Letters to Anonymous | ✔️

attempting damage control

  Claire visited Adrian at the hospital every day for the next week and after that, he was released to go home.

  During the times she'd visit, she would sometimes spend it with him and his mom, other times with his friends and sometimes it would just be the two of them.

  It was the day of his release that Claire noticed his behaviour to be a little odd. He kept zoning out of their conversation and continued to throw tentative glances towards her and thoughtful glances at the door.

  "You've been acting really weird. I mean, you're already weird, but now you're acting more weird. It's only slightly concerning." Claire said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear that managed to escape from her pony tail.

  "I have a proposition." Adrian said, getting straight to the point.

  "Okay?" She looked at him confusingly. "About what exactly?"

  "About your situation at your house."

  Claire instantly felt deflated. "Adrian, please, can you leave me alone for a bit. I've been surviving and I can continue surviving. Really."

"Claire, surviving isn't enough. You need to live happily."

"I am happy, I'm happy when I'm with you." She said and then realizing how cheesy she was being, her cheeks reddened.

  Adrian wanted to smile at her fluster, but he stood his ground. "That's not enough and you know that. You shouldn't have to live in a house that you're afraid to go into."

  Sighing, Claire looked to the ground. She knew that by telling Adrian about her father, this would happen. She was happy she got to share the weight she'd been carrying on her own shoulders for so long. It felt so much more comforting to know someone had her back when all these years, she had to be all on her own. However, this was the part she was dreading. When the person feels the need to help. Whether she realized it before or not, she was afraid of standing up to her father and she knew that by telling someone, Adrian, she would have to take a stance against her father. And she did not feel ready to do that just yet.

  She ignored the voices in her head and shook her head. "Okay, let me just hear your proposition."

  "You can't get mad." He said, looking over Claire's features to try and get a read of her emotions. Her brown eyes were a little sad, but he could see the curiosity in her face. "There's an apartment I found. You can leave your whatever father and your mom will pay for it. Legally, you'll be living with her, but actually, you won't. She's living elsewhere, but in documents, she'll be with you. That way you'll be away from your mother, and more importantly, you'll be away from the tormentor." He finished talking and nervously looked at her expression to see what kind of a response he would get.

  Claire was confused for a second before realizing that he came up with this with her mother. "You...conspired with my mom." She stated.

  He nodded. "Yeah."

  "Um..." Claire opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't know what to say. "I really don't know how to respond right now. I don't know whether to be angry, sad, upset, hurt or annoyed or understanding? Compliant? Accepting? I- I really...can we- can we talk about this later? I think my brain needs a distraction."

  "You'll think about it?" He asked, trying his best.

  "Adrian, can you please-"

  "Promise you'll think about it." He pushed.

  She got so annoyed of him and by this point, she just wanted him to stop talking altogether. "Fine." She replied, hoping he'd talk no more.

  He knew better than to let out that huge smile he felt like doing, so instead, he kept his face down to hide his relief. "Thank you."

  The lack of reply from her was enough for him to understand her desire for silence. So he complied.