Fork in the road

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Clara watches Nolan leave. From the window, she can see rain streaming down in a steady rhythm under the harsh light of the hotel parking lot.

He's chosen the middle of the night to make his departure. Perhaps he suspected that if he waited until morning, the option of removing himself from Clara's world would be gone. Maybe he thought the darkness would make leaving easier somehow, like if he snuck away undetected, his guilt could go unacknowledged as well.

There's no cause for him to feel guilty. Nolan is going to find his mother and Clara won't stand in his way. He needs to find her. He needs to fill his lungs with air and find a way to be okay with that again.

Nolan opens the door to his truck and tosses his bag inside. Just before he climbs in, he pauses and looks up at the window of his old room—the window that Clara is standing in. Clara waits for recognition to cross his face when he sees her there, but it never comes. Unable to find what he's seeking, he turns away.

He can't see Clara anymore.

Nolan drives out of the hotel and the hotel lets him leave. Clara turns from the window back to Nolan's bed.

#

Nolan lies on his bed, watching Clara in the darkness. He is a set of keys taken from one world in order to unlock all of the doors in hers.

She smiles at him and brushes the hair back from his brow.

"Is he gone?" He mouths to her.

Clara nods.

"No," she says and lies down beside him. "He's right here."


~END~


A/N: Thank you so much for reading my story! If you have any lingering questions about it, the next chapter may answer them for you (and if you're wondering if there's a sequel, I'll tell you right off the bat, the answer is YES! There are two, actually).

I have teasers from UNSEEN's sequels, UNHEEDED and UNSPOKEN in the chapters ahead, along with some promos for my other work. There's also some work of other writers at the end of this book. These writers participated in a flash fiction contest I held in 2014 in which I asked them to write UNSEEN fanfiction based on prompts. Enjoy!

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