Her Step Brother

He gets it from his mother

"Can I be honest?"

Clarke blinked, but nodded. "Of course."

"I was surprised that your relationship was that deep. With my son. He uh, he doesn't do relationships or jealousy. To be honest, even though it's so strange because you're my wife's daughter, I am a little happy to see him jealous. The years I've known about him, the hears I've gotten to spend with him, he has never committed to anything but his car. Not even a job."

Clarke chuckled nervously. "Uh, yeah. In high school he wasn't exactly known for his lasting relationships."

Marcus drummed his fingers on the table. "If I had caught you in Bellamy's room over two years ago, I, I don't even know what I would have done or said. To see you, the girl I've watched grow up in a hospital, who's mother I had been seeing, in my house with my son." He exhaled. "I can't say how things would have played out. Surely, I would have told your mother. We would either ignore it and date, or who know? Maybe we would have called things off to wait and see if you two broke up."

"I can't be sure, either. On the note of honestly, I love Bellamy. And I don't love him as family. But, we got into a fight the night before he left."

"I imagined as much. You didn't seem to speak to one another that day. Actually," he chuckled. "Parents really are blind aren't they? You barely came out of your room for two weeks after he left."

She nodded. "We had gotten into a fight because I kept pushing and asking questions. It was hard because we knew you two would be mad and upset. Were we supposed to date in secret for rest of our lives?"

"Well, it's not a secret anymore."

She nodded. "You're very right about that."

"You don't need it, but you have my uh, acceptance. I've thought a lot since your mother ran off to the hospital. You two have only been kind of family for two years and you left. You didn't even live with us until a few months ago. So, no. You don't feel family ties to him. And, that's understandable."

"Thank you," she murmured.

He pat her hand. "A piece of advice, though?"

She was nervous. "Sure."

"He gets it from his mother. The jealousy streak. While we weren't together long, we did go to school together and I did know her. She was calm on the surface, but when she wanted to, she was wild and fun. But she could get angry. The jealousy streak is hers," he chuckled. "I don't have it in me. Hell, I invited your father up here."

"Which I really appreciated," I smiled. "Can you tell me more about his mom?"

He seemed hesitant, but he agreed.

For the next hour he told me everything he could remember from their time together and their time in school. He painted her as two people, basically. On the surface, she was kind, generous, always wanting to help. And, once she was free, she would run through the woods, jump in streams, toss her cares away with her shoes.

She sounded like someone Clarke wish she knew.

"Thank you, for sharing," she stood.

"Of course. Let me help you finish cleaning up the house. We can make dinner, too."

***
Once the downstairs was clean, Clarke made her way up the stairs. She walked into Bellamy's room, looking around.

He had cleaned up for the most part, but leaving clothes or shoes on the floor. Then again, he was only home for a little while.

She wiped down all of his surfaces, the dresser, nightstand, and tv stand. She removed all of his sheets and pillowcases, tossing them into the hallway. Finally, she fixed up his closet, straightening all of the things he had left behind.

"Thank you for cleaning the house."

Clarke turned slowly to face her mother. "You're welcome. I'm the one that made the mess, so."

"And, now you're cleaning Bellamy's room?"

Clarke sighed. "I was going to clean mine and do laundry, so I figured I would get his, too. You know cleaning helps me."

"I do. Well, Marcus has started on dinner. I'll call you when it's finished."

"Mom?" She stopped her. "My world feels like it's caved in. And, I can't talk to you about it."

Abby relaxed her tense shoulders. "What do you mean?"

Clarke felt a lump in her throat. "I fell in love with him," she whispered. "But, we broke up before school. And, and then at the party he showed me someone that I didn't want to see. And, I was someone I didn't want to see! I've never thrown a glass at anyone before!" She allowed her tears to fall. "And, I fought with you. You couldn't even look at me and now you come home and cab still barely look at me." She cried harder. She fell to her knees on Bellamy's floor, sobbing into her hands. Her body was shaking, tears falling faster than they had before.

Her mother sat down on the wooden floor, wrapping her arms and legs around her. She held her, allowing Clarke to cry.

"I'm sorry that I made you feel this way," Abby spoke. "I am."

"It's okay," Clarke cried.

Abby pulled Clarke's face up, wiping her wet cheeks. "No, it's not okay. I overreacted. I talked to Marcus about it before I got called in to work. I was still mad, but he did have good points. You and Bellamy had good points. Is it strange to me? Yes, I won't lie. But, it also makes sense. You had something before and you called it off out of respect for Marcus and I. You could have been together for the last two years, but you left your friends and school for me." She held Clarke's gaze. "I'm sorry."

Clarke threw her arms around her mother, hugging her. "Thanks, Mom. I don't know what to say to Bellamy.."

"The truth," her mother said, pushing Clarke's loose hair back. "You explain that he was someone you didn't want to see, and in turn, you became someone you never wanted to see. You explain that you want it to work, but it can't be that way."

Clarke wiped her eyes. "Thank you."