SAVEGUARD ⟼ leon s. kennedy

xxix. marks and trails

𝕔𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕖 

𝟡𝕡𝕞

I'm sitting on the porch, trying to collect my thoughts, smoking a cigarette. Parker walks out, a cigarette dangling between his lips, two glasses in one hand and a bottle of whisky in the other.

"Clementina," he says, handing me a glass and sits next to me, on the small patch of wooden deck that's not coated in snow.

"Hey Parker," I say smiling. "I probably shouldn't drink."

"Nonsense," he says, flicking the bottle cap off of the bottle. "Will help you sleep. Just one glass."

"Eh, what the hell," I say, leaning back as he fills my cup.

"I'm sorry for Jessica's comments," he says, clinking his glass against mine. "She has no filter sometimes."

I throw back the whiskey like it has the power to erase the memory of meeting her. "I realised."

"She's like that with everyone," he laughs, a bellowing laugh that warms me up on the inside.

"Didn't really seem that way with Leon or Chris."

"Oh yeah. She's a total flirt. Just her personality. Doesn't matter. Been chasing me for months to take her out for a lobster dinner." He's already pouring himself another shot. "She was obsessed with Leon for a while too."

I feel my jaw clench. Without really thinking about it, I stick my glass out for another round. "She was?"

Parker looks at me like he think he's in trouble for divulging sensitive information. "I thought they had a thing. A fling. You know."

"They did?" I grip the glass in a way that is almost concerning. "Leon never mentioned anything."

"I'm pretty sure," Parker says, scratching his stubbly beard. "I don't know, to be honest. It's a different obsession every week with that woman. But Leon seems to be the flavour of the year for her." He laughs like it's funny, and not like it's making me want to commit manslaughter.

"So they were a couple? What?" I ask, trying to keep my voice low and as nonchalant as possible. I worry I'm being as subtle as a bull in a china shop.

"This is all coming from Jessica, so I'd take it with a pinch of salt," he says, closing his eyes for a second.

"Hit me again," I say, and he does, filling my glass with another shot.

"That's the spirit!" Parker says. "Cheers, Clementina."

We drink a couple more, and then another couple more. Before either of us know it, half the bottle is gone. I'm surprisingly still sober, and Parker... Well, he looks like he had been chugging water and not whisky.

My stomach is twisting at the idea of Leon keeping something so big from me. I feel like I'm making a bigger deal than I should, but I told him about my ex. I told him about getting my heart broken. He has been a closed book so far.

The sky has darkened, and just as I'm thinking that I should probably stop, the cabin doors slide open, and Leon walks out, his hair wet, a fresh baggy t-shirt clinging to his chest, clean cargo pants, and mismatched socks.

My heart stops in its tracks as I look at him, looking so awkwardly dishevelled, like he had just shaken the water out of his hair. I sink into the jacket, and inhale its smell. It smells like his aftershave, his deodorant, his soap, lemon and herby, and him. His scent intoxicates me more than all the whiskey Parker has given me tonight.

"You guys drinking without me?" Leon asks, eyeing the half-empty bottle.

"Why are you never cold?" I ask him, and as soon as I do, I realise how tongue-twisted I sound. Maybe the alcohol has affected me more than I realised.