Fort Oakley | Part One

13 | Times Claire Was A Bad Mother

19 February 2022 - Saturday

Sheriff Lucien drove me home for the second time this week.

''I'd take you to the station since that's protocol, but there's been too many people there recently. People Lieutenant Cobbet told me not to trust.'' The Sheriff turns his head to look at me. ''I can trust you, right Charly? Considering everything that has happened, I know I can, but...'' He trailed off, his concern evident.

''You can trust me, Sheriff. As long as I can trust you.''

When we arrive at Claire's house, I invite him inside, and we settle in the kitchen.

''Would you like anything to drink, Sheriff?'' I ask, and the Sheriff shakes his head, so I sit near him. 

''Where's Claire?'' he asks, looking around the kitchen as if he was looking for any sign of her.  

''She went to Chesapeake Bay to her other house with some of my paintings a few days ago. She's usually back by now, and she hasn't answered any of my texts or calls, so I don't where she disappeared to. Maybe she finally decided to take off.''

Sheriff Lucien watches me for a moment, before saying, ''You're a good kid, you know that right, Charly?"

''Not to Claire,'' I mumble, not intending for the Sheriff to hear. He clearly does, based on the questioning look he gives me, asking me to explain why I think that way. 

I didn't go around airing Claire and I's dirty laundry to just anyone, but Sheriff Lucien has always been around, even if it wasn't that often. Each time he saw me, he would ask me how I was and what I had been up to, always making sure I was staying out of trouble. 

Claire didn't know about this, but she also didn't realize that Sheriff Lucien liked her romantically. I didn't even think he knew that, but it was clear for me to see whenever I was around them when they were talking.

In some ways, Sheriff Lucien was the closest thing to a father figure in my life, even if it was in the loosest way. That's why I told him about Claire.

''That bruise I had on my cheek the other day? Elvin hit me. It was the first time he'd ever done that, and it was the last, but when Claire saw the bruise, she wasn't even concerned. That was the same morning she left. She was acting weird. As if she couldn't wait to leave town. It's kind of a coincidence to me how she got out of town before everything got out of hand, and now she's not answering her phone.'' 

I didn't want to give Claire a bad name, especially not to Sheriff Lucien, so I quickly added, ''I know I'm not the easiest person to be a mother to, and I know I don't make it very easy for Claire. I'd understand if she wanted a break from me, heck, I'd even encourage her to take one, but the last few days she was here it just seemed like she couldn't care less.''

Sheriff Lucien stares at me, contemplating something. ''I'm not defending her, and I'm not saying it's right to ignore the fact that Elvin hit you - which is something you need to tell me if he does again so I can sort the boy out - but I'm sure she has her reasons for being the way she is, Charly. Like I said, I'm not excusing her behavior, but she's always had problems with her parents, which I don't know the details about. I just know that when she adopted you the moment we graduated high school, her mother almost disowned her.''

She was eighteen when she adopted me?

With Claire being such a private person, I doubt she would have told Sheriff Lucien why she adopted me, even if they had been close during their high school, so I don't ask if he knows. A bunch of questions add to the growing heap in my mind, with no promise of being answered, so I decide to change the topic. If only slightly.