𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫, 𝐣𝐣 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

"a great man once said, that if you're born poor, that's not you're fault. but if you die poor, well that's on you. i think, in the end, it was my fear of going back, of losing everything i have that made me lose sight of everything i am.. everything i wanted to be. i killed big john routledge. i murdered sheriff peterkin. i shot gavin barnestead. i know there is nothing i can do to ease the pain i've caused. many will say i took the easy way out. but i leave this world with the terrible pain of knowing i left behind my family, shattered by grief, broken by my sins. i don't expect you to forgive me for leaving you this way. i just pray you understand that i can't go on ruining your lives anymore. this has to end. to all of you, i leave my estate to be divided equally, and i leave a love deeper than i could ever express. take care of eachother." ward sniffled as sarah slammed her computer shut, tears running down her face. wheezie ran up to her room while rose left the room, leaving the 3 older siblings alone. claire waited a minute before slamming her chairs backward, startling rafe, and walking up to her room. she closed her door and stood infromt of her mirror to see her red puffy face. her hair wasn't combed through and she was wearing the same clothes from the day before. the ones that reeked of smoke and death. she peeled the clothes off and turned her shower on. she walked into her closet and grabbed a yellow crew neck and her go to jean shorts. she stepped into the hot shower and let the water relax her tense muscles as she thought about her dad. the same man that had taught her how to tie her shoes. the same man that had taught her how to fish. the same man that read her bedtime stories when she was younger. the same man she went to when she had boy problems. was dead. part of her thoight he deserved it. he caused pain for so many people and had taken lives. he murdered john b's father and made the teen live without his dad, waiting for him to come home. every single night. her shot gavin dead while he had a wife at home who waited for him to come home after he went out that night. she turned the water off after her shower and wrapped her soft towel around her before stepping out of the shower. she grabbed the fresh clothes and threw them on and combed through her wet hair. the blonde locks that had been waiting to be brushed for days. after spraying some perfume on to make her feel better, she walked out of her bathroom to see hee brother sitting on her bed. he looked up to her and stood up.

"what are you doing?" she asked him, running a stressed hand through her hair.

"i've been ignoring it, because i thought i was going crazy. but then i found this." rafe held up her painkillers and a small bag of her coke that she'd hid in her closet.

"when did you get that." she asked.

"this morning. while you were in sarah's room. i suspected something different about you and now i know why." he says. he seemed almost, concerned?

"you can't be doing these things claire. it's bad. you know that. that's why im messed up." rafe told her.

"rafe, it's not what you think." she tried telling him but he shook his head.

"claire, don't. that's exactly what i was saying to sarah when she found out. look at me now. im not letting you turn out like me. you need to stop these." he says sternly.

"i did." she said, "i stopped."

"did you tell anyone?" he asked.

"why are you so worried?" she asked.

"god claire! im your brother! that's why im worried. i was worried when you got into your accident, i was worried when dad told me they found who saved you! who was he? your fucking boyfriend!" rafe yelled and claire stepped backwards.

"what?" she asked.

"did he not tell you? jj was the one who got you out. i figured he would've told you considering he's your boyfriend." rafe said and claire shook her head.