She

Part Three

Clare's eyes widened at his words and she looked at him in shock as he continued.

"A little over a year ago, I was out with my father and his girlfriend at the time. I was with him, checking out the warehouse where he worked. I don't remember much before I was shot in the head." Michael swallowed hard and looked down at his hands. "I was in a coma for a year after it happened. My mom decided that we should move because of what happened and because she wanted our family to be safe from my father's business. He does something---illegal for a living and mom and Jax decided to move us out here."

Clare uttered a small gasp beside him and reached out a hand and took one of his in her own.

He smiled at her gratefully as she rubbed small circles into his hand with her thumb. "Anyway, it turns out that his wife," At this point he laughed bitterly. "Is the whole reason that I was even in a coma in the first place. She was angry at my father and had hired a guy to kill him, only the bullet ricocheted and hit me instead. A couple weeks after I woke up, I began having memories of when people came to visit me while I was in the coma. Claudia, my father's wife---she'd come and apologize and tell me that she was sorry and she never meant for me to get hurt."

"Does your father know?" She questioned carefully, staring up at him.

Michael shook his head. "No one does. Except you of course but----"

"Well why not? I mean...she deserves to go to jail, Michael." Clare said, struggling to understand as she rested a soft hand on his shoulder.

He let out a strangled laugh. "I really didn't feel like being the reason someone was murdered in cold blood." He whispered softly as his eyes glazed with tears.

She didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. What could she possibly say to that? Instead, she scooted closer to him carefull and wrapped her arms around his quivering form in a comforting embrace.

Michael hugged her back as if she was his lifeline, closing his eyes as he rested his head against her's

The moment was broken when Alli's voice rang out, "Hey! Aren't you two gonna get in here and swim?"

The two teens laughed and grinned and Michael peeled the shirt he wore from his body, throwing it onto a chair as he watched Clare dive back into the pool. He laughed again and jumped in. For some reason he felt at ease with this group of people---especially Clare. Well...almost everyone. Clare's ex-boyfriend was glaring at him with green eyes that flashed with hate. He didn't know what the guy's problem was but it made him rather uncomfortable.

Alli, must've noticed how uncomfortable he was because she swam over to him. "What's wrong?" She asked with a frown. "How come you aren't swimming with us?" She followed his eyes to KC and let out a shocked laugh. "I swear. That boy acts as if Clare is some sort of possesion even though it is his own fault that she broke up with him."

"What made her break up with him?" Michael asked of her with a slight frown crossing his lips.

"He cheated on her with this backstabbing bitch who pretended to be our friend to get close to KC." Alli said carefully. "Clare...she is so naive about relationships and was so hopeful. She didn't have a boyfriend before him. She'd went to an all girls' private school before this year and anyway, when we all began Degrassi she and KC clicked immediatly. They began to date at the Black and White dance that winter and then...this past spring a new girl showed up at school. This guy that Clare's sister used to date caught Jenna and KC making out. Connor and I didn't want to speak to KC and we started ignoring him until Clare said that we shouldn't. That he deserved her forgiveness---which in my opinion and pretty much the whole schools opinion--he didn't deserve anything from her. She's way too sweet for her own good sometimes. But the thing is---they hardly even talk anymore. The only reason KC is here today was because Connor asked him to come." She sighed as she fixed KC with a glare.

Michael swallowed hard. "Why would he cheat on a girl like Clare? She's so..." He trailed off and flushed red.

Alli smiled at him a bit and smothered a giggle. "Well apparently, he said that Clare expected too much from him or something. I don't know. I mean...from what I saw, all she expected was for him to be the best person he could be. But she loved him despite the flaws and his past mistakes. In my opinion, he expected too much for her. Like wanting her to go to parties that had drinking and things her parents would never approve of. It's like he expected her to not study for a test just so that he could see her but that isn't Clare."

"Wow. That's just horrible." Michael replied softly.

She nodded and flipped back her hair. "She cried for weeks. She couldn't even look at him without crying. It was just---heartbreaking."

Michael's eyes fell on Clare who turned away from Johnny and Connor who she was playing water volleyball with. Their eyes locked on one another and Michael knew then that all he ever wanted to do was be there for her.

Next Chapter: KC and Michael get in a fight about Clare, who breaks it up. Clare ask Michael why the two were fighting in the first place.