Oh my goodness, you people are terrible for my ego! I love you all so much! So, I decided to stay up and write another chapter for you all. I should be going to sleep, since I have a doctor's appointment, but I'd rather stay up and give you something to smile about! Who here is excited for this week's episode? I know I am! Anyways, let me shut up and let you guys get on with reading!

Enjoy!

"Is it good?" Clare questioned, her voice hesitant. Her father's eyes shot from his plate, to his daughter's face. He cleared his throat and nodded.

"Yeah. It's good." He tried to smile, but it came out too weakly. Clare finished up her remaining spaghetti and cleared her plate. As she walked over to the sink, her eyes latched onto the bottle of whiskey sitting on the table.

"Dad." She didn't look at him as she started to wash her plate. She cleared her throat. "Don't you think one glass is enough?" She asked quietly. She had learned to overlook his new habit of having a glass of whiskey before bed, but now it was beginning to grow out of hand. This was his third drink, on a week night!

"I just need to loosen up a little bit. That's all." He replied gruffly. He moved to stand beside her as he washed his own dish.

He paused after finishing. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. He walked out of the room in silence. Clare sighed and trudged up the stairs slowly. She walked into her room and flopped onto her bed. She was tired and she was worried.

Her mother was missing. She didn't answer her phone all day and she wasn't there for dinner. What was going on? She knew the problem lay within her parent's recent marital problems. She buried her face in her pillow and let out a long, sad sigh. When she heard a small ping emit from her laptop, she hopped off her bed and over to her laptop.

eli-gold49: Coffee at the Dot?

Clare felt a smile tugging at her lips. Clare glanced at the clock. It was an hour before her usual curfew, and the Dot was nearby. Eli, you have perfect timing. She thought. She started typing.

clare-e23: Meet you there in 10 min

She changed out of her old clothes and pulled on some skinny jeans and a short-sleeved graphic tee. She was about to slip on her flats when Clare smelled something strange. Smoke. She identified. She darted out of her room to find half the house encased in the stifling gas. As she inhaled, her lungs started to burn and she started to cough. She covered her face with the crook of her arm and flew down the stairs.

Fire.

And a lot of it. It took up most of her kitchen. What the heck happened? Her eyes widened in horror as she spotted her father. He was unconscious on the floor. She rushed over to him and shook his shoulder roughly.

"Dad! Daddy, wake up!" She cried fearfully. She started coughing violently when she inhaled the heavy, dense smoke. He didn't even shift. She grabbed his arm and pulled it over her shoulder. She stood up slowly and started making her way out of the kitchen. But when her barefoot stepped on something sharp, she yelped and stumbled back. Her back and bare arm slammed into her stainless steel fridge. She screamed out in pain as the searing hot steel burned her. Tears streamed down her face as she let out a sob. Her coughing only increased. Despite her pain, she limped out of her kitchen, trying to hold her breath.

She made her way over to the hallway and walked, as fast as she could, to the front door. She screamed when she her hand made contact with the knob. It was sizzling hot. She grabbed her jacket, which rested on the coat rack nearby and wrapped it around her hand. She yanked the door open and stumbled out. As soon as she was far enough, she collapsed. She reached into her pocket, grabbing her phone. She dialed 9-1-1.

She could faintly hear the dispatcher' voice, but she fell into unconsciousness before she could respond.

When Clare opened her eyes, she did not know where she was. She looked around her, finally noticing she was in an unfamiliar place. Her chest hurt and she ached all over. And she was lying on the most uncomfortable bed ever, with the lumpiest pillow in the world.

She was beginning to grow annoyed. And the constant beeping coming from who knows where was not helping. She looked up when the door opened, revealing a very familiar face. Eli stood, his mouth hanging open slightly.

"Clare." He breathed. He made his way slowly over to her bed and kneeled beside it.

"Eli." Her voice came out in a whisper. "What happened?" She asked. He smiled ruefully.

"You tell me." He replied. "I was waiting for you at The Dot. When you didn't show, I went to see you. Ambulances were everywhere. I was really worried." The laugh he added did not sound happy at all.

"I followed them to the hospital. It was really scary. You and your dad were dragged away while your mother was in hysterics. She didn't even notice me. You know, it was really scary. You looked…" He didn't finish. He looked away and cleared his throat. Clare reached over, despite her body's protest, and put a hand on his shoulder. He whipped around to face her. His eyes were red-rimmed. He sniffled loudly and coughed.

"Well, I should go let your mom know you're up." He stood to leave, but stopped when he heard her speak.

"Sorry for standing you up." She joked. Eli laughed, disbelievingly. She's really making jokes? He thought with a shake of his head. He went back over to her and picked up her hand. She noticed it was bandaged. She would have to ask the doctor about that.

He pressed his forehead to her hand.

"I was so worried." His voice cracked. It broke Clare's heart to hear. They both turned when they heard the door open.

"Mom!" Clare exclaimed. Her mother sped over to her daughter's bed, her eyes only resting on Eli for a moment.

"Oh, Clare, sweetheart, I was so worried!" She planted a kiss on her forehead. "What happened?" Clare stared up at her, incredulous.

"I don't know. One minute, I was in my room, waiting for you, the next, the house is on fire. Where were you?" She asked angrily. Her mother cleared her throat.

"I was out with a friend." Clare sighed and decided she would ask later.

"Where's dad? Is he okay?" Clare suddenly asked, fearful. Her mother scoffed.

"He's safe. They discharged him right away. He just drank too much and gulped too much smoke. He should be fine. He's at home right now, or at least whatever's left, talking with the police. It was his damn fault in the first place."

"Enough, mother." Clare cut in sharply. Couldn't she just be worried, instead of gossiping about her father? Her mother seemed to sense this was neither the time nor place for such talk.

"Who're you?" Clare groaned.

"A friend, mom. Leave him alone." Clare grumbled. Usually, her mother would scold Clare for being so disrespectful, but she realized that she had it coming. Her mother reached down and kissed her forehead.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." She replied before leaving. Eli smiled shyly. Clare frowned.

"I'll get the third degree when I get home. Speaking of which, what's wrong with me?" She asked. Eli shrugged.

"From what I heard after they took care of you, you have severe blistering on your back, a small burn on your hand, and you inhaled a lot of smoke." He sat down on the bed and hung his head.

"I'm glad you're okay. You don't know what it was like. There was a lot of craziness as they rushed you here. I was just praying you were okay." She smiled.

"Praying, huh?" She tried to tease, but failed.

"Yeah. I probably would've begged on my hands and knees if it meant you were going to be okay." He turned to face her. He reached over and cupped her cheek.

"Thank you." She whispered. He leaned over and pressed his lips to her forehead.

"You should get some rest. I'll come see you tomorrow." She nodded. He gave her a fleeting smile as he left the room. As Clare leaned back, trying to get comfortable, she briefly remembered a story from the bible. The Book of Job. She probably didn't have it as harshly as he did, but she could emphasize a bit with the man.

Sometimes, I feel like God is testing me. Seeing if I will curse his name for letting Satan do bad things to me. She thought, closing her eyes. But she smiled as she thought to herself.

That will not happen.

I loath this piece. -_- *sigh* It didn't come out quite as I planned in my head. Let me know what you think. Can you believe that I chose this over a car crash? Sheesh, I'll probably write the car-crash chapter later. Let me know what you think.

~S.S.