unfortunate ➸ primeval

Chapter 20

Clara woke up the following morning to find something radiating warmth into her from behind, and she turned her head to see what it was. She smiled as she remembered it was only Stephen, who was still sleeping soundly. His arms were wrapped around her, keeping her close to him but also making her very warm.

Carefully, she slipped out of his grip and headed to the bathroom. She hadn't had a shower since the day before, and she still felt horrible from being pushed into a water tank by a massive, carnivorous seal.

Hot water washed over her, and she instantly felt clean. However, she stayed in there for about fifteen minutes, eventually forcing herself to step out and wrap a fluffy white towel around herself. She padded out into the bedroom, seeing that Stephen was slowly but surely waking up.

He stretched, rubbing his eyes before glancing around for Clara. A smile graced his face when he caught sight of her drying her hair. "You know," he started, his voice still sleepy. "I like waking up when you're here."

Clara looked up, her brown eyes meeting his blue ones, and she grinned. "Well, luckily for you, I like waking up here," she told him, allowing her eyes to wander when the covers fell to his waist as he sat up.

She then turned back around, searching his wardrobe for something she could wear. "I'm really going to have to stash some clothes here," she thought aloud. "I just don't think your jeans will fit."

"Shame," Stephen muttered, rearranging the duvet so the bed was partly made.

Clara rolled her eyes as she pulled on the clothes she wore yesterday, making a mental note to stop off at her house before going to her final destination: the ARC.

Grabbing an apple on her way out, she spun on her heel and wiggled her fingers at Stephen, who still lay, half-asleep, on the bed. "I'll see you later," she smiled, pulling the front door shut behind her.

Clara hailed a taxi and went home, unlocking her front door and tossing her apple core in the bin. "Mike?" She called as she bounded up the stairs. "Michael?" His bedroom door was shut, so she just assumed he was still sleeping. It was still quite early, after all.

Stepping into her own bedroom, Clara peeled off her clothes and opted for a pair of jeans, a faded t-shirt and some worn out converse. It felt extremely refreshing to be in clothes that weren't slightly stiff from the amount of water they had been soaked in.

She headed downstairs, running a brush through her hair as she did so. It tumbled down her back as the bristles combed out the knots and tangles, and she sighed once it was finally all done. Sometimes she hated her long hair.

"Where are you off to?" A voice sounded from the doorway, making Clara jump nearly a foot off the floor.

"Jesus, Mike!" She breathed, holding a hand over her heart to calm it down. "I thought you were still asleep. You scared the life out of me." He shrugged in apology.

"Are you going to answer my question?"

"Work," Clara said simply, brushing past him and grasping her car keys from the dish next to the front door.

"Do you ever get a day off?" Michael asked, turning around so he could face her and raising his eyebrows.

"I'm going in voluntarily," she shrugged. "Could you excuse me? I'm going to be late."

"Fine," he sighed, but not before holding out a handbag to her. "Don't forget your bag."

"Oh, thanks," she smiled. "I'll see you later, I promise. And you can tell me all about your date."

"My what?" He frowned.

Clara mimicked his frown. "Your date? From last night?"

Realisation dawned on her brother's face. "Oh, yeah. Sure, I'll tell you later."