Freeing Clara

8. Luncheon

"If I do... we will probably never leave this couch let alone this loft."

Clara giggles.

"I could live with only hearing your laugh."

She nods. "I know. You've told me."

"Because it's true," he says.

***

Flint's hands on the steering wheel were tight. His knuckles turning white and his eyes focused firmly on the road.

Clara decided to change her outfit due to Flint's constant touching. Sticking with a pair of skinny jeans, a grey henley, and a pair of sneakers.

The outfit change didn't matter though. Flint was strict on keeping his hands on the wheel, though his thoughts drifted to touching the woman beside him often.

"So, how long have you known Josie?"

Clara's eyes are fixated on the moving scenery beside them.

"I've known Josie for years. We used to be neighbors but then she moved away. But we stayed in touch and then ended up at the same high school."

"Did she know about... about-"

"No. She knew about the rape. I mean I was known as either the super religious girl or the girl that was raped."

"I meant about your parents. How can you be known as the girl who was raped, there is rape shield and non-disclosure stuff, right?"

"She didn't know they were a part of the cult until yesterday when I told her. There is but it was just known, I'm not sure how. People tip-toe around me at school. People try not to say the wrong thing all the time and when they think they did then they apologize profusely."

The car slowly comes to a stop at a red light. Flint irritably taps his fingers on the wheel. His nostrils flare as he takes in a deep breath.

"They... they just don't..."

What could he say? How could he help?

As his words falter, Clara lends out her hand over his on the stick shift. Her thumb runs over his knuckles.

"You can't fix everything," she says.

His foot hits the accelerator as the light turns green. Their hands stay there the rest of the way.

***

The home of Callum Cavenaugh sits on a mountainside. Its dark features are what make it the scene of many local tales. Some say it's haunted, some say a cursed man lives there. Those who say the latter is closest to the truth. Callum Cavenaugh lives alone although the ghosts of his past keep him company. The house consisted of over sixty rooms, one large kitchen and two kitchenettes, a dining hall, a basement, an attic, and three floors in between. When he first toured the home it took him 3 hours to tour it without repeating a single room. Why would a single man buy such a massive estate? A whim possibly, the exercise of power, maybe to show off his wealth.

Callum greeted the group, Flint, Clara, and Josie, as they exited Flint's mustang. The crashing of waves could be heard off the cliffside making Clara jump and Josie intrigued.

"You have a beautiful home, Callum," Clara says.

"Thank you. And you must be Josie," Callum says turning to Josie suddenly.

"I know you. I've seen you and your... goons... at the Harlow's farm just outside of town. You guys made a lot of noise over there a few months back. I was surprised the cops didn't show."