(chapter forty six)

Richard's heart almost jumped out of his chest when he woke up the next morning and opened his daughter's bedroom door to check up on her, only to see the bed made and empty, with almost no trace that she had been there.

The sun was barely peaking on the sky and he sprinted downstairs, grabbing his phone, ready to dial Shoupe's phone number, only to see the light of the new TV he bought for when she came back.

His hand that held the phone fell on his side as he stared at Clars with wide eyes watching her old favorite werewolf show. Richard closed his eyes and let out a sigh, walking down the last remaining steps.

"You gave me a hell of a scare," he says, breaking her focus on the show and turning the tired brown eyes back to him.

"I'm sorry," was the only answer as she held the pillow even closer to her body, becoming even smaller than before.

Richard sighed, sitting beside her as his blue eyes traveled to the TV, and his left hand dropped on the back of Clara's hair, brushing ever so softly her hair to soothe any worry she might have, as he noticed how short it was from before they went to bed.

The bird chirped outside announcing the start of the morning. The sun was barely out yet, the sky turning a nice shade of pink and purple. Richard didn't know what exactly he should do or say to his daughter after everything that happened. After all, how much a month of what she went through could change who she was?

But one thing he knew for sure was how much she loved the water. How much she liked surfing with him, so Richard nudged his shoulder against hers, breaking once again her focus on the TV.

"Wanna go to the beach?" Clara blinked a few times with the question but nodded slowly after hesitating for a second. So he patted her knee as a way to tell her to start moving. "Great, go get ready. I'll grab my things in the car."

While she saw a more excited Richard closing the door after leaving the house, Clara pursed her lips, turned off the TV, and walked upstairs. Opening her wardrobe felt almost unfamiliar for some reason.

She grabbed a black bikini set and put it on. Looking back at the mirror on the side of the wardrobe, her hands ran over the showing ribs, but her eyes were still locked on the wound on her stomach and the still healing scars of her arm, making a frown make its way to her face.

Applying a bandage on top of the wounds, she then moved around in the drawer until she found a long-sleeved lycra shirt, not wasting a second in hiding her body from anyone. Then she tied her hair the best way she could with how short it was now.

Grabbing a towel and going back downstairs, Richard had already changed in the guest bathroom. He was only wearing his surfing board shorts and he offered the girl a bottle of water, which she eagerly accepted.

When she went outside, the two surfboards were on the back of her father's truck, and he nudged her arm again as he locked the front door. Before going to the beach, the two passed on the only place that would be opening at that time in Outerbanks, and it was the bar her father had to bring since she was little. They ate a sandwich each, as Clara tried to ignore the confused looks sent her way.

Arriving at the beach, Clara was holding her board under her arm, placing it on the sand as she stretched.

The waves crashed on the shore, and she pursed her lips. A flashback of the air leaving her lungs, the salt water burning her throat; the plane losing control and sinking with her and the pogues inside, and Clara couldn't help but swallow dry.

Even with JJ's help, one thing was staying by the shore or the lake pool where she knew she couldn't drown, the other was the big waves of Kildare Island, to actually go head-on where she couldn't even touch the ground.

Richard noticed the tension in his daughter's demeanor, and he also put his own board down, stopping by her side, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as he gave a small squeeze.

"What's wrong, kiddo?" His voice was soft, reassuring and her lip trembled.

"I'm scared, Dad."

The man's gaze left her and fell on the sea, he pursed his lips a little, then he nodded, patting her head lightly.

"What about we start slow? Like before?" He put his hand out in front of her, waiting for her to take it. Clara hesitated, and Richard gave his daughter another reassuring smile. "C'mon, kid. I'll guide you."

And just like he did many years before, Richard held his daughter's hand once more, helping her regain her courage on the sea once more.

++++

Drying her hair as she stepped around her living room, Clara couldn't help but let the smile free on her face. It had been such a long time since she actually felt that way. Her father's efforts were having an effect, she felt a little more safe again, even if she really didn't realize it yet. But most of all, Clara was feeling happy.

Of course, she was happy when she was on the island with her friends, but it can get pretty boring really quickly. Because she knew she was never meant to be there in the first place.

Sometimes, she still caught herself thinking that maybe she was always going to be an outcast of their group, even of how close they had become in the last few days.

She couldn't help but dread what they were thinking about her decision to leave with Rafe. And deep down she hoped they understood her reasons. Even with how fail that could be.

Before she could even grab something from her fridge — Clara and her father had passed on the market to restock her fridge with everything she wanted, — her doorbell rang, and Clara put the towel down, moving to open the door.

Clara let out a relieved smile when she saw Topper standing anxious at her door, the sight being comforting to her since that was her normal. Watching the boy she couldn't help but call her best friend showing that she was indeed back.

He then smiled back and held up the two paper bags in his hands, raising his eyebrows. "Brought you some ice cream-"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Clara quickly grabbed the bag in her hands, walking happily to the kitchen while Topper invited himself in, closing the door behind him as he followed her.

She opened the drawer and took out two spoons as she passed one to her friend and sat down, signaling for him to do the same. Ripping open the paper bag, Clara grabbed the tubes of her favorite dessert, taking a big spoonful of it, almost melting in joy when the flavor sank in. It was her favorite ice cream, and he once again remembered.

After swallowing, she opened her eyes, seeing an amused Topper with a smirk and his arms crossed watching her reactions.

"I loved the new hair, by the way. Suits you."

"Why am I having a sense of deja vu?" She asked, and the boy chuckled, making his move to open his own tube of ice cream.

"Well, I don't know about that, but what I want to know is why the pogues look a lot healthier than you do after being missing for an entire month — and I'm guessing — together." He said while Clara furrowed her eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"I just saw Pope with a girl sitting on the market as he was dancing with his mom when I went to grab this for you," he stated, a confused look clear on his face.

"Wait, Pope's here?" She asked again, and Topper made a funny face, getting even more confused than before.

"Yeah, you know that..." he trailed out, seeing the girl put the spoon down. "You didn't know that? Didn't you guys come back together?"

Clara sighed, putting the spoon back on the ice cream as she twisted it. If Pope was here, the girl would probably be Cleo, so that meant they were able to get back safely here. That also meant she would need to have a conversation with the blonde boy before anything else.

"It's a lot-"

"Good thing we have until the ice cream melts then," he concluded, putting a spoonful in his own mouth as he stared at the girl as a way for her to continue.

And she did, telling every single detail once again. Honestly, she was getting somewhat tired of remembering everything, but he needed to know. And of course, he was in shock, his mouth slightly open as heard.

In the end, stared at his best friend with crossed arms and a serious look on his face, in deep thinking. Clara played with her fingers, not knowing what to expect from that reaction and she waited.

Then, Topper finally looked back to her, before continuing. "Can't believe you're going out with JJ."

She blinked, even more confused than before. That was what he paid attention to?

"And the best idea you had to help your friends was coming back with Rafe, to whatever place he's living now? Couldn't you just run like Kie did?" He shook his head and Clara opened her mouth, not knowing how to reply.

"It was the best way for him not to follow them so they could come back? Also — mind you — Rafe promised me he was going to bring me back to the OBX when Rose kidnapped me-"

"Exactly! Just hear what you're saying! His mother figure kidnapped you and still believe anything someone from that family tells you?"

"What about Sarah, then?"

"Sarah's on the same boat as you right now, though."

Clara pressed her lips into a line, twirling the spoon in her fingers once more. She wishes she knew what they were thinking if Kiara was able to explain the situation without looking like she was betraying them when she went with Rafe.

Topper took notice of that, and just like months before, he hated when Clara started to get too inside her own mind, so he put the spoon in his mouth, snapping his fingers twice to break her away from it. "Hey, snap out of it."

Her eyes went back to his, and Topper couldn't help but notice how tired she actually looked.

"You think he'll be mad at me?"

"Who? JJ?" He asked and Clara nodded. "You want me to lie or..."

"Topper, I swear-"

"He'll be pissed off, like c'mon. You decided to leave your current fling — or whatever you guys are — for your ex-boyfriend. I can't even blame the guy!"

"You didn't listen to a word I said?!" She huffed, crossing her arms while Topper could only shrug.

Richard had texted him saying that Clara was somewhat different from what they remembered, and Topper couldn't deny it. However, he felt that the normalcy before she left would make her brain notice that nothing changed, or at least try.

But they would need to mention that she was declared dead not even two weeks prior.

"Whatever, my point still stands."

Clara pushed her hair back with her hands, holding the short locks for a few seconds in frustration, then she let go. Topper had to stiff a laugh at how her hair fell back in her face while she glared slightly at him.

++++

Topper hesitated when Clara asked to be dropped off at the blonde pogue's house, but in the end, he preferred to be the one driving her there. He just didn't want her out of his or Richard's sight before they could figure out what to do with her current situation — since it was only a matter of time until Susan heard her daughter was indeed not dead, but also walking around the island like nothing happened.

As she got closer to the house, she could only see the yellow eviction tape on the front door. Her eyebrows raised as she remembered that without Luke, no one was there to pay for the expenses of the Maybank's house. Maybe JJ wasn't there, but the metallic noise of a wheel turning said otherwise.

Clara walked to the backyard, only to see JJ there with a screwdriver in his hand. The new clothes and his old beat-up cap on top of the grown and sun-bleached hair told her she had maybe waited too long to come to see him.

He let go of the tool, reaching out to grab a cloth to clean his hands, and his eyes met hers. JJ could only remember when Sarah was the one meeting Kiara in the middle of the port, and his panicked eyes searching for the older brown haired girl everywhere around them, only for Kiara to tell him the plan.

What a stupid plan, he remembered saying, his hand clenching around the hat he stole from — the now dead — Jimmy Portis. He had seen Kiara trying to convince him that Clara and she had come to that agreement, but he wasn't dumb. He could've guessed.

It was only a matter of time for Rafe Cameron to show up, and Clara would be quick to run back to his arms. Even if JJ really hoped it wouldn't happen.

His finger pointed to his own hair as he looked away, cleaning his hands with the cloth. "I see you already got back to your life, huh?"

"JJ-"

"Imagine my surprise when Kiara told me you left with that fucking-"

"It's not like that," she interrupted him, brows pulling together as she maintained the serious expression on her face, but JJ could only cock his head to the side as he continued his sarcastic — yet challenging — gaze.

"Oh, really? Cause it does sure look like it," he laughed with venom lacing his tone. "Then tell me, what was it actually like?"

Clara pursed her lips, glaring back at him.

"His boat was obviously the only way you could've left Barbados. Because if it was not like this, what would we have done? Did you think about how quickly they could've found us if people complained that 7 teenagers stole their IDs and money, trying to leave that place on the cruise?" She tried to argue, seeing JJ crossing his arms. "But it needed to be Kie, and only her. If I had come along Rafe would try to find us, we would've never left that place. I had to hold him back."

"Oh, yeah? And how sure you were that this amazing plan of yours would work?"

"He promised me-"

JJ rolled his eyes, turning his back to her as her words sounded more like excuses to him than anything else.

"No, he and his little family kidnapped you! But yeah, let's throw this all away because The Great Rafe Cameron promised to bring you back," his hands moved around, and then he stopped, turning back to her. "Fuck if everyone else were worried sick if we could ever see you again, right? Why would you care, right? Cause after all your little plan worked and you're back to your perfect life."

Clara took a step back at his outburst, and she could feel the tears burning her eyes. But she swallowed dry as she fought them down.

"Because you don't care!"

"You don't get to say this to me," Clara shook her head, hands unconsciously moving to protect her stomach area. "Yeah, maybe different from you, I'm happy to be back. Because maybe you don't remember the living hell I had to go through to be here today!"

JJ's harsh glare fell slightly as his eyes followed her hands, but she continued, her nose scrunching in anger.

"But the Gods forbid me to actually want to be in a place where I can get proper care instead of a place where I had to live my life like every day was the last day because I don't know if I will have a worse infection than the last one and you'll have to bury me in the middle of nowhere, where I would become only a memory when you all left!"

Clara wasn't crying, she was sure as hell wasn't going to let anyone else see her being weak in the middle of a fight ever again, even if her insides were screaming at her to let all of her emotions out.

"Gods forbid me to be selfish for once in my life," she said through her teeth, her hands shaking as she pointed her finger to the boy in front of her. "You don't get to say that I don't care when all I ever did the past few months was to help you with your gold hunt, even if my life almost ended because of it."

JJ looked down at the cloth in his hand as Clara shook her head, a sarcastic but painful laugh escaped her mouth.

"But I don't fucking care, right?"

She waited for him to say something — anything, but when JJ just avoided her eyes, Clara shook her head one more time, not sparing another second in walling away, just to leave JJ to stare at her back.

And none of them dared to say another word.

JJ only slapped the beer can away from him, jaw clenched as he sat on his bike and drove away.

++++

Clara held onto the sink of the kitchen, her knuckles turning white from the force she gripped the metal. She felt like her chest was gonna collapse, and instead, of the shortness of breath, Clara felt like there was water burning up her throat.

She gasped, leaning forward on the sink, waiting for the liquid to leave her lungs as she could barely keep herself standing. Her vision was slowly turning back when she heard the faint sound of taps.

Her eyebrows furrowed, confused at the sound clashing with the ringing of her ears. And she heard it again, with more force, almost aggressive. Her mind which was running miles per hour seemed to be slowing down while she started to become even more confused.

Until the aggressive taps turned into knocks, her name being called each time was what made her breath regulate. Taking a few more seconds to realize she was inside her house once again. She wasn't drowning anymore, she was safe back in her grandmother's house.

She pushed herself away from the sink, stumbling a little on her feet as she made her way to the door. Opening with force, she rested her body against it, only to stare at the familiar brown eyes of John B, his hand on a fist as he also took on her disheveled figure.

"Are you okay?" He asked, and Clara held up a thumbs up, not trusting her own words.

It wasn't until her focus drifted from her boy friend to the tall figure behind him, that the thoughts from before suddenly disappeared as she stared dumbfounded at the man.

John B looked seriously behind him, then back at the girl.

"We might need your help."

Hey! I'm sorry about that...

BUT! John B and Clara🛐
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