A Love Worth Fighting For

Ch. 4

Things were starting to feel right with Clay again. I'm not sure what happened but I definitely wasn't going to complain. He started helping more around the house and cooking more. I was even considering putting my engagement ring back on. At this point, he still hadn't noticed or if he had, it didn't bother him.

One morning after class, I once again had to stop at the store. Clay texted and asked if I could get stuff for tacos. I told him that I would and asked him to send me a list of everything we needed. I knew that Brent would end up staying and eating dinner with us and he wanted to make guacamole. I still didn't like it but everyone else did.

"Hey Claire," I heard Henry's voice from behind me.

"Oh, hi."

"So... supper again?" he asked, eyeing my groceries.

"Umm... yeah. My fiancée wants tacos for tonight."

"Still going with that story?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Claire, if you're not interested, you can just tell me," he said, causing me to look at him thoroughly confused. "You don't have to lie."

"I'm not lying," I snapped. "I've been engaged to a man named Clay for five years."

"I just want to ask you something."

"What?" I replied, reluctantly.

"Why won't you give me a chance?" he asked.

"Henry," I started, sounding exacerbated. "I am engaged. I have been for five years. I love him more than any man I've ever met and I want to spend the rest of my life with him."

Before I could say anything else, he pressed his lips against mine. As soon as he did, I pushed him off of me and slapped him across the face.

"I'm sorry," he said, holding his reddened cheek.

"No. No, you're not," I snap. "If you were, that would have never happened," I finished and then heard an angry voice come from behind me.

"Hey Legs," Brent said.

"Oh," I dramatically sighed, "this is just fantastic."

"Is this the fiancée?" Henry asked.

"No, but I'm his best friend. Brents the name," he said, holding his hand out. Henry hesitantly shakes Brent's hand.

"Henry."

"Listen Hank," Brent started.

"Henry."

"Semantics," Brent replied. "Be thankful that it was me that saw your little display of affection to an engaged woman and not her fiancée. I'll let you off by earning you to stay away from Claire.

"You see," he said, taking a step closer to me and wrapping an arm around my shoulders, "she's like my little sister and she's going to marry my best friend. Had Clay witnessed that, you may not have been so lucky. In case we need to clarify, leave Claire alone," Brent said, properly enunciating each word, harshly.

Henry quickly turned on his heel and left. After he was out of sight, Brent turned to me, his eyes burning with anger.

"Don't you dare look at me like that," I said, holding up my finger at him and walking to the checkout.

"This happens because you don't wear your engagement ring," he rebuttals while I scanned the groceries.

"Well, have you maybe even given an ounce of what I must be feeling? Of course not because Clay is your boy. You want to intimidate someone else by saying I'm like your little sister but you don't look at it from my standpoint at all do you?" I asked, my voice raising.