A/N Hey guys! Sorry for taking forever to update anything but I kind of got sidetracked for a while. Remember that you can always reach me on my tumblr (link on my profile). Thanks for sticking with me for so long and for all the nice reviews and messages! I'm going to try and update more frequently (and hopefully not take a year to do so). In honor of Valentine's day I did my best to push through this chapter, and I hope to continue to do so with the next few!
Chapter 8
Carley sat in the living room, sprawled out on the couch with a pillow under her head as she read through the last few chapters of her mystery novel "Death In Scarlett". She made a mental note to keep an ear out for Clementine who was busy upstairs playing in her room. Lee had asked her to look after the little girl while he ran some errands. She was surprised to see him actually want to leave the house, and since it was a Sunday and she didn't have any work to do, she had no objections to looking after her. Honestly she's still surprised that he actually left the house, even if she had no idea what he was out doing.
Carley had just reached the epilogue when she heard small footsteps make their way down the stairs. Seconds later Clementine stood right in front of her. The younger girl seemed nervous, with her hands behind her back and her eyes looking down at the floor. Clementine bit her lip before opening her mouth trying to get her words out only to close it again.
"Clem what is it? Is something wrong?" Carley gently asked as she sat up.
"No, I'm fine. It's just..." she went back to biting her lip. Carley understood why Clementine was still awkward around her, having a stranger you just met living in your house can't be fun and Clementine was a shy girl to begin with, but even then, she has never acted this shy around her before. It was almost as if she were afraid of whatever she was trying to tell her.
"Clementine did something happen? It's okay, you can tell me," she said and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"No it's not that. I was just wondering if..."
"If?" Carley urged her on.
"I was wondering if I could go out to the park."
Carley looked at Clementine with confusion. "Why was she so nervous about asking me that?"
"Of course. I'll just give Kenny a call and-"
"No! Uh, I mean...can I go by myself? I don't feel like playing with Duck."
Now it was starting to make sense. Clementine has spent so much time either alone or with Duck, Carley can't blame her for wanting something new. Just like that, and idea popped into Carley's head. "I can't let you go out by yourself-" Clementine looked down sadly and sighed before Carley could finish.
"But," Carley continued, "I don't mind going with you." Clementine's face instantly brightened and she ran upstairs to get her shoes.
"Thank you!" Clementine yelled back in the loudest voice Carley has ever heard her use. Carley couldn't help but smile.
Carley watched Clementine as she went back and forth between climbing on the jungle gym and swinging on the swing set. She had never seen the little girl be so hyperactive before. She was so outgoing, running around and interacting with everything around her.
Looking down at her watch, she saw that it was already 5:30. She had left a note for Lee telling him that they would be home before sundown. Reluctantly, she called the girl over to her, "Clementine! It's time to go!"
Clementine sighed as she jumped off of the swing and walked towards her as they began their walk home.
"Did you have fun Clem?"
"Yea. Thanks again for talking me," Clementine replied and smiled up at Carley as she held her hand. "I missed it."
Carley looked down at the girl in confusion. "What do you mean? You haven't been to the park in a while?"
"Yea. Dad and I used to go all the time back when we lived at our old house, but now that we've moved here he never wants to take me anymore. Kenny and Duck would sometimes let me go with them but..."
Carley smiled warmly. "I get it. You want Lee to take you."
Clementine nodded and then lets out a frustrated sigh. "Duck is nice, but I play with him all the time and sometimes he can get really annoying."
Carley lets out a small laugh, "I get how you feel. When I was a kid I hung out with Kenny and your dad almost every day. It got tiring a lot of the time. Boys can be like that."
"And sometimes he does stuff out of nowhere and it really makes me mad. Like one time, we were playing in the backyard and he just starts throwing mud at me. He though it was funny to start a mud fight, but I didn't want to get dirty that day. Then I got in trouble when I put a bug down his shirt and he starting screaming," Clementine says as she walks across the street with her.
"He reminds me of his dad actually. Wanna hear a story?"
"Sure."
"Well, when Kenny, your dad, and I were about 6 years old, We would take turns playing at each other's houses. One day when Lee and Kenny came over to my house to play, they thought it would be funny to play a prank on me. He and your dad brought over their water guns, and sprayed me with water as soon as I opened the door. I then fell off the porch trying to get away from them and landed on my mother's garden. I was wearing a new sun dress that day that my mother had just bought me and I was in love with it so much. After their prank however, I was completely soaked and muddy, and my dress as ruined."
Clementine's eyes widened, "That's so mean! My dad really did that?"
"Yes he did."
"So what did you do?"
"Well, I took one look at my dress, and as soon as I realized what happened, I was furious. I stood up, punched both of them right in the face, and ran inside crying."
Clementine smiled and said "That must have felt good."
Carley laughed. "Honestly it did. They came back over and apologized later on, but you see my point. As much fun as it was to hang around them, sometimes I needed a break. That's usually when I would go hang out with my cousins or some of the girls at my school."
"I wish I could do that. I would hang out with the girls in my class, but I don't know them that well yet. I would hang out with my mom but she hasn't been around in a while," Clementine said as her voice became noticeably sadder and looked down as she talked. Carley didn't respond to her and continued to walk, unsure of what to say. She wondered just how much Clementine knew about what had happened between Lee and Sarah.
"Carley can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"What's wrong with my dad? Carley froze and looked down at Clementine trying to contain her shock.
"What do you mean?"
"There's something wrong with him. He hasn't been the same for a while. He treats me differently and I don't know why," Clementine continued to look down and Carley wondered if the girl was actually talking to her or talking to herself.
"I'm not stupid, I can hear what the teachers say about him," Clementine continued, her voice taking a slightly angry tone. "I know something happened and I know that my parents aren't together anymore but no one will tell me why and I need to know why." She looked up at Carley, her eyes lightly wet, "Was it something about me? Something I did? Is that why they won't tell me?"
Carley reached out to her, almost grabbing her into a hug but hesitating. "Oh no honey! Trust me nothing that happened between your parents was your fault."
"Then why did he go to jail? Why does he not like me anymore? Why did my mom leave?"
Carley bit her lip and breathed in, "Your dad still loves you very much Clementine, he's just going through a lot right now."
"Going through what?"
"It's not my place to tell you. It's...complicated."
Clementine huffed, "That's what everyone keeps telling me."
"I'm sorry, but I think it's best if your dad tells you," Carley crouched down to Clementine's level and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "But I'm absolutely certain that he loves you more than anything in the world."
Clementine returned her words with a sad smile, "Thanks Carley."
"You're welcome sweetie," she said as they began walking again, "And if you ever get tired of hanging out with Duck again, just give me a call."
Clementine laughed. "Okay."
As soon as Carley opened the front door and walked into the house she was hit with the delicious smell of herbs and spices. "Lee? We're home," she called out as she followed the wonderful aroma into the kitchen with Clementine right behind her.
Lee looked up from the vegetables he was cutting and dropped the knife as Clementine ran into his arms and hugged him. "Hey guys. Did you have fun at the park Clem?"
"Yea. It was like the one back in Athens, only bigger! There was also this man there who had all these puppies in boxes and he let us play with them!"
"I'm glad you had fun sweet pea," Lee said and then looked up towards Carley, "Thank you for taking her out today."
"It was no problem. I was glad to get out as well," Carley said and then turned towards the half chopped vegetables on the counter and the sauce filled pan on the stove next to it, "That smells delicious, what is it?"
"Just some sauce I'm making. There was some left over chicken breast from a couple nights ago so I thought we could use that and have stir fry tonight," Lee said as he grabbed the knife and went back to chopping vegetables.
"Sounds great. You need any help?"
"No, I think I've got it covered. Thanks though."
Before Lee can turn fully back to what he was doing, Clementine chimes in, "Dad next time we go to the park can you come with us?"
"Maybe Clem, we'll see." Carley doesn't miss the nervous and almost scared look that flashes across his face and the fake disinterest in his tone and could tell that Clementine didn't miss it either as the young girl said nothing else of the topic, walking away from them up the stairs to her room.
Carley waited until she was sure that Clementine was out of earshot before leaning closer to Lee, their shoulders touching, "I think you should talk with her."
Lee looked at her, confused. "Did something happen?"
"Nothing really, I think she just wants to spend more time with you. She mentioned to me how she doesn't know many people at school yet and she's getting kind of tired with Duck, that's all," Carley said, purposefully leaving out any mention of Lee in her earlier conversation with the girl. If Lee seemed ready to talk about his issues with her, then she would mention it. Until then, it wasn't her place. "Maybe you should go to the park with us sometime, she would be so happy if you did."
"I'll...see about it," Lee hesitantly replied, not once looking up at Carley. It unnerved her how unreadable his face was at that moment, but she said nothing more and walked back in to the living room, returning to her book.
A/N There was actually supposed to be more in this chapter but I got carried away with the Clem/Carley scene. Luckily though that makes writing the next chapter easier. Once again thank you guys so much for sticking with me after all this time. I'm hoping that this sudden burst of inspiration will help me continue writing so I can update quickly!