Clara had lost everything in a matter of months: her family, school and friends. Clara has to relearn what life is if she wants to keep pushing on. All hope seems to be lost for Clara until she meets four peculiar boys who reshape her crumbling life...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Come on CJ, keep up. We don't have much time before we have to meet him." Ben, CJ's father, said with annoyance in his voice as CJ walked slowly down the corridor.
"Dad please," CJ looked up to him with tears in her eyes. "I've asked you over and over to stop calling me CJ. It's not my name anymore."
He stopped dead in his tracks and frowned. "We have been calling you CJ since you were little. I don't get it. Why change your name now?" He placed a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder.
"I just can't be called that anymore," this time a tear did fall from her eyes. "CC gave me that name and now that..." her already soft voice trailed off as she refused to look into her father's eyes. She felt guilty. She felt like she made the ultimate miscalculation when she followed CC to the pond instead of dragging her stubborn sister back into the house. And now as she slowly dragged her feet through Hogwarts Castle to meet Albus Dumbledore, she felt utterly alone. Her twin, her sister, her best friend was murdered in cold blood right before her eyes. CJ was powerless to stop it.
Ben placed his other hand on his daughter's free shoulder. "If that is your wish, my dear, then I'll call you Clara."
She nodded at him and wrapped her arms around her much taller fathers' torso. "Thank you." She faintly whispered.
He tightened the embrace between the two of them. "Clara, you have to remember that what happened to CC was not in any way your fault. You did what you could in the situation –"
Clara pushed herself away from her father's embrace and started wiping the tears from her overly red face. "I didn't do everything." She spoke with anger in her voice. "I failed her!" She yelled at her father.
The look in Ben's eyes could have broken Clara all over again. He looked at her with such sadness and empathy it made Clara want to evaporate. She wasn't used to being the broken one. She was always the overly confident, kind and caring person who helped others. She was never the one that needed help. She had yet to realize how much help she was going to need to find a new balance within her life. She was still grieving the loss of her soulmate, the person who knew Clara like the back of her hand. She had only been without CC for a month and a half, yet it felt like years. The days were agonizingly slow as she was stuck in the house for the remainder of the summer, dark thoughts creeping to the forefront of her mind. She had no way to escape it.
Ben couldn't think of anything to say to Clara. He knew his daughter wasn't going to see the loss as anything but her fault. He had tried for the remainder of the summer to help Clara; he didn't have much success himself. He brought her to the hospital for help weekly and it did seem to work a little bit. Clara was strong willed, and it was going to take a lot for her to overcome her mental battles.
Ben nudged Clara forward as he started walking again. They walked in silence as Ben navigated them through the never-ending corridors and halls. Finally, Ben slowed down and faced a stone statue of what looked like a gargoyle. He took a piece of paper out of his wallet and read off, "Fizzing Whizbee."
