"I always felt like I saw things differently. Saw things other people didn't."
We made it to the man, who goes by Eddie's office. The little old man smiles as we enter, taking a seat.
"It's nice to finally put a name to a painting?" I look at him in question.
"It's probably better if I show you than tell you." With that he leads us out the door, down the hall to a room.
I gasp at what I walk in to see. He wasn't lying when he said their was 30 paintings covering the tall walls.
"What is this place?"
"It's where we store our paintings. This room is Blake's, I tried when he sent them here to move them, show the world but Blake was a really secluded guy. Besides the two he's sent off to Italy."
"What two?" I ask still eyeing all the paintings around me, they're beautiful. Whatever Picasso or whoever did the Mona Lisa, they had nothing on Blake's work.
"These." He pulls out his tablet. My eyes go wide at the first painting, it's the one I did that day at his house. My bird with yellow skies.
"This one's called Fireheart." My eyes sting and Hallie grabs my arm.
"And then this one, the portrait of you." It put the one he done of me that day to shame. It was beautiful.
"He put these in a museum?" I mumbled out. Eddie shakes his head.
"His only two, and they are making quiet the headlines." Showing me articles done over the paintings. Who is Blake Dalton's Fireheart?
I look around the room, all of them portraying different things. Some was snow falling and blackness behind it. Others were the sun in a alluring background of dark skies. None of it would make sense to anyone who didn't understand him. He never talked about it, the pain or the problem's he endured being who he was. No, instead he would spend so much time in that back room in that empty house expressing it into his paintings.
This was it, this was the last of it.
My heart cracking, but I should be expecting this by now. I have to grab it, my chest to make it not hurt so much. When I feel the tears down my face am I not able to hold myself up anymore.
A warm body grabs me before I completely drop to the ground. I look over at Hallie's concerned face. "Give us a minute." She says looking at Eddie.
The man quickly moves from the room and she just holds me tighter. "It hurts, it hurts so bad."
"It's going to hurt, for a really long time Claire." She moves till she's crouched in front of me, my body moved to the floor. "But you are going to be okay."
It wasn't a question, it was a definite. Like I didn't have a choice in it if I thought I was going to give up. I still had to choose, remembering why I was here about what I would do with these paintings. I didn't feel though, I was even worthy enough to make that decision.
"I want to make a call, before I decide anything." She nods. I move to stand up, my hands shaky as I dial the number I knew that would be able to tell me what to do. It rung, on the second one I thought he wouldn't pick up and honestly I wouldn't blame him. Finally on the 4th one it's no longer ringing and I know he's on the other line.
"Hey."
"Claire, are you okay?" I frowned, he always thought I was hurt or in trouble when calling him and for some reason that bothered me.
"I-Blake left me," I take a breath, "He left me paintings, and the art director wanted to know if I wanted them moved to a museum or- or take them and..."
"You can't decide." He finishes for me. I hated how my heart quickened at the fact he already knew where I was going with this.
"He would hate it, he said he never wanted anyone to see his work. But then he sent two, two really good one's to one and I want them to see the dozens more. He deserves to be honored to be remembered."
"He does. I think he would love it either way, just because your choosing it for him." His voice helpful. I stare at one of the paintings, it was wolves, our wolves.
"I wish you could see them, he was so good at what he did." I clung the phone to my ear, wishing he was here with me and just decided for me. My mind was full of clutter compared to his, I've known that since I was little.
"I do too, I'm glad you decided to call me for help." A small smile makes it's way to my face at his soft words.
"Your the only one." I don't continue my voice getting stuck in the back of my throat at what I was saying. We say our goodbye's and I walk out of the room, taking one last look at the paintings before me.
"I'm going to send them all to museum's, but I don't ever want to see any of them leave the public eye." That was my deal, what I knew I wanted for him.
"Is there a statement, or anything that you would like to say to the press when his work gains influence?" Eddie asks flipping through his stack of papers. I take a look back at Hallie, she's watching me waiting for a reaction.
"Only thing you can say about Blake Dalton, is that he was a man who lived many lives before this one. That he never made art for anyone, but to express the darkest and brightest parts of life."
I did stick to my original plan of the appointment to get my hair done, Hallie groaned out. "Your seriously doing this?"
"I'm doing red, you should do blue." She stiffles a laugh as she sits in the waiting chair.
"Claire I'm a wolf, I'm lucky my hair isn't cut to my head." I nodded remembering the rules of being a supernatural wolf.
I sat back in the chair as the lady weaved red streaks through my hair that I didn't really desire the change, I needed the change.
"Em's going to freak on you." I laugh at the 3rd time Hallie has said this as we drove. We were in La Push now, around 6 when we finally made it. Once I saw my hair, I was completely in love with it. I looked like such an edgy rock n' roll Claire, gone was sweet and innocent.
"I think they're all going to be more baffled when they see you." She sunk back in her seat, I was guessing at the thought of it.
"I don't think I should." I let out a huff as we pull into the driveway, seeing way more car's than we expected I look to her frowning.
"C'mon, it's about time you meet the rest of your pack. Tonight I think you just might, I forgot it was Friday honestly." I say holding up my hands. She looks still nervous about it so I reach over grabbing her hand. Hallie was a guarded girl with a lot of troubles, but that wasn't the only thing we had in common. She was my sister at one point, I'd take her back now in a heartbeat that the anger had settled between us.
Walking into the house I followed the noise into the dining room, I walk through the doors grinning as all the eyes fall on us. Mine just find Quil's piercing one's, shaking a baby Colter on his lap. I move them to Em's who's taken notice of Hallie behind me. I watch as Brady moves up from his chair, grabbing Hallie's arm I watch to make sure she's okay with it. But surprisingly she is and he sits her where he once sat. Once I move to sit at the chair by Em, my eyes finding their way back to Quil who's busy smooshing Colter's cheeks together.
"What'd you do to your hair?" Effie says her voice teasing, from across me. I scoffed, humor filling my face.
"I wanted a change."
Quil's POV:
I knew she was back, and I was aching to see her. That phone call today brought fear to me first, knowing the conversations her and I had usually were from something happening.
But this one, this one was perfect. It made my bad days worth it yet again as she asked me for my opinion, she needed my help. I wish it was me she asked to go with her up there, me who got to see that art work she was holding so close to her now.
When she moved down into her seat by Em, I finally took notice of the red streaks through her hair. It was astounding, how anything she did, any slight change I found it to be my new favorite thing about her.
I looked down at Colter, he wasn't 1 year's old but he was now Effie and Jake's whole world. I was glad for them, for all of my friends getting their happy ending. I was no longer in jealousy, or awe as I had the most important person still here with me.
We ate dinner and I noticed how she came into the conversation a few times. No longer hiding herself in the back and shutting off her voice. She was opening up to them again, I loved every second of it.
"Quil." I break from my thoughts as I realize my eyes were trained on Claire's, she looks away but I watch the heat light her cheeks as she knows I got caught staring.
I look to Emily who was the one who said my name, "I asked how the house was coming?" I nod.
"I've got a bit more to go, it's going to be a bit bigger than I originally thought." She nods.
"Maybe you can get Claire to help you again?" She says looking right at me, like Claire wasn't burning holes in the side of her head.
"What? Your not going back to school so it'll give you something to do." Effie sides with her. Claire wasn't going back to school?
"What? Your not coming back?" Colin groaned. I didn't even look at the boy, my feelings for him right now were on thin ice.
"I'm taking the rest of the year at home, but I will be coming to finish up my photos." She says.
"Photos for what?" I get up the nerve and ask. She grins over at me before looking around the table.
"I was picked to take the pictures for our school's seniors. The principal said my photography was the best representation of an art prodigy."
I could tell that ending was a stretch she was simply egging on to make herself look even better. I couldn't lose the smile as Em falls for it and joins her in a hug. She was happy, I was happy.
We all leave for the bonfire, this time it's being held at Em's house as the dreary weather wasn't fit for my grandfathers. I stand out by the fire, my eyes already scoping around for her.
"Quil."
I look at the boys, Jake and Embry followed by Colin joining my side, beers in their hands besides the youngest one.
"Colin here was telling us that he thinks the Chiefs have even a chance of winning against the Bills." Embry says. I frowned looking at the boy.
"You have any defense for this?"
"What do you mean? Their quarterbacks fricken amazing, the Bills didn't even start off good with the Bengals last week." I roll my eyes, what did this boy know about football?
"Don't put money on it Colin." He nods. Looking around suddenly as well and I for some reason feel unbothered.
"Going to try and kiss her again?" I bite out. Jake and Embry are over a few feet but I know they hear me. Colin let's out a grunt looking out at the fire.
"It just happened, it's not like I'm the one she really wants anyways." I stand up moving closer to the boy.
"Yeah, as long as she fights it it'll be her way out. But don't let you touching her become a problem." I say my voice suddenly serious.
"She's my best friend."
"Yet I find you still threatening." He nods not breaking my stare down with him.
"Maybe, maybe neither of us get her. What happens then?"
"We won't know till then, all I know right now is that body, that mouth, is mine. If it was yours the Gods would have showed you, take what's mine and I'll show you just how tough a wolf can be."
I didn't care I was being harsh on the kid, someone had to put them in their place with real life stuff too. Along with Jake the boys looked up to us, I was to instruct them how to be wolves. But also how to control theirselves when they were mouthy.
I shove past him, shoving off Embry's arm as I walk past them. I was a little riled up right now, my first thought is I should go shift and cool my wolf off. But her scent blew from the small cabin home and I knew she would be better than any run would.
I walk into the empty house, up the stairs to the room that stood far enough from the others that Claire liked to always escape out of. I knock once and her small 'come in' is all I needed to enter.
Inside she sat laid out in her window seat, looking like someone from a film as she held her book. I bite my tongue at how much that girl hated books before. Her eyes grow soft when she see's it's me, the room only lit up a bit with her tinted lamp.
"C'mon I know you got more than 3 days before you break to pieces."
I didn't expect the harsh comment, my defensives up and my mind searching for why she wasn't okay anymore.
"Are you okay?" My voice carrying. She looks back down to her book, biting her lip as she flips the page.
"No, but that's not why your here now is it?" Her voice snappy and hard. God why did she do this every time?
"Is this about the other night?" She looks up breathing out a sigh as she looks out the window.
"It's about so much, too much that you—" but she stops herself.
"That I what? That I made a mistake Claire?" Her beautiful eyes look at me, flames coming out as she's ready to say the next hurtful thing.
"Mistakes can be fixed. Love can't once it's broken." She states and my heart swells up it might burst.
"You didn't ever love me." She stated in such a brutal confidence. Like she didn't know that every bit of my bruised heart still beat for her and her alone. That all of this was just for my wolf, when I would sit and ache without even considering the animal in me. No, she wouldn't do this to me.
I slam the door shut, moving over to her, grabbing her chin to face me and she flinched, telling me exactly how I know it feels having me so close.
"Your right I didn't love you." I play, play into her awful game of lies.
""Its just the imprint, that I find myself completely devoted and utterly obsessed with you. It's just our ability to make to make more pups is why I'm here right now. Not a damn thing more." I spit out and soon as I do I know it's the worst thing I've ever said to her.
I drop her chin but she still keeps her head held high. Like some cold heartened goddess that fed off of the hate people gave her.
"Was that so hard to admit?" It's her voice that breaks my hard eyes, it's nothing like her as it's so soft spoken almost a whimper.
My angers completely gone and I move to the bed across from her, bringing my hand down my face in the pure exhaustion from all of this. Our game, over and over again.
"No, no matter how much you push me away. If you were any woman in the world, and I was just a man. I'd choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I'd find you and I'd choose you. I love you Claire Young."
I meant every single word, wishing only that I could phrase it better, like a true poet speaking about a soulmate. That's what she was, my soulmate. Whatever I wasn't she was and what I couldn't be, she showed me. It was matches, till we were whole.
Her book is no longer in her hand as she's turned to me, "Then why is it so hard for me to truly believe that? Why am I not like the others? Is it just me? Am I the problem?"
She wasn't the problem, no matter how much her heart tormented this relationship. It was me, what I was that scared and hurt her.
"I broke your heart for not telling you. You don't want to feel that way again, your not like others because you don't give second chances." At that I leave her, I did more than I've done recently. I fought back with the same fire she had but it didn't feel good, it wasn't me.