I jogged to the door after hearing the doorbell ring. I swung the door open and there stood Clare. Her eyes were red and puffy like she'd been crying.
"Clare?" I asked looking at her face. She sniffled and looked down.
"Can I stay here for a while?" She asked me shyly, sniffling.
I took her hand and pulled her into my house. She looked up at me and smiled slightly through her tears. "Thanks Eli." She took off her jacket while I took her small bag she had.
"Clare, why are you crying?" I asked worried.
She sniffled and wiped her eyes. "What are you talking about? I'm not crying." She laughed slightly to try and cover it up.
I sighed and wrapped my arms around her waist in a hug, which she quickly responded to. Her face buried in my chest, arms around my neck with my arms around her waist holding her close, we stayed like that for a while. I let her cry into my chest and I didn't say or do anything.
Once she calmed down she pulled away. "I got your shirt all wet." She chuckled uncertainly and I had to smirk at how cute she was.
"Don't worry about it, Clare." I said. "I'm worried about you. What happened?"
Her shoulders slumped and she trudged to the couch and plopped down. I sat next to her and pulled her closer to me. "Take your time."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Eli, my parents, it got terrible tonight. I don't know what to do. I'm so scared my dad going to hurt my mom and I needed you." She looked up at me through her bangs then quickly back down. "I needed to stay here for a while," She looked up again, and then hurriedly covered it up. "Only if it's okay and you want me to, I mean. I don't want to be anywhere I'm not welcome."
I smirked and played with her hair. "Clare, I'm really sorry about your parents. I'm always here, okay?" She nodded at me. "And of course you can stay here. My parents love you and so do I." I smiled at her and kissed her head. "You're always welcome here, beautiful."
She smiled at me. "Beautiful?"
I nodded and kissed her. "Beautiful."
She blushed lightly and added, "I've never been called that before."
I grinned and rubbed her back. "K.C doesn't know what he's missing."
She blushed. "How do you know about K.C? I never told you."
"I've got my ways, Blue Eyes."
She shook her head and stood up. "Can I clean up?"
"You don't have to ask, Clare. You know where the bathroom is."
She nodded and grabbed her bag before leaning down and kissing my cheek. "I love you, Elijah."
I smirked. "I love you too Clare-Bear."