Hello all. Here is the next chapter of Dont Let Me Fall. It's kind of filler, but not exactly because it deals with the aftermath of the party. It's a bit shorter but there's some good conversation in it where Clare and Eli are evolving in their relationship. Hope you guys like. And thanks for all the comments so far. Remember, I'm open to suggestion for later chapters!

Chapter 4

Eli wasn't really sure what to do. He headed straight for her house, but she was silent and shaking in the passenger seat the whole time. He was pretty sure she was in shock.

"Are you ok?"

She turned to look at him but still didn't speak. He had put his jacket around her and turned on the heat, but she still seemed to be shivering. When they reached her house, all the lights were out and no one appeared to be home, so Eli took the liberty of walking her inside. When he asked for her keys, she handed him her purse and he went through it to unlock the door.

He figured the best place for her was in bed so he led her upstairs. Eli really had no clue which room was hers so he just started peeking in doors and settled on the one with the light pink walls and smaller bed. Clare followed him in but instead of continuing to stare at him blankly, her expression turned to curiosity. Now she was watching him, wondering what he was doing.

"Are you hungry? Do you need some water?" he asked. There was glass on her nightstand, so he took the initiative and headed to the bathroom, filling it from the faucet.

"Why are you here?" she finally managed to ask after a few sips of water.

"Do you want me to go?" She slowly shook her head back and forth.

"Where's your mom?"

"She's visiting my grandma this weekend." Her voice was squeaky, like she had a cold.

He walked towards her and put his hands on either side of her face, peering into her eyes. "Clare, look at me. Are you okay?" he said in a serious tone.

Her eyes began to fill again, spilling the hot, salty liquid over her cheeks.

"I feel so stupid and weak. I let him belittle me and make me feel so helpless."

Eli let out a long soft sigh. He was relieved that she was finally giving him straight answers, but at the same time, he knew her feelings were about to come pouring out, too. He wasn't sure if he could take it. She was just too pitiful, which he wasn't used to. She was normally a feisty firecracker, quick to retort his every last barb. It was almost like Dallas had extinguished her fire.

"What he did was wrong."

Clare shook her head. "You don't get it. It's not just that I was wronged or taken advantage of. He made me feel like I had no control over anything! My parents raised me to be a self-confident and independent female and in a split second that was taken away from me and I was just a scared little girl. And now here I am crying my eyes out like a child to you of all people. I'm supposed to be strong enough to handle things."

"Clare, you're probably one of the strongest people I know. Why do you think everyone's always teasing you and trying to bring you down? Because you're so brave, it makes you untouchable." As he said the words, he knew they were truer than ever. "And you were right. I don't exactly know what you're going through. I mean, I know what situations like these are supposed to be like: just awful. But I don't really know what's going through your head."

"Right now I just want to sleep and forget about it."

Eli went to get up and go, "Of course. I'll let you get to sleep."

"Well don't leave me!" she started.

"You want me to stay here?"

"Just for a little while. I don't want to be alone, even if it is you."

He knew she didn't mean it jokingly but he let out a small laugh anyway. Then he slipped off his shoes and sat down on the bed next to her. "Sure, but you should really try to sleep. You look like shit."

"Gee, thanks," but she fell back next to him.

A few moments of silence prompted a question to ease the tension. "So you really dated Mike Dallas?"

For the first time of the evening, Clare actually gave a small laugh. "Don't judge."

"Oh I'm judging. I'm judging hard," Eli responded and Clare continued to giggle a little more.

"That's not fair. It was right after Liam broke up with me and I was really vulnerable. We only went out a couple of times and he was completely a rebound," she defended.

"Oh and I'm sure it had nothing to do with him being a super dreamy hockey player," Eli's voice went up an octave and he batted his eyelashes to emphasize the end of the sentence.

"Shut-up," she laughed, hitting him in the side.

"Oh now there's the Clare Edwards we all know and love. So violent."

"Just showing the side of my personality that can only be brought out by the charms of my unrelenting English partner."

They continued their witty banter for some time until finally drifting off to sleep.

The next morning they awoke with their arms interlocked almost as if they had fallen asleep holding hands. Clare slowly sat up and reached for her forehead. She knew without looking in a mirror that her eyes swollen, red, and puffy and she had a splitting headache from crying so much the night before. Her stomach dropped as the events of the previous night unfolded in her memory. Dallas, his hands on her; El, his hands on her, but in a different way.

"Hey," he said as he slowly began to stretch. "Did I sleep here all night?" She nodded in response. "How are you feeling?"

"Probably like I look- like shit," she said.

"Yeah, you do look pretty crappy," he mused. Once again she hit him in the side.

He laughed, "Ouch! I'm just kidding. But your breath does reek, though."

"Look who's talking!" she argued. He shrugged and then looked at the clock.

"Holy crap! Its noon! Bullfrog and Cece are probably wondering where I am."

"Who?"

"My parents. I should probably go home and check in."

"Oh right, right," Clare said, though she was slightly disappointed.

"And I'm sure I need a shower because I know you do." She shook her head in annoyance. "When is your mom supposed to be back?"

"Tonight, tomorrow, next month. Who knows," she stated resentfully.

"I can probably make it back here in a couple of hours if you want to hang out for a bit, he suggested.

"Really? That would be cool. You know, if you want," she tried to say nonchalantly.

"Cool."

"So you aren't going to be in trouble with your parents for being out all night?"

"With Bullfrog and Cece?" Eli laughed. "Nah, they're cool."

"Must be nice." They headed downstairs and Clare waved him goodbye.

"See you in a bit," he said and headed out towards the hearse.

Thanks for reading. Let me know how you liked it!