A/N: I've always wanted to do a Quil/Claire story. The whole process of her leaving has been done before of course, but it's still fun to play around with! I hope you like it, because I worked damn hard on it.
Disclaimer: Remember this, I'm only writing it once. Stephenie Meyer is way cooler than me. She created amazing characters; I'm just stealing them from the pages of her wonderful series and tearing them apart!
Claire Haynes was three years old. She loved all the things that normal three year olds did. She loved colouring, cookies before dinner, going in the water and sleeping in her big girl bed. Her older sister was her idol that did big girl things such as going to school, wearing frilly dresses and having adult conversations. But Claire wished she could stay little forever, because she had so much more than others.
She had Quil. Quil was her babysitter, her best friend and the man she believed she was going to marry one day. He was the boy who didn't mind when Claire put glitter in his hair or didn't put on an annoyed face when she asked him to play tea party. Quil even raised his pinkie the right way. She never wanted to grow up, she never wanted to lose him. She was afraid when she wasn't cute and little, Quil wouldn't want to play with her anymore.
They did a lot of things together. When Mommy and Daddy went to work, she would get dropped off at Aunt Emily's house where she would sit and sulk until Quil came in. He took her to the beach and to get ice cream even when she wasn't supposed to. He got in trouble a lot of times when he did that and Claire didn't like it when people yelled at Quil, but he would wink at her and make her laugh.
Sometimes she saw him more than her own parents and even that wasn't enough. One day, Quil had taken her for a walk at night and they had seen a shooting star. He told her that if she made a wish, it would come true. Claire didn't even have to think about it, she wished that she could keep Quil forever.
He was so big too. Claire told him at thanksgiving that she bet he could eat the whole turkey. Quil said he could definitely do that but that everyone would be mad at him if he did it. When they said Grace, everyone said they were thankful for good finance, blessed family and good health. Claire didn't care for any of that complicated stuff. And besides, she was only thankful for one thing in her life, which she announced. "I'm grateful for Quil." She had said.
He had grinned at her and everyone laughed and told her how cute she was. But her Mommy looked very angry; she even took Aunt Emily away from dinner to go outside where it was cold. Claire had only seen her Mommy that angry when she had accidentally knocked over her favourite vase and shattered it. She had gotten a spanking and Quil had held her when she cried. When she got a booboo, Quil had given her a band aid and a hug. In fact, she could never remember a time when Quil wasn't around to make her feel better. He was like tummy medicine when you have a bellyache.
She was sure that she loved him. Claire wanted Quil to ride up on a unicorn in a knight's costume and then he would take her away to a faraway castle. Or he could come in sweatpants with that beat up old red car he drives, bringing her ice cream and driving her back to Jacob's house to play with Nessie.
Claire didn't really care. She just wanted to be wherever Quil was. She liked to elaborate on that too. When Quil would tuck her in at Aunt Emily's house, she would always tell him that she loved him. "I love you." She told him tiredly.
He would kiss her on the forehead and chuckle. "I love you too Claire-Bear." And Claire would make him promise to stay with her forever, even when she was old and he didn't want to play tea party anymore.
"I couldn't leave if I tried." He would say. Claire didn't understand, but she didn't care. Because that meant he would stay and that was fine with her.
When she turned four, Nessie stopped coming over to play. When Nessie wasn't around, neither was Jacob and she missed them both. But Quil was there all the time, even at her birthday party. He had bought her the best present of all. It was a necklace on a black string with a wooden wolf carved in it. The string was long, it went down to her stomach. Quil told her that it was so that when she grew up, it would still fit so that he could see her wearing it.
She liked the idea of Quil being around so long down the road. So she munched happily on her slice of birthday cake while Quil and his friends ate three pieces each. She didn't understand how they could all eat so much at once! Mommy wouldn't let her wear the necklace because she was afraid she would lose it or break it, so it went into a box of Claire's things for when she was older. Claire didn't mind, it was still from Quil so it still made it the best present of all.
During the next months, she started seeing Quil less and less. Once, she didn't see him for a whole week! She cried and cried in her room, even when her Mommy, Daddy and her sister Danni asked her to go to the beach. She screamed and said that Quil was the only one allowed to take her there and then threw herself on the floor and kicked the whole way as they dragged her down there.
While she sat, cried out for Quil and sulked on the blanket, there was a howl in the background where the forest was. She didn't know what it was, but it sounded like a doggie in pain. She didn't like that sound, doggies were supposed to be happy weren't they?
The next day, Quil came to the house. But he didn't get to see Claire because Mommy wasn't very happy with him. She remembered sitting at the top of the stairs in Quil's view as her Mommy yelled at him. She said things like, "Claire is becoming too dependent on you and you're not even around anymore!" and "If you can't be with her when she needs you, you need to leave her alone. You can't keep coming and going as you please!" And Claire watched with tearstained cheeks as Mommy told Quil he wasn't allowed to come back to this house ever again. She sniffled as he sent her a pained glance before he left.
Claire cried some more while her Mom tried to comfort her and tell her that Quil would come back. But Claire screamed more and called her Mommy a liar. She never wanted to come out of her room and she never wanted to talk to anyone again. She hated her family and she missed Quil. At supper, she didn't even go downstairs to eat and she didn't even ask for a bedtime story that night. She cried till it was real late, almost ten and finally fell asleep.
Claire sat at the breakfast table and cried instead of eating. She wished Quil was there, he knew that she didn't like eggs and that she preferred milk to juice. Eventually, she cried herself to the point of being sick and then went to her room and slept the whole day.
Two more whole weeks had passed without Quil coming to see her. Claire cried once in the morning and once before she went to bed. During the day she would sulk and drag everywhere she went. Mommy was getting mad at her, yelling and getting upset with her. One day, she told Claire that she was being ridiculous when she did her annual crying session at the breakfast table. When she just cried some more and screamed for Quil, her Mom shoved her shoes on and carried her to the car. They drove the five minutes to Aunt Emily's house with Claire screaming in the back. Her Mom picked her up and carried her into the house while she kicked and squirmed.
The kitchen was filled with giant men and Emily. Claire kept screaming Quil's name over and over again until her Mom put her on the floor. She said, "I don't know what to do with her anymore." Then she had left Claire there on the kitchen floor and went back home.
Claire's red, tear filled eyes searched the room for the one person she wanted to find and when she came up with no result, she cried some more. Many of the other giant people with blurry faces tried to console her and tell her Quil would be back soon but she just rolled over and pounded her legs and arms on the ground and cried again. Aunt Emily had scooped her up a half an hour later for her to have some lunch when the door opened.
Jacob came in first, who Claire hadn't seen in a while. She stopped flailing around with his arrival and held out her arms to him. When he held her, she was surrounded by familiar heat. He rocked her back and forward in the living room as she blubbered for Quil. Jacob did his best to console her until Quil came back. It was about an hour after Claire's arrival that Quil entered the house through the front door, spotted Claire and took her into his arms. She was so happy that she clung to him with all her little four year old might and had to cry some more just because she was glad to see kept coming back around the house more and he took Claire places again. She was so happy that he was back, nothing seemed right without him. How could she learn to ride a bike without Quil there to kiss her booboo better? How could she start kindergarten without Quil to hold her hand? How could she celebrate a birthday without Quil to help her blow out the candles? Life just didn't fit without him. He was always supposed to be there.
Quil was the person who taught Claire how to tie her shoes. He was the one who had taught her how to count to ten and not to get rides with strangers. Even when they say they have candy, because apparently they really don't. Why would somebody lie like that?
Two months later, Mommy was on the phone before dinner. She said that Grandma was very sick and they were going to California so they could go visit her. Claire asked if Quil was going to come along and she got very mad. She said that Quil didn't need to go everywhere with her and that she could see him when she got back. Her Mommy said something about being independent.
A week later, a big truck pulled up at the house and strong people started putting furniture into it. Claire realised that they weren't as strong as Quil and his friends and wondered why the furniture needed to come with them to Grandma's house. Mommy said that the furniture would get lonely without them so they needed to take it with them. Her Daddy looked sad and he was looking at Claire with a sad face. She didn't understand why he was so sad. Did he not want to visit Grandma?
When Quil, Jacob, Aunt Emily and Uncle Sam came, they all looked sad too. She hated it when Quil was sad, it made her sad too. So she picked him a pretty purple flower off the lawn and gave it to him along with a picture she drew of him and her at the beach. Then she lifted her arms up and when he picked her up, she gave him a kiss on his cheek and said "I love you."
That's when her Mommy told her to get in the car because they were leaving. As they pulled away from the road, Claire stuck her pudgy face against the window and looked back at Quil. He was crying as he watched the car drive away. She was immediately crying too, she never knew Quil could cry. He was so big. He shouldn't have anything to cry about.
Claire didn't understand the sad look on his face. She was just going to visit her Grandma, she'd be back. Wouldn't she?
A/N: And that's the preface. I already have the next two chapters out so as soon as I get five reviews for this, I'll bring the next one out. Remember to recommend me if you want to read more!