Stand in the Rain

Chapter Four: No Rest for the Wicked

Fitz swallowed hard as he shoved the door open to his home. It was disturbingly quiet inside, and Fitz figured his mom must not be home. Usually when she was there, he could here the sounds of the television playing her soaps, or her singing or humming as she cooked. He was thankful that she was here. Despite his own hatred of Richard, he didn't want his mother having to overhear the confrontation. He stepped further into the house and walked down the small hallway, turning the corner to peer into what Richard had called the "man cave". As he'd figured, his stepfather was lying on an old, beat up sofa, watching television and drinking a beer.

He'd never really went into the room, before. Not since his father died. It had never felt right after that. It had been his father's room for the model airplanes that he'd built, not to mention the room for souveneirs from basketball games. After his mom and Richard had gotten married, some of his father's things had been given away or sold. Fitz had saved a few things from the room. Things that he knew had been very important to his father. He couldn't quite explain why, but it had made him feel closer to his dad. The old floorboards creaked under his feet and Richard's attention was suddenly caught.

The older man's eyebrows rose and a look of hatred formed on his face. "What the hell are you doing back here?"

Fitz rolled his eyes at Richard's worst. "What do you think? This is my home! I'm allowed to come here whenever I want." He said, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists at his sides.

Richard's eyes narrowed and turned dark. "Don't you take that tone with me, you little asshole." He breathed reaching out a hand to grab his stepson by the collar of his shirt.

The teen glared into his stepfather's eyes angrily, clenching his fist tighter. His breathing was shallow and it was taking everything that he had to keep himself from attacking the man who had made his life hell for so long. He knew that it would just make things worse. Richard was rather well respected in the community. He could make people think that his stepson had attacked him for no reason. People already knew what he'd done on Vegas Night, not to mention the time he got arrested for the fake ID, all because of that goth freak.

"You better not have told anyone how you got those bruises. It would be very...unfortunate, If they ended up hurt. You'd really have no one to blame but yourself." The older man said, smirking and then chuckling darkly.

In a flash, rage filled Fitz's eyes and his right fist connected with Richard's nose. The man fell to the ground at the impact and groaned. Fitz leaned down and snarled right in Richard's face, "If you go near her, I'll kill you." With that, he stared down at the man in disgust, before hurrying down the hall and out of the house.

0000

When Fitz returned to the Edwards home, he saw Clare sitting in the exact same place that she had been when he'd left. Her curly hair was a mess and her eyes were red and swollen, as she stared blankly at the television. She lifted her head from her knees and turned to look at him.

"I wondered when you were going to be back." She said softly.

Fitz stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and laughed bitterly. "What the hell would you worry about that for?" He asked of her rather coldly.

She flinched at the coldness in his voice and swallowed hard. "I'm really sorry about what I said before. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you like that. Eli just made me so mad, and I couldn't control it." She told him, eyes shining sincerly.

He rolled his eyes at her words, wondering why she let goth boy get to her like that. He stepped over to the couch and took a seat beside her. "Geez, it's not like it's the first time that I was yelled at." He said, trying to erase the look of guilt that had overtaken her face.

She looked at him sadly at those words and opened her mouth to say something, when something caught her eye. Furrowing her brows in suspicion, she reached out to take his hand in her's. "Fitz, what happened to your knuckles?" She asked of him, studying him carefully.

Fitz pulled his hand away from her and said in a gruff voice, "None of your business."

Clare gazed at him worriedly. "You didn't get in a fight, did you? You just got out of juvie! You'll be thrown right back in if you did!" She told him, sounding concerned and disappointed.

He just stared at her in disbelief. He didn't understand why she sounded so concerned for him. She may be helping him by letting him stay here, but she couldn't genuinely like him. Not after all the hell he'd put her through when he'd pretended to stab her annoying, little boyfriend during Vegas Night. He shook his head and let a lie spill from his lips, "I was pissed off about what you said, so I took my anger out on a brick wall." He wasn't about to tell her about going back home to confront Richard, nor how he'd lost it on the man when he'd threatened her. She didn't needed to know that.

To be continued...

Next Chapter: Fitz and Eli face off, unwanted visitor.