Colliding with Fate

~Seven~

It was two in the morning and I was still thinking about Fate. I wasn't expecting my Monday to have turned out the way it did. I rolled over, restless.

I worried if Fate was still walking home right now, at two in the morning. I closed my eyes in frustration.

I could not sleep.

My body was exhausted. My legs ached as well as my back from twisting and turning in my bed so much. I just couldn't get comfortable.

I was now sprawled out at the foot of my bed, my feet digging into my pillows at the head of the bed. My right arm dangled over the side of my bed whilst my left arm was under me, slowly falling asleep due to the loss of circulation.

My phone vibrated on my nightstand next to me. I quickly grabbed it, seeing Claire's name flash across the screen. Her freckled face and red hair flooded my mind as I answered the phone.

"Hello?" I questioned.

Sobs sounded through the phone. My heart dropped. In the background, I heard Claire's parents arguing again.

Claire's parents didn't have a nice marriage. For years they've been arguing behind closed doors so Claire didn't know. A couple of years ago, Mom and I walked next door to give them their 17th Anniversary gift while Claire was away at a summer camp.

Our families were so close that we didn't bother knocking - we were both welcome at each other's houses, so Mom and I didn't knock. We walked in to see Claire's parents yelling down each other's throats.

When they saw us in the doorway, they paused, looking embarrassed. Later on, Mom had informed me that they've been having problems for a while and that they were trying to stay together for Claire. Claire's parents told me they wanted me to keep their secret from Claire, but knew it would have been unfair to ask that of me.

So they told her.

We were fourteen at the time.

Claire cried for days after she realized her parents were no longer in love. A part of me still thinks that is the reason Claire has gone from guy to guy for so long. She no longer believes in the one.

It broke my heart to see her in so much pain, having to bear the weight of her parent's nonfunctioning marriage on her shoulders every day.

"Claire, what's wrong?" I sat up in bed and threw my legs over the side. I stumbled over my slippers and silently prayed that I hadn't woken anyone up in the house.

"M-My mom wants a divorce." Claire managed, choking back another sob to get a sentence out. There was now silence in the background.

Complete silence.

I quickly opened my door, revealing a sleepy Ethan stumbling around in the hallway. He rubbed his eyes before he saw me, his eyes widened. "Is that Claire?" He questioned quietly.

I nodded. "You're staying over," I said into the phone as I made my way down the stairs, Ethan following closely behind.

Claire sniffled in response.

I flung open my door, ready to walk over to her house in the middle of the night. I didn't care that I had school tomorrow, or that I would have to get up in two hours anyway.

On my front steps sat Claire Goggins, her face tear-stained. Her red hair shone in the moonlight as she looked up at me. Beside her was a bag filled with what I hoped were clothes.

I quickly hung up and crouched down to Claire, wrapping my arms around her small body. Every nerve that I possessed was on fire, burning me from the inside out. My heart swelled as Claire sobbed into my chest, her hands clutching my shirt.

Ethan stood behind me and I could hear him trying to control his breathing. It killed him to see Claire this hurt. He'd always been like they towards her and me. So overprotective and careful.

I imagined he was running a hand through his hair in a frustrated manner as he always did in situations like this.

But Claire's mom has never demanded a divorce before. I'll admit, her dad was always the peacemaker of the two, but I never imagined both of them to give up like this.

Yet again, it hasn't been working for a long long time. Now that Claire is almost 18, I'm sure her parents are just hanging on by a loose thread.

We sat there for a few moments before I heard footsteps behind me. Mom and Dad were whispering with Ethan, asking about what happened and why Claire was here crying at this hour.

I helped Claire to her feet before both of us turned to face the three of them. Claire took a deep breath before she spoke. "I'm so sorry I woke you all up, I feel terrible."

"Oh, honey, it's okay. You're what matters, not my sleep." Mom replied. I could feel Claire tense up again, which meant she was on the verge of tears once more.

I grabbed her bag from the step while Ethan arrived at Claire's side. I wasn't surprised. Ethan and Claire seemed to be as close as her and I.

Mom and Dad opened the door wider for us to come in. Per usual, Ethan walked Claire to my room, then came back down so the four of us - Mom, Dad, Ethan and me - could talk about what happened.

Mom and Dad stood across the island from Ethan and I while we took our seats. "Evan, honey, what happened?" Dad asked, his eyebrows furrowed together in worry.

Both Mom and Dad loved Claire like she was their own. In a way, I guess she was. She was always the only person I'd invite to my birthday parties. Claire even came over for Christmas every year.

I began to tear up, thinking about how Claire must feel. I would be heartbroken if I didn't have Mom and Dad together to lean on. I depended on them, as cheesy as it sounded.

"Claire's mom wants a divorce." I choked out. Ethan wrapped a comforting arm around me.

Mom and Dad traded glances before breaking down themselves.

We all loved Claire and her parents. They were our family. Seeing them in distress all these years caused stress on us as well, but we never even thought about telling them that. They were struggling enough on their own, we wouldn't want them to hide their problems from us. That wasn't what family did. Family faced their problems and got through it together.

As far as I knew, Claire's parents didn't talk to anyone besides Mom and Dad about their marriage issues.

A tear rolled down my cheek before I told myself I wouldn't cry. My best friend was upstairs in mu bedroom bawling her eyes out without me. I sniffled, then shook out of Ethan's grip. "I'm going upstairs. I'm sorry I woke you guys."

I jumped out of my seat and hugged each of them goodnight before grabbing come snack for Claire and heading upstairs.

Even from the bottom of the steps, I could hear Claire crying. Each step I took up the stairs hurt. Physically and emotionally. It hurt me that someone like Claire was stuck in the middle of her parent's mess. It also hurt me that her parents are having a hard time.

They were an amazing couple, I didn't understand why they were fighting.

I shook those thoughts out of my head when I made it to my bedroom doorway. Claire was a mess, curled up in a ball on one side of my bed. My heart ached. I slowly made my way to her, dropping the bag of chips I had. She tore her hands and hair away from her face, staring at me intensely.

Her beautiful eyes were red, her cheeks tear-stained. I felt terrible.

I took Claire in my arms and let her cry into my shoulder until she ran out of tears. It was four in the morning when Claire's body shut down for the night.

I closed my eyes, my arms still around her.

I took a deep breath before letting it out.

"Goodnight, Claire." I whispered, finally falling asleep.

---

Geez, this was a hard chapter to write! I don't like writing sad chapters, but I hope this wasn't terrible.

Thank you for reading! Please VOTE AND COMMENT! ❤️