Early Imprint [Book 3] ✔️

10 • "P" Word

QUIL'S POV

A month after Claire's 13th birthday, her parents had given Claire permission to get her ears pierced. I volunteered to take Claire for the momentous occasion. I drove up to Makah to pick Claire up after school, and we headed to Port Angeles to a jewelry store there that pierced ears. She was going to spend the night at her Aunt Emily's after that.

"So Claire, how's school going?" I asked. Claire had just started her 8th grade year a few weeks ago.

"Fine," Claire said as she slouched down in her seat and stared out the window.

I looked over at her just as she turned her head back and glanced at me. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks as she quickly turned away again. I turned my attention back to the road. We drove another 10 minutes in uncomfortable silence.

She turned her head to stare out the front window and I glanced back at her profile. I was startled to realize that there was an unnatural color on her eyelids and her lips were a different shade then normal. It was very subtle though. When did Claire start wearing makeup? Had I suddenly become unobservant or was this something new since I saw her last weekend.

I thought back to when my sister, Kya, started wearing makeup. She must have been around Claire's age, but considering she was a five years older than me, I didn't really pay attention to what she did as a teen.

It was a shame that Claire thought she needed makeup. She was a pretty kid. She didn't need it. But I guess that came with the age. I frowned as I continued to drive. The makeup wasn't the only thing different about her. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was a change in Claire.

"Can we listen to some music?" Claire asked suddenly, reaching into her backpack.

"Sure," I replied, hopeful that the music would produce a more relaxed atmosphere.

She reached over and put a CD into the car's stereo system. Some obscure indie rock music started playing. I froze. When did she start listening to this type of music? Wasn't she listening to that whiney boy band anymore? Not that I objected; this music was an improvement over the other garbage, but it still bugged me that her musical tastes had changed and I hadn't realized it.

I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised though. Once upon a time, Claire and I had talked on the phone almost every night. After I had admitted to her that I had had sex before, she cut back on her phone calls and now only called a few times a week. Our conversations were usually pretty stilted. I wasn't even sure why she called me anymore, but I was thankful that she did. I missed the easy relationship that had existed between us though.

As we reached the Port Angeles city limit, Claire's cell phone went off. It was a present that she had received from her parents for her birthday. It was only supposed to be used for emergencies.

"Hey Lindsey," Claire said, after looking at the caller ID. "He did? Oh swoon...like, yeah, he's only the cutest guy in school...ok, let me know." She hung up the phone and put it in her bag.

"I thought that you were only supposed to use that for emergencies." I lectured.

Claire rolled her eyes, "That was an emergency."

"Uh huh. So who are you crushing on now?" I asked. I had a sneaking suspicion that that hadn't come out as cool as I wanted it too.

To my surprise, Claire didn't burst out with a name or mock me for my pathetic use of the word "crushing." Instead, her cheeks turned a crimson red color.

She hesitated before saying, "No, not me. Lindsey has a thing for this guy, Chris. He told his friend Curt, who told Ashley, who told Lindsey, that he totally likes Lindsey. He's like really cute, and she wants him to ask her to a dance we're having at school. Lindsey told Ashley to give Curt her phone number so that he could give it to Chris. I guess he's supposed to call her sometime tonight."