Innocence Betrayed

Chapter 6

Clea felt giddy the next day. The scene with Ryan in the kitchen had still not left her. She kept seeing his face and feeling him around her the entire morning. She didn't know why but she liked that feeling. It made her relax in a way she hadn't before and she actually looked forward to attending school.

Luca was surprised to see a very smiling Clea coming down the stairs for breakfast.

"You’re in good spirits today," he said as he watched his little girl.

"That I'm," she said as she walked past him and into the kitchen.

"What's for breakfast?" she asked turning away from the counter just as Luca entered the kitchen.

"How about some eggs and toast?" he asked already making his way towards the pan.

"Sounds lovely." Clea said as she flopped down on the dining table.

Luca smiled as he turned to look at her. She looked far better than she had in the last few days. She didn't look sad anymore and there was definitely some colour in her usually pale cheeks and she looked happy...she was smiling and Luca's smile broadened even more on seeing her smile. He did not remember when he had last seen her carefree and it saddened him. The fact still remained, something was troubling her, something that either she was refusing to acknowledge or didn't want to tell him. He didn't want to persuade her, force her into telling him, that's not who he was...he would not be like his father. He was a different man, a completely different personality than him. That was just one of the reasons he had found to live.

"Should I drop you to school today?" he asked, placing the plate of toast and eggs in front of her.

"Nope. I'll make it I guess. I want to drive." Clea answered, her eyes already savouring the dish.

"Okay then. I have to leave." Luca said as he walked towards the door.

"Early?" Clea asked, glancing at the digital clock on the fridge.

"Yes. Got a breakfast meeting with an agricultural company today," he replied and left the kitchen to let her eat.

“I’ll see you in the eve,” she faintly heard him as the slam of the door drowned half of his words.

Clea then sat in the empty kitchen finishing her breakfast and she ate it all. It was simply delicious and it felt like she hadn't had a decent meal in ages. Licking her fingers, she got up and picked up her school bag from the living room couch. She didn't understand why but her fingers trembled as they enclosed on her car keys.

Calm down Clea! Take deep breaths. You'll be okay today. Just go with it. You're feeling amazingly relaxed and relieved, everything will be alright. Nothing can go wrong today.

She let out her breath and walked with a renewed strength towards the door.

She let the windows down as she drove to school. The cool fresh air of early morning drifted in through the windows and cleared her somewhat clouded thoughts about the last few days.

She hit the radio and smiled as she sang to Avicii's Wake Me Up. Yes. Nothing can go wrong today! I'm going to make this day as much perfect as I can manage.

Her thoughts revolved around the same concept of being positive and making it through the day without any difficulty as she parked in the school parking lot.

She heaved her school bag up one more time as she walked down the long passageway. Her school bag was way too heavy and she had started feeling a bit of a back pain building up. As she was about to put her bag on the floor to relax her back, she heard Veronica's voice calling her.