Becoming The Shadows (Shadow Series #4)

15 - Leather Jacket

The door to the apartment swings open to reveal my dad. I press my lips together, remembering that we never really got to talk after that night in the woods. His mouth forms a question, but I cut him off by shoving a piece of paper out in front of his chest. 

He hesitantly grabs the paper in his fingers. "What's this?"

"A deadpool." I reply, quickly. "A list of supernatural creatures that are being hunted down by assassins." 

Dad reads through the list of names. His finger taps the numbers beside the names. The wrinkles on his forehead bunch together. "The numbers are how much they are worth?" Dad takes a step back away from the door to allow me to walk inside. 

The apartment has a calming sensation on me. The last time I was in this apartment seems like years ago. My eyes glide up the walls and a hint of a smile graces my lips.

"A hundred and seventeen millions in bearer bonds was stolen from Peter awhile ago. The Benefactor is funding this deadpool with that money." I reply to him. I move through the apartment and it almost feels like I'm in a flashback. 

Laughter is faintly heard in the back of my mind. My attention darts to the bedroom doors at the end of the hallway. The bedroom belonged to Allison. My legs carry me down the hallway towards the rooms. My right hand grips the doorknob that belongs to her old room and twist it open. I nervously swallow the lump in my throat. 

Her room is plain and empty now. The queen sized bed is still in the middle of the room. Pillows piled on top of it, neatly. Curtains are halfway open to allow a little bit of light inside. I find myself drawn to Allison's old closet. The closet doors are pushed to the side. A few of Allison's clothes hang on the rod. I reach out to touch her most favorite clothing item. 

The black leather feels cool beneath my fingers. Allison loved to wear her leather jacket. 

"Do you know why she wore that jacket so much?" 

Dad's voice startles me a little bit. My fingers fall down from the sleeve of the jacket. I keep my back to him, not wanting him to see the few tears that had slide down my cheeks.

"Allison said that it reminded her of you." 

I spin around to face him, surprised. 

Dad weakly smiles. The door frame is holding his body up as he watches me. "She always wanted to be like you, even when you two were younger. Allison never told you this, but she looked up to you for everything."

More tears shed as he talks. 

Dad pushes away from the door frame to walk up to me. "You may not look like Clara, but you are her, aren't you?" 

"I-I wanted to tell you-" 

His arms wraps around my shoulders and he embraces me in a hug. The action sends me into a fit of tears as I desperately clutch to his shirt and jacket. I rest my cheek on his chest, sobbing. "It's okay. It's okay." 

"I- I wanted to tell you, but I-I couldn't..." 

Dad hushes me, "It's okay. I understand." Our arms tighten around each other.

After Allison died, Dad only had me and then, I was dead. He had no one left. Dad thought he had lost us for forever. For his daughter to die and come back to life must take some kind of toll on him. How was he even able to figure out who I really am? No one was able to take one look at me and know. Lydia took a little bit along with her banshee power to figure it out. 

"Who knows?" Dad holds me away at arm's length.

I brush away the tears and wet streaks on my face. I focus on steadying my erratic breathing. "Only Lydia." 

"No one else has figured it out yet?" 

I shake my head. "No. Sometimes, I think that Stiles will figure it out because he's good at those kind of things, but he never says anything." I push my hair out of my face. My chest slows down from moving up and down so rapidly. "It was weird. Before I woke up in this body, I saw Allison, like it was some kind of dream. She said I wasn't able to tell anyone. I don't know why, but when you wake up alive when you were just murdered, you don't really question things."

Dad's hands move to cup my face. "You look beautiful." 

I weakly smile up at him. "Thank you. I-I don't look like how I used to, but I can change my appearance. I'm like some kind of shapeshifter or something."

"The power to change your appearance, but not change into a supernatural creature?" Dad thinks it over. He watches me nod my head. "That's different. Maybe there is something in the bestiary. I'll look into it."

"I'm glad you know. It's been killing me not to tell anyone. Derek doesn't even know and I thought he'd be the first to figure it out." 

Dad pulls me back in for another hug. "I can tell him." He suggests.

"I don't think that's the best idea. Don't get me wrong, I want everyone to know, but if we just tell them, I don't think that they will really believe it." I step out of my father's grasp. I back away until I find my back brushing up against Allison's jacket. "I think if they figure it out, notice that there's something similiar about me. They'll really believe it."

"Who do they think you are?" 

The leather jacket hangs off of the hanger in Allison's closet. She wore it to be more like me. Everyone knew that I dressed more badass with the leather jackets. This was a style that I would wear. I never knew she wanted to be like me so much. If anything, I wanted to be more like her. Everyone liked her and she got along with everyone. When she started being brainwashed by Kate and Gerald, Allison changed into a person that I didn't want to become. 

"Jackson told me to watch over them." I laugh at how ridiculous it sounds now. 

"I'm surprised they haven't figured it out. Claire Silver isn't the greatest identity." Dad grabs the leather jacket off of the hanger and holds it out for me to take.

My eyes lift to meet his. I hesitantly grab the jacket from his outstretched hand. "I don't know what I was thinking." I chuckle at the poorly thought out name. "I guess I didn't want to pick a name that was too far off from my real name." 

The leather jacket fits me perfectly as I slide it on. Allison and I had always worn the same sizes. I stretch out my arms, thankfully that the sleeves are long enough. It's a perfect fit, almost like it was made for me. Allison must have bought the jacket that most resembled my style. 

Dad smiles at the jacket on my body. "She'd be proud of you, you know. Even with no one else knowing who you are, you are still doing everything you can to protect your friends. You were the person that she always wanted to be. You protected everyone even when we were against you."

"She's going to be even prouder when I save all of my friends that are on the deadpool lists." I motion to the paper that he had dropped on Allison's bed. "That's only part one. Lydia is working on cracking the code to crack the second list and then there's one more after that."

"And what are you going to do if you're on the list? Dying and then coming back to life. There's no way that you're not part of the supernatural world. These assassins will come after you."

I peer down at the list before meeting his gaze with a determined look. "Then I'm going to kick some ass." 

XXXX

Chris knows the truth! He actually figured it out on his own! How could he not figure it out? He's Clara's father. He raised her. Chris would know how his daughter is whether she looks the same or not.

Remember this leather jacket. It will be important for Clara. It's a way to keep a part of Allison always close to her. 

Badass Clara is my favorite.

She had such a touching moment with her dad. It was so cute and precious. She needs her father in her life. Now, Lydia and her dad know. Who shall be next?

Question: What did you think of this moment between the two of them? 

So, yeah!