A/N: Oh how your reviews make me laugh, smile, and feel all giddy inside ^_^ Sorry it's been 507694892 years since the last time I've updated! I have no other excuse than having writer's block. But as you can see, I'm out of it. =D

Lyss: XD, I'm sorry I took so long my love! Writer's block, writer's block. & answer to your question 1) You're not the first one to notice my mistake with the time line... When I wrote the next chapter, I had forgotten that it was the same day she met Eli, and that she couldn't have possibly written about him. Answer to question 2) I was trying to think of a "different" name for the story than others, ya know? I wanted it to sound dark, intriguing, and romanceful (yes folks, that's a word now). And honestly: I looked through a thesaurus and looked up some synonyms to words I wanted the story to be about XD "Abstract Vivacity" sounded perfect, when I was done with my brainstorming(=

Ok, enough of my blabber. Enjoy=)

Chapter 9

Eli's POV.

"So... You left us to be a stripper?" Cristina asked, her voice suddenly becoming cold. My mom and I looked at each other.

The night my mom was taken away was erased out of my memory until tonight. My father convinced my sister and I that she left us. After the flashbacks I had, I obviously knew otherwise. But Cristina had no clue. She was sleeping over at a friend's house the night everything went down.

I still had one unanswered question: Why was our family involved in the mob in the first place?

"I left because your father and I weren't getting along at the time." My mother lied to my sister, her voice breaking my thoughts.

"You could have just gotten a divorce. Then Eli and I would've still been able to visit you. But I guess you didn't want to see us." my sister nearly snarled at her, as she walked past us and sat on the couch. She turned on the T.V and stared blankly at it, as if nothing happened. My arms that were still holding Clare began to loosen off of her, as I walked towards my sister.

"It wasn't like that, Cristin-"

"Shut the hell up, Eli! Don't defend that whore!" My sister shouted. My jaw dropped, and I turned to my mom. Through her glassy eyes she stared at me, and I gave her a sympathetic look, but she just shook her head.

"You don't have to defend me, baby boy. Your sister has every right to think what she wants of me." She nearly whispered.

"But mom-"

"Elijah, please. Just let it be." my mom interrupted me. I nodded my head slowly, and then looked back at Clare. Her far-away gaze returned, and I walked back over to her.

"Clare, are you okay?" I asked her. Dammit, why did she have to come here? It's not like these type of things are usual here, but anything can happen in this trailer park.

"Y-yeah... I'm fine." She choked out. I stared deep into her eyes, which have yet to meet mine, and saw that she was anything but fine.

"Do you want me to take you home?" I asked. She nodded her head, but stayed still. I looked over my shoulder at my mom and sister, to see my sister's eyes still glued to the television, and my mom just looking at some framed photographs on the walls.

"I'm going to take Clare home, mom." I told her, in case she didn't here my short conversation with Clare.

"Just be safe, honey." I nodded, as I took Clare's hand, and slowly led her out the door to my car.

…..

When we approached Clare's house, I parked my car in her driveway, and examined her. She still stared out the window, as if we were still driving to her house.

"We're here, Clare." I acknowledged her. When I first started speaking, she flinched, as if the words just threatened to hit her. I examined her more, and noticed her entire body was shaking slightly. Was she like that this entire time?

"I can stay with you tonight, if you want me to." I proposed softly. She shook her head, and parted her lips slowly to speak.

"I'll be okay." She answered shakily, removing her seat belt. Before she could attempt to open her car door, I took her hand.

"Clare, I'm not going to leave you alone tonight. I can't." I said, my hand still holding hers. She slowly looked up, her eyes meeting mine for the first time ever since the incident, and they looked a new shade of blue.

"Okay." was her only response, as she sat there still again. I first texted my dad to tell my mom that I would be staying over night at Clare's, so that neither one of them would worry. I then got out of the car, and walked over to her side. I opened the door, and helped her out.

"Thanks." She mumbled, her eyes staring aimlessly at the ground. I walked her up to her door, and she just stood there.

"We're at your house... Do you remember how to open your door?" I asked, seriously. That probably sounded sarcastic, coming from me, but I tried to sound as serious as possible. Her breathing, which I had noticed to be a little slower than usual, stopped for a moment as she cleared her throat.

"Yeah." She said, nodding her head. She slowly reached in her pocket, and took out a key. She took a moment, but she successfully unlocked the door. When she unlocked it, she did nothing else but put the key back in her pocket. I opened the door for us, and led us inside her home quietly. It was late, and if her parents caught us sneaking in, it would add unnecessary drama we didn't need right now. I shut the door, locked it, and then slowly walked us upstairs. My eyes wandered, searching for Clare's room. Closest to the staircase, the first room on the left had a door open. The room looked like Clare's, from what I could remember, but it was hard to tell in the dark.

"Is this your room, Clare?" I asked. She looked into the room, stared for almost a whole minute, and nodded her head. I walked us in there, and sat her down on her bed. She just sat there, staring at the ground, her body shaking and her breathing slow. My heart raced lightly, worrying. What was wrong with her? Had everything that happened at my house affected her that bad?

"Do you want to talk?" I asked her, trying to help in any way that I could. She licked her dry lips and shook her head, her eyes still on the ground.

"Do you want to hear me talk?" I asked. She nodded her head quickly, as she slowly tried to move herself so that she was laying in her bed. I helped her get comfortable under her covers, and then walked around to the other side of the bed. I sat down next to her, as she laid there, staring at the ceiling. I took a couple of minutes to think of something to talk about.

"When I was five, my mom would take my sister and I to this place not too far from here. It was one of the most beautiful places you could ever imagine. The grass was short and soft, and felt good against your toes if you were running barefoot. There was a teeny, tiny pond that probably took the same amount of space as an above ground pool. The water was always crystal clear, and my mom would let me swim in it sometimes. There was only one tree, and it was a huge willow tree. I always thought it was the world's biggest umbrella," I paused, laughing. I glanced at Clare to see her eyes closed, and a smile emerging across her face. "and my mom started to call it "the umbrella tree." We used to go visit the place at night sometimes, and we would lay under that tree as she told us the same story about it over and over again. She said it protected us from rain, hail, hurricanes, and anything that would try to harm us. She said the only things that the umbrella tree would protect were good people, and the stars. And every time she mentioned the stars, she would tell my sister and I to look up, and you could see little stars glittering through the trees."

"Did you think the stars were in the trees? Like apples?" Clare asked, taking me by surprise that she was actually being attentive to what I was saying. I smiled.

"Nope... I actually thought that "stars" were actually raindrops that the tree had froze to protect us." I laughed. Clare chuckled.

"Maybe that's true." She whispered, still smiling.

"Sure." I laughed again. I looked at Clare, and soon heard her breathing get heavy; she was sleeping. I slowly lifted myself off the bed to take off my shoes. I was already in my pajamas, from when I got out of the shower at my house, so I was in luck. I quietly got comfortable in her bed, and looked at Clare, who was facing my direction as she slept. A small smile was still on her face, making me happy that I had stayed with her tonight. I gently kissed her cheek, and rested my head back on the pillow as I drifted off to sleep.

A/N: Hm, so what's wrong with Clare? & this is short! I know! But I couldn't postpone an update any longer. Please leave reviews! You know I love 'em. =D