It kinda felt like I rushed things with Godric... I was just so afraid of him leaving, but maybe for once I did the right thing instead of running away from something good. As I sat in Spanish class debating this, while I stared at his back. His shirt was to tight, and that was probably for my benefit... Ivy would look back at me, smirking every once in a while, but while I could see what was going on and I could faintly hear the buzzing of people talking, I wasn't really there. Trapped in my mind as I let my thoughts wander. My Mother wasn't letting things go, she keeps trying to call me, email me, and find me when I'm at the store. She was trying to pretend that things were normal like I wasn't the unwanted daughter. Her boyfriend tried to call and convince me how I could benefit from giving the location to my mother. Adrien sent him a response saying
It's really cute that you think this is just for monetary value, it's not. This store is Clara's home, it's her memories, her past, present, and future. You can't put a price tag on something like that. This place is priceless to her and to everyone who works here. Yo, check it out, I attached a video below of what our customers think. Prepare before you watch, they are some opinionated geniuses!
Adrien is hella pissed off, his words not mine... So the boy's been helping me fight back against my Mother. As soon as she takes this public we have a way to crush her, but it means that I have to come forward about what happened all those years ago...
Outside of that, I have been thinking of looking for Charlie again.
"Earth to Clara! Come back we miss you!" Ivy exclaimed, shoving my shoulder to get my attention. "Class is over. You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm alright," I responded somewhat hesitantly, as I stood up and shoved my books back into my backpack. When I looked up, I could see Ivy and Godric were not convinced and the classroom was pretty empty with Eric waiting by the door.
"If you are not going to tell me as your best friend at least tell your man what's going on." Ivy declared, dramatically pretending to be hurt. I, however, could feel the embarrassment spread across my face and knew without a doubt that I was blushing when Ivy grinned like a damn fool. "Before you kill me, remember you love me!" She laughed before walking over to Eric.
"Sometimes... I really wonder what I was thinking." I told Godric as I through my backpack over my shoulder.
"Hmm... I am assuming it is coffee time." He said to change the subject, as we started walking to Eric and Ivy.
"Actually not tonight." I was startled when he caught me around the waist and pressed his hand against my forehead.
"Odd... you do not have a fever."
"I don't always have to have coffee hun, just because I don't want it doesn't mean I'm sick," I explained, slightly annoyed with this situation.
"Yes Clara, however, it is a nightly occurrence. Your decision to for-go it is surprising." We kept walking past Ivy and Eric. They started walking behind us, chatting about something in hushed tones.
"Tonight I just want to take time and think about what I'm going to do about my mother and her boyfriend... they invited me over for dinner... I am considering using it to my advantage, but at the same time if I go... I risk falling apart again."
"You are not going," Godric said and when I opened my mouth to protest at his control over the situation, he interrupted. "Not without me there."
I gave him a blank-faced stare. "But you will kill them..."
"Clara, I will not do something you do not want me to do. For reasons I do not comprehend, you keep that woman alive and you make sure she is well. I would not do anything to harm you." It did take me a minute to process his words and even to notice that we had stopped walking.
"I do not understand you... how can you be so..." I trailed off being unable to find the right word, but I did find myself looking into his eyes.
"I have been around long enough." He took hold of my right hand, his words seem to carry a double meaning. I barely noticed Ivy dragging an amused looking Eric away from us, I did hear her tell him to stay quiet and let this happen. Whatever this is anyways...
I sighed and with my free hand I played with the collar of his white shirt, it was bothering me. The corner kept turning up, but I smiled knowing that he liked the attention. "Godric, there are some things I need to open up and tell you about before you willingly step foot into my own personal hell." I pulled my hand away and lead us over to a bench, sitting down. Patting the space beside me, I noted I really wasn't giving either of us time to run away. "I guess it would probably be easier to start from the beginning but I am too lazy for that... and it's not something I enjoy reliving."
"I grew up in that house, however, that house is also the place that my life fell apart. Charlie was chased away from us, I was stabbed by the front door. There were holes in the wall from her shoving us around, mostly towards the back of the house and before I moved out to go off on my own- okay I ran, not far enough...- she tried to sell me to an older man for bill money. There are pictures that scream happy but are anything but, she displays a shattered frame with a blacked out face... that's my brother. I will stare at that frame. A lot of my pictures, I had casts... She broke a lot of my bones."
I continued rambling, throwing information at him, and forcing myself to tell someone. To tell him because if he really wanted to be with me, this was a part of me. It made me who I am today and these experiences and horrors I endured are things I have to work through...
"Ivy doesn't know... but there was a time when I did try to date. I thought life would be much easier if I had someone to depend on... I was wrong. The boy that caught my attention was the bad boy type, I thought he could protect me. Instead, I was paraded around like some kind of trophy. I was young, I thought what he was doing was normal. That was untill he started getting aggressive with me too. I learned to fear him." I stopped and studied his expression for a moment when I felt his grip tighten. His jaw was clenched and his eyes hard.
"Jasper loved his drugs... so much to the point that his trophy was locked in a room with four strangers. You can guess, what happened from there. you'd probably be spot on. Thankfully... they never actually got what they were after. I pretended they had killed me, they discarded me in a ditch, on one of the least busy highways. I think that was one of the first times my Mother was actually my mom again... she found me. I was bloody, beat, pretty much naked. I was trying to hide but I was so scared and I would make a horrible ninja." I through the stupid comment in there to attempt to get him to calm down, cause he looked ready to murder someone. I moved so I was sitting closer to him and I brought our hands up to my cheek leaning against them.
"Godric she took care of me... she put aside the hate she has for my dad just long enough to make sure I would live. I hate her and I fear her, but I'm grateful... because she gave me a chance, even if I am fighting to keep it now. I'm alive because she remembered I was also her daughter." He seemed to calm down a bit and consider my words. I am just grateful he is listening... "So no you can't kill her and this is why. I don't really understand it myself and you are the first person I have told this, so keep it to yourself please."
"You are stronger than you realize and you have people who would support you. Why hide?"
"Because they don't need to carry my burden... and if you want me... there are no secrets."
"Then there will be a few things that I have to tell you as well. When you are ready to hear it." I considered his words and nodded, giving him a small smile, letting our hands fall, since he didn't seem to need to comfort anymore.
"I can accept that," I told him.
