Warning: Contains abuse and some bits of bad language.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Morganville Vampires in any way, all rights to Rachel Caine.
I love you.
It was just three simple words and in the beginning, she had revelled in the moments when he spoke them but now she despised that single sentence. The love between them had crumbled and disappeared long ago, leaving bitterness and resentment and hatred in its place. They lied to each other, whispering false words of love and care and happiness, the kind of things they had said before.
It was frightening to see just how much Shane resembled his father during his bouts of violence, maybe he was even worse than the man.
A routine developed; Shane would work and then waste the money he had earned on alcohol, bringing it home and becoming a drunken mess on the couch or in his bedroom. Michael and Eve were never there to witness it, either busy at work or spending time together. Claire would attend classes at the University and then spend the rest of the day at the laboratory with Myrnin, frightened to return home.
She would just be abused again.
Claire would never forget the first time that Shane had hit her, hating herself for forgiving him so easily. She had returned home later than usual, caught up in completing an experiment with Myrnin and when she stepped over the threshold of the front door, he was already waiting for her. The argument spiralled out of control, both of them shouting and screaming at one another until Shane snapped completely and slapped her, knocking her onto the floor from the force.
He had immediately pulled her into his arms, apologizing into her ear and promising never to hurt her again. She always regretted believing him and forgiving him, thinking that they could overcome it because they loved each other. How naïve she had been back then.
With a deep breath, Claire stepped through the front door of the Glass House, quietly locking it behind her. It was late in the evening, the sun already disappearing from view in the sky. One of Myrnin's experiments had gone wrong and they had spent hours trying to clean up the laboratory afterwards, the time passing much to quickly for her liking. Shane would undoubtedly be waiting for her, that was if they were alone.
Unfortunately, luck was never on her side. He stepped into the hallway from the living room, staggering slightly. Claire lowered her heavy backpack onto the floor and set down her keys, fingers trembling.
"Where were you?" Shane asked, taking slow deliberate steps towards her.
"At the lab..." She whispered.
"You should speak up Claire, I couldn't hear you very well." He said, tone vicious and mocking, hands roughly grasping her shoulders.
She winced from the pain but swallowed the lump in her throat and stared up at his towering form, directly into his eyes. "I was helping Myrnin clean the lab and I lost track of the time."
Shane narrowed his eyes at her, allowing no warning before he pushed her against the wall, her head smacking it, a sickening crack echoing in her ears. She slid downwards but he gripped her upper arms in a tight hold, holding her there. He loved to see the pain and the fear in her eyes, gaining a sick pleasure knowing that he had caused it. At first, he hated how he was treating her exactly how his father had treated his mother but when it continued, he soon understood.
She was his outlet for his anger and frustration and pain; an escape.
Claire whimpered lightly, feeling waves of pain and dizziness spread outwards from her head, her vision blurring in and out of focus. She was used to the constant abuse by now, but the pain seemed to be worse each time, more violent and harder to conceal any evidence. The fingers digging into her flesh tightened and Shane shook her, screaming in her face, her head hitting the wall again.
"What else did you do there?! You're always coming home late! You're cheating on me with that bastard, aren't you!?"
The stale scent of alcohol on his breath turned her stomach and she twisted her head to the side, trying to keep her eyes open and stay conscious. Shane released his hold on her and she slumped down onto the floor, shakily reaching up to feel the bump beneath her hair and the bit of blood there. She attempted to stand up, only to fall and land in a heap, listening to Shane's laughter at the display. Watching her like this was always amusing to him.
Shane stepped over to her, staring down with disgust and hatred. He swung his leg and kicked her in the stomach, continuing to do so until she was left crying and gasping, curled in on herself. He forced her to lay on her back and then placed his foot on her chest, viciously stomping right onto it. He smirked with satisfaction when he heard the crunch and snap of several of Claire's ribs. She managed a feeble, but nonetheless horrifying scream, tears sliding down her face.
She just wanted this to end. Months of abuse had taken its toll on her, not just physically but mentally also. Her body was always covered with bruises and cuts and scars and she had turned to using makeup to cover them, also choosing clothing that would hide the evidence. Michael and Eve knew nothing of what was happening, though Michael had been suspicious and questioning on a few occasions after smelling a faint trace of blood in different parts of the house where Claire had missed while cleaning.
It wasn't that she couldn't trust or confide in them, rather she was terrified of how Shane would react and what would happen.
"You know that you deserve this, Claire. You like the vampires...maybe you even like this pain because that's all they ever fucking do...cause pain!" Shane shouted, kicking her again in the chest before he leaned down and straddled her, cupping her cheeks in his large, calloused hands.
Claire had started coughing up blood during the kicking and when her ribs had been broken, making her entire chest seize up and it was difficult to breathe. The bitter metallic taste of her blood was sickening, her stomach twisting and turning with disgust. Shane pressed a rough kiss to her bloodied lips, slicing and digging into her face with his nails and although blunt, it still stung. When he pulled away, he gently stroked her cheek, feeling in complete power and control of her as she lay broken and bruised and bleeding underneath him.
"I love you, Claire and you know I do. So why would you cheat on me with that damn vampire?" He said, nothing but lies and cruel accusations spitting from his mouth.
"I...n-never cheated...on you." Claire murmured, barely able to speak at all.
The pain throughout her body was clouding her mind and it was becoming increasingly difficult to stay awake. Her eyelids began to droop when Shane suddenly backhanded her and then cupped her face again, only to begin slamming her head against the wooden floorboards. During this, a particularly hard blow was given to her temple and with the rest of the injuries to her weak body, Claire became unconscious knowing that she was dying, slipping into a black abyss.
Soon, she released one final breath and her heart stopped beating, ending everything.
Eventually, Shane noticed the dull, unresponsive look in her open eyes and his movements stopped, hands releasing her face, moving down to grasp her shoulders instead. He shook her gently, staring at her blood covered parted lips, waiting for her to answer him but there was nothing, not a single sound.
"Claire..." He whispered.
Slowly, his gaze lowered to her chest and he froze when he realised that it wasn't rising as it should with each breath. He felt panic settle within him and realisation at his actions. He had killed her, he killed Claire. This was never his intention. But it was too late. Her body was paler now and her eyes were open, staring at nothing, lips parted but releasing no breath. Shane fell backwards and crawled away from her still body, not wanting to believe that he had just killed her. His wide eyes glanced around frantically, having no idea what to do now.
He hadn't meant to go so far.
The sound of the key turning in the front door barely registered in his mind or the laughter emanating from Eve and Michael, who had been out at the cinema and had been discussing how awful the movie had been. Michael immediately smelt the blood, glancing at the scene awaiting them, lips parting and eyes widening in horror. Eve noticed his sudden silence and followed his gaze, gasping at the sight, not wanting to believe what she was seeing. She hurried down the hallway, boots thumping loudly on the wooden floorboards, and dropped to her knees beside Claire's body.
The dull, emptiness of her eyes both shocked and frightened Eve, who pulled Claire into her arms, bent over gasping and sobbing.
Michael reacted immediately, collapsing beside Eve, checking for a pulse that was non-existant. He slowly pulled his hand back from her cold skin, shaking his head in disbelief and shock. His eyes took in the sight of all the bruises and the cuts and the blood covering her body. Tears burned his eyes and steadily dripped down his cheeks, completely shocked and horrified to what they had returned home to. Claire, their best friend who was like a younger sister to him, was dead. Michael snapped out of his daze, gently pulling Eve away, knowing how painful it was and not wanting to make it worse, he moved them back just a little bit.
Eve attempted to lunge at Claire but he quickly grabbed her, pulling her into his arms. She screamed and fought against him, weakly hitting his chest with her fists but eventually stopped, slumping against him, sobbing uncontrollably. Michael didn't even want to look at Shane, knowing that he would kill him otherwise with his bare hands.
He had known in an instant that it was Shane who had killed her, Claire's blood on his hands and it was obvious since nobody else was in the house. They had been alone. Shakily wiping away his tears, Michael reached into his pocket and retrieved his phone and dialed 911, raising the phone to his ear, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"H-hello? Yes..there's been a murder. 716 Lot Street, at the Glass House. Please...help."
Eve suddenly broke away from his hold after he hung up and dropped the phone onto the floor, lunging at Shane. She slapped him and punched his jaw, screaming in his face with tears streaming down her cheeks. Shane didn't even react, just sat there against the wall, staring anywhere but Claire's body. He was crying silently, wishing that none of this had ever happened. He was worse than this his father; a monster.
Michael dragged Eve away from him, attempting to calm her down as much as he wanted to join her but he knew that if he even spared a glance at Shane at that moment, he would kill him.
"Oh god...she...she's dead! You bastard!"
Eventually, they heard the blaring of sirens in the distance, coming closer and closer. When they arrived, paramedics moved Claire's body onto a stretcher and Michael had to restrain Eve when they removed her from the house. Hannah Moses wore a grim expression and when Michael shakily explained the situation, she roughly pulled Shane to his feet and slapped a pair of handcuffs onto his wrists, escorting him into the back of the police car. He didn't fight, still dazed, simply accepting his fate. The ambulance and the police cars left the scene after they had gathered enough evidence and information, leaving Eve and Michael together with their sorrow and pain at losing their best friend.
In the end, it wasn't a vampire, an accident or even old age that killed Claire. It had been a result of her love for a man who had been a monster, making her his victim.
The End.