Clawen • What comes next

|| CHAPTER 46 ||

           

"Only one more month" Owen said while massaging the hell out of Claire's lower back. She groaned but didn't say a word as he continued doing wonders to her back.

Claire's complaining had started not longer after she found out she was pregnant. By each month, it had gotten worse and more frequent, with good reason of course. Owen being the smart man that he was, knew that he just had to suck it all up and try his best not to argue or talk back. He was very aware that whatever frustration or anger he might be feeling about her outbursts and breakdowns, she was feeling 10 times worse, if not more.

Maisie had started hanging out in her room more and more. She had started going to her room to draw and it was often that they could hear music playing on the speaker she had, trying to drown out the rest of the world.

One night, Maisie had announced that she was going to her room. Now normally neither Claire nor Owen thought much of it. But this time in particular, Claire had noticed that it was the 5th time that day, that she had disappeared upstairs. As soon as Maisie closed her door, Claire broke down. Owen was by her side immediately, comforting without knowing the reason for her tears. She started going on and on about how Maisie didn't like her anymore, that she kept going to her room. Claire's hormonal and confused brain had somehow managed to flip it all around. So instead of looking at it as, Maisie is a few years short of being a teenager, and there's a lot of stuff going on and changing around her. Making her want to hang out in her room for some privacy. Claire's brain had forced itself into thinking that Maisie didn't care about them anymore, that she wished they never adopted her. Owen knew that wasn't the reason. He was very aware that it was just Claire's brain playing games with her. He couldn't tell her that though, because every time he tried to convince her of something or change her mind, it got even worse. Either she broke down even more, or she ran upstairs herself and shut the door out of anger. So, all Owen was left with was his comforting touch and calming voice.

Owen went upstairs to check on Maisie, half an hour later when Claire had calmed down. "Are you leaving me as well now?" Claire asked, the tears still very clear in her voice. He chuckled slightly, without her noticing. "No, I'm just going up to check on Maisie for a second okay?" She nodded giving him, her silent permission, before he disappeared behind the wall.

He knocked on the door, waiting for permission to enter. "Yea" Was all that was said and he opened the door to find her sitting at her desk, drawing yet again. She didn't really acknowledge him, she just kept drawing. Owen looked around her room for a couple seconds before he turned to her. "How are you doing Maisie?" He asked, walking over to sit on her bed. She shrugged with her back to him, pencil never leaving the paper. "Fine" She said. Owen nodded as he folded his hands in his lap, knowing for a fact that she was not fine. "Maisie look at me" He said and waited for her to turn around. She hesitated at first but eventually turned in her chair. "I know something is up and trust me, you have all the reason to be feeling however you feel. Just please tell me" He said, trying his absolute best to get Maisie to trust him enough.

She sighed, hesitating again. "I don't know what's wrong" She said looking at the floor. "That's okay Maisie, there's nothing wrong with not knowing. I just need you to understand, that you can talk to me about it. I will do my best to help you" He said in his softest voice, clearly seeing that there was a lot on the girl's mind. Maisie sighed "I know I can...It's just really hard to talk about" She said, pulling her legs up under herself, eyes still glued to the floor. Owen nodded understandingly. "It's mom and the baby, isn't it?" He asked. She sighed again "That makes me sound like a monster" She said and Owen could hear the sobs making their way up her throat. "Maisie nothing in this world can make you sound like a monster" He said and walked over to kneel before her. "Look at me Maisie...please" He begged, before her tear-filled eyes finally landed on him. "Tell me what's on your mind" He said close to a whisper. Yet again, the girl sighed before she spilled her whole heart out.

"I know you said that the baby would never come before me and that you would never leave me or get rid of me or anything like that. But now that it's getting so close, I'm just really starting to worry, because I know how much attention a baby needs" She took a deep breath, trying to catch the sobs in her throat as she wiped away the escaping tears. "I guess I'm just preparing myself or whatever. Getting ready to be on my own" Owen sighed sadly, not having known that Maisie felt this way. It broke his heart. He quickly reached out to pull her into a hug. Her whole body went numb and she fell onto his lap. He shushed her and ran his hands through her hair for minutes, before she calmed down.

"Maisie, I want you to come with us with these sorts of things okay. I need you to know that it's not good keeping them inside. It wont help you and it wont help us" He said and she sniffled and whispered "I know" through a sob. Another sniffle came before she spoke. "I just...I don't want to burden you now that mom isn't feeling well most of the day. I figured it would just blow off and I would start to feel better about it or something...I don't know" She said and starting crying louder.

It must have been really loud because half a minute later, Claire opened the door to find them both on the floor. She was frozen on the spot fearing the worst already. Owen noticed her quickly though and reassured her that it wasn't what she thought and there was no reason for panic. She walked over and sat down next to them as quickly as her body would let her. "What's wrong?" She whispered and Maisie turned in Owen's arms to find her mom looking at her with concerned eyes. She sniffled and shook her head. "Nothing" She said. Owen made a disapproving noise and Maisie sighed. "Tell her Maisie" He said in a calm but still concerned voice. "Tell me what?" Claire asked even more scared than before now as she looked between the two of them. Maisie sighed. "I...just...Idontknow" The girl spit out quicker than a lawnmower. She fell into Claire's arms and started sobbing uncontrollably. Claire starting furiously rubbing circles on the girls back as she pulled her close and cradled her head in her arm, before she looked up at Owen with questioning eyes. He shrugged before he decided that it would probably be easier if he told what Maisie had told him. She had just blurted her heart out to him and he figured she was probably in no condition to do it again.

He started carefully explaining to Claire, as the girl was sobbing away in her arms. Claire's eyes starting watering more and more the further on Owen got. At the end, both the girls were crying on the floor and Owen scooted over to wrap his arms around them both.

"Maisie I'm so so so so so sorry sweetheart" Claire whispered to the top of the girl's head, leaving a hundred kisses after. "Oh god I'm so sorry baby" She whispered. Claire's apologies went on for another minute before Maisie straightened up to stop her. She shook her head profusely and her mom. "No I'm sorry...I never should have told you all this, it just brought trouble" Another sob left the girls throat as she looked up into her mom's teary eyes. Claire shook her head at the girl with closed eyes, trying to figure out what to say. "Baby no" Was all she could come up with. She couldn't find words to describe how wrong Maisie was. And got even more frustrated at that. "Please Maisie you got to tell us these things...please" She whispered, kissing her forehead. Maisie nodded and let her body fall into Claire's, careful of not hurting her. She started rocking them both back and forth. Owen stood up and put a hand on Claire's shoulder and whispered to her that he was going to give them a moment and then they could come down when they felt like it.

It took the girls half an hour before their shaking bodies would even let them stand up. But when they finally did, they walked down to Owen and spend the rest of the evening together.

YES! THIS ONE WAS LONGER AS WELL

I am simply the best! Kidding shhh. I personally really liked this part but I really want to know what you guys thought of it. It might just be me, who's all for the sadness and then making up. Hmm idk...