Firsts Part 3: Fight
Kenley hummed as she scribbled on a piece of paper, Jamie splattered paint onto a table and AJ stared out the window.
"AJ," Said Sarita, crouching next to him, "is everything alright?"
"Clem's angry." Mumbled AJ, "Mommy said that Clem's birth parents wanted her."
Sarita frowned, she'd heard about Clementine's birth parents in passing from Kenny and, sometimes, Clementine herself. She looked up and spotted Molly and Christa talking to each other, Sarita turned her eyes back to AJ.
"How about you draw something for her to make her feel better?" Suggested Sarita, as she gently led AJ to the table.
F
Clementine stalked around the room, the rest of her friend group watching her. She hadn't told them about her 'parents' phone call. Duck frowned as he watched Clementine pace.
"I've never seen Clem this angry."
Sarah hummed, frowning as Clementine threw a rock-melting glare at the door. Gabe sighed through his nose, before getting up and walking over to Clementine.
"Hey, Clem." Said Gabe, making Clementine stop and look up at him, "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah," Scoffed Clementine, through gritted teeth, "everything's perfect."
"No, it isn't." Stated Gabe, frowning, "You're angry at something, and you're bottling it up."
"So?" Demanded Clementine, fixing him with a glare, "What's it to you?"
"I'm worried about you," Said Gabe, "you've been glaring at everything in front of you."
"As if anyone actually cares." Scoffed Clementine, turning away from him, "You all say you care, that you'll always be around, but you all swan off and fucking leave."
"Really?" Snapped Gabe, glaring at Clementine.
"Yeah." Snarled Clementine, her face getting red, "But, I wouldn't expect you to understand."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You've practically lived with a silver spoon in your mouth."
"No, I haven't."
"You still have your parents."
"And that's a good thing?"
"You never had to worry about anyone dropping you and leaving you behind."
"I lost my mom."
"Yeah, and the replacement ran off with your uncle, how long do you think the thing with Ava will last?"
"You know what, I can see why your parents abandoned you." Snapped Gabe, making Clementine physically flinch.
Clementine breathed heavily, before spinning on her heel and running out of the room.
"Great job." Snarked Becca, chasing after Clementine, with Duck following her.
"Do you want me to tell you what went wrong, or do you want to figure it out for yourself?" Asked Gill, as Sarah, chewed on her bottom lip.
Gabe huffed, before following after Becca and Duck.
F
Clementine's leg and chest burned. She'd used the gun that bad man had used on her parents. He'd kept her with him for two weeks. Clementine came to a sudden halt when she tripped over something. She looked back, and saw a strange looking lump, she let out a scream when it stood up.
A scruffy looking, old man rubbed the back of his head and looked around, confused, before spotting Clementine.
"Howdy." Greeted the man, waving and Clementine, before she pointed the bad man's gun at him, "Okay, not how I expected to wake up. What's your name, darlin'?"
Clementine's hands shook, she said nothing.
"My name's Chuck," Said Chuck, before pausing, "Charles if you're fancy."
Clementine swallowed, her eyes burned, and she dropped the gun. Chuck watched her as she dissolved into tears, before gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, hey," Murmured Chuck, gently. He frowned as the little girl blubbered out something about being hungry and tired and cold and that she wanted her parents. Chuck sighed through his nose, before looking at a tin in his sleeping bag. The girl gripped his hand, making him sigh again, "Well, it ain't clean, but you can have this."
Chuck took his coat off and draped it over her shoulders. He gently guided her to his sleeping bag and he grabbed his tin and let her lie down. Within seconds, she was asleep. Keeping an eye on her, Chuck walked up to a nearby payphone.
After putting in 9-1-1, he spoke, "Hey, I have a little girl who wandered into me carrying a gun, she looks like she's been abused."
Chuck was quiet as the dispatcher spoke.
"I'm on Augusta Avenue, no, I won't go anywhere." Chuck hung up the phone. He watched over the girl until the police officer arrived.
F
Chuck was jerked from his memories, when a young woman tripped over his bag. He frowned, she was clearly upset, but she looked familiar.
"Howdy." Greeted Chuck, making the woman freeze.
After hastily wiping her eyes, she looked at him, "Chuck?"
Chuck squinting at her, before recognising her, "Clementine?"
The two stared at each other, before Clementine threw her arms around him.
"Clementine!" Yelled someone, Chuck looked over and spotted a tall man and an average height woman running up to them. The man slowed down, before frowning at him, "Chuck?"
"You're in better spirits." Said Chuck, smiling up at Duck.
F
"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Laughed Becca, as Duck's face went red, "She managed to get you to eat a beetle?"
Chuck chuckled as Duck spluttered out an excuse. He'd learnt that Clementine had ran all the way from a friends house on the other side of town after a fight with her boyfriend. He'd decided to walk them back to said friend's house, entertaining them with stories of his travels and the last few times he saw Duck and Clementine.
"You doin' alright?" Asked Chuck, glancing at Clementine.
"I'm fine." Muttered Clementine, looking at the ground.
"I might not know much about this fight you had," Said Chuck, looking a head of them, "but bottling it up, it ain't goin' to make your relationship last long."
"If I tell him, he'll want nothing to do with me." Murmured Clementine, carefully making sure that Duck and Becca couldn't hear her.
"Then that's his problem." Said Chuck, bluntly, "If he can't accept you for who you are, then he ain't worth your time."
Clementine swallowed, and nodded. She looked up and searched of a sign that had the street name written on it. She mentally noted that they were near Gabe's home.
"I," Clementine swallowed, as Duck and Becca turn back to look at her, "I'm going to talk to Gabe."
"Do you want us to come with you?" Asked Duck, frowning at her.
"No, I, I need to do this alone." Declined Clementine, before taking a deep breath and walking towards Gabe's house.
"Good luck." Said Chuck, before he turned around, "I should've come to this side of town sooner, they have a shelter."
F
Clementine swallowed nervously, as she knocked on the front door of Gabe's home. She heard a pair of feet rushing towards the door, before it was flung open and Gabe stared at her. Before she could open her mouth, Gabe grabbed her arms and pulled her close to him.
"I'm sorry." Mumbled Gabe, into the top of Clementine's head, "I shouldn't've said that, I'm so sorry."
Clementine swallowed, "We, er, we need to talk about something, privately."
Gabe frowned and swallowed, before he led her up to his room. After closing the door and looking at Clementine, "Is it about the fight?"
"Kinda," Clementine winced and swallowed, "You, you know that my birth parents abandoned me on the side of the freeway and I was hit by a car, right? I was four, almost five at the time, and a couple of months after they abandoned me, I was fostered by a couple, their names were Lee and Carley. I was with them for two years, be-before," Clementine swallowed thickly, "before some stranger forced his way in and killed them in front of me."
Gabe swallowed, as Clementine continued, "He, he shot Carley and slit Lee throat. T-those dark patches on my hat… those, those are from Lee and Carley. I, I haven't washed it because it's the last thing I have to them a-and," Gabe reached out and grabbed Clementine's hand, "i-if those are gone, t-then it'll be like I lose them all over again."
"It's okay." Murmured Gabe, moving close to Clementine.
Clementine sniffled and wiped at her eyes, "A-after that stranger took me, he, he would beat, starve a-and touch me, for t-two weeks. I was seven and I was raped by some sick fuck." Clementine took a deep breath, "I-I m-managed t-to t-take his gun from his bag. I shot him."
"You mean, like, through the legs?" Asked Gabe, making Clementine shake her head.
"As, as in, through the head." Clementine stared at the floor, "I ran out of the place he was keeping me and I just ran, Kenny thought I must've run the length of Savannah, before I tripped over Chuck. He's a homeless guy that helped me get back to Kenny."
Gabe nodded and wrapped an arm around her.
"T-then Katjaa committed suicide and I was place with Omid and Christa, they gave me up after a couple of months, I-I don't know the specifics. I got placed with Mom and Dad for the first time, I, I was a terror to them, I stole their car and crashed it into a tree and got hit by another car while trying to get away from the wreck."
Gabe tightened his grip of Clementine, "I was then placed with a couple, called Leland and Dee, I was with them for three weeks, before I was abandoned again. I then went to Lilly and Mark, at the start they were great, it was like we were almost a family and I fucked it up by asking them to take me to see a nearby dairy farm."
"You, you mean the St. John cannibals?" Asked Gabe, getting a nod from Clementine.
"They, they killed Mark and fed him to us, Larry, Lilly's dad, had a heart attack and Lilly tried to kill me, she's the reason I only have half a finger on my right hand. I was beaten, starved and raped, again. Then Daryl found me, he came looking for a friend of his, he had a police officer with him. I don't know what they did, but they rescued me from them. I was with Daryl for three weeks, before he was forced to return me to social care because he didn't have a job. I then was placed with Daryl's friend, Rick. He returned me to social care because he was moving and was divorcing his wife."
"I think I've met him." Murmured Gabe, pulling Clementine close to him.
"I was placed with Jane, who abandoned me during that dog incident," Clementine forced herself to speak, "I was then handed over to a guy named Troy, I was beaten, starved, shot, stabbed, raped and forced to test drugs for him and his group."
"How were you placed with him?" Asked Gabe, staring down at Clementine, who shrugged.
"Troy's got nothing on Carver," Warned Clementine, her throat tight, "He did all the things that Troy did, I saw him cave a guy's head in, Wyatt I think his name was, with a salt lick. He had me hauling car parts and all that shit. When I was with Daryl, he had me start building my strength up, he's the one that introduced me to Ava. I kept in contact with her while I was being thrown around by Troy and Carver. I tried to get away from Carver by stealing his truck. I ran him over and called Ava, a couple months later and I was back with Mom and Dad."
Clementine worriedly gazed up at Gabe, before he pulled her into a tight hug.
"You're, you're not angry or, or disgusted?" Asked Clementine, after Gabe pulled away.
"I am at them, not you." Said Gabe, quietly, "You're strong, you survived all that. I guess that's why I love you."
"W-what?"
"I love you, Clementine." Repeated Gabe, "It'd take a lot more to change that."
Clementine gave a wobbly smile. The two rested their foreheads together, before Gabe spoke, "Not to, erm, not to seem rude or anything, but why are you telling me all this?"
"If I didn't now, I probably never would." Answered Clementine, before glancing to the side, "Last week, Mom and Dad received a phone call. They, they said they were my birth parents."
Gabe swallowed, "Oh shit."
F
Rebecca looked at her phone after it pinged, she'd received a text from Clementine.
Staying over Gabe's.
Rebecca frowned, before looking back at email Bonnie had sent her. A list of lawyers that could take on the Marshes, should they try and legally attempt to get custody of Clementine. She'd been with them for nearly six years, they weren't going to give her up.
Rebecca eyed a name on the list, she and Alvin would make an appointment to speak with Ms. Hawthorn next week.