Clawen • What comes next

|| CHAPTER 53 ||

           

The doctor advised Claire to stay in the hospital till the next day, considering how the birth went. Owen insisted that she did as told and she was both too tired to argue but also agreed with him a little. Karen had gotten a hotel room and suggested Owen went there with Maisie at night, so both of them could get a good night's sleep. "You really need it Owen" Karen had told him to which Claire strongly agreed. Karen promised she would stay by Claire's side the whole time. Maybe even get a few hours in the spare bed.

Maisie was reluctant to leave Claire again, not wanting to be without her. Owen promised her that they would come back in the morning as soon as they woke up. It took a few seconds but eventually Maisie nodded an okay and gave Claire a hug before leaving the hospital with Owen. He wasn't much for leaving Claire either but he hadn't slept at all, besides the 10 minutes he got hanging over her bed. He knew it would be for the best, plus they had a long day ahead of them tomorrow, bringing Charlie home for the first time.

Owen used the card to the hotel room and held the door open for Maisie. She carefully stepped inside, looking around to inspect the room. After closing the door behind him, Owen did the same. It wasn't big but it would surely do for the night. One double bed, a very small bathroom, a TV and a tiny closet. Not much but it was one of the higher tier hotels, what with everything looking new and clean. Nothing like the motels he had stayed in during his earlier years.

Maisie walked over to sit on the bed, kicking her shoes off and taking her hoodie off, all at the same time. As she threw the hoodie next to her on the bed, she heard the candy bar Owen told her to hide. Thinking about it, made her realize just how hungry she actually was.

"Is it alright with you if I take a shower?" Owen asked already on his way to the bathroom, not thinking she would mind at all. "Sure" She told him, hiding the bar behind her back. After he closed the door, she ripped the packaging open and bit into the chocolate. The taste bringing her to heaven and back in one bite.

Owen came out 10 minutes later, wearing the same clothes of course, before he asked if they should go to sleep. The faster they fell asleep, the faster they would be back with Claire and Charlie. Maisie quickly jumped to the other side of the bed and climbed under the blankets after discarding her pants onto the floor. Deciding to sleep in her t-shirt. Owen climbed in next to her and she quickly nudged her small body to his. In need of comfort and some familiarity after this whole mess.

They fell asleep in under 10 minutes.

Back at the hospital, Karen was sitting in the chair next to Claire's bed as Charlie slept soundly in the crib on the other side.

"Do you know much about Maisie's past?" Karen asked, curious as to how shut out the girl had been, after seeing her react to Charlie earlier. Claire shrugged, followed by a sigh. "We really don't" She said with the shake of her head. "She grew up in the Lockwood manor...Some woman named Iris, took care of her and raised her, I'm pretty sure. Other than her, she had her grandfather and Eli Mills...Both of them dead" Claire said.

Karen seemed to be thinking about what to say to that, before she asked. "So, she has never been outside the manor, before you guys took her in?" Claire's face went into thinking mode, not actually knowing if Maisie had ever left her previous home. "I'm not sure actually...With some things, she seems to know an awful lot compared to her age. But other things are completely alien to her" Claire said, mouth askew, really starting to wonder. "I just hope we're enough, you know" Claire said, tired and sad as she shimmied herself down the bed to lay down properly. "Now you are just being ridiculous" Karen said, starring Claire down with her eyes. "Of course, you are enough, are you even paying any attention? She loves you two with everything in her" Karen continued, taking Claire's hand halfway through, to make sure she understood how serious she was. All Claire did was sigh. "I don't know..." She said hesitant, without any idea of how to respond.

Karen went silent, looking out into the room before turning to Claire. "Get some sleep sis" She said, standing up after, to make her way to the other bed. "I'll try as well" Claire didn't hesitate to close her eyes, feeling her whole body relax, as it seemed to realize that for the first time in too long, it had 100% peace. Until Charlie woke her up of course.

Owen only slept about six hours even though he could use about ten more. Maisie slept even less, having had a nightmare once or twice during the night. And as soon as the sun started making its way through the only window in the room, she was up and ready to go see her mom again. Owen didn't argue, when Maisie started dragging him out of bed.

15 minutes later, they arrived at the hospital. Maisie was already walking faster than Owen, which to her was basically running speed. "Come one" She half yelled after him. "Why don't you go ahead, I'll try to find some food somewhere" He said. She nodded with a tight smile before making her way to the room she knew her mom was hiding away in.

When she entered, she got slightly disappointed, finding Claire asleep. She looked around the room, before her eyes landed on Karen who was standing over the crib, looking at Charlie. She noticed Maisie instantly but let the girl take her time. Maisie carefully walked around Claire's bed to get to Karen, coming to a standstill by her side. Still keeping her distance from Charlie.

Karen of course, remembered the previous day and how Maisie reacted to her new sister. She wasn't going to start forcing her to say hi or touch her or anything. The girl seemed to just stand there, hands tucked in her pockets again, as she glared down at her baby sister with curious eyes. She didn't say anything and didn't seem like she was going to, so Karen decided to try. "How did you sleep?" She asked, turning her head to look at the girl beside her. She simply shrugged and said "Not well" Sounding like it was no big deal. Of course, Karen wasn't aware of the number of nightmares the girl had. She was aware that she had them, having some slight knowledge of what she was going through, after having dealt the Zach and Gray's for three years so far. "Nightmare?" Karen asked and Maisie nodded. "I get them a lot" She said. Karen didn't know what to say so she decided to change the subject, noticing how there was a person missing. "Where's your dad?" She asked as she reached a hand down to Charlie. "He's on the hunt for food" he said. Karen couldn't help but chuckle and the girl's choice of words. "Well let's hope it's the season for bacon then" She said, in an attempt at humoring the girl a bit in this time. She giggled and smiled up at Karen, before closing her mouth tightly and bending forward a bit to look into the crib.

"She's so small" Maisie said. Karen hummed in agreement, carefully turning her head to look at Maisie, trying to see her expression. "Did you sleep?" Maisie then asked and Karen shrugged. "Not much...Your mom slept even less, hence why she's asleep now" She said as Charlie took a hold of one of her fingers. Maisie understood but her expression changed when Charlie grabbed Karen's finger. "Why does she do that?" She asked, very curiously, seeming rather interested in the baby she was so scared of. "It's a reflex" Karen said.

Right after that Owen walked in with a bag filled with what looked and hopefully was food. Maisie quickly stood up straight to go to him. He held the bag out for her to take and she did, walking over to sit on the chair next to Claire's bed, digging into the pile of food in her lap.

He walked over to Karen, glancing at Claire a few times on the way. "Tough night?" He asked as he bent down to say hello to Charlie. Karen hummed and took a step back to give Owen his space. Charlie woke up with the touch of her dad and he quickly tried to keep her quiet, picking her up carefully. He started slowly walking around the room, rocking Charlie back and forth.

Maisie couldn't help but look at them and felt herself smile slightly. Hopefully she would get some courage soon.

I have nothing to say honestly – I'm not so sure about this one but I got to make things move faster, so.