•Word Count: 2,360
In utter alarm and defence, my hands shoot out, "Clara... put it down,"
She doesn't even acknowledge my presence, crying effortfully, "I can't.. d-don't want,"
"Please Clara, put it down," I say, carefully stepping forward, arms stretched and hands still open in front of me.
Her head shakes furiously, "I'm so sorry, M. I should have never-"
Clara is interrupted by a loud wail, that has both our heads turning in the adjacent room's direction. The room Élise and I sleep in.
The look on Clara's face is indescribable. Something filters in her eyes, her crying going louder and more violent, and she removes the shard away from her wrist.
My eyes droop close, my heart stings slightly from the continuous pokes of fear, and my breath leaves in a relieved sigh.
Clara's abandoning of the shard motivates me to run into Élise's room, grab her and return back to Clara's side.
Red-rimmed eyes still puking tears, she extends her arms towards me, "I miss her,"
I don't hesitate for a second as I pass her Élise, but I have to bite my lip and blink rapidly to contain the tears as I watch their reunion.
She pulls Élise flush against her chest, and cries into her neck before desperately peppering her head and face with kisses.
She then buries her head in Élise's neck and inhales so deeply, "I love you so much baby girl,"
But it's not until Élise places both her hands on Clara's cheeks and places a soft, sloppy kiss to her chin that I begin to cry.
Clara has always been Élise's best nurturer, both Élise and I know that.
And by the way Clara is squeezing her eyes so hard, I can tell Élise's reaction affected her just as much as it did me.
It doesn't even bother me when Élise starts crying along with Clara once she notices her tear-stained, slightly contorted face.
I realise, as I watch her placate Élise by wiping her own tears and smiling, that I have never loved anyone this much ever since the disappearance of my parents and my presumed significant other.
Looking at Clara -this girl who is fast becoming the third member of my very precious family- I understand the true meaning of responsibility, the true meaning of family, and the true meaning of having something so dear almost snatched away from you in the blink of an eye.
A surge of anger at the person responsible for Clara's injuries arises, plaguing my once clear thoughts.
A deep throat clearing slices through the air, guiding our attention to the door of the room. A casually attired Elias stands at the door frame, first two knuckles hovering at the open door, ready to knock.
Clara wipes her face, lowering Élise down, "Come in,"
He turns to me, dipping his chin in salute. I immediately turn my head, worried he might read the anger on my face. The invasion of the precious moment simmers inside my chest, painting my spectacles green.
The nerve he has!
I still see his figure approaching, standing close to the foot of Clara's hospital bed, "How are you holding up?"
"Very well," Clara says, flashing a bright smile that contradicts her attempt from a few minutes ago.
It's easy to notice the partially peeled off Ben Ten sticker on the bedside table, because, for the past few minutes Clara and Elias have been talking, I've been busying my eyes to avoid looking at him.
I lift my finger and begin scratching the edge to peel it off completely, oddly disturbed by its partial removal.
They have fallen into a different kind of silence, that makes me scratch the sticker slowly for pastime, which works because I don't notice Elias has moved until it's late.
"What's wrong ?" He asks, the sigh that follows his question suggests his close proximity, which makes me gasp, my heart jumping.
Teeth clenched, I move, rounding him and the bed, to Clara's other side, without casting him a single glance.
I plaster the gentle smile I've had reserved for Clara when she wakes up, reaching over for Élise, "You need to rest,"
Clara smiles softly, tucking Élise to her side and covering her body with the sheet, "I want her to sleep next to me tonight, is that alright ?"
Her slightly raised eyebrows, hopeful look, and endearing request make my heart pang slightly but in a good way, "Of course,"
"Goodnight to you two," I tell her, squeezing her hand gently, before turning and leaving the room.
The room Clara is placed in has three doors, similar to the one Élise and I sleep in; one leads directly to our room, which I've had locked ever since we came here yesterday, the other is the bathroom's, and the third leads to the hallway, that I need to take to reach my room.
The floor is carpeted, which explains why I haven't heard or felt any presence until my upper arm is gently grabbed, effectively stopping my eager feet from going further.
"You didn't answer my question," He says.
I sharply pull my arm away from him, but I might have underestimated his gentle hold, because my arm hasn't been freed.
He reaches a finger under my chin, "Hey-"
I don't allow him to turn my face to look at him as I immediately cock my head the opposite way.
He remains silent but regards me with curiosity -I know that because I sense rather than see the frown mounting his features.
My fist is itching so bad and it takes every ounce of willpower to not submit to the violence behind the action.
"What is it that I have done that's angered you so much with me?" He asks, suddenly sounding innocent.
This time, I actually turn to him, furious at his pathetic show of obliviousness.
When looking back into the issue, he is to be held accountable because despite the intervention of both our prides, we can not deny the chemistry.
Also, he is the one responsible for the thriving of whatever it is that's between us, since he was the one who nurtured it, through each and every attempt he made at approaching me with his charming gait.
Which leads me to ask the question; why would he sign up for the hunt if he's already settled with someone ?
The thought makes my eyes wonder to his ring finger -his very naked ring finger.
A dreadful thought about me misinterpreting things makes me falter for a second, readjusting my focus.
"Talk to me," He says, softly.
I grit my teeth to stop my tongue from spewing the nonsense that's going inside my head.
If I'm mistaken about their relationship, there's no denying the position they were in wasn't of friends. I know what I saw, and it was nothing platonic.
My mouth has this defiance to my brain sometimes, "What is Juniper to you?"
I've made sure to ask the question all while keeping a weather eye on his features.
I watch as his expression morphs from surprise -at my finally speaking- to confusion -displayed in a deeply set frown- to a smile. Then, a laugh.
"Despite his attempt at charm, which never fails to attract women, my brother can be pretty ridiculous sometimes,"
I immediately turn around when the third presence registers, to find Juniper leaning lazily against the wall. I suddenly hate carpeted floors, and their ability to tune out footsteps.
When her words finally register, a block of confusion sits atop my thoughts, "I'm sorry?"
She pushes off the wall, smiling and walking towards us, "You're unbelievable," she says this to Elias, before turning to me, "I can't believe he failed to mention the kinship,"
No. Just no.
She slings her arm over Elias' shoulder, turning to him, "Tell me now, was it her beauty that made the fact that we're siblings slip your mind ?" she turns to me, "She sure is a beauty,"
That's when I see it. The jaw cut, the nose, and the eye shape. These features give away their kinship, which I was too distracted to notice.
I just really wish there were a hole somewhere here, anywhere, but preferably in the ground.
Elias watches the single-sided interaction with a smile on his face, properly entertained. A smile that easily washes away all the ire that was brewing inside me.
I only now notice how neatly his hair is combed. God it looks so beautiful. He looks so beautiful.
Juniper smiles at me, "Excuse my brother's inexperience here. He hasn't been with a woman for a while now,"
Something in my chest moves. Elias shoots his sister a disapproving look.
She just wrinkles her nose, moves away from him, and bids us "Goodnight," on parting.
I'm still staring at his eyes, the cut very similar to his sister's. His sister.
"But how ?" I ask, still dumbfounded.
He purses his lips, and his dimple becomes the centre of my attention, "I thought you already knew,"
"How would I know ? She doesn't even have the same surname as you," I tell him, confused.
"We're half siblings, same mother, different fathers,"
I nod in understanding, turning my head to avoid his gaze.
He continues to regard me nonetheless, "Is it wise to look forward to your reaction to the suspicion I know you had ?"
My heart stops for a second, leaving only a series of tingles in my chest, and I have to breath to accommodate the sudden rise in temperature.
"Goodnight Elias," I say without looking at him, turning around towards my room.
I faintly hear his deep chuckle.
Half-siblings; half-brother, half-sister. Great. Perfect, actually.
My night routine has been plagued by my inability to concentrate, my focus centered on a single statement,
"My brother hasn't been with a woman for a while"
I'm unable to explain the things going on inside my body right now; from the residual tingles in my chest, to the fluttering in my stomach, to the absent-minded, intermittent smiling that would successfully categorise me as a maverick.
The last time I was this affected by a man was a few months ago, but I can't bring myself to address it or clearly identify it.
•••
It has been a few days since we temporarily moved into Juniper's. Despite my aversion to the idea at first, I couldn't not accede to the moving in.
Clara needs the MD's attention, and I need to go to school, so it was either put Clara's recuperation on hold or move in until she recovers.
The decision was easy.
What isn't easy, however, is my inability to curb the indignation at what Clara had to endure.
Who, heartless enough, would do this to an unarmed person like Clara ?
I know for a fact she only moved here to pursue her dream as a translator, so it baffles me to think she might have made enemies here.
She's too nice, too loveable for that.
It took every inch of resolve to refrain from asking her about it, because although we're all able to see the progressive healing her physical injuries are undergoing, her mental and emotional healing is concealed from us.
I know it affected her on a deeper level.
My chin is still resting on my palm and a horrible drawing of an elephant is still unfinished when my Geography teacher walks in, places his bag on his desk, and proceeds with his greeting.
I breeze through school day with ease, and it's already dismissal when Armin walks me to the gates.
He tells me they were worried about me when they haven't seen me returning with Aurick.
Aurick. I still need to even out with him. I can't believe he left me suffer through it on my own.
Armin tells me when Aurick returned home, he packed his things and left to Lyon.
I turn to him, confused. "Why Lyon?"
He shrugs, cupping a hand above his phone's screen to check the time, when the sun is beating so harshly on us, impeding his vision, "He and his friends share a chateau there. He goes there every now and then,"
We're walking towards my house because I haven't mentioned anything about this weekend and I'm not planning to until I've met with Aurick.
I'm well aware one of Elias' men are watching us right now, but I can't bring myself to look around, in fear Armin might notice.
Elias, as per expectation, has doubled the security over us, and it's been a routine that I went to school and came back on the backseat of one of Elias' drivers.
Today, however, I let them know, before hand, that I needed to grab a few things from home, declining their offer to drive me there and telling them I'll be walking with a friend.
I made sure to stress they never made a show, and I could tell because Armin doesn't even seem to notice their presence.
"Mom and dad were worried about you," He turns to me, tucking his phone in the pocket of his jeans, "I've sent you a thousand texts,"
My phone suddenly weighs heavily in my back pocket. I realize I haven't checked it in a while.
When I press the home button of my phone, the sound of sneakers scraping and stopping completely makes me lift my head from my phone. Armin is standing, two steps behind me, frozen.
Wide-eyed, he gestures for my phone, "Can I see it?"
I look down at my phone, frowning. But I hand it over to him with a shrug.
His forehead creases deeply, and he continues to look at my phone's screen. Peering over, I can't help but frown deeper.
He's just staring at my home screen. A picture of me and Clara.
Her incidence inspired me to assign the picture we've taken a while back as a wallpaper.
Armin raises a shaky finger, pointing at my phone, "Who is that?"
"My best friend, Clara,"
He's out of the trance in a second, shaking his head, and looking at me with a smile.
He hands me back the phone. "She looks so much like someone I knew,"
••••
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.
It means a lot to me
I owe everyone here an apology for the disappearance and the ensuing disappointment, but I had to deal with a death in the family.
The death of a dearest.
-Asia