Weapon Of War (Clementine x Louis)

Chapter 16: PTSD

Louis was filled with shock. "What do you mean no?" He asked.

AJ looked scared. Traumatized even. "I am not the one that should tell you." Violet answered.

"You alright little man?" He knelt down to AJ's level.

    The young boys eyes were filled with disappointment. "I knew this would happen. It always happens." Louis brought him into a gentle embrace.

    "I'll talk to her okay?" The two boys pulled away. Louis stood to his full height again. Violet pointed behind her hinting that's the way Clementine left. The rehabilitation centre was on the ground floor so there was no hassle getting around. As he got closer and closer to the mini gym. It was meant to have sound proof walls.

    Upon entering the room he witnessed Clementine sitting in the floor launching one of her crutches at the wall. Her knuckles were dripping blood. She had taken off her sweater and was wearing an off white old tee shirt. Her hat was tossed to the side. "This fucking leg!" She cried

    Her fist balled causing more of the thick red liquid to run down over her hand. It dropped in  a pool on her shirt. "I couldn't do it." She looked at her hands. The sight was familiar. In an odd way it was comforting. "I've done all the training. I could put weight on my toes and my heels and somehow I couldn't fucking do it." She murmured.

Louis stood motionless in the doorway. She was facing sideways giving him a view of her side profile. Her eyes burned with fire but he could see the pain that mirrored within them.

He took a step in closing the door behind him. The click of the door latch alerted her of his position. Her head never turned, instead it bowed while her amber eyes closed. "Get out." Her voice was firm but her tone was brittle.

"I know it didn't go as planned today but you can't-" Louis was interrupted by Clementine's second crutch hurtling towards him.

It hit the wall a few inches away from him causing Louis to stumble away. "I said get out." Her lips narrowed and her eyebrows furrowed. What she didn't notice was her bottom lip trembling.

Louis took a few steps towards her. Her head snapped up to look at him. "You scared AJ. He doesn't like seeing you like this." For a moment her expression softened but hardened once again. "I can help you Clementine." He reached out for her arm only to be brought down to the floor by her force.

One arm was pressed at his throat the other was held in a stern fist above the boys head. Looking into her eyes he didn't see Clem, he saw the solider. The weapon.

The tight grip her hands had made forced the thick red liquid to ooze out of the wounds she inflicted on herself. The blood trickled down her hand before falling onto Louis' forehead. A floodgate of memories opened. Her sight was taken and forced into a memory of Lee. The bullet wound in his head that seeped blood made her gut rench.

As she snapped back she saw fear in Louis' eyes. "Go..." she removed her arm from his neck and unclenched her fists. The blood was crawling into her nail beds. She held them close to her chest unaware of what she showed to Louis.

There was a strange symbol on Clementine's left arm. He knew it was not the time to bring it up. He wasn't leaving. "I will hurt you if you do not leave Louis," she mumbled pulling herself to a wall. She re-tucked her arms into her chest.

"I don't know if you are talking about physical or emotional," He now knew to keep his distance even if he didn't want to.

Her head raised "I wouldn't stick around to find out." Her words went deeper than this situation. They both knew that.