Updating Early since I got 50 reviews which was my goal ;D
Tons of credit to my Twitter Bestie Taya/Munroaholic. She's hilarious, supportive, intelligent and just plain awesome. (Lets just hope you're not on the train again when you read this XD)
UPDATED MAY 24th 2019, enjoy the newest version!
Innocent
Eli
Ghastly fumes continued to pollute out of the vehicle's engine as the two teens played a noncompetitive staring game. Eli held a crooked sly smirk while Clare gawked back less pleased.
"Do you mind?" Clare coughed. She would have exited the vehicle long ago if he wasn't in her way. Eli rolled his eyes and his plastered smirk fell as he moved to the side being generous enough to grab her hand as she carefully got out.
"You okay?" He asked as he pulled her out in concern.
When her feet met the ground and her posture was straight up, she snatched her hand away rudely. Eli raised both of his hands up in guard defense at her sudden demeanor. He placed his hands on his toned torso watching her intently as she fixed her hair, and patted everything in place oblivious to the mess she'd caused.
"What?" Clare asked with an eyebrow raised as she looked up into Eli's eyes.
"My truck..." He said obviously as he averted his gaze to the destructed vehicle then back at her.
"Poor truck..." Clare's tone dripped with sarcasm. "You should be thanking me. It looks much better than it did before."
Eli's eyes squinted in annoyance prepared to go off but took a deep breath.
"Eli! It'd be nice if you helped us!" Adam yelped as a chicken slipped out of his hold and he began running after it again.
"Eli?" Clare questioned. She over looked his appearance as he turned his head to look at her yet again. This time, she dove into a whirlpool of familiar green emeralds that sucked her in.
She recognizes me.
She hesitated in speaking, troubled on what to say.
"OW! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Clare unanticipatedly screeched multiple times. Eli looked down and began laughing as one of the chickens pecked her continuously. She almost fell when she lost balance as if she were on ice and Eli instinctively captured her, gripping her back tightly.
Clare looked down, disgusted when she realized she had stepped on and smashed a few eggs with her feet covered in egg yolk.
She lifted herself off of Eli and groaned in place. "Ew! merveilleuse, now I have to throw these out." Clare pouted and it alarmed Eli when her response and minor use of French momentarily struck him as adorable.
"Clare! My Neptune, what did you do?" Her grandmother abruptly appeared frightened, eying the mess.
Clare wiggled her fingers nervously. "I ran into a dilemma with my luggage..."
Eli chuckled and Clare shot him a disapproving look. Mrs. Edwards sighed, unsure of how to respond. "Well...then..." Mrs. Edwards turns around. "Drew? C'mere." Drew approaches leaving the unsuccessful chicken chasing to Adam. "Bring Clare's belongings in will ya?" She asks politely.
Clare grinned mischievously at her grandmothers orders. Drew didn't protest and he went along carrying her things inside.
Mrs. Edwards looked at both Clare and Eli, her semi-destroyed farm, then narrowed her eyes directly back to Clare's.
Clare
Mrs. Edwards had Eli and Adam capture the chickens, Eli cautiously backed his truck out from the side of the pen, and Mr. Edwards boarded up the side of the shed so that the chickens wouldn't get out again. Clare, on the other hand did absolutely nothing. She simply apologized to her grandmother, got rid of her yolk infested shoes, and escaped inside.
A few hours passed by since then and Clare turned the handle of the shower to the right, shutting off the water. She mentally complained about having to share a bathroom but thought it'd come off entitled if she fussed about it.
She dried her wet hair and got dressed in her pricy and fashionable romper shorts, printed in a faded jean blue. She grabbed her dirty clothes and towel, walked out of the bathroom and down into the basement barefoot.
She mentally sighed as she looked around her room with all of the luggage still unpacked. Her grandmother said she would call her up when dinner was ready since dinner was delayed due to her ostentatious arrival.
She threw her clothes aside into a bag and decided on unpacking. It took about an hour and a half to empty her five suitcases.
She discarded them and put them under the stairs so they weren't in her way.
RING! RING! RING!
Clare jumped over her bed and nearly snatched her phone from the charger, answering it without looking at the screen.
"Hello."
"Clare-bear."
"Daddy..." Clare smiled weakly, remembering she didn't even say goodbye to him.
"How are you? You happy to see granny and grandad?"
"They're great, fluffy and kind as usual." Clare sighed. "I'm miserable dad. I'm losing my mind so much that I accidentally crashed-"
"Your grandmother already told me." He laughed on the other line and Clare's mouth parted playfully.
"Dad, your daughters banausic faults are not funny." She tried to hold back the a giggle.
"Clare-bear, daddy loves you but I called to see if your phone was off."
"Why would my phone be off?"
"It's part of your punishment. I called the phone company and told them to block your account."
"I'm already here at the farm for the entire summer. I think that's punishment enough."
He was silent for a moment. "Look, I've already called but, Grandma said you can use her house phone."
"House phone? Who still uses those? Daddy please, I need to upkeep my social presence and my phone is the closest thing to that while I'm here!"
"Your grandfather told me you met Eli, Adam, and Drew again. How about you socialize with them? They were your best friends for a while. You always loved being with them." He suggested.
"Keyword: WERE. Past tense, three nouns separated by a conjunction and time. Besides, I barely remember them..."
Except Eli. Visions of us sitting somewhere out on a field were a discreet flash and a strain on the mind.
"I know you don't. We've worked on this for years with your phsyciatrist and I wish you did... but, Clare, those people over there care about you."
"Cared."
"They still do." He sighed. "Sometimes I regret ever taking you with me. I did it because I thought I was doing the right thing for you - us."
Clare was quiet. She knew that by 'us' he meant himself, Clare, and her biological mother.
"Daddy, if you did the right thing then why am I here? You and I both know that my life is better with you so why don't you just send a car to come get me and I'll do anything you ask, please." She jumped on the opportunity to persuade him.
"I'm sorry but-"
"Whatever. I'll call you tomorrow." Without letting him say another word she hung up and let out an exaggerated sigh.
My phone. My precious phone!
Instead of connecting the charger back to her cell, she turned the phone off and opened the drawer on the nightstand to store it there for the rest of the summer. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion when she spotted a photograph lying right in the drawer. It was facing downward and she picked it up to slowly flip the heavy polaroid.
She's beautiful.
A sad smile crept upon her lips to a picture of a young, happy Clare sitting on a white rocking chair in her beautiful and vibrant mother's lap on the same farmhouse porch.
She remembers when this picture was taken. It was on Fourth of July back in 2002 when she was seven years old. Clare and her mother both dressed identically wearing red dresses, blue cowboy boots, and white wide-brimmed cowboy hats.
We were going to a barbecue at...I don't remember who's, but my family was great friends with them. I was so eager to see the fireworks. They always fascinated me.
Clare stared at the picture for a while more cherishing the rare recollection of mini movies that delved into her past.
"Hey grandma, granddaddy?" Clare entered the kitchen where Lucy was cooking over a sizzling hot stove. She placed the lid on the stainless steel stock pot, and turned around with a warm smile.
"I found this in my room." She held up the polaroid. Ian, who was cutting carrots stopped what he was doing to look up.
Lucy walked over and gently took it from her granddaughters grip, reading the back. "I remember this. You had fleas in your pants, you would not stay still for the picture. All you wanted to do was sing and dance."
"You was always runnin' 'round here with your pretty little voice. You were one spirited kid." Mr. Edwards chuckled as he poured the cut up carrots into the boiling pot.
DING!
"Oh, it's ready! Clare dear, do you mind callin' the boys in for supper?"
Clare nodded at her grandmother's request. She walked outside. Adam and Drew were sitting on the porch steps listening to the radio. She spotted Eli a few feet away with the front hood of the truck open.
"Dinner's ready." She sighed.
"Yes, your honor." Drew retorted sarcastically getting up.
"Do I smell a man toddler?" Clare feigned a sniff. "Mmmm, it's just humiliation that you still had to carry my stuff in." She gloated.
Drew eyeballed her annoyed and began walking in. "Nice underwear by the way. I may need to borrow a pair." He murmured under his breath but just enough for Clare to still hear him clearly.
Adam snickered, but immediately stopped when Clare gave him a cold look and flew inside. "Isn't that cute, the virgin has jokes. Bet you wouldn't even know where to begin when taking them off of a girl."
"Nice one." Drew shook his head defeated.
Clare crossed her arms and looked out to Eli again who was concentrated on his truck.
She walked down the steps of the porch and strolled Eli's way. She stopped in front of the truck and leaned on the side of it, looking out at the coral sun setting in.
Sun sets never look this nice in the city.
Clare continued her gaze at the sky. She hadn't noticed Eli looking up and taking a few seconds to admire her porcelain skin and her attire. It may have not been his usual preference in clothing but there was no denying her beauty could provoke anyone to bend to her will.
"Can I help you?" Eli asked bitterly, finally taking his eyes away from her and continuing to toil and work on the truck.
Clare looks at him and pushes herself off. "Nope." He cringes at her response. "But, dinner's ready."
"I'll be in in a minute. If you haven't realized, I'm trying to fix what you broke."
"How much would it cost to replace this thing? A grand or two? How about I just replace it with the newest model? I'll let my dad know and I'll write you a check."
"This isn't a charity case. I don't need a new one." He retorted.
"I'm sorry for crashing it. Is that what you want to hear? Be grateful, now you have an excuse to buy something worth driving."
Eli sneered disbelievingly with a roll of the eyes.
"Maybe I don't care if people see me driving this." Eli said simply, trying not to snap.
"Of course you don't."
"And what is that supposed to mean? Because we're in two different tax brackets I don't matter? I don't need to have someone stalking my every move to feel important. I'm perfectly content with what I have." He explained agitatedly. Clare stood negligent to his tone and shook her head nonchalantly.
He threw the tools into the tool box and slammed the hood shut with an unnecessary force. He grabbed the tool box and tossed it into the back of the truck.
"Eli..." Clare wondered why he suddenly stopped messing with his truck.
"I'm going to eat." He murmured tossing an oil stained towelette over his shoulder while shoving his hands in his pockets as his boots stomped towards the farmhouse.
After dinner, Eli, Adam, and Drew thanked the Edwards and migrated in different directions home. Eli left in a rush and didn't speak much to Clare for the rest of the night. She tried to avoid her guilt but with no success.
They're just sensitive. I'm not some heartless, over-judgmental monster...
Next Morning
Noisy, disruptive drumming against the door pushed Clare out of her sleep.
"This better be a national emergency for the impending, inevitable zombie apaocalypse!" Clare blasted ragingly, sitting up in her bed. Her eyes focused on the entrance door to her room at the top of the stairs.
"It's mornin' time!" It was her grandfather. "Now get up and get dressed! I got some work for you!"
Clare groaned, which sounded more like a growl as she pounded her body weight back into her lying position, throwing her fluffy covers over her head, caving herself in.
It's too early for this. Just a few more minutes...
Clare heard erratic heaving and felt a presence clawing right next to her. Her eyes widened in horror as she twisted up to see a Basset Hound peering over her with its tongue sagging out of its mouth. She figured her grandfather let the dog in, in case she tried going back to sleep.
Clare felt no other choice but to actually get her butt up and get changed. But first she had to kick out the pestering dog she despised. Dogs were never a part of her day to day living.
She looked through her many clothes and decided on a polka dot tie front top where a tied knot held the shirt together which doubled as it's own bra and a co-ord shorts set showing a very discreet amount of her upper torso. To top it all off she popped on her favorite Gucci tie up sandals.
Clare lazily walked up the stairs once she was done getting ready. She would kill to still be in bed. She walked into the kitchen and was greeted by her lovely Grandfather, who just so happened to wake her up at:
Seven thirty! You have GOT to be kidding me.
"Hey, glad you woke up! Hope Darcy ain't slobbered up ya whole room." He jerked his head to the same dog that intruded her room not too long ago.
Clare tried not to roll her eyes. "Yea...sorry but, why did you wake me up so early grandaddy?"
"Well to work of course! Although I don't know that yer dressed for occasion. But, what do I know? I'm just a old man."
"I need ya to feed and groom the horses. Adam's already here so he can help ya. That heavy hay won't carry itself." He patted her shoulder. "Unless, yer still so tired?" He winked.
Clare shook her head.
"I thought so." He laughed, as he walked off.
She crossed her arms, feeling nauseous. She was not ready to work with a single farm animal.
She moaned in frustration before her feet thumped all the way out into the farm. She saw the barn door open and went in seeing Adam drag a block of hay towards a stalled horse. He let go of it and stood up wiping his head. He noticed Clare and eyed her finding her clothes a bit unusual.
He smiled wide. "Hey, you're up. Glad you you came to help. How'd you sleep?"
"If it wasn't for that stupid canine I could still be sound asleep and not here." Clare huffed.
"Oh, you mean Darcy? You practically raised that dog yourself for the first few years." He frowned.
"Then I must have done a terrible job because he lacks core dynamic manners." Clare stated with wit.
"He's a she."
"Whatever."
"..."
"Just show me how to do this so I can get this over with. I don't plan on staying here all day." Clare said bitterly.
Adam nodded his head nervously. "All you have to do is let the horse eat for a few minutes and feed it water every then and so in between." He said as he demonstrated briefly. He petted the stallion behind the stall as it munched peacefully. "And that's it. Just don't be aggressive. They can sense it and it makes them nervous."
Adam brought another small block of hay and handed it to Clare. She walked towards the next horse and threw it in front of the enormous animal. The stallion extended it's exposed neck to sniff out the hay before it began to nibble on the food.
She picked up the water and interjected in the animal's meal a few times as Adam watched. Clare felt confident that she was doing so well.
After a few minutes, the horse seemed to have gotten full when it refused to eat anymore. Clare put the water down and swished her hands together clean.
"Well that was fun..." She attempted to walk away.
"Oh no you don't. Ian wants you to feed all of the horses." Adam warned.
She scanned the rest of the barn and noticed about ten more stalls with hungry horses.
"And what about you?"
"My job was to change and clean the hooves and show you how to feed them. I've completed my tasks until the guys get here."
Clare sighed not caring enough. She went on and began feeding the next horse.
"I'll be back in about half an hour to check up on you. Eli and Drew should be here soon so I'll ask one of them to give you an extra hand."
Clare heard him but paid no attention. Adam shrugged his shoulders and left. She finished feeding the second horse and went onto the third. She was already tired, peeved with a passion, and bored with disinterest.
She brought the water up to the horse while it grubbed on the hay, but ignored her gesture to drink water. Clare shoved it in its face. "Drink you stupid horse. Unless you want to choke."
The horse snorted loudly, wagging it's head and unintentionally knocking the water bowl from Clare's hand. "Great! Look what you did horsy!" The horse didn't budge. It simply went back to swallowing its food, making a snickering sound.
"Oh, you think this is funny?"
Clare swore she saw the horse nod its long neck. She shook her head frantically, blinking her eyes.
You're losing it Clare
She exhaled and sat down on the block of dried grass that the horse ate. She held her chin in her hands, feeling miserable.
She suddenly felt a forceful tug on her front tied crop top and realized the large stallions strong teeth were attached to it.
"This is not food you futile animal!" She pulled her body weight forward as she stood up attempting to release herself before she heard a rip and felt her bare chest exposed.
"Hey I..." Eli entered, his voice fading at the end when he saw Clare struggling with the horse now topless in front of him.
It took her a few moments before she brought her hands to cover her freed breasts.
This is so embarrassing!
"Oh, God! Uhhh..." Eli's eyes bulged as he walked in and immediately looked down uncomfortably, his hand acting as a shield on his forehead. He slowly looked up at her blocking her body and stood before her motionless with an amused smirk on his plump lips. He then burst out into fits of laughter.
"Are you finished?" Clare asked, her cheeks slightly flushed.
Eli laughed for a few more seconds, clutching his stomach, before stopping and with a single index finger wiping away a tear. "Yes. I am." He drawled trying keeping a straight face.
Eli stared at her intently noticing her growing more impatient while Clare was convinced that he was drooling until he snapped out of it. He cleared his throat and pulled his shirt over his head. Clare furrowed her eyes in confusion until she realized he was handing it to her.
He's being...nice.
She hesitantly grabbed the tank top, eying it.
She was about to put the shirt on but maneuvered her head in a circle.
"You want me to turn around while you're already half naked?" Eli asked with amusement in his tone.
Clare glared at him coldly.
He sighed and twisted the opposite direction of her, digging his hands into his pocket. She quickly threw the shirt on and silently gagged. She put her hands on her waist, waiting for him to realize she was decent. She took the opportunity to analyze his toned back and impressive backside.
I didn't realize he was harboring secret muscles.
"You're dressed. My eyes don't burn anymore." He turned around suddenly.
"Ha-ha." Clare blurted.
"I'm kidding. If it makes you feel any better, you have nothing to be ashamed of."
Eli
"Th-thanks. For the shirt." She drawled painfully.
Eli smirked as they walked towards the farmhouse.
"Don't mention it. Besides, I think you kind of enjoy me being shirtless."
"Right, not as much as you enjoyed yourself back there." She teased.
"I enjoyed the secondhand embarrassment more than anything." He bit back.
"Touché." She giggled. "And... I guess...I'm sorry about yesterday..."
Eli sighed, looking down. "Eh, don't worry about it."
They walked up the steps and he opened the screen door for her. She walked in and he followed behind. Unfortunately both of her elders were in the kitchen and saw the both of them.
"Clare, Eli. Look at you two again! Just like the old days. So how'd she do with the horses?"
Clare looked at Eli, hoping he wouldn't repeat the unfortunate incident. But it was too late. He had already explained to them in short words.
"Clare." guffawed Ian. "I hope you weren't hostile with them."
"I wouldn't say hostile..."
Mr. Edwards simply laughed and shook his head. Clare went down into her room, and quickly came back with her own tight tank top and handed Eli his shirt back.
The rest of the day he didn't see much of Clare after that. He figured those were her only duties for the day since it was her first day.
He was taken aback by Clare's sincere apology this time around and her pleasantly lighthearted humor. He can't say she didn't act atrociously snobby today again according to Adams encounter with her this morning but, it was fair enough to say she was a little more bearable to be around.
The truck still let out some smoke as he drove home so he decided he would have to leave it to Bullfrog. Once he got arrived, he took a refreshing cold shower and put on a pair of blue boxers and a gray wife beater. He heads back into his room and throws himself on the bed allowing his tense muscles to relax. It was slightly painful but his back soon adjusted comfortably.
There was a faint knock heard from his door way and Eli lifted his head up to find Bullfrog leaning against the threshold. "How was work?"
Eli let his head fall back like a feather with an exhausting sigh.
"That bad? Didn't Clare arrive yesterday? How'd that go?" Bullfrog wondered.
"Oh she's here. She's left her mark." Eli exasperated. "She's...different. She reminds me of Julia, Bullfrog."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Yes...no...I mean, the way Clare is now. I understand why Julia-"
"Let's remember that Julia was sick. And Clare has nothing to do with those people." Bullfrog bowed his head at the pain wincing memory.
"You still don't want CeCe and I to get rid of the bed?" Bullfrog sighed, referring to the empty, twin bed in Eli's room and attempting to change the depressing subject.
Eli shook his head.
Bullfrog left it at that and pushed himself off of the door frame and bid his son a goodnight. Eli sighed in fatigue, shutting his exhausted eye lids.
THANKS.