( 43 一 MAKE UP KISSES. )
It had been days and Clara was still yet to speak to Vida. Clara didn't even try, which she knew she probably should have but she just felt so betrayed by her. She didn't even know what she had done. She knew that Vida had been pissy with others in the group too but that seemed to have cleared up.
Vida wasn't one to keep her opinions to herself, Clara knew that. That's why she was so worried when Vida didn't even insult her, just gave her the silent treatment. To a certain extent, it scared Clara, maybe she had done something seriously wrong.
What made matters worse was that Clara was leaving in a few days. Thanks to some of Clancy's intel they'd found out that the government was planning on closing down Thurmond by the first of March. That meant all the records would be shredded and the evidence destroyed. Everything that proved the true cruelty they all experienced there would be demolished.
Not only had they been wronged so deeply, mistreated so violently, but they were trying to cover it all up as well.
But they weren't about to let that happen. Cole and Ruby had been holed up for days planning out every meticulous detail for the hit they'd be carrying out in five weeks. They'd perform two; one on a smaller camp modelled similarly to Thurmond and the other on Thurmond itself. But to do the hits successfully they needed at least a dozen more kids who would then also need to be trained. That meant Cole was sending out teams as soon as he could to bring kids in.
Clara had signed up for the first retrieval mission. They'd be searching for a tribe of kids that had left East River before Clara and the others had arrived. Supposedly they were holed up in an abandoned house in St Helena, only about a two hour drive from Lodi.
They got all that information from the files Clancy had kept.
Clara was supposed to leave the next day with Liam, a boy named Tex, a Yellow, and a girl named Zahara, a Blue. Other than Lee they were all League trained and so Cole was pretty confident in their abilities. Clara was surprised she'd even been allowed to go but after a humbling amount of begging Chubs cleared her for the field. He didn't fail to voice his protest though, claiming there was still more healing for her ribs to do.
Clara just wanted to get out of the Ranch. She felt completely suffocated down there.
Walking back from the kitchen after dinner she was left feeling tense. She'd been too nervous to eat most of her dinner and ended up picking through it for a few minutes before giving up. After emptying her tray and giving it back to the kitchen crew Clara started making her way back down the hall toward her room.
Clara could hear footsteps coming up behind her but she ignored them expecting it to be a random kid. Imagine her surprise when she turned around and found Vida standing there, looking the most uncomfortable Clara had ever seen her.
"Can we talk?"
Clara sighed but nodded. As much as she wanted things to go back to normal, all she really wanted at that moment was to avoid the conversation.
Vida led Clara to a spare room where she waited for her to enter. Reluctantly, Clara walked in and closed the door behind her. The small quarters after not talking for so long made Clara feel beyond uncomfortable.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Clara asked coolly.
As much as she tried to ignore it Vida felt terrible about their fight, about how she'd treated Clara. But she just felt so jealous. Jealous of this family that Clara had created for herself because it didn't seem like there was a place for her in it.
And then they found that little girl, Zu. Zu, who even Vida had to admit was adorable, who didn't speak with words yet still filled the hearts of all around her. Zu who Vida thought replaced Jude. Vida could see now that she hadn't replaced Jude, Ruby had shown her that much.
And because of all this hurt that she was feeling, Vida took it out on the person who meant the most to her. The guilt was eating her alive.
"Clara, I'm sorry. I've been a bitch and I know I have and none of it was your fault. I was just, God it sounds so stupid, I was just jealous. You have this whole family for yourself now and it felt like you were leaving me behind. Like you were leaving me back in Los Angeles with Jude," she said, unexpectedly candid.
Clara swore she felt her heart shatter. She never wanted Vida to feel like that and especially not because of her.
"Jesus Vi," she muttered as she ran a hand back through her hair. Vida stared at Clara as she did, looking vulnerable.
"Vida you mean everything to me, you know that," Clara said imploringly, walking closer to Vida. She watched as Vida nodded, as if trying to convince herself of the things Clara said.
"Everything Vida. Nothing and nobody is ever going to change that," Clara whispered as she rested her forehead against Vida's.
"Okay," Vida muttered, her eyes fluttering closed.
"You believe me right?" Clara asked her. Please believe me.
"Yeah," Vida said. As if trying to prove how much Vida meant to her Clara leaned forwards and pushed her lips against hers.
She kissed her deeply, as if she could say everything without words. Vida reciprocated, her own lips pressing firmly against Clara's, her hands twining in her hair, pulling her closer. Clara stumbled forwards until Vida was pressed against the foot of a bed, there was no bed above so it must have been an agent's room. Clara continued pressing forwards until Vida fell backwards onto the bed, allowing Clara to crawl on top of her.
Clara's legs sat on either side of Vida's hips, her body leaning over so her lips could work their way down Vida's neck. "Everything Vida," Clara muttered like a mantra, her breath hot against Vida's skin. "You mean everything to me."
Working her way back up Clara's lips found Vida's again who kissed them eagerly. "I know," Vida whispered in between kisses. "I know."
❊❊❊
It was Liam who found them the next day. Clara was late which led the team that was due to head out to go knocking on all the doors to try and find her. Liam had noticed that neither Clara nor Vida had made it back to their designated room last night which left him hoping that he'd be the one to find them before either of the other two kids were scarred too much.
He had a sneaking suspicion that they'd 'made up'.
Knocking on the last door in the hallway Liam pushed the door open only getting a glimpse before covering his eyes. "Clara! We were supposed to leave half an hour ago, get your lazy ass up out of bed," he yelled. "You've got five minutes and you better be dressed by the time I come back."
From her place against Vida Clara groaned. She'd completely forgotten they were leaving today. Trying to pull herself upwards Clara found she couldn't move, Vida's arms wrapped too tightly around her waist.
"Vi I've got to go, I'm late," Clara whispered. Vida grumbled under her breath, holding Clara closer. Chuckling softly Clara wriggled her way out of her hold.
The air was cold without Vida's warmth and Clara found herself dressing quickly in an attempt to warm up. Once she was dressed and ready to head out Clara leaned over pressing a firm kiss to Vida's lips.
Opened her eyes Vida gazed lazily up at Clara, "Don't die, if you do I'll skin your ass."
Clara chuckled, pressing one last kiss to her lips before pulling away, "I promise, love you."
Vida froze in place as Clara made her way out the door. It wasn't until she was in the hallway that Clara finally realised what she'd said. Shit.
Clara was about to go back inside the room; to profusely apologise, take it back or hear it in return Clara wasn't sure. Before she could she heard someone yelling her name from down the hall near the exit tunnel. Tex was waving her over. It seemed everyone had shown up to see them off. Ruby, Chubs, Zu and Cole stood next to Clara's team as they waited for her. Nico was glaringly absent. Clara regretted not seeing him yesterday.
Debating for a moment Clara left her place outside the door and marched down towards them. She could deal with that later, she'd only be gone a few days.
"Nice of you to join us," Cole said, his face stern.
"Yeah, I slept in," Clara waved him off, wiping the sleep from her eyes. Rolling his eyes, Cole handed Clara her guns, one which she placed in its holster at her thigh and the other in the waistband of her jeans.
"This should be quick guys, three days there and back. Find the kids, bring them back, and make sure you aren't followed. Got it?" Cole asked them.
The three of them nodded in return. "You've got this, okay? This is what you're trained for," Ruby said. Even though Liam wasn't trained at the League like the others he still had survival skills.
Clara was pulled into a crushing hug by Zu, her little arms wrapping around Clara. "I'll be back soon, and so will Liam," Clara whispered, feeling Zu nod against her neck. Pulling back Clara looked Zu in the eyes, "Be good, yeah? Don't cause too much trouble while I'm gone."
Clara's farewells with Chubs and Ruby were much the same, tight hugs and whispered well wishes masking the fear they all felt.
"It'll be fine. You'll be back in a few days, only 72 hours" Chubs said. Clara got the impression he was reassuring himself more than her.
"Stop stressing Chubs," Clara said with a smile before pulling Ruby into a hug.
From behind them, Cole whistled, "Time to clear out, you're already late."
Clara followed behind Liam as they entered the tunnel, pushing down the ounce of panic she felt. This isn't Los Angeles. The door finally slammed closed behind them, leaving only their flashlights to light the tunnel. It was just as awful as the first time they'd walked it.
Slowing down so he was next to Clara, Liam nudged her shoulder lightly, "Fun night, huh?"
"Shove off, Lee," Clara muttered with a roll of her eyes.