Clare

  No one spoke and answered his question until Elijah said, “You’re all getting at least a week’s suspension for this. Bullying is not allowed at Hawkins Private High and everyone who participated or sat by has to be punished.”

  “No…” Several people bemoaned.

  “Elijah, it’s not our fault. Did you see the video on the group chat? Did you see what she did? She deceived you and Sawyer! She’s obviously just a hooker who snuck into our pack, our school, and then wrapped you and Sawyer around her little finger like she was a cute, kind girl rather than the flighty man-eater she is.” A girl tried to explain.

  “Don’t call her that! She’s not a man-eater and yes, I saw the video. I know Clare Parker and I believe she had a reason to do what she did. Besides, it’s not your turn to judge who deceived me or Sawyer. What is this? Your idea of jungle justice in our name because of a video you saw and took out of context?”

  As Elijah spoke, I looked up to meet his gaze. It was empty of judgment, disdain or disgust, which surprised me and warmed me at the same time.

  “Out of context?! There were men there cheering her on and other women dressed like her serving those men. There’s no mistaking what she was doing at that…that club!” Another outraged girl complained.

  “You’re just taking her side because she gave you some.” A boy behind me said in a mocking tone.

  “Can we get some too if we defend you, Miss Parker?” A boy on the soccer team asked, inciting some mocking jeers from others at his side.

  I held Elijah’s gaze, begging him to get me out of here, rather than argue with any of these people.

  I didn’t really know them and right now, their opinions of me didn’t really matter to me.

  “I hope you’ve all never done anything bad in your lives before this because when Sawyer returns, you’re all going to wish you never touched his girlfriend.” Elijah said as he moved straight to me, pulling off his jacket to help me wipe off as much of the juice and pudding all over me as he could.

  “What girlfriend? If he did anything like that, I’d need to report his behavior to the Alpha, because then we can all be sure that this little slut has bewitched both of you.” A girl aggressively answered from behind.

  “We’ll see,” Was all Elijah said as he took me to the bathroom where he and a girl on the student council called Rena helped me clean up as much as possible, including changing into the clothes that Rena brought over.

  Once I had cleaned up as much as I could without a shower, I thanked Rena profusely before leaving school with Elijah.

  “Are you okay?” He asked quietly as he drove toward the outskirt of town where he and Sawyer’s apartment building was.

  I nodded, keeping my gaze locked on the view outside the window while bracing myself up for his questions.

  “I-I’m not going to ask any questions until you’re ready to tell me what happened. You…just…it doesn’t matter what you had to do in the past. I know you…and I don’t care what you had to do in the past.” His words were awkward, but very raw and unscripted.

  I turned to glance at him and then a small smile curved on the corner of my lips as I tried to show him how much I appreciated his take on this matter. “Thank you.”

  However, when I turned to look out of the window, my smile disappeared as my stomach kept churning at the thought of Sawyer’s reaction to that video.

  Would he hate me? Would I see disgust in those eyes toward me?

  What to do then? I wasn’t in a good state right now, but if I saw disgust in his eyes, I would probably break.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  ***

  I was sitting in the bathtub, blankly staring at my toes for only the Moon goddess knew how long, when a knock on the bathroom door startled me out of my thoughts.

  “Clare?” The voice was unmistakably Sawyers.

  A lump in my throat made me mute as tears welled in my eyes. I knew without a doubt that he had rushed his work trip so he could return just in time to talk to me. He didn't sound angry, but I was still afraid that he had rushed over to tell me that we were over because I had soiled his name with the implication hidden behind that video.

  “Clare? Are you okay? Baby girl, please answer me so I can be sure that you're fine.”

  The endearing nickname and tone filled me with so much relief that I started sobbing uncontrollably, letting go of all the pressure that had been building in my heart since I saw that video and the distaste in Lissa’s eyes.

  “Is she crying? I’m gonna go in.” Elijah's voice sounded concerned from outside the door.

  “Don't...if she's taking a bath, she's probably not wearing anything. Clare, can you just let me know that you're okay?”

  I sniffed and mumbled a muffled answer, “I'm okay.”

  “Good, good. Baby girl, I'm going to give you fifteen minutes to take a shower and put on a robe so I can come help you wash your hair, okay?”

  Sawyer’s voice was just what I needed at this moment. It was calm, full of assurance and trust.

  “Okay.” I said with another sniff.

  Thirty minutes later, I was seated at a makeshift hair washing station with my head sitting on the edge of the bathroom sink as Sawyer and Elijah gave me a full hair wash Salon experience down to drying my hair, combing it out and oiling it.

  After everything, the three of us just lay on Elijah's bed, staring up at the ceiling.

  “Why are you being so nice to someone like me? How can you take my side after you saw that video?” I finally asked the question that had been haunting me since Elijah came to pull me out of the cafeteria and Sawyer arrived.

  “Because we love you.” Elijah answered first.

  “And because we know you better than everyone else,” Sawyer said.

  “Lissa knows me too but...she didn't seem to be able to...handle it.” I said quietly.

  “Yes, that's where the first caveat comes in. For me to love someone, I have to first trust in them. So since I love you, then I trust you. Whatever you did in the past, you did because you had no other choice. Besides, I know you so well that I can see how uncomfortable you were doing that dance. The corners of your lips are so taut and your smile is so forced, like you're trying to act your way into a top score or something,” Sawyer explained.

  “It was my first show. I was scared, but I had to. My mom was very sick, and we needed more money than we could earn from doing regular jobs and keeping the shop running. So my stepfather took me there, and they agreed to pay in advance even as they trained me. Unfortunately, it feels like it was all for nothing because my mom died three months later and my stepfather ran off with all that was left of the advance while I owed this large club with all kinds of weird gray areas a few hundred thousands of dollars.” I tried to detach myself from the story I was narrating by staring up at the patterns on the ceiling.

  Sawyer turned on his side to stare at me, but I refused to look back at him or meet his gaze. “So, how did you get out?”

  “I killed someone.” I said the words as numbly as possible, trying to detach myself from the soft gasp that left Elijah's lips.

  “Why?” Sawyer asked, seemingly unfazed by my confession of murder.

  “He tried to force himself on me. It was a mistake. I didn't plan to kill him. What he did just triggered my instinctual magic and...there was no taking it back.” My narration ended with a sob as I returned to that room sitting on the floor with my arms wrapped around my knees.

  Sawyer and Elijah wrapped around me such that my face was pressed to Sawyer’s chest and Elijah spooned me from behind, comforting me by making tiny swirls on my waist that would definitely have tickled if I wasn't wearing his PJs.

  “Although I messed him up, that man's body was still alive, but he was obviously not quite there. After all, I...saw him get torn apart. A deputy manager helped me cover up and a few months later, brought me out of there. He somehow got me a different last name and a new ID from the Supernatural Council and got me to be fostered in your pack.”

  After narrating the full story, I went silent, pressing my face to Sawyer’s chest as I leaned into his hand, massaging my shoulders.

  “The Supernatural Council...that...club, did they have some kind of illegal activity?” Sawyer asked.

  I hesitated and then nodded.

  “That means he was undercover.” Sawyer continued, “I've deleted the video from the original site and the forums it was posted on, but I'm worried that whoever released it was trying to use it as bait to find you. Thankfully, none of our classmates left any comments on the original forum it was posted. They mostly interacted on the school’s group chat. Still, we have to be very careful in the next several days. No leaving Hawkins for dates or anything. Try to move around with either me or Elijah. Got it?”

  “Sir, yes, sir.” I couldn't help answering with a joke.

  Sawyer chuckled and squeezed my shoulder comfortingly as he said, “Everything is going to be okay.”

  Elijah repeated his words, and I grabbed his hand on my waist while holding onto Sawyer’s hand with my other hand. “Thank you for trusting me.”

  “Thank you for coming into my life.” Elijah replied.

  “Thank you for giving me a second chance,” Sawyer said.