lady which he’ll take great care of and love with all his life. She couldn’t help but smile and let out a snicker because of that funny thought, and even at the fact that she remembers all the man’s words so clearly in her head like she was just read early this morning.

The young policeman was once again lost in Carla’s smile. In his mind, she was not the type of girl he’d want to spend a day in his life with, but he can’t shake off the feeling of wanting to know more about her. He thought that it was because of the case, Carla’s case that he became so interested but, then again he wasn’t quite so sure.

It was really dark out, because it was the highway, there weren’t any streetlights installed. The wind was being unforgiving as well, blowing strong and cold sweeps past the two. Piers reaches out his coat and covers Carla’s shivering shoulders. She grabbed his hand before it could leave her and said “Oh, so you like me now, huh?”

He backed off quite quickly ahead of Carla’s cobra kiss. At last, they saw a small group of old houses, bundled up on the far left side of the road. There were lights coming out from the windows so it must mean that there are people inside, unless spirits knew how to work the candles. They knocked on the first pleasing house they could find, a tall, three-storey house made out of wood with the architecture of European influence. A young lady with unusually pink hair answered the door (but it wasn’t a bad sort of unusual because it complemented her milky white skin and green eyes), she had a small candle lamp on her freehand that wasn’t holding the brass doorknob. “How may I help you?” she darlingly asked.

“I’m Officer Piers--”

“Dear, my name is Carla and this is my bodyguard, Piersy. Our jeep crashed because of his reckless driving and our destination is miles away…so, can we please stay? Just for the night,” Carla then reaches out for her pocket—actually Piers’ jacket pocket, “if we need to pay, we would.” But the girl closed Carla’s fist filled with bills and shook her head. “There’s only one payment I need in exchange for your stay…”

There was a long silence between them. Piers got goose bumps, and was about to pull Carla up and leave but then the little girl spoke “You have to let my father paint your portrait because you’re very pretty.” Surprised at her condition but relieved at the same time, Carla sighed and pinky swore to the little girl.

She lead them to the room in the attic. Despite being stereotyped as the dustiest part of almost every home, this attic rose up above the rest because it was a fully furnished and well maintained bedroom. “This is where I used to play with my mom.” the little girl, who they came to know as Aida, shared with them. “Oh, and where is your mom? Sleeping already with your dad?” Piers asked.

Aida lit the other candle lamp on the vanity table and answered “No, dad is sleeping alone because mom is dead.” He choked on her answer but she rest assured her that she is mature enough to come to terms with the parting of a loved one and that viewing it as a sad or bad memory won’t do her or her father any good. Carla liked how she was such a resilient attitude. “Good night then, I’ll be seeing you in the morning.”

Piers was looking outside the window and noticed that it was very black outside; it was the sort you’d see before it fades into the morning light. He turned around and looked all about the room and found no Carla. He called her out, and had an answer, she was just washing up and that he shouldn’t wait for him. “Whatever.” he whispered and jumped on the small bed. ‘How would Carla fit here? It’s barely enough for my arms. Whatever, I am beat.’

In the morning, Piers woke up with a hot body pressed against his. The feeling of her skin on his skin and pants were so comforting that he had second thoughts about getting up. And then it hit him, there was no other woman with him at that moment than his captive felon. His eyes spread wide open and slowly raised his head to find Carla indeed to be wrapped around his body under a thick beige sheet. He peeked under and saw her body that was only wearing underwear, clinging on to him. That’s why he felt more skin than cloth. His hand couldn’t let go of the raised sheet, nor could his head snap back on to the pillow.

“Good morning. It’s time for breakfast. Please tell miss Carla to be ready for her portrait.” It was Aida, she climbed up the stairs to the attic to get them ready. He then had the strength to let go because of the fright of being labeled a pervert. “Yes, we’ll be right down.” Piers uttered nervously. As soon as Aida disappeared, Carla stretched out her arms, opened her eyes and hugged Piers tight with a greeting of ‘Good morning, handsome! I feel that your little Piers is working just fine!’

‘Little Piers? Feel? Did she just--!?’ he felt like he was about to lose it every single second with her.

Aida’s father wasn’t at all surprised that she brought in guests in the wee hours of night to dawn. He trusted her instinct with people and also in models. Her father was very delighted to hear that Carla had accepted Aida’s request.

He painted her in their grassy backyard, under the shade of a big tree. The two watched them at work while enjoying some homemade popsicles. “You like her, don’t you Piersy?” Aida opened up. He drew the cold pop from his mouth and denied. “What are you getting at?” he added.

“You like her, like not her body or anything lustful but, I can sense that you’re drawn to her and I wouldn’t blame you. You two look good together and you will.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. She is not even at the tip of the kind of woman I want.”

“Indeed. But she is every woman you need.”

Piers bit his upper lip and rolled his eyes from side to side, up to down. “You sound like my grandmother. How old are you? Ten?”

She stuck the second stick of juice pop inside her mouth, pulled it out with the sucking sound and continued, “Don’t make the same mistake my mom did. I think you can tell that he’s not really my dad. I look nothing like him but he loved my mother entirely even if she didn’t love him half as much. When my bad father left, taking away everything we had and cursing my existence, he was there for us until mom passed on and until now, because he says I’m his daughter.”

Piers gulped down hard and looked over at Carla who smiled back at him with a clear face. His heart started to swell up and his breathing got harder.

“And what does age have to do with anything? Well if you think you don’t want her, tell me now up front, I’d like her to be my new mom.”

“Hmph! She’s mine!”