The room was silent as everyone anxiously waited for news about Stella, but hours passed with no word on her condition. The only thing they could do is sit on the couch and wait. James curled up on Jason's lap, while Charlie sat between the two adults. They succumbed to their drowsiness, despite their protest to stay up for Stella. And Jason was fighting the urge to fall asleep with them, nodding off every so often only to jolt himself awake.
But Clair remained restless. Worry weighed heavily in her heart. It's been over a month since she tossed Stella out; Clair thought that she could survive out there. But when she found Stella bloody and barely concious in the snow, she realized just how wrong she was. Guilt washed over Clair, it was her fault Stella was in this critical state. Each passing moment of silence brought more dread into Clair. Did she find Stella in time? Did she lose too much blood? Was Stella hiding something else that happened out there? By the time door opened, Clair already feared the worst.
Her dad walked out of the room, guiding his wife who trudged behind. Her long gray hair was pulled back in a ponytail but loose strands swayed as she moved. She looked so exhausted, and the dark circles that began forming under her blue eyes didn't help.
"Well?" Jason asked.
"Stella is in stable condition but she hasn't regained consciousness yet. I wouldn't be surprised if she is in pain for the next few weeks."
The weight of Clair's guilt were lifted off her shoulders. She didn't realize that she was holding her breath until she let out a sigh of relief. She looked over to Jason and smiled with him. Thank god they found her in time! Stella was going to be okay!
However, her parents didn't seem to have the same Expression on their faces. A grim look cast over them like a dark cloud. Clair's mother spoke up.
"But we noticed scars all over her body. Some that look too fresh to be from her past."
"Well, she said she was attacked by a feral." Jason pointed out.
Mom shook her head. "Not the majority of them. They're too large and clean to have come from a feral. It's more likely that she ran into a giant who abused her again."
No, that couldn't happen to Stella, she wouldn't allow herself to get captured by another giant! Surely she would have been careful and stayed out of sight. Her mom had to be wrong, maybe her eyesight got the best of her. There had to be other ways Stella got those scars. Clair didn't want to believe that she just sent a girl back to the horrors she ran away from in the first place! She looked over to her dad, hoping for another possiblity. "Please tell me it's not true."
He sighed heavily and shook his head. "I've seen a lot of scars in my day, there's no chance that they were accidental. I wouldn't be surprised if she ran into her previous abuser."
"Shit…" Jason's face twisted in horror. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. Not that Clair couldn't blame him, a million thoughts must have been running through his head. He was the one who tried to save her from the hardships of life out there, all of his efforts would have been for naught.
"Do you think she'll get better?" He finally asked.
"I hope so."
But Clair had her doubts. Stella was already traumatized by her past, she was still terrified of everyone here, even her mother's kindness left Stella a little weary. If she had the misfortune of reliving the terrors of her old abuser again, then she would likely go insane. And it was all Clair's fault.
Mom yawned loudly and rubbed her eyes. The fatigue was getting to her. "I should probably check on Stella."
Dad grabbed her hand before she had a chance to leave. "You need rest, dear."
"But I need to watch over her."
"I can do it." He said.
"You're just as tired as I am." She wiped some sleep from his eye.
Both of them looked like they were about to fall asleep where they stood. Normally, her parents would have been in bed hours ago, but they sacrificed that for Stella. If anyone deserved rest, it was Clair's parents.
"Let me watch her." Clair blurted out.
Wide eyes fell on Clair, of course they'd be shocked. It wasn't like she was helpful before, maybe they even suspected she would do something to Stella.
"Are you sure?" Her dad asked.
"I'm sure, dad."
Jason reached out and grabbed her hand. "You don't have to do it, if you don't want to."
"I know, but I want to." Clair stood up and flashed him a smile. "Besides, your hands are full right now." Gesturing to the sleeping boys on him.
"Call us if you need something." Mother said.
Clair nodded and walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Once she was alone, she sighed heavily. She felt her chest tightened, maybe this was a bad idea, she wasn't sure how Stella would react if she saw Clair. But she wanted to try and make it up to her.
The room was dimly lit by the light on the nightstand by the bed. Surprisingly, Stella wasn't resting there, but she was snuggly tucked underneath the white colored quilt. Clair couldn't help but smile and roll her eyes, of course her mother would give up her entire bed for a human.
Clair tiptoed over to the bed to get a better look at Stella. Her tiny chest rose and fell in a steady motion beneath the covers and her face was still, as if she didn't just almost die hours ago. But when Clair saw her scarred arms poking out of the covers, she could feel her heart breaking into a million pieces.
"I can't believe I did that to you." Clair whispered as she lightly brushed her thumb against the jagged marks. There's no way Stella would ever forgive Clair for what she did to her, and Clair wouldn't blame her. She didn't deserve to be forgiven, Stella wouldn't have been in this situation if it wasn't for Clair's insecurities.
"Cl...Clair?"
Clair gasped and pulled her hand away from the human. She glanced down to see Stella trying to sit up, only to groan out in pain as she clutched to her side.
"Hey, take it easy!" Clair warned. She knelt down to be less threatening, but Stella couldn't help but flinch and look away when Clair's face became the majority of her view.
"I'm sorry." Stella whispered.
"Sorry for what?"
"Coming back. I didn't mean to break our promise, but I had to come back."
Clair's eyes widened. Stella was muttering "I had to" earlier that night. That wasn't an incoherent thought she blurted out loud, it was a plea for forgiveness! She was scared of speaking up for help because of that stupid promise they made a month ago!
"Stella, don't worry about what I told you before. You can stay here as long as you want!"
Stella let out a sigh of relief. "Oh good, because I don't think I can survive out there right now."
Clair nervously glanced away from the human. She knew she had to tell her, Stella deserved to know the truth. Clair closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "There's something you should know about me, about why I wasn't the friendliest person around..."
"You thought I was trying to steal Jason from you because your ex-husband left you for a human."
Clair's jaw dropped. "How did you know?"
"James and Charlie told me your ex has a human and lives in Europe. I didn't think much of it at the time." Stella admitted. "But I thought back on in and the pieces started to click together."
Hot tears threatened to form out of Clair's eyes but she quickly brushed them away. "Yeah… you're spot on."
"If I knew about your past then, I would have told you Jason wasn't my type."
"What is your type exactly?"
Stella smiled. "Shorter."
Clair chuckled along with Stella. It was at this moment that Clair realized just how stupid her actions were. She really hurt people with her own insecurities, people that did nothing to deserve that pain. "I really should have told you about my ex."
"It's not like I was very open with my past either." She shrugged.
"About that…." Clair glanced at the human's arms. Seeing the fresh scars next to the old ones really showcased how identical they really were. "Mom thought that you might have gotten those scars from a giant… is that true?"
Stella remained silent for a while, staring down at her arms tracing over the markings with her fingers. "It was the guy I ran away from in the first place." She spoke in brittle voice.
Clair dropped her head and the tears just poured out. Her fears came true, she really did just screwed Stella over. "I'm so sorry."
"Why are you crying?" She croaked out. "It's not like you handed me off to Mike."
"I might as well have." She sniffled. Clair felt so awful, Stella had every right to fear her now. She really was no better than the man from Stella's past.
"I'm not going to pretend that you were the most pleasant person to be around before." Stella groaned as she shifted over on her right side to stare back at Clair. Strands of her dark hair fell over her face. She reached out and rested her tiny hand on the tip of her finger. "But I don't think I can blame the woman who just saved me from freezing to death for something my abuser did."
Clair wiped her tears away from her face and used her pinky nail move some of Stella's hair behind her ear. For once she didn't flinch away. "How can I ever repay you?"
"Let's just start over."
"I'd like that." Clair smiled and stroked the tiny girl's hair. "Is there anything I can get you? Food, water, some warmer clothes?"
"Well, I haven't eaten in days." She admitted.
"Say no more." Clair stood up to her full height. "I'll make some soup, you just get some rest." Clair started to walk towards the door but stopped when she heard Stella speak up.
"Clair?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you, for everything."
"Anything for you, honey." She quietly left the room to see her whole family had fallen asleep on the couch. Light seeped through the blinds; morning had arrived, along with the start of a new chapter.