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Alright guys this is the last chapter, I hope you all enjoy it.
Ch. 6 I May Be Facing the Impossible
(FITZ)
Clare's been clinging to me and sobbing between me and Dallas for a while but her tears have slowed now. She's not crying as much but she's still shaking, Gloom brought her to us, I still think he did something but he did look concerned when he gave her to me. He told us to watch her saying he'd be back but he has yet to return. I'm starting to think he just ran out, skipped town because he hurt her and he knew Owen and the rest of us would kill him. I'm ready to wake Muscles up and tell him what happened when Gloom opens the door again.
"Here open that," he says handing Dallas a bottle of water.
"Trouble you need to take these," he says taking some pills out of some packets.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?! What are you giving her?!" I demand shielding Clare in my arms more.
"I'm trying to help her moron," he spits at me.
"By drugging her?"
"It's medicine and if I wanted to drug her why would I bring her to you two to watch?!" Eli snarls.
"How do we know you didn't hurt her? You've cut her before," Dallas points out and Clare sobs a little harder clinging to us again.
"Why would I hurt and then bring her to you? I didn't do this, I know I treated her badly while we were dating but I didn't do this. She was raped and not by me now will you let me fucking help?"
At the word rape Dallas and I both freeze, our breath catching in our throats. I start to tense up thinking about what I'd like to do to whoever raped her and I start squeezing Clare without meaning to. She whimpers and I force myself to relax.
"Who raped her?" Dallas questions as Clare swallows a pill and Eli uses a lighter to see the names on the other pill packets.
"I have no idea; I came in late looking for a place to crash after walking back from a John that passed out in the park. There was an open bedroom door and I heard her crying I didn't know it was Trouble until I went in the room and used my phone to see her. The room smelled like beer and sex and I saw blood on the bed, I put two and two together but she wouldn't tell me who. I knew if she was sleeping there then you guys all had to be close by so I picked a random door and ended up at your room. I went down the street to the city clinic, told them my friend was raped and too scared to come in so they gave me all this stuff and instructions. They said she should come in but if we can't get her to then this all the basic stuff she needs to prevent pregnancy and infection. Even with this she's still going to need blood tests soon to make sure she didn't get anything," Eli informs us as he gives her some more pills.
She swallows them and starts to calm a little bit but she hasn't stopped shaking and she buries her head in my chest as soon as she's swallowed the pills. Then suddenly she stops, wiping her face, sniffles in her tears and looks up at me, I give her a comforting smile but she just looks sort of blank.
"I want to shower," she says.
"We can go to the bus station in…"
"No," she cuts me off and looks at Eli, "I want to shower now, with no one else around."
"My hotel room, we can take her there, can you walk?" Eli asks.
"I think s…"
"We can carry her," I speak up cutting her off this time.
It's still dark and everyone else is asleep, I pick Clare up and we start walking to the hotel room Eli keeps. He can usually afford it but he only watches over himself and he doesn't eat much. I also know he's got a couple wealthier clients that keep him fed and flush with enough cash for the room at least. While we walk Dallas sends a text to Owen that Clare is with us, and we're all alive and not missing so he doesn't freak out again. I carry Clare the whole way and Eli unlocks the door, she seems far more relaxed now that we're in a locked hotel room and she's actually stopped shaking.
"You can shower, take as long as you want," Eli tells her as I set her down. She does give him a little smile and softly kisses his cheek which I admit makes me jealous.
"Thanks Eli," she says actually calling him by his name and not his street name but he doesn't say anything just smiles back at her. I guess in spite of being a fairly selfish prick who hurt her during sex he really does care about her.
Clare goes into the washroom and even locks that door, I have a feeling it will be a long while before she feels safe outside of a locked door again. Eli sits on his bed and since it's the only place in the room to sit Dallas and I sit on the end.
"Who would rape her?" Dallas asks to break the silence.
"Who would mess with one of Muscles girls is the better question," Eli states and he has a point.
Eli turns on the TV and we're still watching when Clare comes out of the washroom about 45 minutes later. Her hair is wrapped in a towel, she's dressed and she looks a little better but she looks exhausted now. She gets on the bed lying sort of next to Eli but with space between them.
"I'm thirsty," she says almost in a whisper and her voice cracks.
"There's a vending machine out back I'll grab her a water bottle," Eli tells us getting off the bed.
He leaves the room unlocking the chain to go out, the door locks behind him but he has a key. With Eli gone Dallas and I move to either side of Clare, we sit close to her but don't touch her, she sinks into the bed a little more staring at the TV but not really watching. At least she's stopped shaking and crying but now she just looks sort of off, like the bright she once had has been dimmed. Even on the streets she had a bright light, I saw instantly, so did Dallas and most of us. She looks dimmed, her eyes look dimmed even her skin looks greyish, but maybe that's just because she feels sick now. Eli comes back with some water for her sitting on the end of the bed and we sit watching TV silently until my cell rings just after dawn. It's Owen and I step outside to answer so I can tell him without upsetting Clare again.
"Hey," I answer after closing the door behind me, although I'm sure this crappy motel isn't sound proofed.
"Why are you and Lonestar at Gloom's motel room with Trouble?" Owen inquires.
"She was raped," I inform him.
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN SHE WAS RAPED?! BY WHO?! WHERE?!" Owen yells and I hear voices in the background but can't make them out.
"We don't know by who, Gloom found her crying in her room and brought her to ours. She was crying and we didn't know what had happened. He went to the clinic and got her some meds and stuff, she wanted to shower, like now and somewhere private so Gloom said we should come back to his room. She won't talk about it, she's barely said anything, we haven't really looked her over but I'm not sure she'll let any of us touch her," I tell him.
"Tell Gloom we're coming, all of us, maybe Clare will at least let Bianca look her over for injuries and she'll tell us who did it so we can kill them," Owen says.
"Yeah, you know Gloom's room number?" I question.
"Yeah he always has the same one," Owen replies and hangs up.
I knock on the door and Eli lets me in, "Muscles and everyone is on their way over."
Clare nods but doesn't say anything, she does look like she might cry though. I sit down putting my arm around her and she leans against me. We watch TV until I hear Owen calling to open up and Gloom gets off the bed to let them in. The small motel room soon fills up; Clare sort of curls up more and stays in my arms but doesn't seem to want to look any of them in the eye. People find places to sit or stand and no one says anything, guess no one knows what to say.
"Trouble go into the washroom and let Raven look at you so we can see how injured she is," Owen says in a soft but commanding voice.
"I'm fine," Clare says shaking her head.
"No you're not, let Raven look, please," Owen says again in the same commanding kind of tone.
She hesitates a second but she does get out of my arms and Dallas gets off the bed so she can get up. Raven follows her into the washroom and they close and lock the door. Owen asks Eli to tell him what happened so he repeats the story. About halfway through it we hear Clare softly sobbing in the washroom and we don't know if it's something Eli said or Bianca found.
"I don't think she's going to feel safe without a locked door or all of us for a long time," I inform Owen.
"I want to know who did it, everyone that comes to the apartments knows better than to mess with one of mine and everybody better know Trouble is one of mine by now. I will cut off their…" Owen is saying but stops when the washroom door opens.
"She's got a bunch of bruises I convinced her to come to the clinic but she doesn't want to go alone and she's not moving so good," Bianca tells us.
"I'll go," Dallas and I say at the same time.
"Yeah like that wasn't obvious, I'll come too," Adam says.
"Okay you guys take her; can you walk to the clinic Trouble?" Owen asks her.
"Yeah I think so," she nods.
"We can carry her if she can't," Dallas assures him.
"Okay here take some money in case you need food or need to take a cab back. Meet us at the diner when you're done. Spikes, can you take Dollar, Platinum and Mouse to the diner and wait for us there?" Owen asks Drew.
"Yeah sure but what about you?" Drew inquires.
"Got something I have to do," Owen responds.
We all leave the motel room, all but Eli and Clare turns back to thank him, then we split up to go to our various destinations. Clare doesn't make it very far walking but Dallas carries her the rest of the way to the clinic. Bianca tells them about Clare and that Eli was in this morning, they remember him and know about Clare. She's taken back to a room, making us wait but wants Bianca to come with her. We sit in the waiting room leafing through bad magazines until Clare comes out with Bianca again. We stand up and I put my arm around Clare, she's looking at her shoes but she moves closer to me.
"She's got a lot of bruises but no broken bones or anything; Doc said she had some tearing of the muscles as she…" Bianca is saying and then looks at Clare shaking her head, "never mind you don't need to hear that but anyway it's why she can't walk so much. They took some blood and she'll need a follow up. She's got a few other minor injuries and they gave her the info for the rape support group. She has a few pain pills too since she's in a lot of pain. They said she'll be okay physically after a few days," Bianca informs us.
"Clare who raped you?" I ask her but she only shakes her head. "Alright let's go meet the others," I say and we leave the clinic.
(OWEN)
I leave the other's and walk up to the Baker's church. I'd been on the streets a long time now and I knew how to survive and for the most part I could take care of my own but no matter who I threatened there were always things out of my control. We'd lost people before, seen them disappear or O.D. or leave us because they decided to hook or just had to take off. Tris has been beaten before, Adam too and Bianca would have been dead within a few months if she hadn't joined up with us. I never really minded the streets but I never thought they were a good place for Tris, Maya sure as hell didn't belong on the streets and neither did Clare.
After Cam's death I was worried, I started to have dreams about every one of them dying. When Maya disappeared I was sure we'd lost her too and now Clare's been raped because there are no locks on the doors where we sleep. I thought reputation and threats would be enough to keep my family from getting hurt but obviously it wasn't. They are my family, Tris is my brother by blood but they're all my family and I was going to protect them any way I could.
"Muscles you're here early," Mrs. Baker comments when she sees me walk up.
"Yes Ma'am I need your help, is the reverend home?" I question.
"Yes why don't you come in," she says. I follow her into the reverend's office and sit down in front of his desk. "How can we help you Owen?" Mrs. Baker asks.
"I want to get off the streets, I want us all to get off the streets but I don't want us to be split up. None of us have homes or families to go back to; the few that do have families don't ever want to see them again. I just don't know where to start, I'm honestly not sure I could even find a job," I confess.
"Of course we can help, I have a social worker friend and she can help get you all an apartment. It won't be much but you'll be off the streets and I can go with you and explain about you all staying together. One of our members owns the Petro-Canada down the street and he's been looking for help, we can meet with him I'm sure he'll hire you if you're willing to work hard," Reverend Baker tells me.
"Yes Sir very hard, anything to keep them safe," I reply.
"Alright, first let's see if we have some nicer clothes around that will fit you. Why don't you use the kids shower to clean up a little," Mrs. Baker suggests.
I thank them and Mrs. Baker takes me into the house, I shower and when I come out Reverend Baker says he has clothes for me as he knocks on the door. It's just a pair of khakis and a nice button up shirt but it looks better than my dirty tattered jeans and old shirt.
"Hi Muscles," Becky chirps as soon as I come out of the washroom, "how's Freckles?"
"He's pretty good, Trouble got hurt though s…"
"Trouble got hurt? Oh my goodness is she okay? What happened?" Becky asks in one breath.
"She'll be okay with time," I reply since I don't think Becky needs to know that Clare was raped.
"Ready to go?" The reverend queries appearing at the end of the hall.
"Yes Sir," I nod and turn to Becky, "I'll tell Freckles you said hi."
"Thanks Muscles," Becky smiles and I leave with her dad.
First we go down to the Petro-Canada and Reverend Baker takes me in and introduces me to Abe, the owner. He explains the situation and how much I need a job. Abe asks me a lot of questions and seems a little worried that I've never had a job before.
"I know I've never had a job before but I'm in charge of nine other people, I look out for them and protect them. I manage the money we get and have to budget so we can all eat. I need this job to start a better life for us, we have nothing right now and I can't let that go on. I will work harder than anyone because it's not just me depending on it but all of them," I plead my case and hope he listens.
Abe looks considerate and looks me over again, "Well you do seem sincere and I believe you'll work hard and the reverend is vouching for you so I'll take a chance."
"Thank you, you won't regret this," I grin.
I have to fill out some paperwork and the reverend lets me put down the church address as my home address. When we leave the petro the reverend takes me to the church and there's a lady social worker waiting, guess Mrs. Baker called her. Mrs. Baker has already told her a lot about me and everyone else; of course she used all our street names. The social worker says I can apply to get an apartment that's subsidized by the government. They'll only pay for it for so long and any of us 16 and over will need a job, she tells me it'll be small, probably a studio but I don't care. After filling out a whole bunch of other forms and having the Baker's vouch for me again, and write a formal letter saying so, I'm done. I thank the Bakers and then leave to meet the others at the diner, it's late afternoon now and they've been there for several hours.
"Dude where have you been all day?" Drew questions when I get there, everyone else is there and I sit down ordering some coffee.
"Got a job," I respond.
"Seriously?" Dallas inquires.
"Yep at the Petro-Canada near the Baker's church," I inform them. I don't want to say anything about the apartment until I know we have it.
Bianca tells me what happened at the clinic and Drew says he and the younger kids were here all day, either inside or outside panhandling but they all stuck together. After eating I decide we should go to the park and say a proper goodbye to Puck, I'm not even sure he got a funeral. We go to the spot where he was found and each of us has a flower that we picked in the park.
"I've seen kids die on the streets but losing Puck was a deep blow. He was a good kid, he liked hockey and Mouse, had a smile that made you smile," I say and set down my flower.
"Puck, I mean Campbell was good to me, he was sweet and he used to tell me the best stories at night when I couldn't sleep. He'll always have a place in my heart and I'll miss him greatly," Maya says setting her flower down.
Everyone else says something about Cam even if it's just that they'll miss him. After that we all get dinner at the diner again before returning to the apartments, Clare clings to Fitz more and more the closer we get.
"Trouble you're not sleeping alone anymore," I tell her.
"I don't want to, can Bruiser and Lone Star sleep with me, we'll take a queen I'll sleep in the middle I just…"
"It's fine, that okay with you two?" I ask them but already know it is, they both nod and they go into a room with a queen.
Adam and I sleep in the room next to theirs with two doubles; Drew and Bianca take the queen across the hall. Maya, Miles and Tris take the two double beds next to them. I watch Clare go into her room, I'm worried about her but she seems to feel safe with Fitz and Dallas. I get in bed and make a silent prayer that we get the apartment and I can get them off the street and keep any of them from getting hurt again.
(CLARE)
It's been three weeks since my rape, I went back to the clinic today and they said I wasn't pregnant and didn't catch any STI's thanks to the pills Eli got for me. My bruises were pretty much gone and physically I was healed, the rest would take time. I still hadn't told anyone who it was but I think Fitz and Dallas guessed, a few days after Owen got off work all the guys except Adam beat Chains and the guys so bad they were hospitalized. I'd seen Eli since then and thanked him for taking care of me that morning and going to the clinic for me. We were sort of friends now, he was nice to me and the guys didn't hate him anymore, he even apologized for what he did when we were dating. I was still sleeping in a room with Fitz and Dallas but it's how I felt safe and they didn't seem to mind.
Owen wanted the rest of us, besides Maya, Miles and Tris, to get jobs. Peter, the guy that runs The Dot gave me and Fitz jobs, Peter was really nice and he always made sure that Fitz and I had the same shift. Adam got a part time job at the drug store, Bianca got one at a department store and Drew at a fast food place. Dallas got a part time job at a car wash, Maya, Miles and Tris usually hung out at The Dot while we were all working. None of them were glamorous jobs but they were real jobs and we were earning money which felt pretty good. Maya was happy with Miles and she was doing a lot better since we'd said our goodbyes to Cam. Adam was dating Becky now, her parents even approved and he was just ecstatic. Right now it's Friday evening and we were all off work and gathered at the diner for dinner, Dallas was telling us this rich guy that came into the car wash when Owen's cell rings.
"Hello…we did? That's awesome…yeah we'll come right now thank you," Owen says and hangs up.
"What was that about?" Drew asks.
"Come on we need to go get our stuff from the bus station," Owen replies paying the bill and we quickly eat a few more bites.
After walking to the bus station to get our stuff Owen has us take the bus to Riverdale. Owen still won't tell us what we're doing, we get off the bus a several blocks from the Baker's church, I think we're still in Riverdale but it's a lot of low income apartment buildings. We follow Owen into one of those low income apartment buildings and up to the fourth floor, Owen opens the door to one apartment and there's a woman in it.
"Good to see you again Owen," she smiles.
"Okay so spill where are we and what are we doing here?" Fitz questions.
"This is our apartment," Owen informs us.
"Ours? Like all of ours? We live here now? An apartment with a lock on the door?" I ask with hope in my voice.
"Yep we'll all live here, it's a studio and we'll all have to work hard to get a better one but no more living on the streets for us," Owen smiles as the lady gives him some keys.
The apartment is a decent size for a studio, there's a nice little kitchen and a private washroom, two closets and even a little balcony. While we're all marveling at our new home, a word everyone rejoices in using, there's a knock on the door.
"Hi we heard you were getting the new apartment and thought you could use these until you could afford beds," Becky smiles skipping in and holding a sleeping bag, there appears to be one for each of us.
She sets down her sleeping bag and skips her way in and greets Adam with a kiss. While the Baker's are talking with Adam and Dallas and the others are looking at the sleeping bags I step out on the balcony. I look out at the city and take a deep breath, I feel like I'm breathing for the first time.
"Hey you okay?" Fitz asks coming out and standing next to me.
"Yeah," I smile.
"You know we're all sleeping in one big room now so you should feel plenty safe, especially with the locks on the door," Fitz remarks.
"I know and I will feel safe," I grin back.
"Luke tells me some of the sleeping bags can zip together, and I was hoping maybe you'd sleep in one with me…as my girlfriend," Fitz says slowly and I smile a little bigger turning to him.
"I'd be very happy to be your girlfriend Bru…Fitz," I tell him calling him by his name and putting my hand behind his neck, stand on my tiptoes to give him a soft kiss.
"Mark actually, my first name's Mark but I always hated it but you can call me that if you want," he tells me and I smile giving him another kiss.
"I like Mark," I grin when I take my lips away.
Mark puts his arms around me and we look out at the sunset, as the sun melts behind the cityscape. When the sun disappears we share a chaste kiss, I really like Mark and I feel safe with him, beautiful when he looks at me, I know I'm important to him and he cares about me. Owen calls us inside to eat dinner; he splurged on ordering pizza to celebrate the new apartment, our new home. After dinner Fitz tells everyone we're together and they're all happy for us, even Dallas. People start getting ready for bed and rolling out their sleeping bags, deciding where to sleep; I go out to the balcony again.
"You think it's too stuffy in there or something?" Owen teases coming outside with me.
"No I just love looking out at the city from up here, I don't know it feels so small now and it used to seem so big and…ominous."
"Yep it's our city now and the ten of us will take it over one day just you wait and see," Owen says with conviction and with a smile of hope. "You going to be okay?" He asks after a few seconds.
"Yeah I am, for the first time in as long as I can remember I really know that I'm going to be okay. Owen," I call him by his name which no one does but this occasion calls for it, "thanks for taking me in, if not for you and everyone I never would have survived on the streets. If you hadn't taken me in as one of yours and looked out for me I'm sure the streets would have claimed me too. Thanks to you I survived and I know I'm going to be okay and I'm not alone so thanks," I tell him and kiss his cheek making him grin.
"Ready to go to bed Clare?" Mark asks opening the balcony door.
"Yes I am boyfriend," I smile and go to him.
"I love being called boyfriend," Mark smiles and Owen chuckles.
We go in and I get ready for bed crawling into the sleeping bag with Mark, he wraps his arms around me and kisses the back of my neck.
Many years ago I lost my family, then I lost my home. None of my foster families or homes ever felt like either family or home. And then I found myself on the streets, scared and alone, I probably would have been brutalized by guys like Chains or ended up dead if not for Owen and everyone. But Maya saw me and they all saved me, they all became like family, now I have a wonderful boyfriend and we all have a home and we're not street kids anymore.
That's it guys hope you enjoyed this story; this will be replaced by Treacherous Deceptions which will premier Friday September 19th.