Hey all! I've had this story in my head for ages but didn't want to commit since I had another story I was writing. But now that I have plenty of time to write, I'm giving it a go! Let me know what you think!
SM owns all
"Claire, honey, did you get those boxes from Home Depot yet or should I send your brother to get some?"
Mom is down in the kitchen, packing away our old dishes and placing them into a big moving box with the words FRAGILE scattered around the sides. "Yeah, they're out in the garage, near the bikes," I yell back.
I, myself, was up in the bathroom, tossing the last few things we had in the cabinet into a laundry basket, aka make-shift moving box. When we first started packing, every little thing was making it's way into a box but at this point, more things were going in the trash then they had a few days ago. Lauren was in our room, going through our books and deciding which ones to donate and which ones to lug across the states and take with us. Michael was out back somewhere, rounding up some stuff with dad. I honestly think they were both hiding so they didn't have to help pack anymore.
I still couldn't believe the day was finally here that our family was moving back to Washington. It had been 16 years since we had lived near any of our family. Over the years, my parents made a point that we all stayed in touch, meeting up in different states for joint family vacations and a big reunion every 5 or so years.
But this was different. This time we were moving back for good.
My mother grew up on the Makah reservation on the coast of Washington state. Most of her family lives in the area too, including my Aunt Emily, Uncle Sam, and their two boys who we see at least a few times a year. I let my mind wander as I bring the basket down from the bathroom to the moving truck we had parked out in the driveway. Most of our things were packed in suit cases that we would bring on the fight with us but the big stuff would go in the moving truck that dad was going to drive from our small hometown in Colorado, up to the reservation.
"Hey, Claire, help me bring these few boxes outside?" Mom was hanging out of the front door while I walked back from the moving truck. I followed her into the kitchen and was surprised to see the once filled with clutter kitchen, completely empty. The yellow walls looked back at me with a blank stare, no longer holding our family portrait and Family Eats Together sign that hung above the window. I took a second, looking around and soaking it in before grabbing the boxes from the ground.
"Crazy, huh?" she said, resting a warm hand on my shoulder. I sighed.
The lump in my throat kept the words I wanted to say where they were. Instead, I grabbed the two boxes and brought them out to the truck. Lauren was there, fumbling around trying to make room for the one she brought down too.
"Hey Lau, want to grab the last box in the living room and I'll shuffle these around so we can fit the rest?"
"There's no way these will all fit, but go for it!" she said before taking off towards the house. I pulled a few boxes out, rearranging things before carefully sliding the boxes back in, making just enough room for the last living room box.
"That one just might about do it," Lauren said, pushing the light box filled with throw blankets and pillows on top of the couch that was pushed into the far corner. We both sighed looking into the truck. The last 16 years of our lives, all packed into one small area. It was hard to believe we were really doing this. Lauren was looking at me from the side.
"I can't believe it either. I knew eventually they'd let us go back but never really thought they'd come too, ya know?" she said.
"Honestly if it weren't for Michael, I doubt they would be. Do you really think it's happening to him?" I wondered.
About a year ago we began to notice slight changes in our brother. At 14, he was a tall kid already, but sometime in the fall he really began to get bigger; and not just his height, but his overall complex as well. His growing was something none of us wanted to talk about, but at this point it was unavoidable.
The Uley's came to visit us a few months ago and that's when our family finally decided it was time to move. After seeing Michael, Sam was sure he would be phasing soon, which was a surprise since he was a non-La Push native. But, nonetheless he was changing and it was in everyone's best interest that he was in La Push when it finally happened. Mom and dad threw the idea of just sending him out to stay by himself, but that was just ridiculous. For years Sam and Emily had been coming to see us. Always waiting until the last day of the trip to secretly pull each of us aside in hopes to convince us to move back.
See, thing was, when I was just a baby I was imprinted on by a 16 year old boy. His name was Quil Ateara, one of Sam's best friends. For two years, my parents tried to find a way of fitting Quil into our lives but in the end my parents had a hard time accepting what happened and in turn decided to leave La Push when I was just 4 years old. I don't blame them really, even after the elders explained to my parents about imprinting, the only real examples they had to go off of were Sam and Emily.
Their love is not the type of love you wish on a baby and teenage boy. Even though my parents believed Quil when he said it wasn't like that, that he was instead acting as my protector, they still didn't feel comfortable having my soul mate watch me grow up. Looking at my future, they didn't want me to feel pressured into being with him because he was all I ever knew. They wanted me to have a choice, experience things on my own, meet a boyfriend the way everyone else does…make my own decisions.
I found all of this out when I was 13. I had overheard them talking about it late at night in the kitchen and made them explain things to me. At first I was livid. So unbelievably upset, I didn't talk to them all weekend. They begged me not to say anything to Lauren or Michael but I couldn't help it. I was fuming after all and Lauren, Michael and I were three peas in a pod. After a few days, I reluctantly talked with my mother, letting her explain their rational for keeping our whole family away for so long.
In all fairness, they never kept Quil or the rest of our family away; they simply moved to give us more space from the small town of La Push. Why they had to move states was a total different question, one I've never quiet gotten an answer for. My parents actually encouraged us to stay in touch with everyone, sending many letters, emails, phone calls, and Face Time sessions were made over the years. Other then Sam and Emily, a few other pack members came to visit us over the years, but for whatever reason, Quil always kept his distance.
"Girls?" we both turned to see our mother hanging out of the front door. "Pizza's here come inside for some dinner!"
I slammed down the back to the truck, locking it tightly behind me. There was no doubt my father would check the latch another 50 times before he left. We made our way inside to find my mother, brother and father all sitting on the ground, several boxes of pizza scattered around them.
"Join us girl's! It's the best we get for tonight," my father said with a chuckle. Lauren and I took our respected seats on the floor between our family. It was surreal, eating our last meal together on the floor of our family home.
We all shoveled down a few slices of pizza, chatting away at the different surprise odds and ends we found while packing up. When dinner was finished, we all did one final walk through of the house. Dad was leaving tonight to get a head start on his trip and we wanted to make sure nothing big was left behind.
We helped throw a few more things into his truck, mom making sure he had plenty of snacks and water to last him the first leg of his trip. It would take him a few days to get there but he was adamant to do this trip alone. Mom joked saying he needed the space before going back to La Push, but I couldn't help but notice the sadness in her voice whenever she said it. I knew for a fact it was more of my father's idea to move then my mother's. She wanted to move back after I found out the truth but it was him that insisted we stayed a while longer.
"Alright guys, time for this old man to hit the road."
We gathered around the truck, the sun had set now and you could hear faint crickets off in the distance. My dad gave each of us a hug before climbing in the truck. We gave him and our mom some privacy, making our way to watch him drive away from the stairs.
With another wave, he was off, honking his way down the street and pulling the U-Haul away.
16 hours later, Seattle, Washington
Traveling with 3 other people and 9 suitcases was basically impossible. We hired a car service to get us to the airport back in Colorado, but after landing here in Seattle, we were in a world of our own. It was a busy Wednesday afternoon in the airport as we weaved our way in and out of the foot traffic, trying to find the baggage claim.
"Michael, hold these for me while I run in the bathroom quick?" Mom passed her bags to my brother as we huddled awkwardly around in the hallway by the restrooms. We had finally made it to the baggage claim area where Sam and Emily would be meeting us. They were bringing his truck to fit the suitcase, and us kids would follow in a rental car down to La Push.
"I can't wait to take a shower, I feel so gross from traveling," Lauren said, jumping around on the spot.
"You're always gross, Lau," Michael said with a smirk. Lauren smacked his stomach but he didn't even flinch.
"And we will all be gross for another few days until dad get's here with all of our bathroom stuff," I said sarcastically. We all laughed a bit, thinking of how unpleasant the next few days of sleeping on the floor would be until dad showed up with all of our furniture.
"Right, we ready?" Mom made her way from the bathroom and grabbed her things from Michael. "Sam and Emily should be around here somewhere so keep an eye out."
We walked towards our luggage carriage while mom poked around looking for Sam and Emily.
"Aunty Linda!" We all turned our heads to see our cousin Seth waving his way through the crowds toward us.
"I didn't know Seth was coming to get us too," Lauren said under her breath. "Me either." We all looked around now to see if anyone else was with him.
"Oh sweetie, it's so good to see you! I didn't know you'd be coming also," my mother said while pulling him into a huge hug.
"Well we figured you all would be tired from traveling and need more then one car for the stuff so we brought two cars," Seth said.
"You didn't drive all the way to Seattle on your own did you?" Mom said, concern lingering on her words.
"Nah, I brought Brady with me for the drive. He's still in the car because I'm pretty sure were parked illegally," he said shrugging his shoulders and giving a smirk. I couldn't help but sigh in relief knowing Quil wasn't the friend he brought with him.
"Right, well we will be quick then!" Turning towards us now, she yells, "Guys, are you keeping an eye out for our bags?... Oh! Jeez! You've grab them all already, sorry about that." I looked around too, oblivious to the fact that Michael and Lauren had grabbed our suitcases off the carousel. I was in such a daze seeing Seth, I hadn't noticed the work they put in either.
We all grabbed a few suitcases; much thanks to Seth none of us had to drag three around now, and made our way towards the front doors. Just as we made it outside, we saw the beaming faces of Emily and Sam who were huddled around a car parked right out front.
"Brady, I told you to stay to the left until we got here! You trying to get my car towed!" Seth was frantically running around now, screaming at his friend who was just laughing.
"Relax, no one is going to tow the car. Let me help with these," Brady said, sauntering his way out of the car, walking directly towards me. "I can take these."
"Oh-uh, sure. Thanks," I said awkwardly, handing over my bags to Brady. He looked back at me with a smirk, one that I could only assume was the fact that he was checking me out or flirting, not really sure which.
"Girls! I'm so happy you're finally here! How was the flight? Are you exhausted? Are you hungry? I can't believe you're really here!" Emily was now pulling each of us into a tight hug, tears forming on the brim of her eyes. I squealed into her arms, so happy to finally see her again.
"I'm starving!" Michael said, now joining our crowd.
"Why don't we all hit the road and try and make back before traffic hits? We bought some stuff to barbeque," Sam kept on talking but I was now laughing at Michael's face at the mention of barbeque. He was nearly drooling and staring. Lauren gave him an elbow to the side, which shook him out of his daydream.
"Oh, you guys didn't have to do that! Thank you, Em," my mother said, pulling Aunty Emily into another hug.
We split into our cars, us kids going with Seth and Brady while mom drove with her sister and brother-in-law. As soon as we pulled away from the airport and hit the highway, Seth decided that we would stop for fast food somewhere cause the boys were starving. We drove through a McDonald's and wasn't all that surprised when the boys ordered 4 hamburgers each. Lauren and I settled on fries for now, already feeling gross and bloated after all of the traveling and airport food.
The drive from Seattle was beautiful, green lush trees sprawling the highway in a way that reminded me a lot of Colorado. We chatted a bit here and there, Michael filled in the boys on different sports he was playing, girls he was 'hanging out' with, and just about life in Colorado. They asked me about school, and plans for interning at La Push high next school year. I was enrolled in an online program for school psychology, which gave me the freedom to learn wherever I want. As soon as I found out we were moving, I contacted the principal at La Push high who said he'd be happy to have me shadow one of the guidance counselors in the fall.
Lauren fell asleep right off the bat, I knew she had tossed and turned most of the night before. After hour 2 of driving, I thought my legs were going to fall off from staying put for so long. With three of us in the backseat, one of who was close to 7 feet tall, we were all feeling quiet antsy.
As if Brady could sense my ansy-ness, he turned around to tell us we were still an hour and a half out but once we hit Forks, it would fly by.
He wasn't wrong. Before I knew it, we were passing the Welcome to La Push sign; signs of the beach were everywhere and the hint of dew from a rain was still on the ground. I was immediately filled with a familiar sense, but pushed it aside to take in my surroundings as if it were the first time I was here. Shabby homes lined the road every now and again. Michael had his eyes pealed out the window, soaking everything in as I was. I elbowed Lauren to wake her, gently telling her we were almost home.
"We're here?" she said, sleep still evident in her voice. She rubbed at her eyes and took in the bright sun shining into the car.
"Almost, just got to the Res," I said. We drove for another minute before finally pulling up to our new home. I knew it from pictures, a small ranch with a falling down garage off to the side. It was placed far back from the road, a long driveway leading down to where it was nestled by the woods.
"Ta-da!" Seth said, jostling the car to a stop. The second the car pulled behind Sam's, we all opened the doors and nearly fell to the ground exaggeratedly. Michael literally fell from the car when Lauren pushed his side to get him out faster. We all laughed at him, Lauren jumped her way over his large body to get out of the car, and made our way up to the house.
I didn't bother grabbing any of the suitcases, I was sure Brady and Seth would insist on grabbing them anyway. The house was old, you could tell. Wooden floors ran the length of the house as soon as you opened the door. The main area was large and open, a stone fireplace leading up the right wall with the kitchen in the back. A small hallway jetted out on the left, leading down to 3 bedrooms and a set of stairs that led to the basement. With the house large and empty like this, it was like an instant shock in that moment that this would be our new home.
"You guys made it! What took you so long?" Mom came out from on of the bedrooms down the hall. She was changed into a nice sundress, looking freshly showered and put together.
"Stopped for a snack and the bathroom cause this one here can't hold her bladder," Michael said, literally pointing a finger in my direction.
"It was a four hour drive of course we had to stop a few times!" I defended myself, mom only chuckled.
"Right, well, your father and I's room is the one on the left, Michael and Lauren you can decided between the two on the right," Mom said. I looked at her pointedly, why wasn't I getting first choice of rooms? I'm 20 for crying out loud.
"Don't look at me like that, you know you get first choice. We just figured you'd want some privacy so dad and I thought maybe you'd want to live in the basement," she said.
"You're putting me in the basement?" I couldn't help the sarcasm in my voice.
"Why don't you look before getting all defensive on me."
Lauren and Michael were already down the hallway deciding on rooms. I could faintly hear Lauren saying she wanted the room with the largest closest while Michael wanted the one with the windows. I brushed them off, making my way towards the door that led down to the basement, knowing full well I'd come back up and choose which room I wanted if this basement showed any signs of creepy and crawly insects.
However, as soon as I opened the door, I was surprised. It was like entering a different house. Clean carpet ran the length of the stairs and new light fixture had clearly just been hung. I made my way down the few stairs that led into a large, fully furnished room. There was a small kitchenette in the corner, completed with a fridge and small island. There was a sliding door that led out to a small patio, not on the back of the house but more to the side where the garage was.
There was a bathroom at the foot of the stairs. Clearly whoever renovated this place wanted to live down here and didn't care for the rest of the house. A beautifully tiled bathroom with a new sink and shower had been placed in here. A sight of luxury, really. There were a few pictures already hung on the walls, some of my family, the beach, one of my friends from Colorado and myself.
This must have been Emily. She knew I'd need my own space here. My eyes began to well with tears just thinking of how much work she'd put into this room.
To be honest, the biggest shock was that my parents were okay with me living down here. I walked towards the bed that was placed in the corner, a new frame and duvet to finish off the room. I gently sat down on the corner, looking around in astonishment. This just wasn't what I was expecting and I couldn't even wrap my head around everything. I continued looking around, soaking in all of the different decorations and furniture that was placed in my room. Obviously I was close with my Aunt Emily but the way she designed the space was so incredibly me.
On my nightstand, there was a picture of myself. I must have been about 3 or 4 years old. I was in a bathing suit, splashing in the waves down at the beach. The picture was adorable, but what was interesting was I had never seen it before. I went to reach for it and almost didn't notice the note that was placed on the table. Scribbled down on a small note paper was written:
Hope you like the room. Looking forward to seeing you soon,
-Quil
My heart was still in my throat.
Quil had done this?
I stared and stared, reread and reread the note, over and over until it was permanently memorized in my thoughts. I slid the note in the draw next to my bed with a shaky hand. Lauren and Michael will kill me when they see this.
As if I thought that out loud, my brother and sister came bounding down the stairs, screaming as they came.
"You have got to be kidding me! Is this for real?!"
"This is a joke, Claire. You literally have a bed and were all going to be sleeping on the floor for like a week," Michael was laughing as Lauren ran around flicking on switched and opening cabinets everywhere she went.
"I don't know what to tell you guys, I was just as surprised as you!" I said trying to defend myself. It didn't help, and Lauren and Michael both huffed and joined me on my bed. "Lauren you can sleep down here with me until your bed is set up," I offered.
"Thanks," she was crossing her arms and I could just tell she had a frown on her face.
"I call the couch!" Michael said, now jumping up to make his way over to the big sectional in the corner.
"Didn't Sam say he had an air mattress you could use?" I bantered.
"Yeah, but don't you want to spend time with me? He said.
"Ugh, fine," I said with mock sarcasm.
We spent the rest of the afternoon bringing our suitcase inside and unpacking the little bit that we could. Thankfully mom had told us to pack a whole suitcase of coat hangers so we were able to put most of our clothes away. I was actually able to unpack almost all of my stuff since I had a dresser and a closet filled with hangers. I tried to push the thought to the side that Quil was the one to help put my room together. This must have cost him a fortune.
I couldn't help but wonder what he would think my reaction would be. Surely he doesn't know that I know about him imprinting on me. Didn't he think I'd be freaked out that he did this? Or is that just me being rude and inconsiderate of him doing this?
It made my brain hurt thinking about it and wanted to push it to the side until I talked to him. I had enough time to sit on how I was going to talk to Quil when I finally decided to talk to him and figured being upfront about everything is my best bet. As soon as I see him, I'll pull him aside and tell him I know about the imprinting.
Sam and Emily came over with some dinner for us and decided that the next day we would have a small barbeque instead so we could all get some rest. I'm pretty sure we were all passed out by 8 o'clock.
The next morning was busy, rushing around to grab breakfast then go to the store to grab a few odds and ends. There wasn't much for us to do while we waited for dad to get here. He should be here by tomorrow morning but who knows when he'll show up.
Seth said he would come back and pick us up at 12 for the cook out. Mom panicked figuring this small cookout turned into a rather large cookout but it was quite the opposite really. Seth assured us it would only be a few of the guys with Sam, Emily, and the kids.
I frantically tried on about 15 different sundresses, deciding all of them were either too fancy or too beachy. I settled on a pair of white shorts, a loose tank top and a loosely laced sweater to cover my shoulders. Casual enough but still able to show off my tanned and toned skin.
We arrived at Sam and Emily's about an hour later. The smell of barbeque filled my nose and my stomach instantly grumbled. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until now. Their quaint house sat on the edge of the woods, small and cozy and exactly how I remembered it to be. Over the course of the years, we received a few photos from time to time of the pack members, almost always congregating outside of here.
"You made it!" Emily said, running with her arms open to us from the porch.
"We are starving so no place we'd rather be," mom said, linking her arm into her sisters. I hadn't seen my mother this giddy and relaxed in a while.
"Foods around back and I'm pretty sure there's a fire getting set up too so maybe we can just go there?" Seth said, leading us towards the back of the house. We followed behind, relief washing through each of us when we realized there really wasn't anyone else there.
We all went straight to the food table, not bothering to act as if we weren't hungry. I gabbed some chicken and pasta salad, hesitating a bit before grabbing a beer from the cooler. Our parents could care less if we drank, funnily enough, and I knew Sam and Emily wouldn't care either.
My mouth was watering as I sat down, cross-legged in front of the fire. I began to devour my food, in a very similar was to Michael and Seth. Lauren was being a bit classier, but she also ate like a bird and I'm sure wasn't as starving as us.
The four of us sat, eating and joking around by the fire, as if we had been doing this our lives. Seth was just like us, it was like he was our fourth sibling, fitting right into our grove of jokes and banter.
"How about some music?" Michael said, giving his eyebrows a wiggle in my direction.
"I don't know, Mike. Seth might not be ready for one of our dance parties quite yet…" I said, trialing off with a smirk at the end.
"Ugh, clearly you don't know me very well, music is my thing," he said.
"Right so some Nicki or Kingston then?"
"Oh! Oh! Def some Nicki!" Lauren squealed.
I'm not even sure when it started, but for as long as I could remember, the three of us had been into rap music. It was like our thing. We all had songs that we knew every word too and whenever we were together it was like a constant rap battle. Mom and dad would just laugh and ignore us, but I remember the look on our friend's faces as we all sang in sync to some 'vulgar' rap songs.
Just as the three of us were going off, singing our way through some song or another, Paul and Jared emerged from one of their trucks, laughing as they came closer.
"Is that our little Claire dropping the F-bomb?" Paul said. Jared playfully pushed him as they walked closer. A deep crimson filled my cheeks but I took another swig of my drink before joining the group in jumping up to greet them.
"Definitely not a little Claire anymore," this time is was Jared who spoke, eyes looking me over intently. I only rolled my eyes now.
"What was I, like 8 the last time you guys came to visit?" I said, mock hurt in my voice.
"Not our fault! Someone had to stay, while everyone got to go party," Paul said.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," I walked over, leaving my arms open to give him a large hug.
Both boys grabbed some food and we went back to sit around the fire.
"Where are Kim and Rachel?" Lauren asked.
"Just waiting on a sitter for the kids then they'll be over," Paul said.
"Tell us, what's been going on with you guys? We've missed our favorite Young family!" Jared said.
We chatted away for a while longer, watching the sunset behind the trees. It was close to 7 o'clock now and Emily was back inside, cooking up some dinner with my mom. Kim and Rachel joined us after a while, thanking the heavens that they were about to have a night off from the kids. Brady came running in through the woods, shirtless of course, and planted a slobbery kiss on Lauren's cheek as he did.
All day I had a pit in my stomach, waiting and waiting for Quil to arrive. The anxiety of it was getting to me and I may have had a few too many beers. I didn't dare ask if he was coming and knew better then to ask Lauren or Michael to ask for me. They'd only let something embarrassing slip and I was not about to let that happen.
We ate our dinner happily, laughing and telling old stories from when us kids were younger. It was weird knowing Brady and Colin had been around back then, even though they still looked and acted like they were 15. Sam, Jared, and Paul stopped phasing about 10 years ago when the wives wanted to have kids, but the younger guys hadn't wanted to settle down quiet yet so they were still going at it.
When mom said it was time to go a little while later, I couldn't help the disappointment fill my body instantly. I could feel Lauren's eyes on me, but I refused to look at her. Instead, I stood from my spot on the dirt floor, brushing off my bottom as I did and said my goodbyes. Lauren and Michael were going to stay here and sleep in the spare room that held bunk beds instead of snuggling up for night 2 in my room.
"It nice having you back, kid," Sam whispered in my ear. When he pulled back he gave me a knowing look, one I couldn't help but wonder what else was lingering in it.
Seth drove mom and I back happily, whistling along to a tune on the radio. It was a short drive and I was surprised at how I didn't notice before how close we were to Emily's house. It was late and dark now, exhaustion finally hitting me after the long day in the sun and drinking and eating.
We bid our farewells to Seth, him letting us know they would all be back to help us unpack the truck in the morning. Mom and I walked inside and was happy when she said she was going straight to her room. I gave her a quick hug, thanking her for today and she gave me a kiss to the forehead.
I was shocked again as I made my way down the stairs to my bedroom. I just couldn't believe Quil had done all of this for me. It was unbelievable and I was once again faced with the knot in my stomach thinking about him. I could feel my heart accelerate, the anxiety finally catching up to me in the solace of my bedroom.
I quickly unchanged myself, throwing my day clothes into a pile on the floor. I grabbed one of dad's big t-shirts from my dresser and threw it over my naked body, not bothering with a bra. It came down to my mid thigh and I finally felt like I had more room to breathe. I wiped my makeup off in the bathroom and brushed my teeth before shutting the lights off and edging my way into the bed. The sheets were cool and I could feel my heart race begin to slow down.
I lay there, staring up at the ceiling from my bed. I revisited all of the day's events, raking my mind for any information that may calm me down. I always had trouble sleeping growing up. It was like I couldn't get comfortable and the longer I lay there the more anxious I would get about it. When I was younger, mom found this weighted blanket that was heated and that seemed to calm me for a while. It did until I broke it on a family vacation and we never found one like it. Instead I settled on sleeping with 4 heavy comforters on my body. This seemed to help for a while, but nothing quiet worked.
That is until a friend offered me a joint in high school and things for me changed. I wouldn't say I was a 'pot head' but weed definitely helped me fall asleep and stay asleep for the night so who was I to complain. I threw my legs over the side of the bed to find my wallet. I knew I snuck a small one in there before we left and hopefully I didn't throw it away before we left.
"Ah-ha!" I whispered to myself, pulling the small joint out from my change purse. I slid my way silently out to the patio outside of my bedroom. I hadn't taken much notice before, but there was a few Adirondack chairs and small table, nothing fancy but a nice enough sitting area. I pulled back one of the seats and sunk myself in.
Surprisingly, the chairs were pretty comfortable and I nestled myself in further, pulling my feet up from under me to sit with my knees pulled to my chest. Using my lighter, I lit up and took a steady drag from the joint. I rested my head back against the chair, letting my eyes look up to the stars.
The air was cold and the breeze felt amazing against my hot skin. I tried to focus on my breathing, hoping it would begin to put me asleep. I counted up to ten then back down again, over and over until it became a rote habit.
I could feel my eyelids getting heavy and took one more inhale before putting it out on the ground. I stood up from my spot and walked back towards the sliding door, hoping I could silently pop back into the house. Just as I was about to open the door, I heard a branch crack in the distance. Just as my hand was about to fumble quickly with the door, his voice was saying my name.
"Claire?"
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