Keeping Claire

Chapter Twenty One

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Stay Sane and Beautiful<3

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                Chapter Twenty One

Cody’s POV-

                Claire looked beautiful. I know that she would never accept my compliment, but it really was true. I couldn’t imagine how anyone could ever be mean or vindictive to her, she was just too sweet. She was, however, lacking in any self-confidence at all. If people notice that you don’t like yourself, they follow along.

                In life, you can’t just expect the respect that people give you. You have to earn the respect you want. The problem was, Claire didn’t earn respect from others because she didn’t know how to respect herself or stand up for herself. It was sad to see such a beautiful, kind person that has been pounded to a pulp by society.

                I couldn’t imagine a life without Claire anymore. I didn’t go more than five minutes a day without thinking about her. I don’t know why she had developed such an intense effect on me. Maybe because I saw a good bit of my brother in her. Not the masculine part, or even any physical part of him. But the personality. They both had a big heart and good spirit. But they also both had a dark past with a conscience that was their worst enemy.

                I thought about all of their similarities as we went down the road. I had only now realized that she had been watching me intently for the past fifteen minutes. “What are you thinking about?” She asked in a quiet voice. It was almost as if she was afraid that she would make me angry because of her simple question.

                “My brother.” I stated simply.

                “Oh.” She replied then looked away.

                I smiled at her shyness. “So, what is your absolute favorite kind of music?”

                She laughed. “I couldn’t tell you. I love it all.”

                “Well just pick one.” I retorted playfully.

                “R&B.” She finally decided.

                “Why do you like music so much?” I asked. I knew about her deep love for music, but had never really asked her the real reason why.     

                “A couple of reasons.” She said. “Music gave me refuge from my otherwise dark mind. It gave me other stuff to think about. Plus, music gave me a different perspective on things,” She added, “at least, temporarily.”

                I chewed on her answer. “Why do you talk about in a past tense point of view?”

                “Because that’s the purpose music served before I met you.” She looked at me quickly, as if trying to figure out what my reaction would be.

                I reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently. She smiled at me.

                The rest of the trip was spent in comfortable silence. That’s one of the many things that I loved about Claire. She didn’t have to be talking all the time. She enjoyed just sharing a quiet time with me. That’s something that isn’t common.