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( 00 一 EPILOGUE. )
After almost a year it felt like things were finally starting to settle down. Vida and Clara had moved into a small house in a quiet secluded neighbourhood that was filled with other people like them. Vida would go off to work every morning and come home at night, the whole thing was sickeningly domestic but Clara loved it.
They'd adopted a cat that Zu demanded be called Snuffles. With great reluctance Vida allowed it. She hated the thing and the feeling appeared to be mutual. Every time Vida passed the cat it would hiss at her and she would hiss right back.
Zu would stay with them on weekends when she didn't have school. Sometimes Cate, Chubs, Ruby, Liam and Nico would come for dinner and Clara would prepare elaborate dinners that ended up tasting awful and looking even worse. Still, they never said anything, they just let her cook for them. Clara appreciated it.
They'd found their peace, finally.
It was a Monday when the doorbell rang. Vida had already left, dropping Zu off on the way. Clara had recently taken up gardening, another skill she wasn't particularly good at. Still, Vida let her place her poorly potted plants in every available space. The house was teeming with half-dying greenery.
Clara had made her way swiftly to the door. They didn't often get unexpected visitors unless it was a journalist that had somehow found their address. Vida usually handled them as the mass press Clara had received over the year had brought her incredible stress and anxiety.
Tentatively Clara opened the door, preparing to be bombarded with questions. Instead, she found something greatly unexpected.
"Mum?" Clara could feel tears brimming in her eyes just at the sight of her.
"Clarissa," her mother said tersely, lacking all the warmth that should have been there. Her mother pulled someone out from behind her and Clara felt herself gasp.
Eli was so much bigger now. He'd grown into a young man and Clara felt her heart break in two when he didn't even look at her. She'd tried searching for them when everything had ended but they were nowhere to be found. She couldn't even ask her aunt who had died of a heart attack a few years back.
Clara stepped to the side, allowing them into her house. She felt vulnerable, allowing her mother to see that part of her. It felt intensely personal for a reason she didn't understand. As they walked through the hall Clara was uncomfortably aware of how her brother kept his eyes trained on the floor, refusing to look at her.
Her mother looked better, healthier than when Clara was a kid. Clearly, she'd gotten sober at some point. Clara tried not to think about it.
When they finally reached the kitchen Clara welcomed them to sit down but they both stood stiff in their spots. "It's— it's good to see you, both of you," Clara said, trying to look them in the eye. Clara noticed the way her mother's eyes were trained on a framed picture of her and Vida kissing, she saw the subtle disgust on her face. She felt like shrinking into the ground. She hadn't felt like that in so long.
After a long pause her mother spoke again, her cold eyes on Clara's. "It was in the news that you fixed someone. The President's wife," she said, keeping a firm hold on Eli's shoulder. Clara nodded slowly, confirming her words. Seeing this Clara's mother continued, "I want you to fix him. Now."
It took Clara a moment to process what she'd said. She wanted her to fix Eli, her brother. If Clara knew she could she'd do it in a heartbeat but the last thing she wanted to do was cause more damage to his mind. "I can try," she finally said, tentatively, "but I can't be sure if it would work. Do you want me to try, Eli?"
Eli stared at her and slowly nodded his head unsurely. Clara tried to give him a smile but felt it die on her face.
The woman nodded tersely and pushed Eli towards her. He glanced back unsurely at his mum before walking closer to Clara. He didn't even look at her.
"You might want to sit down," Clara said quietly, pointing at the open chair next to her. He looked at it and slowly sat.
Clara held her hand out for him to take. He looked like he was debating refusing before hesitantly putting his hand in hers.
Without another word, Clara slipped into his head. She painfully ignored the images of their childhood together, of him in a camp in a yellow uniform, him being bullied by the other boys in his cabin until she found what she was looking for. It was all jumbled together, a mess of connections that were all tied together. Bit by bit Clara undid the mess she'd made. It took time and pressure but eventually, she unravelled it all. Like untangling wool. When Clara pulled out of his head Eli was shaking.
"Eli?" She asked tentatively. After a moment Eli finally looked her in the eye. "Thank you," he muttered shakily like he was uncertain he could even form the words. The second he did, tears started pouring down his cheeks just as they did Clara's.
"Can– can I hug you?" Clara asked him slowly. It felt so good to see him again. To hear him talk.
Eli looked at her like he was scrutinising the question and her by extension. "I know that you helped stop all this. That you helped save everyone in the camps. I know you used your abilities for good, but you didn't always," he said in that same shaky voice. Clara felt her heart drop. "You hurt me, Clara," Eli said.
"I know, I know I did and I'm sosorry---"
"You hurt me more than that camp ever did," he said firmly. "I'm sorry," he said, almost like an afterthought. Clara felt her throat close. She wanted to yell out for him as he stood from his chair. She wanted to explain to him that she was only a child, that it was an accident, the worst mistake she'd ever made but her mouth wouldn't form the words.
When he'd left the room Clara's mother finally let a glare fall over her eyes. She glared at Clara as if she was the most disgusting thing she'd ever seen. Clara was sure she'd never felt so small. "Don't contact us. Ever," she spat before following after her son.
Clara felt the obstruction in her throat disappear and the second it did and choked sob fell from her lips. Hot, salty tears falling from her eyes as she heard the front door slam.
When Vida returned home to find Clara in the same position at the table, her face devastated, she knew something terrible had happened.
Peace was not easily won.
Still, Clara Thornton found herself fighting for it.
❊❊❊
The sun was warm as it bathed Clara in light. The grass smelt sweet beneath her.
Her friends spoke loudly around her; Zu laughing at one of Chubs's jokes, Ruby laying her head against Liam's chest as he argued passionately with Vida about something, Nico staring up at the sky beside her.
Clara lay with her head in Vida's lap, the girl's fingers combing through Clara's soft blonde strands. It was soothing and calming all at once.
Clara observed them quietly, her hand drawing patterns in the grass. They all looked so happy. Clara wanted to freeze that moment, capture the feeling she knew she could never capture in a picture. It both saddened her and brought her joy.
They were her family and they always would be. They could stretch to the farthest reaches of the Earth and Clara would still come running.
She'd learnt that love was infinite. Her love was infinite.
❊❊❊
I want to give a huge thanks to everyone who had read, commented or voted on this book. At times your support was seriously what kept me coming back to this project and I love and appreciate you all so much.
This book has been one hell of a journey for me and a lot of my personal life is reflected in Clara. I hope you all loved her as much as I do. ❤️
