The Trinity

Part Four.

After a tight embrace, I lift my head back to meet her gaze again. I stare deep into her mesmerising eyes, something I just can't forget. "You truly are special to me, Louise, I would never judge you for anything. Thank you for telling me this.. honestly it means a lot.. the fact you trust me to that extent." I whisper to her. "How could I not trust you, you're my flipping boyfriend for crying out loud," she exclaims, pushing me away. I then see a small grin forming on her face, which I can't help but smile back to. "Hey, Lou?" I ask, remembering something I was thinking about earlier. "I've noticed you're wearing the necklace I got you for your seventeenth birthday.. that was two years ago, what's the occasion?" I've noticed her wearing it in the past, but she doesn't wear it very often anymore, as it was a while ago. The necklace is a silver pendant that has two love birds engraved on it. "Oh I don't know, do I? It fitted with the outfit I guess?" She ponders for a moment, and after a few seconds, Louise's mouth begins to move as if she is about to say something. They close again, her eyes darting across the room vividly until she finally forms the words to say it. "I-.. I just want to forget it all.." Louise stammers, her eyes looking straight into mine again, the memory clearly not fading at all. I place my hands onto her upper arms, my gaze facing directly at her. "That's why I ran off when you were wondering what we could do with the prototype we were looking at.. I'm really, really sorry.. I just.. couldn't stop thinking about it afterwards.. and.." she sighs deeply, her emotions getting the better of her. "I just wanted to lose that memory forever. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I wanted to so badly Joe.." I can already see tears welling up in her eyes again, which I wipe away with my thumb. I felt I had to do something, anything to comfort her. I take her hands that are rested on her lap, which I weave my fingers through hers. I take hold of them, lifting them up to our faces, my voice quiet and emotional when I speak. "You've been through something unimaginable, only something that happens in films or whatever, but I know for a fact I will do absolutely anything to help you. Seeing you in pain.. hurts me so much. Knowing that you're happy makes me happy. That is what I thrive for, Lou, to keep you happy. We'll figure it out together, I promise." And with that, I lean in, briefly kissing her on the lips out of nowhere. Her face lights up in a small smile, her eyes looking towards mine again.

"I just want to forget it.. I did consider trying to get an ARX but it just isn't possible.. and based what we saw in the Trinity store, I don't think there's any hope in looking for it. Besides, it got stolen anyway-" she gets cut off by my hand over her mouth briefly. "What?" I remark, not knowing how to react. Louise pushes my hand off her mouth, until she throws her own hands around my neck. "Didn't you see it at all? It was about a year ago now, near my 18th birthday." I start to wonder at what she had just said. "Some notorious jewellery criminals, they just swooped into Trinity Corp, stealing it as quickly as they could. Like any other heist I suppose." Louise shrugs, not knowing what else to say. "Well why don't we go look for it then, hm? It must be somewhere, might be worth a shot looking for it." I suggest. "Joe, don't be stupid, the police would have been searching for it for at least a year now, they've probably given up!" But I'm not paying any attention to her, going back to the old paper that she had just got out from the other room.

"Ah, here we go! Prototype Trinity ARX still missing after theft one year prior to it." I take a seat back down on the sofa, as does Louise right next to me. "It says that investigations have taken place all over the last place it was seen, at an old abandoned warehouse. If we go now-" I look outside to see it's already dark. We could wait until tomorrow I suppose. I sigh deeply, looking over at Louise again. She clearly doesn't have the same spark of hope as I do, which is visible in her eyes. Louise isn't much of a pessimist, but this seems like the roles have been reversed. "Come on, please.. we have to at least look for it.. for your sake Louise. I hate the fact you're in pain, suffering such a horrible trauma that I know we could fix if we just found that device." I can see her head looking back towards the ground again. This really is a big thing for her, and I am going to put it right one way or another. "Joe, we should probably eat something before we start doing some digging though, I do know a fair bit about the story if that helps?" she asks, before flopping on the sofa again. "I'll go get something quick ready, but don't expect much!" she calls to me, just before leaving the room into the tiny kitchen behind us. It seems like a ludicrous idea, which will probably never work. But if there's any chance of finding this thing, I'm willing to take that shot. For her sake. Nobody, especially not Louise should ever have to live something like that, for it to be in your memory collection, haunting you as you try and sleep at night. I am not just letting this slide. If there's anything that can be done, it's worth it.