Thanks for the reviews, everyone. I hope you like where this story is going. I have a pretty good idea where I want it to go. Anyway, leave me your comments! Is there something you would like to see? Let me know! :]
Chapter Ten
"Hello, I've waited here for you, Everlong."
Claire opens her eyes. She blinks away some tears. It has been two months since she found out about the death of Gabriel. She keeps dreaming about him, dreaming about the last night he stayed with her. His voice echoing in her head. Claire turns over on her side, a fresh wave of tears coming over her. She wraps her arms around her pillow and cries into it. Her heart felt heavy and she hardly ate anything. Her parents pulled her out of school, signing her up for home studies. She spent most of her days laying in bed, crying. Nathan and Heidi didn't know what to do.
Several weeks ago, they went with Claire to his funeral. It wasn't much a funeral. To their surprise, Samson Gray had actually called them to tell them about it. He said Gabriel was already buried. When they arrived at his grave, Claire had attacked Samson. She screamed and cursed, trying to hurt him. Nathan had finally gotten her to calm down and Samson left.
Claire sits up, remembering that day. Nathan and Heidi walked back to their car to give Claire some time. She had sunk to her knees in front of his tombstone. She pulled out her IPod and turned on Everlong for him. It was their song. Tears were streaming down her face.
"And I wonder, when I sing along with you, if everything would ever be this real forever? If anything could ever be this good again?" She sang to him. "The only thing I would ever ask of you, you got to promise not to stop when I say when."
"She sang."
Claire looked around. She thought she heard his voice. All she heard was the leaves of trees, rustling in the wind. She paused her music. She stood up from the ground, wiping grass and dirt from her jeans.
"Claire?" Claire turned her head to see her parents had walked back. They saw the whole thing.
"Did you hear that voice?" She had asked them. She had stopped crying.
"All we heard was you, sweetheart," Nathan told her. "Come on, lets go home." Claire had nodded. She stuck her IPod back in her pocket and followed her parents to their car.
All of a sudden, Claire felt real nauseous. She quickly jumps up from her bed and runs to her bathroom. She vomits into the toilet. She hears a knock on her bedroom door and then hears it open.
"Claire?" Nathan asked. Claire groans. She didn't want her father to see her like this. This was the third day of random sickness. She had a feeling she knew what that meant.
"Just a minute," She calls out, weakly. She flushes the toilet and stands up. She felt shaky.
"Claire, are you alright?" Nathan walks to her bathroom. She forgot to shut the door. Claire walks to the sink to rinse out her mouth.
"Yeah," she answers. "I think I might have eaten something bad." Nathan gives her a weird look.
"You've hardly eaten anything lately," Nathan replies. Claire splashes her face. It was still red from the crying she was doing earlier.
"I don't know then!" She snaps at him. Nathan looks taken aback.
"I'm sorry," He says, quietly. His daughter has been a ticking time bomb for the past two months. He didn't blame her though. He steps back to let her out. She walks to her bed and sits down. She looked pale to him. "I wanted to talk to you about something. Your grandmother suggested taking you to Paris for a few weeks. She said you could bring Bethany if you like. We called her parents already and they said they were fine with it, if you were."
Bethany had heard about what happened to Gabriel. She instantly pushed aside all that happened between her and Claire to be by her side. She truly was her best friend. Claire looks up from staring at her hands to look at her father.
"Paris?" She whispers. Nathan smiles at her and sits down next to her.
"Yes, sweetie," He answers. "You can shop at any place you like, eat at any restaurant you want, and see any show. How does that sound?"
"That sounds like something Bethany would love," Claire says. "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't let her experience something like that?" Nathan smiles, relief flooding his face. They've been trying to get Claire out of the house for days.
"Well, then. You should call Beth and I will call your grandmother," Nathan tells her. Claire smiles weakly at him.
"Everything will be alright, Claire. Trust me. It will eventually stop hurting," Nathan says. Claire's eyes fill with tears again. He wipes away some that fell down her cheeks.
"When?" Claire whispers. Nathan doesn't say anything for a moment. He looks into his beautiful daughter's face. He sighs.
"I really don't know, Honey," he finally answers. She closes her eyes and nods. He brings her closer to him and envelops her in a hug. Claire cries on his shoulder. Some tears come to Nathan's eyes. He wish he could take his daughter's pain away. He didn't know what to do. After awhile, Claire pulls back.
"I wish my power worked emotionally," Claire tells him. Nathan smiles. He wipes the rest of her tears away and kisses her on the cheek. He stands up.
"If you need anything, your mother and I will be downstairs," He says.
"Okay," Claire replies. She stands up to. "I'm going to shower then call Beth." She hugs Nathan again. "Thanks, Dad."
"You're welcome, Claire Bear."
He leaves her room, shutting the door behind him. Claire yawns. Crying and just being an emotional wreck takes a lot out of a person. She looks at her alarm clock. It read 4:45. She had wasted another day away. It was mid-November now. Thanksgiving was coming up. She still couldn't believe Gabriel was gone. But in her heart, she knew he wouldn't want her to waste her life away.
Another wave of sickness washed over her. She rushed to her bathroom and threw up again. Once done, she felt a lot better. An awful feeling drops in the pit of her stomach. She gets up from the toilet and walks to her cell phone. She dials Bethany's number.
"Hey, Claire," She answers after the first ring. It seemed like her ear was attached to the phone. She always answered after the first ring.
"Beth, I need you to do me a favor," Claire tells her.
"Anything, Doll. What's up?"
"Could you please bring me a pregnancy test?"
Claire was pacing her room. After she had gotten off the phone with Bethany, she had gone downstairs to inform her parents that she was staying the night. Her parents seemed thrilled about the idea. Heidi suggested ordering a pizza and renting a couple of movies. Pizza did not sound appetizing to Claire at all, but she agreed. An hour later, ashe hears the doorbell ring. A few minutes later, a knock is heard on her door. A few minutes later, a knock is heard on her door. Claire turns around to see Bethany enter her room. She closes the door behind her.
"Finally!" Claire exclaims. Beth sets her overnight bag on Claire's bed. She unzips it.
"Sorry," Bethany explains. "I had to drive all the way across the city. I didn't want to chance running into anyone I know. You owe me gas money, by the way." Bethany takes out several pregnancy tests.
"Geeze, Beth," Claire gasps. "Did you buy the whole store's supple?"
"Almost! I bought a couple of each brand," Beth tells her. "These aren't 100% effective." Claire grabs one from her and reads the label. "You just pee on them, I guess," Bethany adds. Claire nods. She walks to the bathroom. She's been drinking water nonstop since she called Beth. She had to pee badly. Taking the plastic test out of the package, Claire sits on the toilet, sticking it under her.
Once done, she sets it on the counter. Bethany walks in. Slowly a plus sign starts to show. Claire's eyes widen. Bethany picks it up to look at it more closely. She sets it back down. She hands Claire the water bottle.
"It could be wrong," She says. Claire takes the bottle and nods. She takes a long drink.
"Bring me another test," She tells her.
An hour later, Claire was sitting on the floor of her bathroom and Bethany was sitting on the edge of the tub. They had gone though twenty tests. They all said positive. Claire closes her eyes. She couldn't help but feel a tiny bit happy. Of course, the part of her that feared her parents, overruled any other feeling.
"What am I going to tell my parents?" Claire whispers. Bethany only shrugs. She didn't know what to say.
"Is it Gabriel's?" She dares to ask. Claire looks at her, tears flooding her eyes. She nods. Bethany scoots off the edge of the tub to sit next to her best friend. She brings Claire's head to her shoulder, rocking her back and forth.
"Shh… It's okay, Claire," Bethany whispers. "We'll get through this together." Claire lifts her head back up. She wipes away at her tears.
"Thanks, Beth. I don't know what I would do without you," Claire tells her. Bethany gives her a small smile. She places a stray hair behind Claire's ear.
"You could take me to Paris for starters." Claire laughs.
"I almost forgot. My dad told me earlier today," Claire says.
"Hmm…" Bethany starts. Claire looks at her, curiously.
"What?"
"Maybe you should tell them before we go," She says. Claire scoffs.
"That will definitely guarantee us a trip there," Claire replies, sarcastically.
"Well, it's better than coming back with a tiny bump."
Claire gulps. She couldn't believe this. A baby. Gabriel's baby. This would be the biggest thing she has of him. Samson had given her his bike and she had one picture of him. She was even more heart broken when she realized she didn't have any pictures of the both of them together. The picture she did have was taken last summer. She did it for the photography course she took for college credit. The picture was of him and his bike. The bike was on its kick stand. It was sitting behind him. He had a pair of aviator sunglasses on. They were at some park. You could see a soccer field behind him. He was just standing there with his hands in the pocket, looking beautiful as usual. He was looking at something off in the distance, his mind elsewhere. He didn't realize she had taken the picture. She later had edited where it was black and white. She kept forgetting to show it to him.
The girls didn't hear the knock on Claire's bedroom door. They were still sitting in the bathroom when Heidi walks in. The bathroom door was open. She sees them sitting on the floor in there.
"What are you girls do-" Heidi saw all the pregnancy tests sitting on the counter. She walks closer. "What are those?"
"Mom!" Claire and Bethany quickly stand up. Heidi walks in and picks one up. She sets it down and looks at the others, her eyes widening with shock.
"I didn't want you to find out this way," Claire says, quietly. Heidi shakes her head. She then does something unrepentantly and hugs Claire.
"I had a feeling," She whispers. Claire pulls back, looking shocked herself. "Claire, your father and I have known you've been getting sick a lot lately. We're not stupid." Claire bursts into tears again. She brings her hands to her face. Heidi hugs her daughter again. "It's okay, honey. We'll figure something out." Claire nods against her mom's shoulder. They hear Nathan walk into the roo.
"The pizza is getting cold, girls," He says. He stops at the bathroom to see the three of them in there. "What's-"
Heidi steps back from Claire. "She's pregnant, Nathan."