Chapter 1: "Face Down"
Clare had just finished applied concealer to the bruises that she seemed to have continuously now. It had been what seemed like years since she had not had to wear makeup because of KC and his temper. She knew that she should have abandoned KC long ago, but she somehow felt powerless to help herself.
I feel like such a hypocrite, she thought. She had always been a believer in woman empowerment, and she now didn't even have the strength to walk away from a monster.
"Clare, you're going to be late for school if you don't get a move-on," her mother called from the foot of the stairs.
She quickly closed her compact and threw it in her bag, running down the stairs in a hurried run.
"Love you, Mom! Gotta go!" she rushed as she swung the front door open and slammed it behind her. As she had expected, there Eli was, waiting dutifully for Clare, as he did every morning. She smiled lovingly at him. He was her best friend, and she genuinely loved him and trusted him with her life. But she knew that he still needed time to get himself together after Julie, his ex-girlfriend.
Clare scurried to the hearse and got inside.
"You're a life-saver, as usual."
He smiled. "I accept your praise, but I haven't saved your life yet."
She laughed bitterly at the irony of his statement. "Yeah. Not yet."
Eli turned up the heavy rock music and drove down the street to their destination: Degrassi Community School.
When they parked, Eli turned the music off and looked at Clare intently.
She looked away, abashed. "What?"
"Something's been bothering you for a long time. I've waited for you to tell me in your own good time, but since it doesn't exactly look like that's going to happen, I'm going to ask. So, what's going on?"
Clare's stomach sunk to the soles of her shoes. "I don't know what you mean."
Eli sighed deeply. "Clare…"
She suddenly became enraged. "Nothing is wrong, okay? I don't know where this is coming from, but maybe you need to mind your own business and back the hell off!"
"Whoa, Clare, I didn't mean-"
"-To be an ass?" she finished curtly. "You know, I really don't need this right now, so, see you. Or not."
She opened the door slammed it forcefully, leaving Eli in the hearse.
"Clare!" Eli shouted, but it was useless. He slumped in his seat and rubbed his face in exasperation.
Clare huffed and grumbled angrily to herself as she stormed away from Eli. How could he?
She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him. KC. He approached her, smiling broadly, pretending as if nothing had taken place between them the night before.
He hugged her tenderly and kissed her firmly on the mouth. "Hey babe. You feeling okay? You look a little pale."
She stared up at him in disbelief. "Yeah. I'm fine."
"Awesome. Gotta head to class, See you at lunch?" He said as he walked backward toward the building.
"For sure," she replied, slightly dazed.
He winked, then turned around and jogged to catch up to his other friends.
Then she felt a slight breeze from behind her. She then felt lips against her ear, and a sensual male voice whisper, "Meet me on the roof during free period. We need to talk."
Eli sidestepped from behind her and turned briefly to look into her eyes. Those green eyes seemed to glare right into her soul.
Oh, sugar.