Clawen • What comes next

|| CHAPTER 56 ||

The next morning, if you could even call it that. The sun had barely made its appearance, when Charlie woke up the whole house. Karen heard it from downstairs but was able to fall asleep quickly after, seeing as there was a ceiling between them. Maisie woke up, groaned out loud when her brain recognized the sound. She gripped her pillow with strong force and threw it atop her face, pressing down, hoping to the gods that it would keep out the crying.

Claire was sitting up in an instant, already swinging her legs over the bed to go retrieve Charlie. Back in the bed, Owen rubbed his eyes, as he slowly rose up with his elbows to look at the foot of the bed. Claire was holding Charlie close to her chest, rocking her back and forth for a few seconds, before making her way to the bed.

She sat down on the side, shushing Charlie over and over again. Owen could hear how tired she was, just from the small noises she would make. She eventually gave up on trying to get Charlie back to sleep, and turned around, swinging her legs onto the bed in the process. She scooted herself up to rest against the headboard and leaned back against it, letting out a deep exhausted sigh.

Owen propped himself up against the headboard as well, urging himself to stay awake with her. Charlie had calmed down a little but was still extremely upset. Owen turned his head to look at his girls, causing him to smile. "Think she's hungry?" He asked, followed by a yawn. Claire sighed, clearly frustrated. "Maybe..." She said and starting getting ready to breastfeed. "I'll give you some privacy" Owen said, starting to slide down the mattress. Claire scoffed. "You just want to sleep" She said. He sensed a bit of annoyance in her voice but couldn't really figure out why. He thought he was doing the right thing. "I just want to give you your space to feed her" He said. "I'll stay awake, if you don't mind it" He then said. She sighed and swallowed. "Sorry" She whispered, turning her head to look at him. "I just...I don't care Owen...I just thought you wanted to sleep and...I'm just so tired" She said. The knot in her throat was very clear in her voice, making Owen feel even worse for her than before.

"I know you are honey" He said and leaned in to kiss her cheek. She turned her head to look at him and smiled slightly. "If I could, I'd feed her" He said, bringing out an even bigger smile on her lips. She leaned in slightly and waited for him to make a move. He instantly crashed their mouths together when he noticed her small movement. He couldn't help but smile against her soft lips, making her giggle. "What?" He asked, pulling away with a shy smile. She shook her head, the giggle fading to an adorable smile. She let one of the hands holding onto Charlie, move up to cup his cheek, leaning in to let their foreheads touch.

They both figured that they weren't going to get any more sleep for the time being. Plus, the two others would probably be waking up soon, if they weren't already. Claire took a shower, while Owen looked after Charlie. When Claire got out of the shower, Charlie was asleep so she went downstairs to get something to eat, while Owen showered.

When she arrived in the kitchen, she found Maisie eating cereal at the counter while she looked at something on her phone. "Hey sweetie" Claire greeted her, when she rounded the corner. Maisie looked up and smiled, as she kept chewing. After swallowing, she looked up again. "Hey" She said, smiling brightly. "You sleep alright?" Claire asked, reaching up in the cupboard to get the cereal box down. Maisie nodded. "Before Charlie woke up, yes" She said, making Claire smile and shake her head. "Yea I think she woke us all up" Claire said.

She walked over and sat next to Maisie and started eating. After her first bite, she noticed that someone was missing. "Where's Karen?" She asked Maisie. The girl swallowed her mouthful and answered. "Bathroom...Shower I think" Taking a second to remember if Karen told her anything other than that she was going to the bathroom. Claire nodded.

Not long after, Karen came around the corner and greeted them both. "Did you get any sleep?" Karen asked Claire. She smiled up at her sister. "What do you think?" She asked, cocking her head to the side, with squinted eyes. "Thought so" Karen said. She walked over to start making some coffee. "Well you will be pleased to know; your daughter woke me up as well" Karen said. For a second, Claire thought of Maisie for some reason, looking over at the girl, who looked just as shocked. "She's got lungs that girl" Karen then said, when no one else spoke. "Oh yea..." Claire said, taking another spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

"Probably got those from Claire" Owen said, coming into view. Claire looked up at him, about to scold him or at least look at him in a warning way, before she realized he was probably right. "Yea you do have quite the scream" Karen said. Owen nodded, walking over next to Karen to get himself a cup of coffee.

Claire groaned, as her nose picked up the smell that was filling the room. Karen hid her smile behind her mug, knowing the struggle herself. Owen took a sip, making sure not to lick his lips, before walking over to Claire and leaning down to give her a kiss. She sighed into it, keeping her eyes closed when he pulled away, trying to savor the taste for as long as possible. "Thank you" She whispered. He chuckled, as he made his way over to give Maisie a hug.

Quickly after, Maisie put her bowl in the sink and asked if she could be excused. After being given the all clear to leave the room, she ran upstairs.

Karen put her mug down on the counter behind her. "How is she so polite? You think she can teach Zach?" She asked. The two others couldn't help but chuckle at Karen's words. "You know we didn't raise her from infant, right?" Claire asked with the tilt of her head. Karen scoffed at her sister. "I know, but she's keeping up her good behavior, so you're doing something right" Karen said, picking her mug back up.

Claire and Owen looked at each other, giving the same proud and happy smile as they received.

I'm thinking Karen should be on her way home soon - Yes no?

We still have a house warming, wedding, christening if I decide to do that, I don't know. Got to introduce the families and what not – No worries my guys, I have plans for some of this ;)