Cupid's Cabin

13 | Claudia's Past

"Good morning," Claudia grumbles in her robe and bunny slippers.

I glance at her from the dining table. Taking a sip of my orange juice, I say, "Hey."

She sighs and drops her plate of pancakes on the table, making a crashing sound. She rips her pancakes with her hands, munching on them.

"What did you do last night?" she asks me, "I'm sorry I fell asleep, but I couldn't find you when I woke up."

"Took a shower and relaxed a little bit," I tell her, moistening my dry lips with orange juice.

She nods, but then narrows her eyes and points her fork at me, "You're glowing."

"Too much sun this morning," I summarize, shrugging.

Claudia looks around the kitchen, "Where's Aiden? Did he wake up last night? I heard a lot of groaning."

I nod, "Yeah, I was fixing him up a bit. He lost a lot of blood."

"How was my parents?"

"Good. Normal," I explain shortly.

Claudia nods silently, "I know you're curious about my parents and I."

I shake my head, "You don't have to tell me."

"But I want to," she sighs, tucking her hair.

"I wanted to become a DJ, but they didn't like that. They said it wasn't a career and that I should study criminal justice. We had a huge fight after a few months arguing and then I ran away. When the police found me, I asked a couple friends to make it look like they abused me so I can go to a relative's. The judge gave me what I wanted and I haven't seen or heard from them since I was fourteen. That's pretty much it."

I scratch my head, "Not as bad as I thought. I thought they sent you away because you were a junkie or something."

Claudia laughs softly, "Nah. I could never be a junkie. Especially now!" she rubs her flat stomach.

Aiden walks into the kitchen with a new shirt, probably a loan from Richard. He glances at us before getting some juice.

"Good morning to you too, mister," Claudia says sarcastically.

Aiden scoffs, drinking silently.

I shift in my seat, feeling Aiden's gaze on me. Claudia kicks me softly under the table, making me look up to her squinted eyes.

I clear my throat, "How's your wound?" I ask Aiden.

His harden eyes look at me. "Fine," he says coldly.

My lips form a thin line and I nod, "Cool."

Claudia looks at me like I've grown a third nostril, "You guys are acting weird... especially you, Nora."

I cough my orange juice, "What? No! Me? Ha! You're so funny!" I laugh like a maniac.

Stephanie comes into the kitchen with a large smile when it lands on Claudia, "Good morning! I see you've already had breakfast... is there anything else I can do for you?"

Claudia shakes her head, rubbing her forehead, "Everything's fine. We'll be leaving now."

Stephanie's sad face breaks my heart.

"What?" she whispers, looking at Aiden and I for confirmation, "But you guys just got here! Please don't go!"

Claudia sighs, standing up, "We can't stay. There are people after us."

Stephanie shakes her head frantically, "We can call the police! Ask for a patrol, anything!"

Aiden steps up, his posture is straight and tall like he's about to do a business proposal.