Resentment
Summary: Clare meets Irene, part of the reason why her parents' marriage ended, and her three kids, Sophia, Ryan, and Dominic. Ryan is five, Dominic is ten, and Sophia is thirteen
Possible twoshot
The cold air hit Clare's face, as soon as she stepped out the door, causing her to shiver. She pulled her jacket tighter around her body as she spotted her father's car, infront of the house. It was Chirstmas noon, and her father had wanted her to come see him. They'd made plans for them to exchange presents and have dinner together. With a smile, she hurried to it, her curly hair flying behind her. She opened the door, setting her overnight bag on the floor and throwing a smile her father's way. "Hi, daddy!" She said brightly, leaning over to hug him.
Randall laughed and hugged his daughter back, before pulling away. "Did you have fun, this morning, Clare-Bear?" He inquired, glancing at his daughter as he pulled away from the curb, and began to drive.
The girl in question shrugged. "It was a little weird." She answered. "Grandma and mom got into a bit of an argument, over Darcy. Grandma still thinks the fact that you and mom, let Darc go to Kenya on her own, is horrible. And I'm pretty sure that Jake's aunt Marie, flirted with Uncle Todd. I exchanged presents with Adam, Jake, Eli, and Alli."
Her father smiled at the mention of Eli's name. "So, are you two back together, or something?" He questioned teasingly.
Clare blushed, lashes fluttering as she stared down at her jeaned legs, slowly. "No, daddy. Eli and I just became friends, again. That's all." It was what the two teenagers had agreed on. They wanted one another in their lives. There was no doubt about that. But they'd decided that becoming friends again, and seeing where that took them would be the best thing for them. After all, Eli was still learning how to deal with his bipolar disorder and Clare had just gotten out of a relationship with Jake, a couple of months previously and was still learning how to deal with her newly blended family. Besides, they'd been friends, first before they'd gotten together the first time.
The car parked infront of a condo and Randall pulled his keys out of the ignition. He felt an uncomfortable twist in his stomach, as he thought of what was about to go down. He hoped that his daughter wouldn't be too angry, when she saw who else was there.
The teen couldn't help but raise her eyebrow at her father's behavior, before she followed him to the door. As soon as she stepped inside, the smell of ham and green beans filled her nostrils. Warmth filled her body, from the fire burning in the fireplace, and she could hear the sounds of something on the television, followed by a laugh. It confused Clare even more as she walked farther into the condo and turned the corner to where the living room was. Her blue eyes widened as they landed on three kids, sitting there on the sofa, game controllers in their hands. "Um.." She uttered, feeling rather confused, brows furrowing.
"Clare-Bear, these are Irene's kids." Randall said softly, stepping torwards her and resting a hand on her shoulder.
All three kids looked up at the mention of their mother's name. The little boy, who looked around five smiled at Clare behind his mop of messy blond curls, waving his little hand.
Clare smiled softly at the little boy, heart clenching. Clare hadn't known that Irene's kids would be here. And if her kids were here, then that meant that she was, as well.
As if hearing Randall mention her name, Irene stepped into the room, drying her hands on a dishtowel and smiling charmingly. "You must be Clare." She held out her hand for the teenage girl to shake.
The teen looked the woman over, taking in her formfitting, red and white sweater dress and her perfectly coiffed dark blonde hair, brown eyes glittering. Biting her bottom lip, she forced herself not to say anything nasty and reached to shake her hand. "Hi." She muttered, quietly.
"Ryan, Dominic, Sophia, did you three say hello to Clare?" The woman asked, walking over to the couch and picking up the boy with the blond curls.
Sophia threw her game controller down and stood up. "Hi." She said, flipping back her black hair and rolling her green eyes. "There, mother. I said it." She collapsed back onto the sofa, ignoring the looks that Ryan and Dominic gave her.
"Well, we're going to let you four get acquainted. Randall and I need to finish up dinner and then, we'll all open up presents." Irene told them before she and Randall headed to the kitchen.
"You wanna play?" Dominic asked, peering at Clare through his long bangs and holding out a game controller, to her.
Clare nodded, giving the boy a little smile and taking the controller from him. "So, how long have you guys been here?"
"We stayed the night, last nights, after visiting our grandma and grandpa." Sophia answered, sighing in annoyance. "Grandma acted as if nothing was wrong or different. Just a year ago, it was me, Ryan, Dom, mom, and dad going to visit my grandparents. Now, all of a sudden, mother is bringing your father everywhere, acting as if he's part of the family."
"Mom deserves to be happy, Soph." The older boy defended, quietly, gazing up at his sister.
The girl in question scoffed. "You don't get how they got together. You're too young to understand it. If you knew, you'd agree with me."
"So, you know how they got together?" Clare asked, curiously.
"Mom was very upfront about it, with me. I asked her why she and daddy were getting divorced, and she told me that daddy had found out about her and your dad. Dad was a client of your's. Did you know that?" Sophia questioned, pushing the buttons on her controller rather aggressively.
Chewing her bottom lip, Clare couldn't help but wonder how to process all of this information. So her father hadn't just cheated. So had Irene. And she'd been a client. She got why Sophia was so angry. She was as well. When you're little, you think the world of your parents. They're your heroes. They love you, care for you, they teach you right from wrong. So it's pretty heartbreaking when you find out just how imperfect they are. When you find out that they've done wrong,
that changes. You're no longer peering through those rose colored glasses. Your parents are human. They do things that hurt eachother, other people, you. And it sucks. It made Clare almost wish that she could go back to the simple days, before she learned the truth. But that wasn't possible.
0000
Clare sighed as they existed the dining room, after dinner and headed back torwards the living room. She knew what was next. The present exchange. Most likely an effort on her father and Irene's part to bring everyone together. It was annoying and stupid. Who did they think they were fooling?
"Okay, I already have all of the presents for all of you, in seperate piles. But before you four open them, I want a picture of all of you, infront of the tree!" Irene exclaimed, grabbing her camera off of the stand. She motioned the kids alll together, as she finally took the picture.
Clare went through all of the presents she'd gotten from her father. A new camera, money, books, movies, clothes. Until she finally got to the last present that had Irene's name on it, along with her children's. It was a small box and wasn't very heavy. Obviously, a piece of jewelry. Curiousity getting the best of her, she stripped off the wrapper and opened the velvet box. A gasp escaped her lips when she saw the go"Beauty and the Beast" charm bracelet. It was something that she'd always wanted, but they were so rare. Pulling it out, gently, she slipped it on her wrist, watching the charms glimmer in the light.
"I hope it's the right size. Your father told me all about how you've always wanted a Beauty and the Beast charm bracelet, so I contacted one of my best friends, from highschool, who is a jewelry designer.
The teen nodded. "It's perfect." She breathed, still staring at the bracelet, for once forgetting her anger at Irene and her father.
The woman smiled leaning to Randall. "Well, I'm glad." She answered.
Just then, Randall cleared his throat, turning to face his girlfriend. "I've got one more present." He said, leaning over to unlock a drawer, before finally pulling out a tiny box. He turned back to Irene, handing the gift to her, nervously.
She smiled at him, confusedly, pulling off the bright purple bow, and the silver wrapping paper. She opened up the box and her mouth fell open in awe. "Randall, this is beautiful!" She told him. "But...is it what I think it is?"
The man smiled lovingly, taking her small hand in his. He pulled the ring out of the box, and slipped it onto her finger. "I just want to know if you'll do the honor of marrying me? We don't have to get married anytime soon. This is just...a promise, I guess."
Irene laughed, as tears streamed down her cheeks. She threw her thin arms around Randall's neck and pressed her lips to his, muttering a quiet "Yes.", against them.
Clare felt as if her heart had stopped and anger and hurt filled her, once again. She reached down to her wrist and ripped the bracelet off, roughly, throwing it onto the coffee table. "Screw you, both!" She spit out, eyes on fire as she grabbed her coat, through on her boots and scarf, and hurried out the front door. Another case of parents not discussing a damn thing with their children. It was so pathetic. Didn't she matter? Did her father even bother discussing this, with Ryan, Dominic, and Sophia, or were they just as in the dark as her? She had no clue where she was going as she walked around the town. Most everything was closed, and she didn't want to bother her friends, when they were all having time with her families. She glanced into The Dot, smiling gratefully when she saw the lights. Walking inside, she walked up to the counter, wishing the cashier a Merry Christmas, before asking for a hot cocoa. She pulled out her cellphone as she waited.
"Baby Edwards! What are you doing here, on Christmas day?" A familiar voice asked.
She glanced up, locking eyes with Spinner Mason's brown one's. "Spinner!" She said, smiling at him. I haven't seen you, in awhile."
He laughed and walked around the counter to hug her. "Well, I've been on vacation. Between marrying Emma, then realising it wasn't working out, because she was still in love with Sean and I had just been hurt over what happened with Jane, I've been busy. But, I'm back now. So, what are you even doing here? I would think that you'd be with your family."
Clare shrugged. "My mom and dad divorced. My father just proposed to the woman that he cheated on my mother, with. I didn't particularly feel like being there and celebrating. I was planning on calling my stepbrother, to get him to pick me up."
Spinner sucked in a breath and winced. "Ouch. Sorry about that. And...what does Darcy think about all of this?"
Clare shook her head, sadly as she took a sip of her cocoa. "She's still in Kenya. She doesn't like to talk about it."
"Well, maybe she'll come back this summer. Anyway, if you still need a ride, I can take you. I't's not like I'm going to get anymore customers, anyway."
She nodded gratefully. "That would be great." She said.