I'm really sorry I haven't updated for ages and ages, but I have been really struggling with how I was going to write certain parts. I also have had problems thinking of filler for what was going on between the last chapter and this chapter happened. Finally I came to the conclusion that I would just skip ahead a few years and post this chapter. Right now Claire is 12 and it's the end of July in the summer before 7th grade. She will be attending the private school in Port Angeles. She has been going to private school since 4th grade. I don't own any of this stuff.
Why was my phone ringing? Ugh, it was so annoying; there wasn't anyone who would be calling. Without opening my eyes I reached out to the nightstand, and opened my phone bringing it to my ear. "Hello?"
"Hey Quil, it's me," said Claire on the other end. My eyes flew open instantly, and I looked over at the clock. It was only 11 o'clock.
"What's up? I thought I wasn't supposed to pick you up until two."
"I know, but I really want to come home." There was pleading in her voice, begging me not to ask her more right now.
"Hun I'll be there in a few minutes."
I pulled into Kayla's driveway, and before I even opened up my door she was out of the house and halfway to the pickup. Something must be seriously up; normally I had to practically drag her out of Kayla's house. She jumped into the passenger seat, and she looked as if she was about to cry. I pulled her into the middle seat, and put my arm around her.
"What's up Claire?"
"Can it wait until we get home?"
"Sure, whatever you want."
I drove home, and the whole way there Claire had her head against my shoulder she would occasionally sniffle, but she didn't say a word. When we got to the house I grabbed her bag and she ran straight for the house. I dropped her bag when I got into the house and then I went and sat on the couch next to her. She crawled into my lap clutching a pillow to her chest. When she was younger and had nightmares she would do this, but it was something she hadn't done for a long time.
"Quil, my dad called me this morning."
Claire and Tyler had a strained relationship, but Claire did her best to make it seem as if she didn't mind. It was Tyler's fault that it was so horrible. He came to see Claire about twice a year; otherwise he was in New York, Chicago, or LA. Claire usually called him at least every other week, but Tyler never called unless it was to say that he wasn't going to come home for Christmas or something like that.
"What did he say?"
"He's going to be here for my birthday in September for about a week." She paused, and I didn't want to interrupt knowing that there would be more that just that since this news would normally make her happy. "He said that he's going to bring a friend of his and that she is really looking forward to meeting me." She quit talking, and tears were rolling down her face. At first when Tyler would come home Claire would want to talk about her mom with him, but he downright refused. I think that he may have loved her a lot, and he didn't really want to deal with the fact that she wasn't there anymore so he just quit talking about Helen. Claire had a really hard time with this because her dad was the only other person who knew her mom really well, so she didn't really have anyone to reminisce with about Helen.
"Did you ask him about his friend at all?" I asked.
Claire nodded, "I asked him why anyone of his friends would want to meet me since I've never met anyone before. He said that she was something special, and since she was going to be such a big part of his life she would be a big part of my life." At this point she chucked the pillow that she had been holding across the room. "I hung up on him then; I just couldn't stand listening to him anymore. When he said all of it he acted as if he calls and checks on me all of the time. Like he makes sure I'm happy, not that the only thing that he does is send money here once a month."
"Claire maybe this is a good thing. Maybe this new person will get him to come see you more and take more interest in you. Wouldn't it make you happy if he lived here with you?" I hated saying that because if Tyler moved back her that would mean that I probably wouldn't be able to see Claire very often, and apparently Claire thought the same thing.
"Quil, I don't want him here. He would try to be my dad when he's not really. You aren't my dad, but you do a better job than anyone else ever could. You're more like my best friend and conscious rolled into one." I smiled, happy that Claire was happy with the way our lives were.
"We can wait to see what happens, but when they come if you really can't stand being around this person that he's bringing we can find some way for you to avoid being home. I know it will cut away from the time you have with our dad, but it might be better this way if being with your dad also means being with this lady."
"Okay, thanks, I knew that you would find some way to make this all better. Oh shoot, I better go call Kayla. I didn't really give her explanation. She was there when he called and she knew that I was upset, but I couldn't really talk to anyone at the time," Claire said. She ran up stairs to call Kayla, and I went to get lunch started.
Later when Claire came back down from calling Kayla she looked unhappy.
"What's up?" I asked her.
"Kayla is going to be in volleyball this year since we can actually play in junior high sports, but I don't want to do that."
"Well then you don't have to."
"But I want to be in some type of sport."
"Well there's football in the fall. I don't know if you would want to be in that, you're always complaining when Collin or Brady want to wrestle with you."
"That's not fair Collin and Brady are like a foot and a half taller than me and they have super human strength."
"So does that mean you are or are not doing football?"
"I don't think I want to do a sport where you just go back and forth back and forth."
"There is more than just going back and forth to football you know."
"I know, I know, but it just seems so pointless to me. I want to do something else."
"Oh, I forgot about cross country, you could always do that."
"Not the greatest fan of running, but it sounds like something I could do," Claire said with a grin.
"Do you want to start running before practice starts?" I asked her.
"That's probably a good idea, but who would I run with?"
"Claire, come on, your look at a werewolf that can run for miles and miles and miles without getting tired."
"But if I run with you I'm going to get tired right away."
"I am capable of doing things at boring old human speed. I do have to normally put on a slow show for people, and it's not like I would try to get you to run like five miles on you first day of practice."
"We are not going to run five miles ever!"
"How can you say that what if you get really good, and run like 12 miles a day?"
"Sure," she said skeptically.
The next morning I woke up at 6:30, and then I went to wake Claire up. "It's time to wake up now," I told her.
"What time is it?" she asked groggily.
"Six thirty."
"Why in the world would I wake up this early if I don't have school?"
"You have to start practicing for cross country."
"I changed my mind; I don't want to do that anymore."
"Nope, you better be up in five minutes because I'll be caring up the bucket of ice then."
"You do realize that this will make me hate you, right?"
"Nuh ah, after this is all said and done you'll find out how right I am." I left her room then knowing that she would wake up. She wouldn't doubt the bucket of ice threat because when she started fifth grade she had decided that she shouldn't have to get up to go to school, and for a couple of weeks that was how I was waking her up in the morning.
She came down the stairs five minutes later wearing a hooded sweater and sweat pants looking exhausted.
"Do you want to eat first or run first?"
"Let's just get this over with."
"Alright."
We walked out the door. There was a light drizzle falling. "I can't believe that you're making me run in this weather, and I can't believe all your wearing is shorts."
"It's werewolf heat. I feel nice and toasty."
"Way to rub it in my face jerk," said Claire and she stuck her tongue out at me.
"Let's get going." We started running at a slow pace. Claire was not in the talking mood. She looked as if she was concentrating on not falling asleep. We ran down the trails behind the house, but we took the short loop so it wouldn't be a long run. When we got back into the yard Claire looked as if she was about to fall over, I picked her up and carried her into the house.
"So, how was your first run?"
"Awful. Are you going to make me do that every morning?"
"It's the only way that you'll get use to it. Besides after a week one mile will be no big deal."
"You better hope that's the case, cause if I end up dyeing do this you'll be one unhappy werewolf."
"Trust me I'd be more than just unhappy. That's why you have practice a ton and get good so you can run miles and miles without being even close to dyeing."
"Let's have breakfast, so than I can go back to sleep."
I set her on the couch and made our breakfast. I had to wake her up to eat, and after she finished eating she insisted on going back to sleep on the couch with her head on my lap while I watched some T.V.
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P.S. Does anyone have any good book suggestions. I'm trying to make a list of books I want for Christmas.