Colliding with Fate

~Twenty-Three~

The following Monday, Fate decides to return to school. I helped him carry his books to his classes and received a pass from Mr Weaver to excuse my tardies in classes. I made Fate sit with Claire and I at lunch and Mom made sure to pack an extra lunch for him. It made me happy that Mom wanted to help Fate as much as I did. Lunch went well until Christopher made his way around the cafeteria, venturing far from his own table, and sat down in front of us. He slammed his tray down on the table loudly, causing heads to turn in our direction.

"So, how are we doing this fine day?" He smirked. I felt Fate tense next to me. On my other side, Claire flipped her red hair over her shoulder and shot Christopher a glare.

"Get lost, Christopher," she said.

Christopher sighed and placed his head in one hand, looking at us sadly. "I wish I could, but my father is just so abusive and I just really need someone to sit with me." He pouted in a mocking tone.

I placed my hand on Fate's clenched fist that rested on the table. "Christopher. Leave, now." I ground out.

He chuckled. "Why? So Fate can get back to being a broken little boy?"

"Christopher. Meet me in my office. Now." Christopher turned around to see principal Weaver standing directly behind him, arms crossed, a stern look on his face. Christopher's face held no resentment as he grinned at us and said, "See you later, guys," then followed principal Weaver into his office. I squeezed Fate's hand out of comfort. He relaxed slowly and began to pick at his food. Claire elbowed me in the ribs, causing me to let out a low grunt. I let go of Fate's hand when mine became sweaty. Fate didn't seem to mind since it gave him two hands to eat with instead of one. Claire nodded her head in the direction of the bathroom, but I school my head in response. I was not about to leave Fate alone after the incident with Christopher. Claire sighed, but gave up. Something in the pit of my stomach churned at the expression resting on her delicate face.

After lunch, I helped Fate get to the rest of his classes and drove him home. Claire now sat in the passenger side seat, fidgeting slightly. She never did that. "You okay?" I asked as I readjusted my hands on the steering wheel. Claire sighed next to me.

"It's that obvious?" She muttered, wringing her hands in her lap.

"I've basically known you your entire life - of course it's obvious to me." I replied knowingly.

"My parents are both agreeing on a divorce," Claire whispered. "I'm really upset, but I know that they deserve another shot at happiness even if it's going to be with other people." I could tell by the slight waver of her voice that she was putting on a brave front.

"You don't have to do this. You don't need to pretend you're okay with me, because I can tell you're not." I argued. A small noise left Claire's lips and I knew it was her trying her hardest not to break down right here in the car. She was failing miserably. I pulled over on the side of the road and pulled her into a hug. Her entire body shook with agony as she clutched onto my shirt.

"It's okay," I muttered into her hair over and over again. "I'm here for you, Claire. I love you." Thirty minutes later, Claire's face was red and puffy but more or less dry. We decided she would spend the night tonight and we would talk to Mom, Dad, and Ethan about it over dinner tonight.

Ethan immediately knew something was wrong as soon as we walked through the door. He stood there with his arms crossed. "Why are you two twenty minutes later than your usual time window? Were you with Fate?" Then his narrow eyes averted from me to Claire and softened at the sight. Her eyes were red and puffy. It was obvious she had been crying an awful lot.

"I'm getting Mom and Dad. Wait here." Ethan ordered, then headed for the stairs.

"Where else would we go, stupid - I live here." I retorted sarcastically, but the serious look Ethan shot me told me I shouldn't have even said anything in response.

Claire and I sat the three of them down in the living room and let Claire tell the news. Mom shook her head sadly while Dad held her hand in comfort. They seemed to have expected it at some point. Both parents didn't seem as shocked as they would be if the news was fresh. Ethan, on the other hand, had his arms folded across his chest and continued to clench and unclench his jaw as he burned a spot in the carpet with his heated gaze. The news was fresh to him, alright.

"So that's it?" Ethan questioned.

"What?-" Claire began, obviously hurt and confused.

"You're just going to let your family fall apart?"

Everyone in the room was taken aback by his hurtful words. Mom gasped in shock while Dad and I stared wide-eyed at Ethan's behavior. Claire seemed to have become angry, though, just as she should be. "Ethan, I don't know where you're going with this but I've listened to them fight and bicker constantly. Every single second that I am home that's all I hear! So if you think that for one second that I allowed their marriage to fall apart, think again. I tried so hard to keep my family together but unfortunately I was of no use. I'm sorry my parents aren't happily married like yours, but other people have real problems, Ethan. So don't accuse me of letting my parents split up. It was never about me, so my opinion had no effect on whether or not they're going to end up signing the stupid papers." Tears brimmed her eyes, but they weren't sad tears. She was angry.

Ethan rose from the couch abruptly. "Whatever. Sorry." He muttered under his breath before attempting to leave.

Mom reached out and grabbed his hands tenderly. "Ethan," she whispered warningly.

He paused before he gently took his hand out of hers. "I apologized. Sorry again." He said, then continued to walk away. Nobody stopped him this time. We knew he needed space and none of us wanted to deal with his mood swings if we even walked into the same room as him.

Claire slumped against the couch and took a deep shaky breath. I leaned back as well and let her lay her head on my shoulder. "I'm here for you, Claire. I love you." I whispered comfortingly.

"Love you too, Evan."

---

Kind of a deep, more raw subject, sorry:/

Hope you liked this chapter, and if you did please do not hesitate to Vote and Comment!! 💓