Savior

11| Titanic

Chapter 11: Titanic (Claire's POV)

It was the middle of the night and like always, I wanted ice cream. I never had a sweet tooth but I think living here I've got one. I tiptoed out, the fuzzy socks muffling my footsteps. 

Yes, fuzzy socks! 

I got downstairs and flicked on the light switch, almost letting out a scream, barely managing to smack my hand over my mouth in time. "What the hell are you doing?!" I whisper-yelled at Leo who sat there, a bowl of ice cream sitting in front of him. He seemed zoned out. I walked over and stood in front of him. "Hello?" I waved my sleeve in front of his face and he snapped out of it. 

He slid the bowl over to me and I stared at it, then at him. I grabbed it and went and sat beside him while he stared off into space. "Can I ask you something?" I asked, rocking my legs back and forth immediately stopping when I accidentally kicked his leg. 

"I'm sure you'll ask anyway," he sighed. 

"Where's your mom?" I questioned hesitantly. 

He let out a breath before turning to me, his fingers drumming against the countertop. "Dead." 

"What happened?" I asked. 

"She got shot." My mouth fell open. "My dad owed some people money, I was at school, they came home, shot her, left a note." The casualty in his voice was eerie. 

"H-how old were you?" 

"Fifteen," he answered, looking down at me. 

"Who did it?" I hesitated but asked the question regardless. 

"The people your dad owes." 

I felt my heart pounding in my chest. Not for me, but my dad. "Who pulled the trigger?" 

"The first guy I ever killed." 

"How old were you then?" 

"Seventeen." 

I hesitated once again but asked anyway. Nothing left to lose now. Except for the little progress we've made this past week. "Did you kill him for revenge?" 

"No," he sighed. My brows furrowed in confusion. "I killed him to save someone else. He just happened to be the guy who killed my mom." 

Karma finds its way then. 

I think that's enough for me to ask about such a sensitive topic in the middle of the night. If I ask anything else, our progress might go down and sink. Like the Titanic. Just plummet down. 

No Jack. No Rose. No door. That stupid door and stupid Rose. She could have saved Jack. 

"Are you talking about the Titanic?" he asked. 

"I said that all out loud?" 

"No," he shook his head, "You just said 'Stupid door and stupid Rose. She could have saved Jack.'" 

I chuckled, "Sorry, I was thinking about um- nothing, nothing," I shook my head. 

He looked at me weirdly. I put my head down on the table, pushing the bowl away in embarrassment. "What the hell were you thinking about?" 

"Nothing," I laughed, sitting up straight, pulling my sleeves lower and covering my face. "Jesus, okay. Um- goodnight," I stood up, leaving the empty bowl in the sink. 

"Claire." I stopped and turned back around to face him. "I trust you," he nodded. 

"Will it kill you to smile when you say that?" I huffed. He rolled his eyes and looked the other way.