It was dark out when Craig kicked Ara, waking her. She coughed loudly, causing more pain to run through her body. He turned to Chuck and motioned for him to grab her.
He unlocked the chain from around her ankle and hoisted her to her feet, but once upright, Ara let a ear splitting scream, and dropped to her knees. Chuck grabbed his gun, and hit her in the back. "Shut up!" He growled. Ara whimpered as she was pulled back on her feet and pushed forward.
"Chuck!" Craig yelled. "I need her in one piece." He muttered something inaudible under his breath, and gripped Ara's arm, pulling her along. Ara bit down on her bottom lip, holding in the pain. She glared at Chuck hauled her up the stairs.
Clary stood in the hallway, holding Wesley in her arms when they came upstairs. She locked eyes with Ara as she passed. There were bruises on her face and arms, she had a busted lip that was currently bleeding. She was limping, and was barely able to keep herself upright. She was leaning against the wall for support. Craig and Chuck were no were to be found, although they could be heard from another room. Clary moved a little closer to her.
Ara's eyes flickered to the little boy in Clary's arms, scanning over him. Wesley looked back at her with icy blue eyes. He reached his arm out, touching Ara's face lightly. She flinched causing Wes to retract his arm. Clary opened her mouth, but Craig came around the corner. He pulled Clary away from her while Chuck escorted Ara out of the house. Wes watched quietly as Ara dropped a piece of paper of the floor, and discreetly kicked it towards the closet door. She caught his eye and winked. Craig looked into Clary's eyes. "Once we're gone, you can take the car and go. Got it?" She nodded. "Don't try anything funny either."
"I won't, I promise."
"Good girl." Craig let go of her, and exited through the front door, slamming it behind him.
Once more, Clary was alone in the house. She peered down at her son. "Wait here, I'm going to get our things and then we can go." She set him down at the kitchen table, and disappeared down the hall.
Wes climbed off his chair and padded over to the closet. He got down on his hands and knees and picked up the slip of paper Ara had dropped. In messy writing on the front of the paper was a single name. Theodore. Wes tucked it into his pocket, and scrambled back to the chair, climbing back up on it.
Clary returned moments later, her backpack gripped tightly in one hand, and her carrier bag draped over her shoulder. She reached her hand out. "Come on baby, let's go." Wes made gabby hands at her. She scooped him up in one arm.
"Mommy, she left something behind." He whispered to her as the left the house, and headed for the car.
"What did she leave behind, Wesley." Clary asked, wondering if she would have to go back it.
"She left a letter." Clary stopped walking.
"Did you pick it up?"
"Yes."
"Who's it for, baby?"
"A boy." He mumbled tiredly.
"What's his name?"
"Theodore." He whispered. He rested his head against her shoulder. "'M tired."
"You can sleep." She said. She opened the back door of the car, and placed him in the car seat. Wes was out like a light when she climbed into the driver's side of the car. Clary did move for several minutes after climbing into the car. She just stared out the windshield, occasionally glancing up into the rearview mirror at her son. She ran a hand through her hair and started up the engine, pulling out of the driveway.
The sun was just rising as Clary drive through the town. She turned the corner and parked the car in front of the house. Wes was still sound asleep in the backseat. Clary quickly checked for cops before stepping out of the car and running up the front steps.
The front door was unlocked, and she was greeted with absolute silence. Clary padded through the living room, shivering lightly - she recalled how Ara said her mother was shot in the living room as was she.
She climbed the stairs two at a time. Craig said Ara's room was the last one on the left, across from the bathroom. She pushed the door open.
There were things still in the house that belonged to her. Some clothes were scattered on the floor, and there were odd knick knacks everywhere. As she got closer to the bed, she could see a photo of Ara, when she was much younger. She was smiling. Next to her was a boy. Clary could only assume that this boy was Teddy. He had some of Craig's features but they hardly looked alike. Teddy looked young, but mature. I wonder how old he is in this, she thought to herself.
She leaned back on her heels, and almost jumped as the floorboard creaked beneath her. She dropped to her knees, and began pulling at it. It eventually gave way. Underneath, she could see a tiny bit of a red backpack. She yanked a couple more loose, and finally freed the bag. She opened it. Inside was cash. A lot of it. More than enough to bail Quinton, although she knew how angry he would be when he found out how she had acquired it. Clary stared down at the money. She could bail her boyfriend out of jail, run away and start a new life. Or she could leave it, tell the cops everything, and quite possible have her baby taken away. She swallowed hard. The cash seemed to be taunting her in a way. Clary's eyes looked around the room and they rested on that photo of Ara and Teddy. She thought back to Ara, when they were in the basement. She had promised to get help. She reached up and snatched the photo off the nightstand. She pulled the photo out of the frame, and folded it neatly before tucking it into her pocket. She then stood to her feet and exited the room.
Clary opened the back door, and very carefully, searched Wesley's pockets for that letter he had mention, without waking him. She found it crumples in his sweater pocket. She kissed his forehead before shutting the door. She climbed back into the driver's seat and rummaged around for a pen.
She pulled the photo out of her pocket and flipped it over to the blank side. She quickly scribbled something on the back. She set the letter and the photo on the passenger's seat and drove off once more. She checked the dashboard clock. It was almost 7:00. "Hang in there Ara."
Clary drove down the streets, Ara's house clear in her mind. She'd driven past it so many times, she could probably find her way there with her eyes closed.
She parked around the corner of her house, so that nobody would see her getting into her car. She looked back at Wes who was still asleep. She got out of the car, letter and picture on hand and set off.
She nervously climbed the front steps of the house. Quietly, she placed the photo on the doorstep, and rang the doorbell. Clary then ran away, without a second glance back.
Teddy was seated in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. He swallowed the rest of his coffee and got to his feet. He padded out into the front room, and pulled the door open. There was nobody outside the door. "Idiots." He muttered, thinking it was just some kids playing pranks. He turned around but the something caught his eye. He peered down. "What the-" he bent down and picked up the photo. He recognized it instantly, because his mother had been the one to take the photo. He was thirteen. Ara was fifteen. It was taken almost two years ago. But that wasn't what confused him. Ara had left this photo at their old place. So what was it doing all the way out here.
He took a second look at the picture, flipping the photo over. There was writing on the back.
Meet me at Riverside Park tomorrow at 8:30 sharp.
I'll tell you everything.
Including the whereabouts of your sister.
- C. A.
YOU ARE READING
Nicotine | Ashton Irwin ✔
Fanfiction"So, in some sense," she began, "You find me highly addictive?" she struggled to find the words to explain what he had just told her. "In some sense yes. I find you highly addictive." he replied. "Like, heroin addictive?" "No. Like nicotine."
