Clawen • What comes next

|| CHAPTER 55 ||

           

Even though it took no more than 15 minutes to drive from the city to home, it was the longest ride for Maisie. She knew her mom was right, deep down she knew it. But the fear Maisie felt inside, was too strong to battle at the moment. After some time, it was bound to get better, at least that's what she hoped for. Waiting for Charlie was nerve wracking and she had no idea what to expect. But Charlie actually being here now, it was terrifying the life out of Maisie. Nothing could have prepared her for it, as far as she knew. She was just counting the seconds till they arrived at their house and she could run up to her room and hide. She really needed to be alone, to contemplate about the last couple of days, to take it all in.

They pulled up in front of the house and before any of them got out, Owen fished the key out of his wallet and reached behind him, to give it to Maisie. He was well aware that she needed some space and privacy. Giving her the key, would allow her to run upstairs before anyone even got near the house. She gave him a thankful smile and swung the door open, taking off towards the house in an instant. Before they knew it, she had disappeared inside and up the stairs. She was nowhere to be found when they eventually got everything out of the car and moved inside.

Ever since the house came into view from the small dusty road, Karen's face was priceless. Her reaction to the massive house, standing all new and beautiful in front of them. It was worth remembering. Claire didn't keep count on the amount of times, Karen asked Owen if he actually build it.

"We don't have a guestroom yet, well we have but it's empty" Claire said, sounding exhausted. "I'll take the couch if you allow me" Karen said, challenging Claire with her look. Claire had always had extremely nice couches, because of the amount of money she had. Her couch was always something over the top and expensive, so when Karen and the boys came to stay the few times that they did, they all had to stay in the same bed if Karen didn't join Claire.

Claire just sighed and smiled up at her sister. "Of course, you can take the couch. It wasn't cheap but it won't look good much longer, so I've stopped caring" Claire said ending it with a shake of her head and a little chuckle at herself. She yawned and Owen quickly stepped up beside her and took Charlie from her arms. "Go to bed. Please honey" Owen said in a low voice, filled with concern. She nodded at him and send a small smile his way, before disappearing up the stairs, just like Maisie.

Now it was only Karen and Owen left downstairs, and if on cue, Charlie started crying. Owen sighed and told Karen he was going to take her upstairs to see if she was hungry and then put her to bed. Halfway up the stairs, he stopped and told Karen she could take a look around, make some coffee or food if she wanted.

Half an hours later, he came down and found Karen with a cup of tea, sitting on the couch, watching the news on the TV. "You alright?" He asked as his foot left the last step on the stairs. She smiled up at him. "I'm just fine. How are they? How did it go?" She asked. He smiled and leaned against the railing on the stairs, crossing his arms with a sigh. "Not hungry, just missed her mom already. She's asleep in the basinet in our bedroom right now. Claire's out cold in the bed" He said followed by a chuckle.

"I'm going to go check on Maisie really quick, if that's alright" He said, lazily pointing to the upstairs. "Of course" Karen nodded and turned her head back to the TV, when Owen started making his way upstairs again.

A couple knocks was heard inside the room, before Owen slowly pushed the door open to peek inside. Maisie was sitting in her bed with her phone. Knees tucked up as she leaned against the headboard. She looked up at him and smiled, but quickly dropped her eyes back to her phone. He pushed the door open a little further and rested his shoulder against the doorframe. "You okay sweetie?" He asked concerned, tilting his head in a sincere way. She smiled up at him but didn't say a word, just nodded and looked back down at her phone. He pushed his mouth to the side, not knowing what to say or do about her right now. "You want to be left alone?" He ended up asking. She gave him a few short nods, not even looking up at him. Owen nodded to himself and left without another word, closing the door carefully, as to not wake up the others.