Hi, sorry for the delay. I know that school and life aren't good excuses, but they are they only ones that I can think of. I hope that you enjoy this chapter.

Recap: Claire Birthday:

Shh. Shh." was all that he said, and he rubbed my heaving back. "Everything is going to be okay. I'm here now." I could tell that he was dying to ask me what was wrong, but he wanted me to fell better first.

And it was true. I was safe now. I was with my Quil and I didn't want to be anywhere else.

I was woken up by the grandfather clock in the corner of the room which chimed eleven times. Eleven o'clock? How long have I been asleep? Just then the day's events started to flood back to me. I closed my eyes to keep the tears that were threatening to spill over away. The most vivid parts were of Mike man handling me and leaving me in the woods. The look on his face after he slapped me was pure of hatred.

Despite the feeling of abandonment I felt hot. Almost unbearably so. I then felt something shift underneath me, and with a small voice someone said, "Claire, Claire are you wake?" I knew that voice. It was the voice of the man that I loved. Quil, my Quil. I just wish that he was love me half as much as I loved him. This though made the tears slip down my cheeks. "Claire, please don't cry. Tell me what happened, please?" He begged.

The pain in his voice made me open my eyes. I was in the same position that I was in when I ran into the house sobbing uncontrollably just a few hours ago. He was so warm and comforting. I wish I could just stay like this, and not tell him what happened between me and Mike.

I looked around. It seemed like nothing had changed in the past few hours. Each and every one of the pack members were still sitting in the same place waiting for my response. For me to just say something. Sam looked at me in a worried fatherly way. His eyes piercing mine trying to figure out what had happened to me. To figure out what or who had given me a black eye and caused me to cry so many tears. Jake looked nervous. He kept on fidgeting, and every time our eyes would meet he would pretend that he found something fascinating on the wall. Embry looked was exactly fidgeting, but vibrating. He looked like he was trying to concentrate on something, and would try even harder when I caught Sam sending him glares. Finally Emily looked like she was on the verge of tears. She was always so keen on my emotions. Just like Quil she knew when I was sad, hurt, or upset about something.

I finally finished looking at all of the other gang members, and started to move my body so that I could look straight into the eyes of the persons who views actually mattered to me. I was aware that I hadn't spoken since I had woken up, but I think that people's eyes are the window to their soul and spoke much louder than words ever could. I looked into his eyes and was overcome by the look of pain, sadness, and sleep deprivation that they held. There were dark purple-blue circles under his eyes, and worry lines etched into his forehead. What have I done? Did I do this to the only man I could ever and will ever love?

I knew my silence was hurting him more than anything at the moment so I said the only thing I could think of. "Quil," he looked up in scared anticipation of what I was about to say. "I'm sorry." I let out a sigh, and it felt like half of the burden was taken off my shoulders. I was sorry. I let something so petty and stupid get out of hand. I didn't really like Mike, I never really did.

"Claire, you have nothing to be sorry for. Are you okay? What happened to you? Could you tell me please?" Quil was begging again. I couldn't stand it when he begs. Just like that I forgot about everyone else in the room. It was just me and Quil. I am going to tell him everything now, and hope that he will still want to at least be friends.

"I was so stupid. In a weird twisted way I went out with Mike for you." He didn't say anything she just raised his eyebrows, and waited for me to continue. "I didn't think that you would ever really like me…"

He cut me off. "Claire, I love you. I never want anything bad to happen to you. Your pain is my pain. Please tell me what happened. I can't wait any longer."

My heart soared when he said that he loved me, but I wasn't quite sure if it was a brotherly love that he meant or something more. "Let me just start from the begging, and everything will unfurl from there. Okay?" He nodded his head.

Here it goes. I knew I had to tell the full truth in order for it to be possible to get what I want. "For as long as I can remember you have been here for me; whether it be problems with my mom, or if I had fallen and scraped my knee. I have grown to love you. First it was fatherly when my parent would be away on business I would depend on you to act as my surrogate father. But then I got older and needed more of a friend than a father, and you were there every step of the way. But in the past few months the line between friendship and something more than that has been blurred."

"I was confused as to how you felt about me so I had to find a way to some how "test the waters." I thought that jealousy would be the easiest emotion to get out of a man. So when Mike asked me out it was only too perfect. I thought that if you felt for me you would get all upset that I was going out with an older man. But you didn't I felt like our relationship has been going backwards. That you were no longer my friend, but my guardian."

"By then it was too late to stop it with Mike. I was already in too deep. That is what I did tonight. I broke up with him. I realized that you were right, and that he wasn't right for me. It wasn't a healthy relationship." I finally stopped to take a breath. I didn't realize that I was talking to his chest and not his face the whole time. I brought my eyes up to his. They looked like they held even more pain than before.

Finally he said, "What do you mean by unhealthy relationship? Did he do this to you?" he gestured toward my left eye which I assumed was the one that probably different shades of blue and purple by now.

To answer this I had to look away. "Yes it was him. He also wanted more out of the relationship then I was willing to give. That usually made him very angry. When he would be kissing me he would try to slide his hand up my shirt, but when I tried to push him away he only kissed me harder. I knew I had to break it off soon."

Behind me I heard a crash. It was then that I realized I had said all of this not only in front of Quil, but the whole pack. I turned around and it looked like Jake had thrown a lamp across the room. His dark black eyes held a look of pure anger. As I gazed around the room all of the boys held the same emotion. I gazed fell on Emily who was sobbing on Sam's shoulder. "He touched you when you clearly told him to stop? I'll find him, and kill him" Jake's emotion turn from anger to murder.

"Why didn't you tell me? I though you told me everything?" Hurting Emily is the second worse feeling to hurting Quil.

"Please, Jake, don't go after him. It's all over now.. What I did was stupid. But what he did was wrong." I finally turned back to Quil. "Do you hate me? I only did it to see if you like me more than a friend and now you will probably hate me." I stared down at my hands.

The next thing I felt was a warm hand tilt my chin up so that he could hold me with his deep brown eyes. And he simply said, "I could never hate you." With that he brushed his lips lightly against mine. It happened so quickly I almost didn't believe that it happened. But my thoughts were confirmed when I heard the cat calls from the boys. I turned around and stuck my tongue out at them. Uncle Sam looked like he could burst from pride for some reason and Aunt Emily was weeping again, but this time it was a happy cry.

"Quil?"

"Yes, Claire." He said with the most beautiful grin on his face. I take it that he enjoyed our quick kiss too.

"Can you take me home? I'm sort of tired." I yawed slightly afterwards.

"Sure, come on." We walked out to his truck hand in hand. I still wasn't sure as what exactly our relationship was at this time, but I didn't think it was the time to start asking questions. Soon he pulled into my driveway but neither of us made a move to get out. "You succeeded you know."

What? "What do you mean?" I asked.

"Claire you have no idea how jealous I was the entire time you were going out with Mike. The truth is that I love you. I always have." His eyes went soft when he said this. "I've waited so long to tell you this, because I wanted to make everything right. There are still many things I need to tell you about my self. But I also want you to know that if I don't tell you something right away it is not because I don't trust. It is because either I am not ready to tell you, or you are just not old enough to hear it okay. But you will know everything in due time. Okay."

"As long as you will tell me everything, and love me then there isn't anything else that I want."

"Also Claire, I've waited too long for you, and I don't want to ruin anything about our relationship so we will be taking it slow."

"Sure, Quil." I smiled. I reached for the door handle.

"Oh wait." he exclaimed. "I never gave you your birthday present. I have a real present that I left at Emily's wrapped, and everything. But I like this present more." He said as he leaned over and captured my lips again. This time it was a little longer, but not by much. He left me wanting more, much more. "Get inside, Claire. Sleep well, and Happy Birthday."

I stepped out of his truck and nearly danced on the front porch. I could still feel the warmth that he left on my lips. Quil's short gentle kisses were one hundred times better than Mike's harsh lusty ones. Quil's were those of passion and most of all love. I walked up to my room, and laid down on my bed replaying Quil's kisses in my head. I thought that maybe if I repeated it enough I could dream about Quil and our future together.

I hope you liked it. Next chapter will be about Quil and Claire's relationship and how boundaries set up by Quil and Sam. Please R & R. Thanks to all who review. You are my motivation to get my butt writing.