Weapon Of War (Clementine x Louis)

Chapter 11: Coming Home

The days passed. People came in and out. Most frequently Louis and AJ. Clementine's time in the hospital was coming to an end, thankfully. She was wearing a pair of sweatpants with a hoodie provided by the girls. She sat on her bed that had been her resting place for almost 2 weeks. All she was waiting for now was her shofar.

     With her crutches in hand she stood up barley placing her new foot on the floor. Clem knew there was a long road ahead of her until she was able to walk again but ultimately, it was worth it. A physiotherapist would be coming by the school everyday for around an hour to aid Clementine. The school already had a rehabilitation center so it was agreed to have the sessions there.

    "Alright Clementine are you ready?" Ms. Martin asked holding Clem's backpack and card. Looking around the room Clem was making sure she had everything. Next to her hat was the note Louis left her. Gently she picked it up and gave it to Ms. Martin. She then proceeded to put on her hat. Her flowers had withered away and the drawings AJ and Tenn gave her were all packed up. The room looked as bare and unwelcoming as it did when she arrived.

    Most of the ride back to the school was silent. Clementine sat straight looking out the window letting her mind drift. Sitting felt odd. The new leg effortlessly bent and moved without any pain or grief. She could slightly feel the muscles and nerves that had been connected to the new leg tense and ease like they used to. Her muscle memory was there but her brain didn't know how to use it. They pulled up at the back of the school in the teacher parking lot. Unfortunately the only entrance was at the front.

    Each one of the ladies climbed out. Once Clem was stable she grabbed her backpack slinging it over her shoulder. "I can take that for you dear." Ms. Martin offered.

    "I am on crutches I am not retarded." She snapped. With no remorse Clem made her way to the front gates. Her head hung low, eyes fixed on the gravel. She could feel the eyes on her as she hobbled to her dorm. Pulling the key out of her backpack she unlocked the old creaky door. Upon opening it she was greeted by the smell of apples and a spice. Once fully inside she took the time to look around. The walls had been decorated with strands of lights and pictures. Some were drawn and some were of her and AJ on base. Her drawers were filled with clothing of all sorts of colours.

     Her breath was hitched in her throat. "HER FUCKING DOOR IS OPEN!!" The shouting was from the hallway. Soon enough multiple pairs of footsteps were closing in on her room.

    Clem heard a thud and some grumbling. Soon enough her group of acquaintances were pretty much trampling each other to get inside. They all stopped once they saw the girl standing in the middle of the lit up room. She didn't move to turn and look at them. Instead her eyes were focused on a picture that had been framed on her dresser. A familiar stumble was heard at the door frame.

    "Is she-." The group separated creating a path from Louis to Clementine. He saw her but it wasn't really her. She just stood there, staring.

Clementine took a few steps grabbing the picture and sitting on the bed. Her crutches were balanced on the ladder. Louis sat next to her. "We can change it if you want?"

She still had her eyes locked on the picture. It was her entire group. Together in her hospital room. AJ and Louis were on either side of her. Louis had his arm draped on her shoulders whereas AJ was enjoying some chocolate pudding. Everyone else was laughing besides Louis and Clem who were looking at each other confused. She remembered this, Marlon had made a comment on their relationship. Neither one of them understood.

Louis reached over to grab the frame but Clementine roughly pulled it to her chest. "No. I like this one. Please don't take it." She looked down at it again. She felt something in her chest. Gratitude maybe? No this was much stronger. She felt safe, protected, happy.

    "Do you like the room?" Brody asked separating herself from Marlon.

    "She better fucking like it I spent a months allowance on this." Everyone besides Clem whipped their heads to glare and see Mitch as the culprit.  Aasim slapped him on the back of the head as punishment. Everyone was satisfied with that.

    Looking up from the picture again she scanned the group. "It feels very comfortable here. I did not expect you to spend your earnings on me. I appreciate your acts of kindness towards me." She took a moment to think. "Thank you all for...supporting me. I haven't had this in a long time." Her voice was low yet pleasant.

    "We're here. Your here. AJ's here. You can let your guard down a little." Marlon commented.

    His comment didn't sit well with Clementine. She wanted to trust them but something told her to keep them at arms length. " I don't think that's a good idea." Her voice was almost a whisper.

The teens were agitated by his comment that made Clem uncomfortable. Violet broke the silence. "We'll get going. You enjoy the room. See you at dinner." Everyone got up and began exiting the room. Violet stood at the door to wait for Louis. Once he was about walk out the door she grabbed him by the shoulder. "Stay with her."

He didn't argue with that. He gave her a charming smile and made his way back to Clementine. Looking up she saw him and that alluring smile of his. He sat down again and her senses seemed to to absorb him. His scent never changed but sometimes, just sometimes his demeanor did.

     "Can I ask you some questions?" He asked leaning back on to the wall.

    "You never asked before so I don't think my answer will stop you." She wasn't joking but he laughed anyway. His laughter made her feel good. She smiled at him.

    Louis leaned his head on to his fist admiring her face. Taking in every curve, every eyelash, every scar. "What are you staring at?"

    He released a gentle sigh "You have a different glow when your actually happy. It's beautiful." That word had never been used to describe her. Even if she didn't quite know the meaning of the word it made her stomach flutter. She found her hands twisting one of her curls as she felt her face heat up.

    "What's happening to my face?" She questioned. Clem didn't like this feeling. She felt vulnerable yet at the same time it felt okay if she was around Louis.

    Louis patted a spot next to him. Clem shuffled back to sit in the spot. "Your blushing Clem. It happens when your embarrassed or your flattered."

    "I see. You'll have to teach me more about this kind of stuff."

    "Only if you teach me some of the stuff you learned on base." He winked causing her to half heartedly laughed. It was music to his ears. It gave him a sense of accomplishment. Sort of like the feeling he got when he finally got Violet to laugh. Clem agreed to his terms. "So tell me something."

    "I'll teach you 'Murphy's Laws Of Combat'. Rule number 1: If the enemy's in range so are you. These were the first things I taught AJ. That one in particular I made sure he always remembered." The thought brought back memories of Lee quizzing her on them. A sad yet, happy memory. She shook her head as if shaking the memory back to to where it came from. "What was your original question?"

    He shifted his weight "Why were you on the floor that night?"

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A day earlier then I expected. I apologize for the late update. It was grad week here. My best friend was supposed to graduate this year and he passed away back in September. It's been a rough week I spent most of my time with his family. It brought back a lot of feelings. I miss him a lot and I've been taking the time to grieve him properly. So please bare with me.

Have a lovely day loves♥️