A/N: I'm not sure if I really like this chapter. *shrugs* Tell me what you think. Thanks. :]
Chapter Six
"I've been keeping it from everyone, Beth," Claire says, as Bethany pulls out of the mall parking lot. "My uncle found out last night and told my dad. My dad still hasn't said anything to me about it. He was pretty upset when he found out who it was." Claire looks out the window. They had gotten on the highway.
"Who is he, Claire?" Bethany asks. She couldn't help but feel hurt. They've been friends since preschool. She thought they had told each other everything. Bethany pulls off on an exit. Claire looks at her.
"Gabriel Gray," she says in a hushed tone. Bethany slams on the breaks, making Claire fall forward. She screams at their sudden stop.
"WHAT?" Bethany yells. Claire sits up and looks out the rear windshield. Thankfully, no one was behind them. She turns back to Bethany.
"What the hell, Beth!" Claire rounds on her. Bethany pulls to the side of the road and shuts off the car. She turns to look at Claire.
"Do you know who Gabriel Gray is?" She asks. Claire looks at her with a 'you've go to be kidding me' facial expression.
"Serious, Bethany? I just said he was my boyfriend." Bethany shakes her head.
"No, Claire. You don't understand. His dad killed his mom!" Bethany tells her, astonished that she didn't know this. Claire's jaw drops open.
"How could you say something like that?" She exclaims.
"Because it's true! That family is messed up! You shouldn't be with someone like Gabriel Gray! He's crazy!" Next moment Bethany cracks the back of her head with the window. She clutches her nose, blood gushing out. Tears spring up in Bethany's eyes. Claire shakes her hand, her knuckles were already bruising.
"Oh, my god! Claire!" Claire grabs her bags and opens the car door. Bethany grabs some napkins, trying to get the bleeding to stop. She yells for Claire.
"You bitch! My nose!" Claire just slams the car door closed and walks down the street. Tears start falling down her cheeks. She couldn't believe what just happened. She hears Bethany start up the car. She drives passed Claire, flipping her off as she drives by. Claire cries even harder.
Two hourse later, Claire found herself walking up the driveway to her house. Her father's limo driver was out there, washing the limo. He waves at her. She opens the front door and walks in. She hears her parents talking in the living room. Claire quietly walks to the stairs, trying not to get their attention. Her mother walked out when Claire was halfway up the stairs.
"Oh, your home, Claire. How was your day?" Heidi asks.
"I don't want to talk about it," Claire says, rather rudely. Her mother sighs and walks to the kitchen. Claire enters her bedroom, slamming the door closed and placing the bags next on the floor next to her dresser. She paces her room, wondering what to do. She tops and pulls out her cell phone. She dialed Gabriel's cell. After five rings, it went to voice mail.
"Gabriel, I really need to talk to you. Please call me back." She hangs up and tosses her phone on the bed. Sighing, she walks to the office to get onto the internet. Her Facebook newsfeed was flooding with status updates about her punching Bethany. She rolls her eyes. The phone next to her rings, but she ignores it, letting her parents answer. After ten minutes, she hears Nathan yelling for her downstairs. Claire closes her eyes, her heart skipping a few beats. She had a feeling she knew what her father wanted.
"CLAIRE!" Claire jumps. He sounded furious. Signing out of her Facebook, she walks out and heads downstairs.
"Calm down, Nathan," she hears her mother say to him. Claire stops at the foot of the stairs and listens to her parents' conversation.
"Heidi, she had broken the girl's nose! Her mother is threatening to go to the police if we don't pay the hospital bill! Do you have any idea what this will look like if it gets out to the papers?" Heidi doesn't say anything. Claire takes a deep breath and enters the room. Nathan turns from Heidi to look at Claire. Heidi shakes her head and walks passed Claire to leave the room.
"You punched Bethany?" Nathan says to Claire.
"Yes, but she deserved it!"
"Claire, her mother just called me saying I have to pay the hospital bill and if I don't, she's going to press charges!"
"Let her, Dad! This is my problem, let me deal with it!" Nathan just stares at her, astonished. He walks a few steps towards her. Claire stands there, holding her ground.
"Claire, what ever you do that causes attention to the press falls back on me! Don't you understand what this could do to me?"" Claire's jaw drops. She scoffs. How typical of Nathan to turn everything around where it always effects him. Nathan scowls. "Besides, I thought she was your best friend! Why did you hit her?"
"God, Dad. It's not really any of your business what I do! Do whatever you want. I don't really care." Claire turns to leave, but Nathan grabs her arm, making her turn back. She gasps at how hard he grabbed her.
"Don't you walk away from me, young lady! This is serious! I thought I had raised you better. If you have a problem, you try to talk it out, not resort to violence." Claire scoffs again and shakes her head. Nathan gives her a confused look. She looks down at his hand wraped around her upper arm and then looks up at his face.
"I don't know what's wrong with me, dad" she says, sarcastically. "I guess it just runs in the family." Nathan exhales sharply but lets go of Claire. Claire grabs the spot where her father was just holding. She fingers it lightly. Nathan walks over to the counter that had his bottles of scotch and bourbon to pur himself a drink. Claire stands there, watching him.
"I'm sorry, Claire," Nathan tells her, turning to walk to the couch. He sits down, patting the seat next to him. Claire walks over and sits down.
"I don't mean to cause such a mess for the papers. I guess I just forget you're a politician and the people come first." Nathan looks sharply at Claire. He sets his drink on the table.
"You know that is not true, Claire," He scolds her slightly. Claire looks into his eyes.
"Honestly, I don't know what's true anymore," Claire whispers. She feels tears prick at her eyes. She quickly looks away. Nathan sighs. He grabs her chin lightly to make her look at him.
"You are my daughter, Claire. Nothing will ever come before you. I know I get mad and yell, and I'm sorry for that. But I get so worried about you. There are a lot of people out there who would hurt you, your mother and your brothers to get back at me." He lets his hand drop on the couch. He takes another drink. "I just want what's best for you." He wipes at the tears that fall down Claire's cheeks. She gives him a small smile.
"I will call Bethany tonight and try to work things out with her," she tells him.
"Yes, you will. Violence really is never the answer, Claire. But you are a Petrelli and we do have tempers." Claire laughs. Nathan smiles at her.
"I'm sorry, Dad," she says going serious again.
"We'll get this sorted out, alright?"
"Okay," she answers. They both get up from the couch. He kisses Claire on the cheek.
"Now go call Bethany," he tells her. She nods and turns to walk out of the living room. As she was about to walk away, Nathan swats her butt, catching her off guard.
"Hey!" Claire exclaims, turning back.
"You're never old enough for spankings, Claire bear," he says, smiling. Claire just rolls her eyes and leaves the room. She walks up the stairs and goes into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
"Bethany here. Well, actually, I'm not. So, leave me a message. Bye!"
"Hey, it's me. Claire. I would like to talk to you as soon as possible. So, please call me back."
"I know you probably hate me, but please let me explain. Call me."
"I'm really really sorry, Beth!"
Claire has been trying to get a hold of Bethany for hours. She picks up her cell phone once more and dials Bethany's house number. Her mom answers after the third ring.
"Hello?" She says into the phone. Claire groans inwardly. She was hoping just to leave a message on the answering machine.
"Hi, Mrs. Leon. It's Claire," She says, nervously.
"Claire!" Mrs. Leon gasps. "You have some nerve calling here. Did your father speak to you?"
"Yes, ma'am, he did. I wanted to call and apologize. I was wondering if I could speak to Bethany. Is she home yet?"
"Indeed she is, but I am afraid you cannot speak to her. The doctor gave her morphine and it put her right to sleep." Claire feels a bucket of guilt wash over her. She gulps.
"Oh, god. I am so terribly sorry, Mrs. Leon. I have no idea wha-"
"Don't bother telling me, Claire. You need to tell Bethany this. You can call back tomorrow to see how she is."
Yes, ma'am."
"Good night, Claire."
"Good night, Mrs. Leon." They hang up. A knock is heard on Claire's door. Nathan pokes his head in.
"Did you get to talk to her?" He asks. Claire shakes her head.
"No. Her mom said she was asleep." Claire sighs. "She sounded pretty upset."
"I bet. Well, your mother wants you down in the kitchen. Dinner is about ready. Your Uncle Peter and Grandma Angela are coming over." Claire scowls.
"Grandma Angela?" Claire asks. She didn't really get along with her grandmother.
"Yes and you better be polite, Claire. It's not every day you see her. So no lip, is that clear?" He asks sternly.
"Yes sir," she replies. Nathan nods then leaves, closing the door. Claire lets out a breath.
"Just my day," she says to herself as she gets up from her desk. She was finishing up an essay she had to write for English class. They had just got done reading The Crucible and had to write a five page essay on the Salem Witch Trials. She walks to her closet and changes into a short sleeved white blouse and black knee length skirt. Whenever her grandmother came over, they all had to look nice. Her grandma was a little old fashion.
Claire walks into her bathroom to brush out her hair. Something on her arm catches her attention while she was looking in the mirror. She holds out her right arm and looks down. A couple of finger shaped bruises were circling around her arm right above her elbow. She scowls and looks back in the mirror. She blinks back the tears that came to her eyes and takes a deep breath. She pulls down her sleeve, trying to cover the bruises.
The doorbell rings through out the house, making Claire jump. She quickly walks out of the bathroom then her bedroom, shutting off all the lights as she goes. She walks to the stairs that go into the kitchen. Her mother looks up from setting a roast on the stove she just pulled out of the oven. It smelled real nice in here.
"Finally, Claire. I need you to set the dining room table," Heidi says to her, rushing to set a pan of rolls into the oven.
"Okay," Claire says as she walks to the cabinets to grab a stack of plates. She takes them into the dining room. Adam and Adrian had already set the place mats. She went around the table, setting a plate on each mat. She then goes back to the kitchen to grab silverware and glasses. Right when Claire finished, Angela Petrelli had walked into the dining room. Claire forces a smile on her face.
"Hello, Grandmother," she says. Angela smiles back.
"Hello, Claire, dear. Is your mother in the kitchen?"
"Where else would she be?" Claire asks. Angela lifts an eyebrow at her. She just purses her lips and walks into the kitchen. Claire rolls her eyes. She walks out into the hall and down to the living room. Her Uncle, father and brothers had the television on. They were watching a baseball game.
"Hey, Uncle Peter," Claire says, walking to him and giving him a hug.
"Hey, Claire," He says, hugging her back. He steps back and walks to the couch, sitting next to Nathan. Claire walks out and slips upstairs, heading back to her bedroom. She grabs her phone to see if she had any missed calls. She did have a text message from Gabriel asking her to call him at ten o'clock. Claire looks at her alarm clock to see it was only 6:30. She sighs and sets her phone back down as she hears her mother call for her. Claire quickly walks back downstairs to the dining room to find everyone sitting at the table already. Nathan and Heidi were sitting at the ends. Peter and Angela were sitting on one side and Adrian and Adam were on the other. Claire slips in her seat that was across from Angela and next to Adam on. She was positioned closer to Heidi.
"Where were you, Claire?" Angela asks. Nathan looks sharply at Claire but doesn't say anything. Claire hands Heidi her plate.
"I don't see how that is any of your concern," She replies, taking her filled plate from Heidi. Heidi gasps and Nathan furrows his eyebrows.
"Claire, that is no way to speak to your grandmother," Heidi reprimanded her daughter. Claire only shrugs. "Apologize to her."
"It's fine, Heidi," Angela says handing her daughter-in-law her plate as well. "I was just wondering if she was talking to that Gabriel Gray." Claire looks surprised at Angela but she recovers and changes her face to a neutral one. Heidi hands Angela her plate and sits down. Everyone already had food on their plates.
"I have no idea who you are talking about," Claire says. In the corner of her eye, she sees Peter look at her. Everyone starts eating.
"Oh, I think you do," Angela says, still looking at her granddaughter. "Do you know who he is?" Claire drops her fork on her plate. The sound clatters around the room. Nathan stops eating to look at Claire. Claire looks up to glare at Angela.
"Why have I been hearing that a lot lately?" Claire asks. "It's none of yours or anyone else's business who I know!" Claire sits back in her chair, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Actually, it is my business, Claire," Angela starts but Claire interrupts her.
"Oh, I forgot that you're my best friend and know everything about me. You come over every weekend to play Life with us or call every night to ask me about school. So how could I forget to tell you about my boyfriend?"
That's enough, Claire," Nathan warns. "And what do you mean boyfriend?" Claire pushes her plate away from herself. Nathan and Heidi look up shocked. Claire stands up and storms to the kitchen.
"Claire!" She hears Nathan call. Nathan stands up and goes after her. Claire turns around quickly to see Nathan storm in.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Claire?" Nathan yells. "Gabriel Gray is your boyfriend?"
"I don't want to talk about his!" Claire yells back. Angela walks in. "God!" Claire heads to the stairs.
"Where the hell do you think you are going?" Nathan yells at her.
"I'm going to my room!" Claire was about to run up the stairs when Nathan stops her.
"You don't walk away until you are excused! I don't know what has gotten into you lately, but it better stop, Claire!"
"Oh, that's rich coming from you, Dad!"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Nathan's face was red with anger. Claire just folds her arms across her chest. Angela walks to Nathan resting her hand on his shoulder. Nathan tries to calm his breathing.
"Why don't you go back into the dining room, Nathan," Angela tells him. He looks at Claire one more time before nodding and walking back to the other room. Angela watches him leave then turns back to Claire. She just glares at her.
"Your boyfriend is not a stable boy," she starts. Claire couldn't believe this.
"He's perfectly fine!" Claire yells.
"No, Claire. He is not. He comes from a horrible family. His father-"
"Save it Angela! I could careless what you have to say. Gabriel is-" Before Claire could say another word, Angela backhands her across the face. Claire gasps and clutches her cheek. She looks at her grandmother, shocked.
"You listen to me, Claire, and you listen good." Claire furrows her eyebrows but doesn't say anything. She drops her hand from her cheek, it still stung. "You need to stop seeing Gabriel."
"What?" Claire says, shocked. "No! I'm not going to stop-"
"That wasn't a suggestion, Claire. It was a demand. That boy will only bring you harm. He needs to be put in a place. Somewhere far away from society."
"You bitch," Claire whispers. Angela only stares at Claire. "What makes you think I'm going to stop seeing him?" Angela smiles which makes Claire confused.
"I know you more than you think, Claire. You did get that mouth of yours from me." Claire just rolls her eyes. "We'll talk about this later. Now lets go back and finish that marvelous meal your mother prepared."
Claire looks like she was about to argue but thought better of it. She follows Angela back to the dining room. Everyone looks up at Claire but doesn't say anything. She sits down and everyone continues where they left off.
An hour later, Claire found herself helping her mother clean up. Adam and Adrian had gone upstairs to play video games. Everyone else was in the dining room. Once done, Claire and Heidi went back into the dining room to find Nathan and Peter in an intense game of poker. Another hour later, Peter and Angela were heading out the door. Claire hugs Peter and watches them get into his car and drive away. Claire turns to go upstairs when Nathan stops her once again. He turns and walks into the living room ,expecting Claire to follow him. Heidi had gone upstairs already.
"Claire, I'm having your cell phone turned off tomorrow," Nathan tells her. Claire scowls.
"Why?" She asks.
"You are grounded for the month," he answers.
"Month?" She repeats, astonished.
"Yes, a month. You are not allowed your phone and you are grounded off the internet. You are to only go to school and you need to come home straight after" Claire glares at him.
"This is not fair! I didn't do anything!'
"You are also not allowed to go to homecoming next weekend," he continues as if she didn't say anything.
"Dad! I have to go to homeco-"
"You have to come home and stay home, Claire. I am serious. You are to stay away from that boy. You've changed so much since you've been seeing him."
"You don't know how long I've been with Gabriel!" Claire yells.
"I don't care," he says, calmly. "It's going to stop. I'm tired and want to be left alone now. Go to your room." Claire stares at him shocked.
"Dad-"
"GO!" He yells at her. She turns and runs up the stairs to her bedroom, crying.