Little Raven, Spread Your Wings.

6. Home?

—Raven—

Static rings through my ears, muffling any sound that tries to come through. Clay is there, helping me to the bathroom. I just want these thoughts out of my head. All the bad memories, everything that happened to me. In my moment of panic, I can't help but imagine what it would be like if Clay was my dad. Would I even go through what I had? Clay is nice, he wouldn't hit me.

My mind feels all fuzzy as Clay helps me out of my drenched pajama pants. The fuzziness is in the tips of my fingers, running up my body. I sputter on my sobs when Clay brings me to the tub, thrashing my legs. "mm'no, no!" Clay frowns, stopping in front of the tub. He sits on the edge of it, rubbing my hands. "Hey, honey. Shh.. what's wrong?" Clay mutters, keeping his voice low. I blubber, snot dribbling off of my chin. "No bath!"

Clay looks down at me with confusion, his hand moving to rub my back. "Why no bath? You just took a bath yesterday, baby."
I try to ignore the fuzziness, but Clay being so gentle seems to make it spread. I lean into his arm, swallowing down a sob "'Cause the bad people touch in da bath."

I squeak when Clay's grip tightens on me, sniffling. "Ouch.." I look up at him, eyes widening at the look on his face. Clay's eyes are narrowed, and dark. He looks more than angry, he's pissed. Before I can panic more, Clay smiles at me. "Do you like bubbles? I'm positive someone has some bubble bath." I don't know what it is with Clay and distractions, but they keep working on me. With a sniffle, I rub the tears out of my eyes, nodding slowly. "Um, never had'a bubble bath. 's it fun?"

Clay dramatically gasps, putting a hand on his chest. "What?! Never had a bubble bath? This is horrible! You stay here, I'll be right back." Clay gently rubs my head before stepping out of the bathroom. I cover my mouth, letting out a watery giggle as I hear Clay. "Please! Does anybody have some bubble bath to spare?! We have a bubble emergency!"

After a few moments of me quietly giggling, Clay comes back into the bathroom holding a pink bottle labeled 'the best bubble bath to ever bubble'. Security washes over me at Clay's now-familiar wolfish grin. He turns the faucet on and pours the bubble bath in. I watch in amazement as the tub fills with colorful bubbles, reaching my hand out to poke one. I giggle when it pops, poking another one to get the same result. I've decided that bubble baths are a lot of fun.

Clay helps me pull my shirt off and sit in the bath, stroking my hair softly. "Which would make you more comfortable buddy? I can stay in here and help you wash up, or I'll stand outside the bathroom." I think about my answer, gently splashing the water to see the bubbles move around. On one hand, I feel so nervous that the same thing is going to happen over again. Though on the other, I don't want to be alone, and I trust Clay..

The latter wins out, and I mumble. "Want Clay to stay here." My bottom lip pokes out, looking up at Clay with fear but trust. I haven't trusted anyone in a while, but with Clay, I feel like I can.

With Clay here, I relax. Clay will keep me safe, he promised. I play with the water, splashing the bubbles and watching as they pop. Clay gently rubs soap into my body. He tried to use a wash cloth, but it was too rough on my skin, so now he's just using his hands.

My eyes shift up to look at Clay, staring at him. I mischievously grin before splashing him with the water, laughing as bubbles land on his face. Clay looks at me with a mock glare, before grinning and splashing me back. I gasp, giggling as we splash the water everywhere. Clay grabs a handful of bubbles and drops them on top of my head. I giggle, rubbing the bubbles off of my hair and face.

I squirm as the water starts to grow cold, but I'm not done playing. Clay wipes up the spilled water off the floor, and then walks over to me, holding out a towel. "C'mon kid, hop out. You're shiverin' like a wet cat." I growl, crossing my arms and scooting back in the tub. "Nuh uh! 'm staying in the bath!" Well, my argument doesn't go far, since I'm really cold. With a huff, I stand up, jumping into Clay's arms. He laughs, catching me and bundling me up in the towel.

Clay brings me back into the guest bedroom, dropping me onto the bed which is fitted with fresh, warm sheets. I giggle, wiggling in the wrapped towel. I'm trapped in it, which Clay definitely did on purpose. While I'm bundled like a sleeping bat, Clay grabs some new pajamas for me.

After helping me into my pajamas, Clay tucks me back in and turns to leave. I suppress a whimper, grabbing his wrist. "C- Clay! Um.." I shift in the bed nervously, sniffling. Clay smiles gently at me, sitting down on the bed. "How about we watch a movie, would you like that?" I nod in agreement, leaning into Clay's side while he turns the TV on. I look up to see a rat running in a kitchen.

With Clay and I snuggled in the bed, it feels like this is my home. Clay is my home. It might just be the fuzziness that's making me more soft, but right now I want to feel safe for once. When I find myself falling back asleep, my dreams aren't plagued with screaming, just puppies, bubble baths, and Clay.

Am I really home?

Weeosh, another chapter. I promise I'm trying so hard to pace this properly, even though I want to rush and throw them into the happy already. I wrote this while watching how to train your dragon, and I think Raven would love that movie. (wink wink hint hint?)