concordia

eighteen

word count: 1.1k

date written: 14.6.19

verse: alt-canon; scene rewrite

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claire clutched her mother's car keys tight, pressing the button repeatedly and watching as the car's tail lights flashed in response to her locking and unlocking it. she could sense elle approaching her from across the courtyard but tried to ignore her as she drew closer, hoping she'd simply take the hint and go away. she didn't, unfortunately, stopping beside the bench, and claire was quick to make it known that she wasn't welcome. "can't you just leave me alone?" she muttered, glancing up at her in annoyance. elle shrugged innocently, hands hidden in the pockets of her work jacket, and sat down beside claire on the bench when she simply rolled her eyes and looked away.

elle watched as she continued to press the car keys in a specific rhythm, muttering something indistinct under her breath. it was blustery out and elle was surprised she wasn't cold in just her sheer cardigan and summer dress. "you aren't very strong, are you?" elle asked when claire only continued to ignore her. claire scowled.

"so what?" she snapped, angling her body away from elle as she tried to focus on the car instead. she didn't have to be strong, least of all with a brain like hers. besides, she couldn't help it if everyone else was bigger than her. despite her clear unwillingness to talk, elle wasn't ready to give up trying. 

"so sarah's scratch marks had bruises alongside them," she revealed, leaning forward. "which means whoever hurt her had to be strong enough to leave them behind after they grabbed her." she noticed claire falter from the corner of her eye, shoulders falling a fraction as she gripped the car keys tighter, digging the metal into the palm of her hand. "can you explain that?" she smiled in wry amusement when claire stayed silent, stubbornly continuing to stare at the car instead. she really was just like connie. "you know, your mum talks about you a lot." 

"i bet you wish she'd shut up," claire said quietly, curling her legs further under the bench. she didn't see why anyone would enjoy hearing about her any more than they had to. elle laughed, brushing a loose curl behind her ear when the wind blew it free. 

"well she says that you're kind," elle told her gently, shuffling closer and clearing the small gap claire had put between them. "determined. very smart. and painfully stubborn." claire eyed her doubtfully. she didn't want to like elle, scared of what it might mean, but her resolve was gradually starting to crumble under the weight of her friendliness. "if i was in your position, i would do whatever it took to protect my friend." she neglected to mention that she had been in that position before not too long ago; when she'd allowed herself to be ostracized by the entire hospital all to protect connie's job. 

claire immediately tensed, her hands falling still. "she's not my friend," she admitted, shaking her head. elle frowned, unsurprisingly confused. as far as she, and everyone else, was aware, they were friends. she had no idea why claire would claim otherwise but decided not to address it, worried that she  would go silent again if confronted. 

"claire, i know you didn't hurt her," elle said softly, reaching out to gently rest a hand on her arm. claire jumped slightly, gaze briefly flickering over to her. "but it's our job to help her and we can't do that until we know exactly what happened." claire pressed her legs together, looking down at the car keys in her lap as she resumed pressing them. she didn't know how much she could trust elle, especially with a secret like hers, but keeping it to herself had already started to hurt more than she could cope with. 

she squeezed her eyes shut, taking a deep breath as she counted silently in time with the car locking and unlocking. when she reached fifty, she reluctantly opened them again, only they were now brimming with tears. "she's not my friend," claire repeated, voice almost a whisper, and her lower lip trembled slightly as she turned to face elle for the first time. "she... she picks on me. at school." elle's heart immediately sank. "we're supposed to be doing a science project and... she made me be her partner because i'm the smartest person in school." elle swallowed thickly, resting her hands on top of claire's, closed around the car keys.

"how did she get the bruises, claire?" she asked quietly. claire took a shaky breath, closing her eyes again as she tried to find the courage to tell the truth. it wasn't as easy to do as people had made out and her head had been aching ever since she'd woken up that morning. as the day had progressed, and things had taken a wrong turn, it had only gotten worse. 

"she's scared of her mum," she eventually whispered, gripping the car keys impossibly tight as she continued to press the button. locked, unlocked, locked, unlocked, locked. "i'm scared of her too. she... makes sarah feel bad about herself. i've heard her. but sarah said... she said that if anyone ever found out then i had to take the blame." she sniffled, her eyes fluttering open as tears began to fall. "i didn't want to! but she said that if i didn't then she'd ruin my life!" she freed one of her hands to dry her eyes with and elle didn't hesitate to pull her into a hug. "i was just scared! she's already mean enough..." elle sighed, gently stroking her hair. she suspected connie was just as oblivious to the situation as she had been up until a second ago. elle knew she'd never let her daughter spend time with the girl who was terrorizing her. it would've been dealt with a long time ago. 

"please... you can't tell anyone," claire mumbled into elle's chest, voice muffled against the fabric of her jacket. "i don't want to get in trouble." the first time she'd accidentally caught sarah's mother hurting her, she'd run off with every intention of phoning her own and exposing what she'd seen. unfortunately, sarah had caught up to her before she could and twisted her arm until she'd promised to keep quiet, turning into a miniature version of her mother in the process. 

afraid of what else she might do, claire had tearfully obliged and reluctantly kept the truth to herself for weeks. telling someone was a huge weight lifted from her shoulders but now the repercussions of doing so were making her feel sick instead of the guilt that had been eating away at her for keeping the secret to begin with. whether or not she'd continued to, however, didn't seem to have mattered; the outcome was unpleasant either way.