A/N: I don't want to give too much away for those who want to read, but the last part of this chapter deals with Claire's abuse. If you are not comfortable reading that, you can either skip this chapter all together, or scroll to the very bottom of this chapter for a summary of what happened. If you want to read all but that triggering section, it is after the 4th line break, so you can stop reading there. I just wanted to warn any readers who may feel uncomfortable with reading that. For the rest of you, enjoy the chapter!
When Claire got into her gym class, she saw that Taryn was already there, throwing a tennis ball against a cement wall. Her golden, wavy hair swished across her back as she moved towards the ball. Claire had always wanted hair that color. When she was younger, and she didn't know how to keep her hair healthy, Claire's hair used to tangle at the slightest movement, and sometimes she mentally compared her tangled, knotted hair to a small bird's nest. Taryn didn't notice Claire until the ball had bounced so far away from her that she turned around and saw her friend. "Hi, Claire! I love gym class. Don't you? I hope we get to run on the track today. Or play basketball. Or soccer. I'm on the school basketball team. And the town soccer team for high school girls. And I'm not on a team for track, but it's still fun."
"I guess it's fun. I've never really been a sportsy person, though. Want to know what else is fun? Glee club."
"Claire, I'm not joining Glee club. You've already asked me. And I've already said no. I don't sing." Taryn turned away to as she continued to throw the ball. "If I did, don't you think I would have joined already?
"But it's not just that!" Claire said, following the girl. "If we win competitions, we get to go to Nationals in Chicago! We really want to win, and we only have 15 people. We really want a bigger variety of voices. We have almost no high sopranos."
"Again, I can't sing. And I never ask you to join the soccer team, because I know that you wouldn't like it as much as I do. We need more members just like you do." She turned back and threw the ball, her aim extremely off, but not even moving towards the ball, which was now rolling towards Claire.
"I have an idea," Claire began, picking up the ball that had bounced towards her. "I'll join soccer if you join Glee club. Glee is right after school, and I heard that soccer doesn't start until later, right? I heard Finn say that the town sports teams for our age usually start later because the younger age groups are earlier in the afternoon. Maybe we'll find something new that we like."
"What if you don't make the team and I get into Glee?"
"What if you don't make Glee and I get on the team? We could try anyway." Claire smiled, tossing the ball back to Taryn.
"Fine. Tryouts are tonight." Taryn sighed, catching the ball without paying much attention. "But no promises that I'll get into Glee club."
Monday afternoon Glee Club rehearsals are always one of the hardest, especially for Claire, who is still getting used to the constant rehearsals. She already regretted promising to Taryn that she would try to get on the soccer team, knowing that it would give Claire even less free time than she already had. Taryn was scheduled to audition on Thursday, the same day that Sam Evans would be returning to Glee. Even though it was fun working with Quinn, Claire couldn't wait for Sectionals to be over. She and Blaine had to listen to everyone talk about last year's competition, because Finn seemed to always get annoyed when Blaine brought up something about the Warblers at Blaine's old school. The two of them spent their time talking about which Disney movies they should watch at the next Glee club sleepover.
"Blaine, are coming over on Friday?" Claire asked her cousin's boyfriend.
"Not this week, the Warblers have their Sectionals and my friends asked me to come see it. You can come too, if you want. Kurt was going to come too. We were going to meet with the guys after and go out to Breadstix."
"Sure! Well, if you guys don't mind me being there or anything. I don't really want to be a third-wheel or anything."
"Claire, I would mind more if you weren't there. And, you're the only person in the New Directions who haven't heard the Warblers yet. If we both win our Sectionals, then we'll be facing them at Reigonals."
Puck interrupted the conversation. "Blaine, we're up. You ready?"
Claire smiled at her friend. "Don't mess up!"
It wasn't until then that Claire remembered that the Glee club were singing possible Sectionals songs for the next few days. The boys were performing today. It seemed so different, singing on the stage in the auditorium and then going to the simple choir room. Everyone sounded great in both places, and it was hard for Claire to pick a weaker performer from the group. Of course, with Claire's amount of self-confidence, she thought that she was the weakest link, but the other members of the group seemed to think that Claire was pretty good. Either that, or they were just acting like she was good. For her mind's sake, Claire liked to believe that she really was good.
The song began with Puck singing the first verse, with Blaine and Mike singing backup. Claire wondered why Finn didn't get the main solo, since the other kids always talk about how many solos he always got. The band began with intense energy, and the vocals worked perfectly with the song.
I took a walk around the world to
Ease my troubled mind
I left my body lying somewhere
In the sands of time
I watched the world float to the dark
Side of the moon
I feel there is nothing I can do, yeahI watched the world float to the
Dark side of the moon
After all I knew it had to be something
To do with you
I really don't mind what happens now and then
As long as you'll be my friend at the end
The rest of the boys joined in with the chorus, each going up to one of the girls. It took a minute for her to realize, but all of the boys who had girlfriends were singing to them, Mike to Tina and Finn to Rachel, but the rest of the boys found another girl to sing to. Artie to Brittany (maybe in attempt to restart their relationship), Puck and Santana, Kurt to Mercedes, and Blaine to Claire.
If I go crazy then will you still
Call me Superman
If I'm alive and well, will you be
There holding my hand
I'll keep you by my side with
My superhuman might
Kryptonite
The rest of the verses were divided up into lines of solos. Each person got a line or two, and the rest of the guys sang backup, When the chorus came back around, the guys brought the girls up to sing and dance along with them.
You called me strong, you called me weak
But still your secrets I will keep
You took for granted all the times I
Never let you down
You stumbled in and bumped your head, if
Not for me then you'd be dead
I picked you up and put you back
On solid groundIf I go crazy then will you still
Call me Superman
If I'm alive and well, will you be
There holding my hand
I'll keep you by my side with
My superhuman might
Kryptonite
If I go crazy then will you still
Call me Superman
If I'm alive and well, will you be
There holding my hand
I'll keep you by my side with
My superhuman might
Kryptonite
After soccer tryouts that night, Claire could barely feel her legs. She ran laps, dribbled and passed the ball, and even shot a few goals. Still, she wasn't the best one there. She was totally fine with not getting on the team. Actually, she sort of hoped that she didn't get on the team. Claire was already so busy, and adding one more thing to her schedule wasn't the best idea.
Is this how Taryn feels? Claire thought to herself, thinking about how she constantly bombarded her friends about joining Glee, not even considering if they would enjoy it? Trying to massage some feeling back into her legs, Claire wondered if Taryn was even going to audition for Glee. At this point, Claire wouldn't blame her if she didn't. But, Claire did at least try out, and she would hope that Taryn would do the same…
Claire sat in her bed that night for hours. She listened to her iPod. She had an hour-long group chat with Taryn, Roger, and Hazel before they eventually fell asleep, Taryn even falling asleep while still online. Claire didn't realize this until about 25 minutes after Taryn's last, half-written message.
As the minutes kept changing on the clock, Claire stared at the light that was glowing across the room. On most nights, she didn't mind a little bit of light, and she usually didn't even notice it. But tonight, the room seemed so much brighter than usual. At about one in the morning, Claire tried to quietly creep up the stairs. Maybe sitting in the kitchen with a glass of milk could help. But when she got to the top of the stairs, she didn't hear silence. Burt and Carole were sitting in the kitchen, and it sounded like they were arguing about something. Just as Claire was about to turn back down the stairs, she heard her name in the conversation.
"We have to tell Marissa that Claire is here. You don't know what she has the capability to do. If she finds out, she could accuse us of kidnapping Claire, just for the money that she could gain. Elizabeth was the only one who was blood-related to Claire. We have no proof that Claire came here on her own. Who would believe that Claire had enough money to come over here, and didn't even tell her guardian? The story just screams 'LIES' on it, people would think it was either a kidnapping or just another run-away teenager."
"Are you saying that she should go back? She can't go back." Carole shot her words at him, enunciating every syllable. Claire could tell that Carole wanted to yell, but tried to be as quiet as she could. Her voice was full of anger, appalled that Burt would even suggest that they should Call Marissa. "Although she hasn't told me much about Marissa, I can tell that there some sort of abuse. I don't know if it was just verbal or physical, but Marissa's house is not safe for her. This isn't just another teenage run-away, this is much more serious."
"I know that it isn't! Do you think that I want her to go back to that monster of an aunt? No! I have no doubt in my mind that Marissa is just waiting for the opportunity to seriously hurt Claire so that she won't have to deal with her. I just think that she needs to know where Claire is before she makes up some sort of lie to take Claire back. It wouldn't be the first time!" Burt's voice got louder on that last line. Claire couldn't bear to listen anymore. But what was the first time?
"Didn't you talk to Marissa before Claire came here? Isn't that who you talked to on the phone?"
"I thought so, but the more I thought about it, I'm not sure if it really was Marissa or not. She tried calling again, and left a message, but I didn't want to talk to her. I didn't know what I was supposed to say. When she called, her voice was so mumbled and I couldn't understand her. But I did hear her mention Claire's name. Either Marissa was too drunk to remember the conversation when she let Claire come to Lima, or she's just trying to manipulate us. It's not like that hasn't happened before. Or maybe, it wasn't Marissa on the phone."
Carole was silent for a moment, as if she knew that Claire was there. It would be impossible to see her, though, since Claire was still at the stairs, hidden from view. Carole then began to speak, a hushed tone coming over her voice. "Do you really think that Claire would pretend to be her aunt just to get away?"
Claire couldn't take anymore. She quickly tiptoed down the stairs, slightly not caring about the noise that she was making. When she got back into her bed, she just cried and cried, trying to be quiet for Kurt, who was in the next room. She got out her iPod and put the music on Shuffle, hoping that any song would cheer her up. But 24 songs went by, and Claire was still worried about what might happen when Marissa finds out that she has been with the Hummels for the past few weeks. She wasn't sure what she was more afraid of- knowing that Marissa could hurt her or knowing that this new life with the Hummels might be over. And when Burt said that it "wasn't the first time" that Marissa had lied to him, what did he mean? Did he mean that Marissa had lied and manipulated Burt before? Or was he still talking about Marissa getting Claire back? When would Claire have to be taken back to Marissa, didn't she live with her wicked aunt since her parents' death? In the end, she realized that out of everything that Claire had just heard, she was most afraid about Burt and Carole learning more about the phone call, and Claire having to deal with the consequences of her lies. Claire hated lying to her new family, but she had to lie, for her own protection. Right?
Claire found herself in an empty house. She went downstairs into the near-empty basement, which was completely bare except for its wooden floor, cracked cement walls, broken wooden bed, and an old blanket and pillow full of rips and holes. As Claire looked around, she realized: this was her bedroom. The bedroom that she had slept in for years, just as cold and gloomy as it was when she left it.
The small room, with its wooden floors and cobwebs hanging from each corner of the ceiling, smells like dust and mold. Claire could have sworn that she saw a couple of spiders crawling in the corners. As usual, she tried to ignore the spiders, but she could almost feel them crawling up and around her body.
"Kurt?" Claire whispered. The room seemed so empty and bare, so quiet, that any noise above a whisper was sure to break something. "Carole?"
No response.
"Kurt?" Claire said, a bit louder. "Carole? Burt? Finn?"
"You won't find any of them here." A familiar voice said with a small chuckle. Claire looked around, there was no one there. She took a few steps around the small room, walking the diameter of the oddly-shaped area, looking behind the bed. No one was there. But Claire knew the voice. She could recognize it any day.
Before Claire could say anything, she fell onto the floor, what felt like someone pushing her. But there was still no one there. An imaginary force had knocked her completely off of her feet. Claire could hear the creak of the wood panels as her tailbone hit the ground. Although Claire tried to get up, that force that had pushed her was keeping her down.
The figure with the voice emerged from the smoky stairs. "Hi, Claire. I've missed you, so much. You should come back home with me. The house is too quiet without your screaming."
"I'm not going with you, Marissa!" Claire yelled. "I never will! Kurt, Finn, help me!"
Marissa jumped onto the girl and held her against the rock-hard walls. Her breath smelled like a mixture of alcohol and cigarette smoke. "They can't help you Claire! What did you expect, you could just run away to new place and start fresh? You can't run away from me, Claire. Try as I may, I always somehow get stuck with you."
"Let go of me!" The girl struggled. "They love me more than you ever did, Marissa!"
"You really think that? They aren't made of money! Think about how much money they are wasting on you! You should have been with your parents when they died, it would make life easier for everyone!"
And that was when Marissa punched Claire right in the cheek.
"I will never come back to you!"
More abuse. More struggling. Finally, Marissa picked Claire off of the ground by the hair on Claire's head, and dragged the girl up the stairs. Up three flights of stairs. Claire hadn't even known that this house even had so many stairs. Or maybe it just seemed like more than usual since her eyes were closed, Each step hit Claire's face, and each step was left with blood and tears. Claire kept her eyes closed to try to prevent the scratches to her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, she was being held over the street, hanging out of the window.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Claire screamed as her devil aunt dropped her from the fourth floor of the building. Claire didn't even remember there being four floors of her house, but counting the floors of her old house was not one of her top priorities right now.
As Claire was falling, she saw the Hummels, and she tried to shout to them. But no sound could come out. She couldn't even scream anymore. And the Hummels just walked away, not noticing, not seeing this helpless teenage girl falling out of the window. Then, Claire saw her parent's car. It was driving away, towards the end of the street, which had a sharp turn that, if not timed correctly, would result in a car driving off of the cliff and into the deep water.
"Mom! Dad!" Claire somehow managed to get those two words out. And as the two looked up, distracted by the falling girl and not paying attention to driving, the car drove right off of the cliff and into the water.
"NOOOOOOOOO!" Claire screamed again. And then she realized that she had almost reached the street. It seemed as if she would soon be able to touch it. Her head still bleeding, her eyes still crying, her lungs ran out of air right as Claire was about to hit the ground.
And then she woke up.
AH, THE SUSPENSE! I have to say, I was just rereading and editing this chapter, and when Claire's nightmare came up, my heart started racing. I'm the author, I know what happened, and I was still scared! I hope that you guys liked it though! To date, it is the longest chapter that I have posted in A Touch Of Fear! 3,080 words, excluding author's notes! YAY! Oh, and I know that the soccer part was kind of short, I just really wanted something else that was somewhat happy because I thought that the nightmare would just be too powerful if basically the whole chapter was about that. More of Claire's nightmares will come soon. Oh! And I'm excited to hear about the other time that Burt was talking about! I haven't actually written it yet, so I'm not quite sure how it will go, but as I was writing this chapter I had a few ideas... Anyways, did you guys like the nightmare part? Well, I hope that you didn't like it, because I don't like putting my characters through pain, but I hope that it conveyed the emotions that I was aiming for. I had this idea in my head about how Claire's old house looked like, and I tried to describe it as well as I could. My heart is still beating pretty fast, so I'm going to go listen to something relaxing for a while before I have to go to sleep. Well, I have to wake up in 8 hours for work, so I'm not sure how much sleep I'll actually get... Okay, bye everyone! Have a good week! See you when I update again!
CHAPTER SUMMARY FOR THOSE WHO DID NOT WANT TO READ THE ABUSIVE SECTIONS: Claire is still trying to get Taryn and her friends to join Glee club, and eventually tells Taryn that Claire will try out for the town soccer team if Taryn auditions for Glee club. Blaine invites Claire to go with him and Kurt to the Warbler's Sectionals competition, since she is the only one who hasn't seen their possible future competition perform. After trying out for the soccer team, Claire realizes that she doesn't like soccer as much as Taryn does, and it will probably be the same with Taryn in Glee. That night, when Claire can't sleep, she hears Burt and Carole talking about how Marissa may pull something to get Claire back to Boston, and that they will have no proof that Claire came to Lima on her own. When she eventually falls asleep, Claire has a nightmare, with her brain replaying the abuse that she endured for the past 10 years.