you're beautiful here

n i n e

a l i c e & c l a i r e

Chapter 9

Felix hated birthdays. Claire knew this but still couldn't help but try to do something nice for her brother. He was turning 22, even though it felt like he had already lived enough for a lifetime. Claire had tried to make things go smoothly as much as she could, but there was only so much she could help with. She was just a girl.

"Claire, I can't say I'm not shocked that you reached out to me." Alice was extremely confused when she got a text from Claire a week before Felix's birthday. Since the first night of the storm, Claire had remained distant and contemptuous from across Mugz when Alice and Felix had their bi-daily meetings. Even though Claire had held her judgmental gaze, she had asked Alice to meet her at Mugz on a Friday when Felix had a meeting with Dr. Smith.

"Well, as uneasy as I am about the situation between you and my brother, I do need your help." Alice raised one eyebrow.

Felix's birthday was the next Friday, and he had another meeting with Dr. Smith during the morning. Claire really wanted to surprise him and make this year better than the rest but couldn't do so without Alice.

She told Alice about how Felix hadn't really had a birthday in years. On his sixteenth birthday, he'd gotten his license, and they all went to the zoo. Claire and Felix's life had turned upside down soon after, and since then Felix detested most types of celebrations. It was his 'last good day' with his parents and grandparents, as he'd once told Claire. Although he hated his own, he'd tried to make Claire's birthdays something to remember but couldn't do much past some baked goods from Mugz and a card.

"So, I want to give him something to hold onto. He's about to graduate college. As much as I'd like us to leave here, I don't know if he ever will, and he'll need something to remember when things change." Claire's eyes found the booth's table. Alice's brows pulled together. Claire picked at her sleeve, and Alice couldn't help but see Felix in it.

"What do you mean by 'when things change'? And you want to leave? Does Felix know that?" Alice asked. Felix never told Alice much about Claire, but the girl sitting in front of her was much different than the 15-year-old girl he'd described. While Alice could already tell that she was the laid back, snarky teen she'd been described to be, she could see that she held much deeper and complex thoughts about this life than Felix lead her to believe.

Claire let out a small sigh. Alice leaned in to urge her to continue. "We have this aunt that lives in Arizona," she started, peeking up at Alice. "Her name is Madalyn. She used to live here, but she moved away when she graduated high school. She knew she wasn't meant for this little coffee shop in Seattle. She wanted to explore new horizons and see the world." Claire started talking more excitably. Alice could see this was something she was excited about. "She studies geology, and she has nature in her back yard. That's," she paused for a moment. "That's what I want to do. I don't like the city, and I don't like Mugz. I want to be in nature and see all it has to offer." She looked up at Alice. "I want to move in with aunt Madalyn."

Alice was taken aback. She knew Felix wouldn't be happy about this. Mugz was his whole life—all he'd ever known. She sat back and let the information wash over her. "You want to move away? From Felix?"

"No," Claire hurriedly said. "That's the last thing I want to do. But I'm turning 16 over the summer, and Arizona has this amazing geology camp for juniors and seniors. I've been talking to Madalyn and she said she'd let me live with her to go there and that we could work out what happens after that. She even said she'd let Felix stay if he wanted to."

Felix moving to Arizona. That was the last thing Alice wanted. She had finally found someone who actually cared for her and it all could easily be ripped away by a teenage girl. Alice shook the thought from her head. She couldn't be mad about Claire wanting a better life. She saw how hard they worked every day. It wasn't easy keeping Mugz up and running.

Alice took a deep breath. "Well, Ithink you need to talk to Felix about it if you feel that way." She didn't evenwant to think about Felix leaving her so soon after they'd found each other. "But,in the meantime, we do need to plan this birthday party."