Replaced Chp. 6
Author's Note: Hi.Chapter 6- What Had Happened
"Had?" Gray asked.
I didn't know what to reply.
"I'm not sure about my feelings now. I'm thinking about what will happen."
"That's easy." He replied. "Why not just go for me?"
"I don't want to hurt Cliff. I love him."
"Oh. So you don't love me, then?"
"I do. But I don't know."
"Let me say this, can I give you some time to think about it and tell me your answer next week?"
"That seems better."
I arrived home. My hands and knees were trembling. I could sense something bad was about to happen.
My sister, Jill, already got to bed. I tucked her in and kissed her 'Goodnight.'
I cleaned myself up and went to bed.
But, I couldn't concentrate. I didn't know who to choose.
Would it be Gray, the one who I've loved for 6 months. Or Cliff, the guy who made me realize he was there all along?
At the point where I got to sleep, I woke up again. I looked at the clock.
"4 am" it showed.
I didn't wake up for no reason. I could smell a fire.
It was getting extremely hot. Smoke was coming from everywhere.
I looked under my bedroom door, there were red and orange lights -those of a fire- shadowing underneath.
I opened the door and more smoke came in. I couldn't see anything.
But then, I saw something. Someone.
The figure of a man. He was coming closer and closer to me.
"Stop!" I said, as he was positioning to carry me. "Don't touch me!"
"It'll be fine, Claire." The man said.
I was scared. I didn't know who he was. My house was burning down. All my things were lost and scattered around the place.
This mysterious man carried me out of my house and put me down.
When all the smoke was gone, I felt drowsy and everything. I think I've slept for a few minutes and I realized that got to see who this man was.
I woke up and I found myself in a cosy room. There was a small fire chimney and I was sleeping in a perfectly tucked bed.
But, this room looked like one of the rooms of the Inn.
And, the room was like Cliff's room. I came up to a conclusion that it was Cliff.
I was about to exit the room when the door opened.
That man was Cliff.
"Cliff, why did you do that?" I said, shocked. "You scared me."
"I couldn't sleep. I had a headache from all the drinks a while ago. But I'm fine now. So I decided to go to your place, that is, if you were still awake. Then I saw smoke on the way there." He said as he continued. "So I ran faster and faster. I ran until I got there."
"Where's Jill?"
"She was sent to the Clinic."
"What happened?"
"She got burnt."
"Thank you, Cliff."
He cared. He bothered to go through the fire and save me. This was something only people who really love you would do. This was the act of someone who loves you.
"What caused the fire?" I asked.
"While you were sleeping, I asked the townspeople
"Some of the townspeople woke up early because of the scent of the smoke so I asked them while you were sleeping. They said that Jill tried to commit suicide because she said that you've fallen for me. That you stole me from her."
I was hurt and struck, of course. My own sister.
She didn't even bother to wake me up.
"How did she commit?"
"She opened the stove. She started the fire. She leant her arm-"
"Stop." I replied. "I don't want to hear this anymore."
"I'm glad nothing bad happened to you, Claire."
"So... uh, what did Gray do when he was bringing you home?" He continued.
"Nothing. We talked. He brought me home. Then, left."
"Oh. Ok."
I laid my head on his bed. It had his scent.
He didn't leave the room.
He went near me. He laid himself beside me, in his bed.
He held my cheek and slowly pushed it to face him.
"Hey." He said, softly whispering to me.
"Hey."
I went closer to him. He went closer to me.
"I love you, Claire."
"I love you, Cliff."
I made my choice. My true happiness was him.
He actually risked his life for me. If it wasn't for him, I'd be dead.
He also cared. He thinks of me.
He kissed me. I could not describe the feeling we had. It was a connection that was sent through us.
After the kiss, we got lost in each other's eyes.
"I got you something." He said.
He reached under the bed.
To my surprise, I saw a bouquet of roses.
"For you." He said, handing it to me.
I smelled the roses. It smelled beautiful.
"Roses signify romance, love." He announced.
"Thank you, Cliff." I said as I gave him a kiss on his cheek. Nothing else would be better than this feeling.
"Hey. Cliff, where would I stay since half of my house was burnt down?"
"You can stay here."
"Are you sure? I can just get another room."
"No, it's fine. You don't need to pay me either."
"Eh, same bed?"
"I mean, we can order for another one."
And so we did. I didn't want to sleep with him. I know I love him but, this was all getting too fast.
I continued to sleep, since I woke up at around 4 am, I needed some rest.
He needed some , I couldn't sleep by myself in this room. I felt empty. I moved to his bed and slept beside him. He faced me and wrapped his arms around me. It was the best feeling ever. I felt loved.