Hidden Truth

Chapter 4

Blake

   As I walked away from Claire's room, I could feel her mind going crazy. She was going to be a handful keeping her locked away. After I reached the first floor, I could feel a small rumble go through the house. I knew exactly who that was coming from, and soon they would need training to keep their abilities in check. Hopefully before someone got hurt.

I turned the corner, walking down the empty hallway towards my dad's office. He asked to talk after I got Claire set up in the spare room, but I put it off until I knew she was okay. After I reached his door, I took a deep breath before knocking.

"Come in Blake," my father yelled from inside and I slowly opened the door. He sat behind his desk, waiting for me to enter. I closed the door behind me and took a seat on the chair in front of him. "How is she," he cleared his throat and proceeded, "I talked to her father, and he wants an update soon."

"Claire is doing good. I just saw her," I paused and sat back in my seat. "I gave her some pain meds for her head and some food."

"That's good," he nodded and flipped through some papers. "I didn't tell her father she got injured, and I hope this doesn't happen again." He had a serious look. I knew he didn't want to seem like he was putting his friend's daughter in danger being with us.

"It won't father. It was just a freak accident that she did to herself." I explained.

"Good," he sat back and folded his hands on his lap. "I want you to keep an eye on her." I nodded and stood up, ready to leave.

"I will father. She will be fine," I reassured and left his office. There was a loud bang from the second floor, and I quickly made my way to Claire's room. Taking two steps at a time I saw Luke and Tony standing outside her room. "What's going on," I called out to them.

They both turned their heads to me, and Tony responded, "she barricaded herself in." Walking over I knocked on the door and called out to her, but there was no answer. "We tried to get in through Kat's bathroom, but the door was locked."

"Claire," I called out and knocked a little bit louder. When there was no answer I yelled louder, "open the door Claire or I will break it down." I heard her shuffling on the other side as she ran across the room. Counting to five in my head I grabbed the doorknob and turned it, shoving the door with my shoulder. I heard the objects on the other side slide across the floor as the door cracked open.

I watched Claire run to the corner of the room, hiding by the bed. Slipping in, I shut the door on my brothers and approached the bed. "What are you doing Claire?" I asked and sat on the bed facing her. Her eyes were wide as she hugged her knees and stared at me. The room slowly started to shake, like earlier.

I crawled onto the floor and reached out for her. She seemed to be frozen in place as I placed a hand on her knee. "It's okay Claire, just breath." I tried to sooth her as I rubbed my thumb in slow circles over her skin. The shaking stopped suddenly, and I felt her body relax under my touch. "You ready to talk now," I asked.

She nodded and met my eyes. "What did you mean by I can't leave," she quietly asked. I racked my brain for an answer that won't freak her out or reveal anything too early. I wanted to be honest with her, but I knew she wasn't ready to hear all that just yet.

Letting out a deep breath, I gave her the only answer I could think of. "It's a lot to get into, so I'll just tell you that it's safer you stay here for a bit."

"But why," she dragged on.

"I can't get into that right now, but I promise I will tell you soon." I took my hand off her knee and held out my pinky to her. She gave me a questioning look as she looked from my hand to my eyes, and back to my pinky. Slowly she reached out and wrapped her pinky around mine. "You should get some rest and we will talk more tomorrow."

"Okay," she whispered. I could feel her emotions, and I knew she didn't trust me. She was going to try and escape, but she was buying time. She released my finger, and I stood up helping her up. She crawled into bed, and I put the blankets over her. Her eyes watched my every move as I put the couch back in place. I walked back to the door and gave her one last look before leaving her room. Luke and Tony were still standing outside her room when I exited.

"She okay," Tony asked. I nodded and rubbed my hands over my face. "She needs to know the truth."

"I know, but not now." I shook my head and headed for the stairs. I heard their footsteps as they followed me down to the kitchen.

"Want to take turns watching her room," Luke asked. I went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. Turning to face them, I leaned against the counter and took a big gulp before responding.

"Yeah, we can, I'll take the first shift." They nodded and left me in the kitchen. I heard them go upstairs to their rooms and I was left alone in silence. The house has been quiet since my mom left with Kat to visit relatives. With one last drink I went to the library to get some more reading done.

***

Throughout the night I went to check in on Claire. She was sound asleep, the slow rise and fall of her chest let me know she was finally at peace. It was around one in the morning when the tremble came back in the house. I closed my book and made my way upstairs to check on her.

Cracking open the door, I peeked in to see Claire tossing and turning. She was silently mumbling gibberish. When I watched her body relax, I turned to leave but stopped when I heard her whisper my name.

I turned back; her eyes were still closed. She was dreaming about me, I thought as I walked into her room. I knew I shouldn't be doing this, but something took over me. Quietly I closed her door behind me and walked to the edge of her bed. I knelt down beside her and gently ran my hand through her hair.

Gosh, I'm such a creeper, I yelled in my head. She turned her head into my hand and let out a breathy sigh. The blanket was pulled down and rested right under her stomach. I raked my eyes over her stomach and up to her breasts. Shaking my head, I looked back to the door. I had to get out of here.

I pulled my hand from her hair and stood up. With one last glance at Claire, I walked to the door. As I reached for the doorknob she whispered, "don't leave me." A part of me broke at the sadness in her voice. She sounded so lost, and helpless. My body wouldn't let me leave her.

I turned back around and went to the couch, lying out over the tiny cushions. My feet dangled over the edge and my neck was at a weird angle, but it felt right sleeping close to her. After listening to her quiet breaths for a few minutes I passed out. This was the earliest I have been able to fall asleep in months.