Never Again. [Resident Evil fanfiction]

Chapter 9 - Leaving Everything Behind

An hour passed by until Claire finally managed to calm down and get her stuff together. She took a deep breath and got up while she was still thinking about Leon. She carefully made her way to the door and walked out of the bedroom down the stairs and into the living room.

She looked around a bit as she thought to herself.

"Would he really just leave like that...? I don't remember him being this stubborn." she sighed and sat down onto the couch.

"Claire!" Don spoke up as he rushed down the stairs. "I fell asleep and when I woke up I heard your cries. Is everything okay?"

He sat down next to her and looked at her with a worried face expression.

"I... I wish everything was okay..." she wiped off her tears. "Me and Leon argued and I told him to leave and looks like he did... I thought he loves me..."

He gently put his hand on her back and started caressing it to calm her down.

"It's okay. You deserve better than him. He cared about that Chinese lady more anyway..."

She nodded while sniffing a bit.

"Maybe you're right. I do deserve better..."

A gentle smile appeared on Don's face.

"That's right."

All of a sudden, he hugged her tight. She was surprised first but then she decided to join into the hug. This made her feel a bit better.

"Thank you so much, Don..." she whispered as she buried her face into his chest.

He seemed a bit surprised but he went along with it.

"There's no man in the world who could love me, right?" she started crying again while thinking about how everyone declined her over the past years.

"There is. Me." Don spoke up; his words being gentle and caring.

Claire slowly looked up into his eyes. He tilted his head slightly and wiped off her tears with his thumb.

"You.... love... me?" she sounded unsure as hell.

Don nodded firmly.

"The restaurant idea was originally a date but... you have a boyfriend so..."

"We're not actually dating... It was a lie to fool you." she let go of him and looked down onto the floor. "I'm so sorry..."

"I'm not mad. It's understandable. After all, you didn't even know me."

She nodded quietly. She knew that Leon said he's the bad guy but somehow it was unbelievable for her. He was too nice and caring. Something Leon never was...

Don slowly reached out to Claire, gently touched her jaw and turned her face to look at him.

"You're so beautiful, Claire. I've never seen someone so special. Someone so... wonderful." he smiled at her lovingly.

Claire was speechless. These words healed her heart. She never expected anyone to say things like these to her. Her face turned a bit red.

"Don, I..." she tried to say something but she didn't know what to.

"If Leon behaves this way then you should forget about him. He doesn't deserve you." he added while staring into her eyes through his sunglasses. "Find someone who treats you like an angel. Someone who is..."

He stopped like he got scared. He started blushing a bit and shook his head.

"My apologies. I don't want to... force you to do anything." he broke the eye contact and let go of her jaw.