SHE (bk 1)

FORTY-SEVEN

Clementine was not alright.

She had gone her whole life telling everyone she was alright when in fact she wasn't. But as she sat staring out the window in an unrecognizable place that was now hers, she knew she was indeed not alright.

Her eyes watched the people passing by, some going to important events and others sight seeing. But she was only looking for one person, Harry.

Clementine was not a particularly proud person, she would apologize when necessary and take responsibility when it was hers. The past two days had been hell on her conscious, Harry's watering eyes and trembling lip replaying over in her mind. She had blown up at him after a hard realization hit her that she would never spend Christmas with her mother again.

Clementine knew Harry's intentions and even as the cruel words left her lips she couldn't help herself. It felt selfish of him to take away all of those memories in one fell swoop and replace them with a dull, elegant imagine HE wanted. She understood the idea of his gift and what he was trying to accomplish, her heart would have swelled if he fixed it...but he didn't it. He erased it.

Her gaze drew over to a wall that was once a watermelon green and smiled at the memory.

FLASHBACK

"Clem," the fourteen year old blonde looked up from her homework to find her mother glaring expectantly. "I asked you what color I should paint it?," the place where her eyebrows would be raised slightly, her fingers tying her bandana again.

She was starting to lose her hair again and her eyebrows were the first to go.

Clementine smiled as she stood up, "Um I like the color gray or white."

Mel's lip twitched into a frown as she shook her head, "Now I know I did not raise a boring child...why those?," her eyes were accusing but Clementine just smiled back, hands tracing the bare walls.

"It's easy to decorate around those colors and use bright ones around to accentuate the plain wall colors...plus people hate bright colors they're tacky," her shoulders shrug and Mel only crosses her arms. Clementine had always been on the practical side, never wanting to chance the unknown. She was going to change that.

"What is your favorite fruit?," Clementine raised an eyebrow at her mother before tying her hair up. She could tell her mom was up to no good, but that was always the case with Mel.

"Watermelon."

Mel's lips raise into a wide grin as Clem's cheeks heat up, her mother knew her favorite fruit and the weird habit that accompanied it. "Watermelon and sugar."

The blonde simply nodded before Mel gave a deciding nod, "I am going to model this diner off of my most precious creation...you my dear Clementine. The sign out front, the tables and chairs, the walls and, the counters will all be watermelon colored. All so one day when I am long gone and this is all yours you can remember I made all of this for you," Clementine gave her mother a stern look a she brought of the possibility of her death. 
 
Immediately Clementine was hugging her mother's side, she did not even want to think of that day. The day she would have to say goodbye to her mother.

"Don't say that mom...You will make it through and we will run this together."

END FLASHBACK

Clementine wiped the streak of liquid that stained her cheek quickly, "Oh mom I am so sorry," she whispered as she looked around.

It wasn't Harry's fault and she knew that, but it was easy to place the blame on him. He should have asked her before he did anything but there was nothing she could do now. She stood up on her wobbly legs and pulled the coat tighter to her body.

Clementine knew what she needed to do.

Her legs took her through the streets of New York expertly and to the front of his building. She took a deep breath before pushing the door open and is soon greeted by the door man who allows her right into the elevator. The blonde rocked back and forth on her heels as she waited, anxiety coursing through her veins.

The familiar bell dinged and she jumped as the doors flung open, green eyes immediately meeting hers. "Clementine?"

Her lips lift up slightly, "Um hi Gemma...where's Harry?," his sister cleared her throat before patting the spot on the couch next to her. Clementine slinked over to her and plopped down, looking around the empty apartment.

"Are you better now? Here to yell more?"

Clementine felt her cheeks heat slightly, "I um...no I came to talk to him, I said things in the heat of the moment and I want him to know-," Gemma's smile reached her eyes as the blonde talked.

She knew Clementine would think over what had happened and come back when she was ready. Although her brother seemed to think she would abandon him and once again he was too much of a problem for someone. It cut Gemma up seeing him so down. "Harry is out he will be back soon."

"I'm going to shower really quick," Clementine finally speaks as Gemma continues to give her a knowing look, the blonde quickly retreating to her room.

She gets together a pair of leggings and a giant sweater, walking into the large ensuite to wash away a couple days of sitting idly in a diner. The blonde had seen better days.

Clementine took a quick, hot shower before she heard voices. Her head perks up as she starts to towel dry her hair, he was back.

She tip toed to the door and peaked out, Harry was stood facing toward Gemma. His hair was sticking up in every direction and he had dirt all over him, what the hell did he do?

The blonde started to come out when she heard something that made her breathe hitch, "I searched through every damn trash heap in Manhattan and I didn't find a damn thing but a small piece of the sign."