DISEASE

CHAPTER 1

Claire POV

*knock knock* "open the door Claire" my elder brother, Simon says. I sigh getting up from my bed, going directly towards the washroom. I splash the cold water on my face and stare at my reflection in the mirror. The happy and cheerfully amber eyes is replaced by pale skin and dullness. I trace my fingers on my cheeks delicately without pressing on the bruise too hard. Images of what caused this bruise began to play in my mind, tears form in my eyes but I shake my head and splash the cold water once more. Ignoring my further thoughts I exit the washroom and open the door for my brother who is standing with a mug of coffee for me and himself.

"Good morning sunshine" he chirps and enters my room placing the coffee mug on my desk and comes over to me. I hang my head low not wanting him to see the tears in my eyes and grab the towel to clean my face but in reality to hide my face. Maybe he senses me being off and comes over to hug me. He pulls me in for a tight hug and thats when I lose it. I burst into tears and cry hard, just what Ive been doing all these days.

"Come on sunshine lets start this day with a good start and not crying" he mumbles into my hair but all I do is cry my eyes out and wet his now freshly worn t-shirt. He sighs mumbling soothing words while caressing my back. After a few minutes I calm down and pull away from the hug wiping my tears. Forcing a smile on my face I now face my worried brother who gives a sad smile and leaves a kiss on my forehead.

We sit down on the seat which is near my window and have the coffee in silence until Simon breaks it. "Dad and mom have left to Georgia because grams(grandmother) is not well. So I thought that why dont we go out, you know like shopping and having lunch at your favourite restaurant" . He says with such care and hope that I would accept his offer. Its been two weeks since Ive left my room and seen the outside world. Its been 2 weeks since I haven't spoken to anyone around me except my brother. Without thinking twice I nod my head which causes Simon to stare at me with wide eyes. I let out a weak chuckle, "I cant stay in this room for the rest of my life, can I?" I stand up and head towards my closet. "You might want to change your t-shirt" . I say to Simon and head to take a shower. "I'll be waiting for you downstairs" is all he says before closing the door to my room.

Simon is a brother that all I could wish for. He has never made me cry. He always treated me as his little princess. You could tell I was a spoilt brat because of him. He did everything for me to keep me happy, even now. Simon is 6 years elder than me. We are no different. We have the same amber eyes and dark brown hair like our dad. He is well built with sharp jaw line and high cheek bones. The only difference is that Simon has a honey color skin like mom. With a lot of his hard work, he is now the manager of the biggest networking company in Austin. He is 26 but still single, as he says "I'm not ready to be in a relationship yet" . He hasn't told the reason yet but once when I forced him to say, all he said was "I want to spend my time with my little princess" . I never took that as an answer.

After taking a warm shower for 15 minutes Im out of the bathroom. I pick up an outfit which is comfortable in this cold. Its the end of November but its already cold enough. I wear a pink turtle neck sweater and suit it with black skinny jeans and ankle length boots. I cover up the bruise with some concealer and apply the mascara lightly and not to forget my lip gloss because my lips are always chapped. When I stare at the mirror I realise that it has been weeks since I've dressed like this. 'I should move on and forget the past' I repeat to myself and leave the room with a black scarf around my neck.

Simon is dressed in his casual attire. Black jeans, a white t-shirt and his black leather jacket and paired up with his black sneakers. "You look handsome, I wonder why you have not dated anyone yet", I say grabbing the muffins which were placed on the counter. He chuckles and ignores my question. He swings his arm around my shoulder and we head to the door. He takes the door keys from the counter and we leave the house.

Simon is not a big fan of cars but still has one for emergency purpose. He has a bike of his own which he protects and adores as if his life depends on it. I wear the helmet and hop onto the bike behind him.

We have a long day ahead.