“What are you talking about, dear?” Her mom asked.
“The trial will take days, but,” Her father ran his hand over his face, walking away. “Jennifer Tate.” He said again.
“What about Jenny?” Claire asked.
Her father looked at her again, “I have been blind.”
“What about Jenny?” Claire asked again.
“She witnessed the entire thing.” Her father shook his head, as if still trying to understand what he had heard. “It wasn’t Clay, was it? It was Jason the entire time.” He walked up to her, “How long have I been blind? How long has he hurt you?”
Claire’s eyes started to well up, her lip trembled. He believed her, finally. She had screamed for so long for someone to hear her. Her father was supposed to be her fierce protector, it might have taken him a while to get there, but he got there eventually. She fell into her father’s arms, realizing she didn’t have to be strong anymore, “Daddy, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I tried to tell you.”
He ran his hand over the back of her head, “No, my girl. I’m sorry for not hearing you.”
“He didn’t do it?” Her mom said in shock, with her hand over her mouth. Claire wasn’t surprised that her mom believed the truth she had been denying. Once her father said he believed her, she would follow suit. It was a trait her mom would probably never lose.
Claire relaxed in her father’s arms. For the first time in forever, she felt she could finally relax in her home. Clay would be ok, Claire told herself. He had to be.
“How did she see everything though?” Claire looked up at her father. “We were in the middle of nowhere. How would she know?”
He ran his hand over Claire’s hair again, “She was leaving the Shake Shop when she saw Jason’s car speeding after yours. She quickly got in her car, and followed behind without her head lights on. Jason would have been too worked up to pay attention. If he was driving how you said, he would have been too hell bent on making you run off the side of the road, to notice that Jenny was behind you. Still she kept her distance. She came up on Jason spinning out; your car had already turned down the road. She said she followed him into the woods, getting lost at one point, until she heard his voice yelling Clay’s name. This led her to the clearing of Sanderson Field; the moments after unfolded, and she watched the entire thing. Including where Jason hid the gun.”
Claire’s eyes went wide, “They never found the gun. That’s what the officer said when I gave my statement. That there was no gun.”
“Not until Jenny.” Her father hugged her again, “I thought that girl was going to be the death of me, but I am indebted to her for the rest of my life.”
Claire pulled away again, “When will we know?”
He shook his head, “I don’t know. They still have Jason to bring to the stand.”
Claire bit her bottom lip, she hated Jason for the things he had done; for pinning everything on Clay.
“Claire, honey,” Her father said, getting her attention, “I will make sure Clay is ok, if it’s the last thing I do. I owe him an apology after all. I think I can start there.”
Chapter Thirty Eight
Clay
A week later Clay was released, the sun was shining a bright blue, almost matching the color of Claire’s eyes. When he walked back into the world, he half expected to see her, but all he saw was his father. He was still overwhelmingly happy to see his father, but his heart was searching for her.
“Hey, Pop,” Clay wrapped his arms around his father’s neck.
His father wiped his eye, “You’re home.”
Clay laughed, “Are you crying?”
His father waved him off, “Dust in my eye. Let’s go home.”
“Where is she?” Clay asked, before getting in the car. “I want to go wherever she is.”
His father smiled, opening the driver side door, “She’s where she’s been since you’ve been gone; at your house. She spends most days there.”
Clay smiled, “Let’s go.”
His father turned the truck on, and pulled out of the parking lot. Clay watched the jail disappear. He never wanted to see that place ever again. He wondered if Jason had been arrested, but that was a conversation for a later time. Right now, he was focused on seeing Claire.
His father spoke, “I’ve had dinner with her every night she spends at your house. She’s a good cook; might give you a run for your money.”
“She’s good at everything.” Clay smiled, looking out the window. The fact that he was driving to her and not being pulled away was enough to make his heart explode. It had been too many days that he had not been able to look into her icy blue eyes, or hold her in his arms. That was immediately what he planned to do.
His father pulled into his driveway, Clay saw her car. “I’ll drop you off.” His father said.
“I’ll see you in a little bit, Pop.” Clay hopped out of the truck, running up the steps to his house. He swung the screen door open to an empty house, she wasn’t there. He noticed his notebooks of poems and random thoughts had been pulled from the shelf, laid on the bed, as if she had been reading through them. He wasn’t worried, all she would find were his thoughts of her from the very moment he saw her in the blue dress.
He knew exactly where she would be, his truck was parked out front, his keys hanging by the door. He grabbed them, and rushed outside. He parked his truck at the bottom of the hill where the tree line started.
He ran through the winter trees, his heart racing the closer he got to her. He broke through onto Sanderson Field; his eyes spotted her, she was wearing a green sweater, walking through the grass toward the oak tree. Her left hand had a bunch of dried leaves that it looked like she had collected. The wind blew through her hair, she tried to push it behind her ear, but failed. He was taking in this moment; she was undisturbed, peaceful, and beautiful.
She stopped at what looked like a blanket that she had laid out on the ground next to the swing, a few other items were resting on the ground. He couldn’t quite make out what they were. Just before she sat down, he called out to her, “I’ll answer your question now.”
Her attention shot up to him, the leaves in her hand fell to the ground, her feet quickly carried her toward him. She ran into his arms, he picked her up spinning her around. Their lips collided, like the sun seeing the moon for the very first time. They say love comes in all different forms, to him Claire’s love was the rarest of them all. She was a diamond in the sea of stones. He held his hand on the back of her neck, as they breathed each other in.
When he set her back on the ground she looked up at him, “You’re real.”
“I’m real.” Clay laughed.
“In my dreams you always disappeared, or I couldn’t touch you.”
He pushed her hair out of her face that the wind kept trying to catch, “I’m here, and I am never leaving you again.”
She smiled, pressing her lips to his again, “What did you say to get my attention? I couldn’t hear you.”
“I said I would answer your question now.”
She looked at him confused, “What question is that?”
“I told you once that I loved the way you looked at me, and you asked what kind of look was it. I told you I'd tell you when you’re ready. Because, I don’t think you even knew at the time.”
“Ok.” She giggled. “What is it?”
“You looked into my eyes, and you saw me. You wanted every part of me, you trusted me without a glimpse of doubt. You handed me your heart with those eyes, telling me you love me over and over again. I never once took it for granted, but I was afraid to have your heart in my care. That’s why I never said it.” He took her chin. “Claire Cunningham, I love you with every ounce of my soul.”
“I knew you love me.” She gave him a cheeky smile. “You take your time with life, and sometimes the best things in life are worth the time it takes to get there.”
“Who told you that?” He placed a small kiss on her lips.
“O
h, some guy telling me that I’m not patient with life.” She smiled. “He’s pretty great though.”
Clay rolled his eyes, “You’re funny.”
“What do we do now?”
Clay licked his bottom lip, “I know exactly what I want to do right now.” He picked her up into a cradle, carrying her toward the blanket in the grass.
“If I know you, and I do...we’re in the middle of a field. We can’t do that out here.”
He kneeled down, resting her on the blanket, “No one is out here, and my dick is about to come out of my pants being this close to you.”
She smiled up at him, “I missed you so much.”
He leaned over her, “You have no idea.” He pressed his body against her, taking her lips with his. Her hands found their way to his hair, as his body started to grind against hers. He was taking his time with her this time, enjoying every inch of her body. He pulled her sweater off, his eyes took in the sight of her, she had the same white lace bra on that she swam in the first time that he brought her here. She reached back removing her bra; he stood to remove his jeans and boxers, his eyes never leaving her body. She shimmed out of her jeans, and laid beneath him as perfect as he remembered.
He knelt back down, running his fingers along her side, stopping at her panties. She pulled them down for him; he involuntarily took a breath from the sight in front of him, “You are the most beautiful thing I will ever lay my eyes on.”
She took his hand, “Come here.”
He braced himself over her, his length resting between her legs, “I love you.”
“I like the sound of that coming from your lips.” She reached up touching his stubble.
“I think you’ll like a lot of things that come from my mouth.”
“Like what?” She smirked.
“I’m going to make you my wife one day,” He grinded against her, her body reacted, “I’m going to put a baby in you one day,” He kissed her cheek, “I’m going to build you a big house one day.” He kissed her lips. “But, this day, right now, I’m going to make love to the girl that owns my heart.” He pushed himself inside of her.
“Clay, mmm, ” She cried out.
He smiled, at her pleasure. It only made him harder. He pushed in deeper with each thrust. He kneaded her breasts. Everything about her was perfect to him. The way her chest fit perfectly into his hands. The way it felt with her legs wrapped around him like the last piece of a puzzle. The sound of his name coming from her lips as he brought her to her peak. If he had to choose one job the rest of his life, it would be to please Claire forever and always. Her happiness was all that he cared about now.
Claire’s back arched, as she cried out. He felt her clench around his shaft as she reached her high. He pulled her legs up, angling her so that he could go deeper, he could feel out wet she had came. A few more thrusts into her, and he shuddered inside of her, filling her fully.
*
They found themselves lying on the oversized blanket, under the oak tree. Clay’s heart was full. He didn’t think he could ever feel complete, but Claire did that for him. She was the piece that he didn’t even realize his heart was missing. He could see his entire future in her, and he loved the sight.
Clay ran his fingers up her arm, as she lay in his nook, “I didn’t think you would come back here.”
She looked up at him, “I was afraid to at first, but it was my connection to you.” She looked up at the tree. “The first time I walked out here, I cried, a lot. It was hard.” She looked back at him. “That was the first night I had dinner with your father. I asked him to walk out here with me, because I was afraid. But, you taught me that you can’t run from your past. I wanted to face it. Because, this place is also special to me, and I won’t let Jason take that from us.”
Clay leaned down, kissing her forehead, “Thank you for taking care of my father.”
“He says I’m a better cook than you.” She nudged him.
“Well that’s a lie I will argue any day.” He picked up one of the dried leaves. “What were you doing with this stuff anyway?”
She took the leaf, “I was making a fall bouquet for your house. It needs a woman’s touch. It’s so masculine.”
He smirked, “Does it now? I hear you have been staying there since I’ve been away.”
She leaned up on her arm, looking him in the eyes, “Did you mean what you said about marrying me?”
“Of course I did.” He bopped her nose with his index finger. “You’re stuck with me now, Claire Cunningham. I’m going to love you until the end of time.”
She smiled, “There you go getting all romantic on me. Speaking of, I found your journals.” She raised her eyebrow, and reached over him, picking up a brown leather notebook, “You told me you weren’t into books.” She dangled one of his notebooks in front of him.
He took the book, “I never said I didn’t write my own.” He pulled her closer with his other arm, his lips dancing in front of hers.
“Your words are beautiful. I never knew you wrote like that.”
“They’re mostly about you.” He said calmly.
“Me?” Claire asked, surprised. “There’s so many of them.”
Clay laughed, “I had great inspiration.”
“When did you start writing them?”
He touched her cheek, “The first time I saw you, my beautiful girl.”
She couldn’t suppress her smile, “You always saw me.”
“I always saw you.” He agreed. “Do you want to hear a new one?”
Claire nodded, “Yes.”
“In you, I have found the place where all my dreams go. I am no longer lost in the night, because your light, like the moon’s silver rays, guide me home.”
Epilogue
Claire
Claire was finally allowed to talk to Jenny after the trial was over. She drove to the closest restaurant, ordered a large sweet tea, and headed straight to Jenny’s office. As much as Jenny and Claire had distanced themselves from each other, it didn’t mean Claire never missed her.
Claire sat on a green metal bench outside the doctor’s office that Jenny worked at, holding the large sweet tea in her hand. She kept tapping her foot on the ground from the nerves. She knew Jenny better than anyone in town, except for her mom; she didn’t understand why she was so nervous.
At 12:05 Jenny walked out in her blue scrubs, laughing with one of her coworkers. It made Claire’s heart soar to see her friend laugh. Jenny finally spotted Claire, and stopped mid-step. “I’ll catch up with you later.” Jenny said to her friend.
Claire stood, holding the cup, “I brought you this.”
Jenny walked up to her, looking down at the cup, “What is it?”
“Sweet tea; just like you like it.” Claire smiled.
Jenny let out a small laugh, taking the cup, “I could use a little sweet these days. What are you doing here?”
Claire started fidgeting with her hands, “I wanted to say thank you. I wanted to say it sooner, but at first I wasn’t allowed to talk to you, but then I didn’t really know what to say.”
“It was nothing. I think you’d do the same thing if it were me.” Jenny said, as they sat down on the green bench.
“I always wondered, what made you follow us that night?”
Jenny took in a deep breath, “I hate that night.” She reached over taking Claire’s hand, then looked her in the eyes, “I had stopped to get a strawberry shake, I was walking to my car when I saw your car fly through Main Street, then Jason’s shortly behind you. It wasn’t until I watched you bust through that red light like you had a death wish, that I realized something was wrong.” She squeezed Claire’s hand, “You’re the girl who breaks for butterflies. I knew something was very wrong. So, I hopped in my car, and followed you.”
“So, basically because I care about the wellbeing of butterflies is what saved Clay?”
Jenny laughed, “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Did,” Claire paused trying to figure out if
it was ok to ask this question, “Did Jason ever hurt you?”
Jenny held Claire’s eyes, “He frightened me a few times after you found out about us, but nothing like what he did to you.”
Claire looked at the ground, “It made me sick thinking he might have done the same to you.” She thought often about Jason, but only because he was a part of her life for so long. He had been arrested, and was currently sitting in jail, awaiting his trial. The judge denied him bond for the well being of Claire. It gave her a sense of peace; she no longer had to look over her shoulder.
“How’s Clay?” Jenny asked.
A smile instantly went to Claire’s face, “He’s perfect, Jenn. I want you to get to know him.”
“Really?” Jenny was surprised.
“I miss you. We’ve been through a lot, and I need you in my life. You don’t know how badly I wanted to tell you about him, and the way he makes me feel. You’ve been with me through every milestone. I want you there for the rest of the milestones too.”
“I’d like that.” Jenny smiled.
*
It had been a few months since Clay and Claire’s life went back to their new normal. She had moved in with him almost immediately. Her parents had a little objection to it at first, but they knew that they couldn’t keep her away from Clay even if they tried.
Claire’s father had come around; she almost didn’t recognize him some days. The first night he invited Clay over for dinner, she didn’t know what to say. Her father had a fatherly chat with him that night in his study. She tried to eavesdrop, but her mother pulled her away.
She tried to get the information out of Clay, but he said that what was said in the study would remain between him and her father.
Claire was walking across the field toward Clay’s house. She had gone on another scavenger walk down to the oak tree. She had stopped by his father’s house to say hi, but he wasn’t home. It was almost dinner time, and Clay’s truck was parked out front of their home. He wasn’t supposed to be home from work for another hour. Which she thought was strange.
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