Chapter 3: Let me Explain
Claire was sitting in her hut holding her son in her arms. She smiled as her son wrapped his tiny hand around her finger. "You're getting big, sweetie. Everyday you seem to get bigger," she commented. She kissed Aaron's forehead and the baby let out a gurgle. "I want you to know something. If things were they way they were before between Charlie and mummy, I'm sure everything would be better than they are now. But you know, how can I trust him after what's happened? How should I believe that he won't try and take you away from me again?" She asked. Aaron just continued to make his usual baby sounds and Claire let out a sigh and touched her baby's face. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I love Charlie. I love him, but I just can't trust him. If I would be able to trust him again, he would be the perfect daddy for you. He's done so much for you and me," she confessed. A sad smile came across her face. "I'm still so angry with him that he tried taking off with you. I don't care what the reason was, he had no right to do that," she added. She sighed as Aaron just let out a yawn. "And yet, through all the lies and all the other things he's done, Charlie's a very good person," she added.
Later that day, Claire was walking along the beach with Aaron in her arms when Kate walked over to her. "Hey, how's he doing?" She asked.
"Much better," Claire replied.
Kat smiled as she touched the baby's hand. "How are you doing?" Kate asked.
"I'm fine, why do you ask?" She asked.
"Well, lately, you've seemed out of it," Kate replied.
"I'm fine, I just have a lot on my mind."
"Mind telling me what it is?"
Claire sat down and looked out over the ocean. "I've been thinking a lot about Charlie and what happened," Claire stated. Kate sat down next to her. "I know what he did was wrong. And a lot has happened, but he's done a lot for Aaron and me," Claire pointed out. Claire looked down at her sleeping son. "I just feel that something's missing," she added. Kat just stared at her.
"You think you're ready to talk to him?" Kate asked.
"No…because I'm not ready to take him back into our lives," Claire replied.
Claire took a deep breath. "Charlie's the best thing that ever happened to us. And I miss how things were before I found the heroine, before Charlie took Aaron. I just want it back to where we were happy, when I was happy to have him in our lives…" Claire trailed off. Claire sighed as she handed Aaron to Kate. "Could you watch him for a bit?" She asked.
"Yeah, of course," Kate replied.
Claire kissed Aaron's forehead as she started to walk down the beach.
As Claire walked down the beach, she found herself thinking of the good times she shared with Charlie.
Sawyer was watching as both Charlie and Claire mope about the island and let out a frustrated sigh. "This is ridiculous," he mumbled. He got up and walked over to Claire. "Hey, Claire, can we stop watching the mope circus go through here and go talk to Charlie?" Sawyer asked. Claire looked at him.
"Excuse me?" She asked.
"This thing going on between you and Charlie's getting ridiculous, he's miserable, you're miserable. Why don't you just go and talk to the guy?"
Claire crossed her arms over her chest staring at Sawyer. "I'm sorry, is this your business?" She asked.
"Don't take it personally, sweet heart, just now that watching both you and Charlie mope around just makes thing a little annoyed around here," Sawyer stated.
Claire sighed as she watched Sawyer head back to his spot and looked over at Charlie to see him playing his guitar once again. She took a deep breath and decided to go talk to Charlie.
Charlie was playing the guitar when a shadow cast over him. He looked over his shoulder to see Claire standing there. "Hey, Charlie," she greeted.
"Claire," he answered.
She walked over and stood beside him. "May I sit down?" She asked. Charlie was silent for a moment.
"Sure," he replied.
Claire sat beside him and watched as the waves hit the beach. "Listen…Charlie…I guess I was sort of rough on you that night. It just scared me, because I thought that you were taking Aaron away from me," she confessed.
"Yeah sure, that's it," he mumbled.
Charlie set his guitar down and looked at her. "Is that supposed to make me feel better? Because it's not working," Charlie told her. Claire was quiet.
"What do you want me to say, Charlie? That I forgive you for what you did?" She asked.
"No…I just want you to let me explain."
Author's Note: Please forgive me for the long update. My computer's broken so i haven't been able to update. So please be patient with me.