A Condemned Haven

Chapter 9

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Clarke woke up sweating from the heat outside and the glare through the blinds. When she opened her eyes, it took her a moment to remember where she was. Jacks bed. He was tuckered out on the futon at the end of it. He seemed peaceful as he slept, but she noticed the bat next to him. She wasn't really surprised. It was almost 6:30 and school didn't start for another hour, but considering her body was screaming at her, she figured she wouldn't be going. The sound of an alarm scared the shit out of her as it blared from Jacks phone. He woke up freaking out and fell off the futon, straight onto the floor.

"Jesus!" He sat there running his hands through his hair trying to wake up a little more. Why was he on the futon? When he looked up and saw Clarke struggling to even sit up, he rushed to help her.

"You okay?"

"Yeah sorry I'm just a little sore. That bat hurt like a bitch." If that wasn't the understatement of the year. What was with people and bats in this town? Her insides felt like she was still being kicked and her head was killing her.

"My mom left aspirin on the counter for you last night and we have a heating pad around here somewhere that should help with a little bit of the soreness. Hold on I'll go get it."

Clarke didn't understand why he was being so nice about everything, especially considering who she was. She was accused of murder and convicted. Didn't that mean anything? Wasn't he scared? When he came back in the room with a glass of water, an aspirin, and a heating pad in his hand it almost made her feel normal. That was a word she hadn't thought about in a while.

"I don't get it."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't get why you're doing all of this. Are you fucked up in the head or something? I just can't figure you out and it's bothering the hell out of me."

"You can't exactly do it yourself right now and I'm gonna try to not be offended by that," he chuckled.

"I'm not talking about right now. I'm talking about all of it." Jack had asked himself the same questions so many times before but had yet to find an answer.

"Honest?"

"Honest."

"It's just who I am. I see someone alone who needs help and I can't help but help, you know. It's kind of like an Achilles heel."

"So, you're just a good person, I call bullshit." She just laughed, but it was more of mocking disbelief.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious about you, which is part of why I offered to be your partner, but I also didn't like the fact that no one was standing up for you."

"Didn't anybody ever tell you curiosity killed the cat?"

"Isn't that why they have nine lives? I don't believe you would kill me anyway." Jack's witty comeback brought a smile to Clarke's face. The guy was growing on her.

"Why is that?"

"Because you didn't kill Brandon."

"And how do you know that?"

"I just know."

Jack was looking right into those stormy gray eyes and saw a world of emotions. This was the most normal Clarke had felt in over a year and she couldn't believe that a total stranger believed her over everyone she knew. Jack broke their intense eye contact so he could breathe again, before walking into the kitchen.