Clayton's Girl

Chapter Eleven

||Clayton||

The powder blue room stood quietly around me. I closed my eyes and breathed a deep sigh of relief. She is safe now. That is all that matters.

The thought of Aubree being hurt made me sick to my stomach.

How anyone could treat a girl that way, just churned my soul.

"I hope she likes this." I said to my mom as she walked into the room. She was carrying a laundry basket full of bedding and she plopped it down on the floor.

"Well, this is definitely better than what she's had." My mom sighed and began stretching out sheets.

My mom was a saint and I didn't deserve her. She could let Aubree fend for herself and be on her own, but she didn't. Even when it meant her son and a girl that was a little younger than him, sleeping under the same roof. I knew this bothered her, but I appreciated her trust in me to make good decisions.

My mom made my world a better place, and I was hoping her lovingness could make Aubree feel the same way.

"Mom, I can do that." I grabbed the sheet from her and draped it over the bed.

"Suddenly you can make a bed?" She raised her eyebrow at me, and I rolled my eyes. "Amazing what a girl can make a boy do." She said as she left the room.

I didn't pull my weight around here as much as I could, and I owed my mom more than that, especially now.

While tucking the sheet corners in, I ran my hand over the cotton fabric. It was soft and clean, and smelled like flowers. It made you want to fall into bed and never surface.

Aubree deserves to know what it's like to live this way.

"Clayton, it's time." My mom's head poked in and I straightened up. "Let's go."

-

I draped Aubree's arm around my neck and wrapped my arm around her waist. She was recovering well but would still get out of breath easily and had pain from moving too much.

Pulling the blankets back, I helped her get into bed. I tucked the blanket in snug around her and leaned down to kiss her forehead, but I was interrupted.

"Look at you two." My mom stood in the doorway grinning. Her arms were folded across her chest and her head tilted to the side as she admired us.

Aubree looked nervous and I smiled at her before resuming the kiss. I sat on the edge of the bed and looked at my mom.

"I hope you're comfortable." My mom looked at Aubree, and she smiled.

"I really don't need my own room." Aubree spoke and my mom immediately shut down her nervous thoughts.

"You're a seventeen-year-old girl. You deserve to have your own room." She assured. "With that said, we need to lay down some rules. Dan!" My mom called for my dad.

"Yes, dear?" He called back as he walked down the hall, towards Aubree's room.

"Rules." My mom stated as he appeared in the doorway.

"Yes, rules." He spoke firmly and looked me in the eyes, as if he assumed I would be the trouble maker.

"You kids stay in your own rooms at night, do you hear me?" His tone was serious, and I nodded my head. "God knows we don't need any little Claytons running around." He sighed and my mom smacked his chest. "Well there's enough dishes left around this house already." He defended his word choice.

"Oh? As if you're the one who picks them up anyways?" My mom countered, and I heard a little chuckle from beside me.

I looked at Aubree who was smiling ever so slightly as she watched them. "What?" I asked.

"What is that like?" She asked in amazement, as my parents went their own ways.

"What is what like?" I questioned further, not understanding what she was trying to say.

"To be so in love." Her gaze met mine and her eyes just seemed so... content.

In this moment, Aubree taught me something.

I had never looked at my parent's little antics as if they were in love. I only saw annoyance, teasing, or bickering, but never love.

Love is really what it was though. I could imagine myself being like that one day, having that type of relationship with a girl. Where our kids sit on the floor eating cereal and watching cartoons as we bicker in the background over who forgot to wipe up spilled coffee. In the midst of it all, we'd catch each other trying not to laugh, and everything would be still in that moment and we'd just feel happiness.

That is love.

"I imagine that it's the greatest feeling in the world, to have that passion." I smiled back at her, knowing full well that she gave me that feeling. "I hope that someday you get to experience that."

Whether it was with me or anyone else, all I want is for her to be happy. One day Aubree will find the love of her life, and she'll be happy and swooning. She'll have a house, and kids, and she'll be able to move on from the life she has now. It will all become a distant memory of something that simply affected who she became as a person but didn't dictate the route her life took.

She suddenly looked at war with herself, and I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering what was going on inside her head.

"Aubree?" I spoke quietly as I held her hand.

"I don't know if I can give you what you want."

To say I was taken back by her words, would be an understatement. What could I possibly want from her? What did she think I expected from her?

"I don't understand." I questioned what she was getting at and she looked uncomfortable. A light went off in my head and my eyes widened. "Oh." Was all I said, and I scratched the back of my head. "Aubree."

"I'm sorry." She said weakly as she tried to retract her hand from mine.

"No. Aubree. I never expected anything like that." I tried my best to make it clear to her that she owed me nothing and that I didn't expect anything more than her friendship. I gave her hand a light squeeze to let her know she didn't have to let go.

She looked somewhat hurt, and out of confusion, I continued, "Don't get me wrong, uh, you're gorgeous." I stammered. "I wouldn't say no." I awkwardly looked away from her, but I could feel her observing me. "Gee, I'm not really sure how to not send you the wrong message right now." I laughed slightly and continued staring at anything but Aubree.

I felt her hand slightly squeeze mine in return. "Thank you." I suddenly heard and I looked at her. "Thank you for being kind to me."

I smiled and tried one more time to explain myself. I didn't want to leave any awkward tension or miscommunication between us. "I don't expect anything from you. I'm happy with just having you in my life. I don't want you to feel like you owe me anything." My voice was firm, and I watched as she took in every word I said.

Just then I felt small clammy fingers rest on top of my own. She smiled at me and my heart jumped. "I like having you in my life too."  

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Song: Simple Song by The Shins