"Quil, where are you?" A young Claire called out in Emily's backyard. Claire got a break from ballet today since her mother had a doctors appointment so Emily picked her up bright and early this morning for some fun.
"Come find me, princess," Quil sung out from behind the tree she was in front of. He never hid too hard because she attention span never lasted long. She would leave him hiding for an hour completely forgetting that they were playing if he hid too hard.
"There you are!" She shouted as she tagged his leg and took off. He slowly run after her letting her believe she was fast. He knew he was just playing babysitter right now but it's what she needed and for that he loved it. At first he hated himself for imprinting on a child but as he grew to understand what imprinting was thanks to his grandfather, he learned to just embrace it. If Claire needed a best friend for the day then so be. A brother. A babysitter. A playmate. A protector. He would be anything she would want forever.
"Oh you are so fast!" Quil pretended to huff and puff as he slow motioned ran towards her. She giggles as her low ponytails flew in the wind behind her.
"I'm like a superhero!" Claire exclaimed before turning around and placing her fists on her hips, looking off into the distance worth a serious face.
"The best superhero there is," Quil stopped running before walking over and sitting in front of the child. He adored her imagination. He adored her playfulness despite her mother always trying to kill it.
"No, that's you," Claire smiled before sitting down with her legs crossed. She was aware that he did police work for the tribe and that makes him a hero.
"I'm just your sidekick kid," Quil winked at her causing Claire to try it back which failed. She would blink both eyes at the same time instead of just one.
"I'll get it one day," Claire was a positive child, never stopping until she was perfect at something. It always amazing Quil.
"Here, do this instead. When you leave someone, just do this," Quil held up the peace sign with a huge grin on his face when she mirrored the image.
"Claire Elizabeth Young! Get away from him! It's time to go. Emily we talked about this, never alone," Mary was standing in the backyard with her arms crossed while glaring between Emily and Quil.
"I had an errand to run. Quil would never harm her," Emily tried to explain but her older sister wasn't haven't it.
"Claire!" Mary yelled again before Claire sighed and got up beginning to walk over to her mother. She knew it was time to go home and stand at the ballet bar in the basement for who knows how long. Probably until her dad came home.
"Oh, Quil," Claire turned around and held up her peace sign. Quil smiled and returned his own peace sign. Claire waved goodbye to her Aunt Emily before following her mother to their car.
Claire set up panting. Was that just a dream or a memory she has suppressed? Claire looked at the time, 5am. She had only been asleep for two hours. She groaned before flopping back onto her pink bed, the same one that was there since she was a kid. Her dad never got rid of it. Her room was actually just how she left it, minus the kids clothes were now swapped out for adult clothes. A full length mirror hung behind the bedroom door which use to scare her. Her white walls only had one peice of artwork hunting up and it was a painting of ballet shoes. Her mother always tried to get it through her head this was her only destiny. Her fluffy white carpet was spotless with nothing on it. Her twin bed still had the pink comforter and white pillow that she slept on as a child. She could only imagine what Bens room looked like.
"It was just a dream," Claire muttered to herself before rolling to face the wall and grabbed the chocolate colored stuffed wolf to cuddle with. She wasn't allowed to take this when they left and she never understood why but she was happy to have it back. Claire tossed again when she started to see the sun rise. Fuck. Another night of almost no sleep and the biggest performance of her life was tonight. Not enough coffee and adderall could help her. Finally she decided when she saw the sun start to peak in the white blinds that she would go on a run to the beach and back. A quick run to clear her mind and help her sleep. She stripped off the pajama shorts and tank top she was in and pulled on sweatpants, a tight hoodie and her running sneakers. She pulled her hair into ponytail before grabbing her iPod and tiptoeing out of the house. She flipped on her running playlist which was mainly pop and rock because they always got her going before taking off. Her feet still hurt but not as bad anymore. She let them rest instead of killing them for another night. Instead she just sat in the basement listening to the track list for performance and picturing everything in her head. She'd have one more rehearsal before the show tonight and that would have to be enough.
Claire had stayed on the trail that would take her to the beach up until now but decided to go off of it and just run where no one could run into her. She focused on the music instead of her breathing which made her get winded after twenty minutes. Rookie mistake. She slowed down to look around trying to see where she had ended up. When she saw the place though a memory was triggered.
"I want to dive like you!" Claire squealed when she saw Uncle Sam and Quil walk back up to the group at the beach, shaking the water out of their hair.
"Too dangerous kid," Quil laughed and shook his head. Claire looked at Sam for conformation in which he nodded as well with a smile on his face.
"What the hell?" Claire mumbled to herself as she walked slowly to the cliffs edge to pear over. Rocks loomed below but something in her mind told her if she had a good running head start that she would make it past them. Claire took out her headphones and placed the iPod inside of her sneakers she just kicked off. She stripped off her hoodie to where she just stood in a sports bra and sweatpants. She back up to the tree line and stared at the sun coming over the water. It's like she could see forever up there. She took a deep breath and right as she was about to run she heard a voice.
"It's too dangerous Claire," Quil was standing behind her in cut off jeans. He looked anxious and on edge as he looked between her and the cliff.
"So was taking a whole bottle of Xanax a few years back but I survived that," Claire shrugged and tried to ignore the man behind her as she got ready to run.
"Are you really going to jump?" Quil asked moving closer to her side this time. He knew what that water was going to feel like when she hit it and he knew how far she'd go down, it terrified him to the core. More then the suicide comment she just made that he'd have to ask about later.
"Yup, I remember I wanted to as a child and here I am now," Claire left out the part where her memory was showing images of him looking the same he did now. She just thought she was going crazy and placing him in situations he wasn't ever in except maybe as a child.
"Then I'm coming too," Quil also braved himself ready to jump. He knew that if he was with her in the water that when and if she struggled he would be there to save her.
"You barely know me," Claire looked at him like he was insane. Who would cliff dive with someone they hadn't seen in seventeen years?
"I knew you once before and I want to get to know you again. Unfortunately if this is how I gotta learn more about you then oh well," Quil just shrugged and stared off into the distance but a small smile was tugging at his lips.
"You're crazy," was all Claire said before she took off running with Quil following behind. She leapt gracefully into the air feeling free for the first time ever. Knowing that leap wouldn't make her feet land on a hard wooden floor being ridiculed by everyone in the room but instead her feet would be landing in the cold water she once loved. Quil jumped right behind her, amazed at her grace as she seemed to float in the air on the way down. He watched where she landed before he himself was swallowed by the ocean. Claire opened her eyes when she finally stopped shooting down into the abyss and realized how dark it was down there. How quiet. How cold. She loved everything about it. She could stay there forever and she was almost planning to until a pair of warm hands grabbed her upper arms and pulled her to the surface. She gasped for air before leaning back and floating.
"You could have died. Are you okay?" Quil looked over her body as she began moving her arms up and down letting the waves crash onto her body, moving her anyway the water wanted her to go. He stayed within reach.
"Quil, one thing you need to learn about the adult me, I have a death wish and I'm not scared to act upon it," Claire grinned before throwing up her peace sign and swimming towards the shore ready to go crawl into her bed and sleep. Clinging onto the feeling of his hands on her.
Hi. Hello. Review. Favorite. Follow. I have other stories. I update a lot. Every other day or so. Enjoy.
Also I'm picturing Claire to look and be built like Sofia Carson.