Clawen • What comes next

|| CHAPTER 81 ||

The rest of the trip went great and everyone had a great time. They arrived home without a scratch and everything was normal. At least, that's what Claire and Owen thought. Both were still unaware of Gray's so-called awakening and hadn't noticed that Maisie was feeling more stressed than usual. She didn't blame them. Stress didn't show much with her, on the outside that was. Inside, she was exploding and twitching and feeling horrible. Like she had no one to talk to about it. Which wasn't true, she knew that, but the feeling was constant.

Claire got a phone call from Karen a couple days after they got home. Wanting to know how their little night alone had gone and also to catch her up on what had happened while her and Owen were away for the night. "So, you had fun?" Karen asked with a smirk on her face, which Claire could clearly sense. "Yea, Karen we had fun" Claire chuckled. After a couple of seconds of silence, Karen spoke up. "How's Maisie at school, by the way?" Claire shrugged and licked her lips. "I think she's fine. She hasn't really had much to tell recently" Claire said and put her mouth askew. Karen hummed into the phone and took another second to think. "Has she made any friends?" She then asked Claire. "She has mentioned a few here and there, but that's it. I don't really know what to think..." Claire said, tone dropping, as she looked at the ground. "I'm sure it's fine Claire. It's just because I heard her talking to someone on skype, I think it was, on her laptop, while you guys were away" Karen then said. "Who?" Claire was quick to ask. "Not sure. Sounded like a girl by the voice. Maisie called her Al, which I'm guessing is a nickname...Probably named something like Alicia, Alice or maybe Alba. I don't know, but if you're so concerned about it. Try asking about this so called 'Al'" Karen said. Claire nodded to herself and thanked her sister for the information and the advice.

Claire was in front of Maisie's door in the matter of seconds. Quickly knocking before entering, completely forgetting that she usually waits till Maisie lets them in. "Hey Maisie, sweetie" Claire said, as she took a step inside the girl's room. Just in time to catch the end of Maisie sentence. "I'll think about it, Alex" before the girl looked up at her mom with shocked eyes. A quick hand reached over to mute the sound on her laptop before anything else was said. "Mom what are you..." Maisie started but was interrupted by her mom who started apologizing left and right. "I'm so sorry sweetie, I forgot to wait" Claire said and let her hand slide down the door. "No...It's fine" Maisie said and turned to her laptop. "I got to go" She told whoever this Alex was, before slamming her laptop shut and turning to face her mom. "What did you want?" Maisie asked, trying to sound chill, while her heart was pounding away. "Oh...N...Nothing" Claire started, realizing as she said it, that she did in fact want something. Even more now, after hearing Maisie talking to someone. Alex.

"Why did you barge in like that then?" Maisie asked with a smile on her face to try and hide to panic. "Oh...eh that...yes, I don't know" Claire said. Maisie tilted her head at her mom, while her smile became more genuine. "Mom, what is it?" She asked with a chuckle. "Well...I just kind of wanted to hear how eh...How school was going...with friends...and what not" Claire said, her hands fumbling to close the door in the meantime. "School's good" Maisie was quick to say. "Good...Good" Claire then said and looked around the room before making her way over to her daughter, by the bed. "So, you making any new friends...or?" Claire then asked. Having grown the balls to just get it out, in the time it took her to walk to the bed. Maisie looked away for a second but was quick to regain eye contact. "I guess you can say that" Maisie then said and bit her lips together in a smile. Claire put her weight onto her right arm and asked. "Is that so?" With lifted eyebrows. Maisie nodded and gathered her hands in her lap, humming a yes in response. "Who, if I might ask? Is it this Alex?" Claire then asked and noticed the panic in her daughter's eyes. "Hey sweetie, it's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to" Claire was quick to say, before her daughter got a word in. Maisie swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay"

Later on, downstairs, Claire and Owen were in the kitchen when Claire brought it up. "Maisie has made a new friend" She started to which Owen smiled and said "That's great". Claire nodded and waited a second. "His name is Alex" Claire then said, which really got Owen's attention. She awaited his response, trying to hold back a giggle at his raised eyebrows. "His?" He then asked, laying what he had in his hands, down. Claire nodded with a cheeky smile on her face. "That's right" She then said. "How do you know?" He asked. "I walked in on her talking to someone on her laptop. Heard her call the person Alex and she was very quick to end the call and slam her laptop shut. When I asked about it afterwards, she was really secretive" Claire explained carefully. "Well did you hear his voice?" Owen then asked, clearly a bit on edge with the news. "No, but Owen" Claire started and reached up to cup his cheeks, moving his face to look directly at her. "That's exactly how I was around my mom when I had my first crush on a boy at school. Same when I got my first boyfriend" Claire said, letting one hand fall after the other. Owen sucked in his bottom lip and started slowly chewing on it, while thinking hard about the situation. "Well...What do we do...Claire?" He then asked slightly scared. She shook her head with a chuckle. "We do nothing...that's what we do" She said and reached up to give him a quick kiss, before disappearing upstairs. Leaving Owen alone in the kitchen to process everything he had just been told.

Boys were usually not the best, much closer to the worst. Especially at Maisie's age. He remembered himself around girls and how the rest of the boys in his class acted around them. He felt himself get sick at the memories he had. And with all of that in mind, he was not very happy about the news that his wife had just delivered. His daughter, potentially having a boyfriend. He knew deep inside that he couldn't do anything and shouldn't. He at least had to meet the guy. Get Maisie to invite the boy home, so they could get a proper look at this 'Alex'.

Hmmm this sounds like trouble, don't you think? ;)

My boyfriend suggested, that I wrote a Christmas chapter for obvious reasons. And I thought about it for a second but then I threw it in the trash. I'm really not much for Christmas so it wouldn't be very great and also, I have plans for my favorite fictional family.

Sorry not sorry