A Condemned Haven

Chapter 6

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Clarke hated going home, but there was nowhere else for her to go. She couldn't go out because people whispered behind her back, but the people who were worse than that were the people who spit in her face. That's what she supposes you get for being convicted of killing the star quarterback in a small town. She always hated this town, even when she was a kid. People were so fake, getting together just to show off that they had more. Moms didn't volunteer with the school out of the goodness of their heart, but to prove they were a better mom than everyone else. Everything in this town was like that.

She hadn't been wrong about her house being vandalized next. Someone had spray painted on their garage door the word murderer yesterday. She didn't want her dad to see it, so she lazily painted over it. If you really looked you could still see the words faintly, but it was good enough. If he really wanted to cover it up, he could hire a professional. The other day their mailbox had been knocked over. It looked like a firework had gone off in it. The people in this town had zero class.

Her mom tried to make things less awkward at home, but Clarke could tell she was afraid of her. When she got home from the diner, she heard screaming coming from her father's study. It was her parents fighting. She heard the breaking of glass against the wall and that's when she knew it wasn't just a little tiff.

"You ruined our lives." Clarke pressed her back into the wall and listened through the crack in the door. What were they talking about?

"Honey please be reasonable. I never could have predicted this, neither could you. We knew what we were doing when we agreed to this. We made this decision using our heads. You can't blame this one all on me. You were the one who wanted it to be kept a secret."

"You were the one who made the mistake in the first place." Clarke's mom was silent for a moment as if calculating what to say next.

"I know I made a mistake. You don't let me forget it, but don't forget who started it."

"You can't blame me. You made the choice and now were both suffering the consequences. I should have never let this happen."

"It's always been about you. You and your campaign. Our lives would have been so much simpler back then if we had just done what we originally planned, but then you had to go and get the idea in your head that you needed to run for office. You convinced me that we could get past this, but you never believed it. You just wanted to be able to check the box of wholesome family on your campaign." Clarke could hear he father sigh.

"That's not true. Things were different back then. I thought I could get past it, but the living reminder has only made it harder over the years. I still love you. I'm still trying to get past this." Clarke cringed as she heard the distant sound of her parents kissing. Gross.

What had her mom done that it almost ruined their marriage and could have destroyed her father's campaign? Their fight had gone from shouting to kissing. Clarke had no clue how her parents had stayed together all of these years. She remembers them fighting before but had never actually heard it. They always did it behind closed doors. She would only hear snippets over the years because they stopped as soon as they heard her come home. Hearing her father say he loved her mother out loud was something Clarke had never heard in all of the years she had lived. Her parents weren't affectionate, let alone open about their feelings. Clarke needed to just put them out of her mind. She had other things to do than worry about the status of her parent's marriage.

While putting it out of her mind had seemed like a great idea at the time, she couldn't do it. She needed a distraction and the only person she could think of to offer it, was probably asleep. Couldn't hurt to try though, right? So, she picked up her phone and called him.

"Hello."

"Jack what are you doing right now?"

"Clarke? Why are you calling me? It's midnight, why are you still up?"

"Why are you still up?"

"My mom and I are watching tv, she just got home so."

"Oh sorry, I'll let you go then." There was a long pause and Clarke thought he had hung up, but then she heard whispering and realized he must be talking to his mom.

"Do you want to come over?"

"Seriously?"

"I mean yeah, I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind, she'd probably like to meet you."

"Okay be over in five." She hung up quickly and hopped out of bed. She was excited just of be getting out of the house for something other than school.

Clarke threw on pants and a sweatshirt before walking over to the address he gave her. He really did only live down the street like he said. She wondered how his mom afforded a place in this neighborhood with just a single salary. Just as she was about to walk up the driveway something hard as hell hit her in the back. She fell onto her hands and knees and when she went to turn to look at who did it, she was punched in the face.

"This is just a taste of what you did to Brandon you psycho." She was kicked in the stomach and in the back a couple more times. Then she felt a bat hit her in the side from above her and the padding of feet making their escape. Her stomach was aching and her head pounding. Everything hurt. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears and the blood rushing through her veins. Each breath she took was more agonizing then the last and she could feel her lungs practically shriveling up. She pulled out her phone and tried to dial Jacks number, but the numbers were blurry, and her hand was shaking so badly it was difficult for her to find anything. When she heard the first ring of the dial tone, she had never been more thankful.

"Hey, are you almost here?" Clarke was clenching her teeth trying to ease the pain in her abdomen and gasping for breath. Every breath sent a wave of nails through her stomach and her eyes were barely managing to stay open.

"Outside." Deep breath. "Come outside."

"You can just come inside the door is unlocked."

"Jack come outside dammit." She was struggling to breathe, it felt like she had been run over by a car. She could hear her own heartbeat in her ears. Bu-bum, Bu-bum. She heard Jack call her name and then the pounding of feet next to her. He sounded so far away.

"Holy shit, hold on let me get my mom." It felt like hours before he came back with another woman.

"Oh my god Jack help me carry her inside." She felt herself be lifted and screamed in agony. They struggled to carry her weight and as they shuffled her back and forth, it felt like she was being ripped apart. She could hear them distantly arguing about how to carry her, but she was too in and out to follow. Everything was on fire, her whole body ached and when the world finally went black, it was the greatest reprieve of her life. The darkness was the safest she had felt in days, hell months.

Flashback:

"Brandon stop nagging me about the damn popcorn. I made the marshmallow cream and you made the butter so eat what you made."

"But yours tastes so much better," he whined.

"If I give you some of mine will you shut up so we can watch the movie?" She laughed at his pouting face. He was such a child sometimes.

"Yes." He gave that big stupid smile and leaned over to stuff popcorn in his mouth.

"You're so stupid," she laughed as she pushed him back.

"Oh, but you love me." She scoffed and pushed him again.

"Sometimes."