realmof_themuse prompt 2009.32.a.10 [quotes prompt]
10. "You never find yourself until you face the truth." - Pearl Bailey (Entertainer)
Claire still couldn’t breathe.
Ever since the incident in the House of Mirrors, she felt like there was a steel band around her chest, squeezing the air out of her. She knew Nathan had picked up on it but he didn’t push. If she hadn’t been so freaked out by her own ordeal, she would have realized that he had clearly had one of his own but it was too hard to look at him. Every time she did, she expected to see Sylar. Even now, she could still hear the words from the man at the Carnival. What he had told her left a chill running through her and a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach; it gnawed at her and she knew it wouldn’t go away till she knew the truth.
So, with trembling fingers, she picked up the phone and pressed the speed dial button for the man she hoped would tell her the truth. Or at least give her enough to go on so that she could get a better idea than what she had no.
“Hello, Claire-bear.” Noah Bennet sounded pleased to hear from her but he was usually pleased to hear from his daughter, especially lately.
“”Hi, Dad.” She murmured, hoping he wouldn’t hear the worry in her tone but he did almost instantly.
“What’s wrong?” He sounded concern, the cheer dropping out of his tone.
“Nothing.” She tried to force her tone to be a little more chipper, but, to her ears, it only came out a little flatter. So she sighed, coming up with a lie. “I just woke up from a nightmare, that’s all.”
His voice instantly switched back to a warm, caring tone that made her heart hurt. Especially if what the man had said was true. “What was it about?”
“Sylar.” She said the name quickly, almost like a curse because that’s what it felt like to her; a curse that would never go away and would probably haunt her forever.
“What about him?” He still sounded concerned but anyone who knew him would hear the wariness.
“Dad, what happened that day?” She didn’t want to ask. It was hard to choke the words out as they felt like lead in her throat but she forced them out, her heart racing a little faster as she was dreading his answer.
“Which day is that, sweetheart?”
“The day Sylar died.” Supposedly. “What happened? How did Nathan kill him?”
“He must have remembered it from before, when we talked about how you stabbed Sylar with that piece of glass.” He said it so casually, like it was the easiest thing in the world to do.
Claire knew otherwise. The only way she had accomplished it was because she had taken Sylar by surprise, he hadn’t seen her coming because they hadn’t been fighting but he would have seen Nathan coming. It would have been nearly impossible for Nathan to do.
“Daddy, it was Sylar we burned that night, wasn’t it?” She knew she now sounded as breathless as she felt.
“Of course it was, Claire-bear.” Despite the fact he was still trying to soothe her, the firmness was there now. There was no room for arguing with him. “Who else would it be?”
'Nathan! It was Nathan who died that day, wasn’t it? Tell me the truth!'
“I don’t know.” She swallowed the screams down as she closed her eyes, tilting her head back against the wall.
“Claire, where is this all coming from? You saw Sylar burn that night.” He was just trying to reassure her, he was trying to make her see reason and she wanted to believe him. She just wanted to believe it was actually all a nightmare and not reality. But the reality was that Sylar had to have gotten the ability to shape-shift from somewhere, which meant there had been a shape-shifter somewhere and that meant that she couldn’t necessarily believe what she had seen that night when they had burned Sylar.
“I know.” She replied, feeling hollow.
“Claire?” He paused for a second and she could almost hear him thinking. “What are you doing tomorrow?”
Her suspicious nature wanted her to ask if he was going to call the Haitian. “Just go to class, why?”
“Why don’t we have supper tomorrow night?” It was a nice offer but a voice in the back of her head warned her to watch herself.
“Sure.” She said it lightly with a fake smile he couldn’t see.
“Good.” He sounded pleased with the idea. “I’ll pick you up after your last class.” Being Noah Bennet, he knew her schedule as well as she did and so she knew he would be right outside the science building when her last class was done.
“Sure, Dad, that would be great. I’ll see you then.”
“Great. I love you, Claire-bear.”
Hoping he wouldn’t hear the tears in her voice, she swallowed thickly while nodding. “I love you too, Dad.” She closed her phone with a final click and a few seconds later it crashed against the wall as she let out a furious grunt.
The silence of the room was disturbed by the ragged breaths she sucked in as she tried to keep the tears from falling but it was an impossible battle. As they started to fall, she rolled to her side and hid them by pressing her face to the pillow. By the time she finished letting it all out, she was sure her head would feel like it was splitting apart if she could still feel pain but she felt nothing. Nothing beyond feeling like someone had poured sand under her eyelids and ripped her heart out of her chest.
When she finally had the energy to pull herself out of bed, she knew what she had to do. Quickly and quietly, she grabbed a bag and filled it with some clothes as well as some other personal items she might need. If she had a chance, she would come back later for the rest of her stuff but for now she only took what she needed.
She had to be gone before Gretchen got back and she had to get out of there without anyone getting the chance to ask her where she was going. She didn’t want to give an answer because she wasn’t sure what she would say.
'I’m going to get some answers.'
No, it wasn’t as simple as that and neither was getting off campus without talking to anyone but she managed it as she got to her car without having to answer any questions. She was the one who would do all the asking, she decided. She wanted answers this time.
When she parked in front of the Carnival, she could see it was empty without all the excited young people running around, riding the rides and playing the games. As she entered into the glowing playground, she shivered as she turned slowly to take it all in. Without the crowds, it was creepy and garishly bright. Swallowing thickly, she looked past the rides and the booths, looking for the trailers on the edge.
As she got closer, people started to appear like bugs crawling out of the woodwork, all watching her and waiting. She only glanced at them, barely giving them a second thought as she was looking for a particular someone. As she got near the end, a man stepped in her way, startling her to a stop as he stared her down and she could see the knife in his hand. Lifting her chin, she didn’t waver and she didn’t step back.
“Edgar, she doesn’t mean us any harm.” There it was, the same amused voice and the same man from before. This time he wasn’t dressed in dirty purple fabric but he had changed into more casual looking clothes though he was still clearly a Carnie.
As the knife man stepped to the side, Claire moved past him while focusing on the obvious leader. “Who are you?”
“I am Samuel Sullivan, at your service.” He mocked her with a sweeping bow, still smiling as he studied her under his eyebrows.
“How did you know?” She demanded, ignoring the introduction even if she had wanted to know.
“Because we’re special, Claire, just like you. This lovely lady saw it all.” He motioned to his side as a willowy blonde moved up from the chair where she had been sitting, casually drawing the top of her dress back up to cover herself.
“You’re...special.” Claire bit out the words, swallowing thickly. “Then you can fix it? One of you can.” Now she looked to the other people who had surrounded them to watch the scene.
“We could.” Samuel nodded, tilting her head as he was clearly assessing her. “But do you want us to?” It was a very serious question and as she started to nod, he arched a brow. “Are you sure? Because if we fix this, we’ll be letting Sylar back out. Are you ready to handle what will happen?”
“I can’t look at him and pretend that it’s Nathan in there.” She shook her head slowly, her vision starting to shimmer a little. “I just couldn’t, it’s not fair to Nathan....or to anyone.” It wasn’t fair to Sylar but she wasn’t going to say that out loud.
Samuel stepped closer to her, still assessing. “No, it’s not. It’s not fair what they did and it’s not fair that they hid it from you, from everyone.” His hand moved to rest lightly on her shoulder. “We’ll fix this, Claire, but I’m going to need your help.”
It was one thing to ask for it to be fixed but another to actually help. Still, she nodded slowly as she tried to ignore the distinct feeling that she was stepping off the edge of a cliff. “Okay. I’ll help you.”
[
offering_hope and
right_handman are used with love and permission. The use of Lydia and Noah Bennet aren't aimed at any specific journals.]
Claire still couldn’t breathe.
Ever since the incident in the House of Mirrors, she felt like there was a steel band around her chest, squeezing the air out of her. She knew Nathan had picked up on it but he didn’t push. If she hadn’t been so freaked out by her own ordeal, she would have realized that he had clearly had one of his own but it was too hard to look at him. Every time she did, she expected to see Sylar. Even now, she could still hear the words from the man at the Carnival. What he had told her left a chill running through her and a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach; it gnawed at her and she knew it wouldn’t go away till she knew the truth.
So, with trembling fingers, she picked up the phone and pressed the speed dial button for the man she hoped would tell her the truth. Or at least give her enough to go on so that she could get a better idea than what she had no.
“Hello, Claire-bear.” Noah Bennet sounded pleased to hear from her but he was usually pleased to hear from his daughter, especially lately.
“”Hi, Dad.” She murmured, hoping he wouldn’t hear the worry in her tone but he did almost instantly.
“What’s wrong?” He sounded concern, the cheer dropping out of his tone.
“Nothing.” She tried to force her tone to be a little more chipper, but, to her ears, it only came out a little flatter. So she sighed, coming up with a lie. “I just woke up from a nightmare, that’s all.”
His voice instantly switched back to a warm, caring tone that made her heart hurt. Especially if what the man had said was true. “What was it about?”
“Sylar.” She said the name quickly, almost like a curse because that’s what it felt like to her; a curse that would never go away and would probably haunt her forever.
“What about him?” He still sounded concerned but anyone who knew him would hear the wariness.
“Dad, what happened that day?” She didn’t want to ask. It was hard to choke the words out as they felt like lead in her throat but she forced them out, her heart racing a little faster as she was dreading his answer.
“Which day is that, sweetheart?”
“The day Sylar died.” Supposedly. “What happened? How did Nathan kill him?”
“He must have remembered it from before, when we talked about how you stabbed Sylar with that piece of glass.” He said it so casually, like it was the easiest thing in the world to do.
Claire knew otherwise. The only way she had accomplished it was because she had taken Sylar by surprise, he hadn’t seen her coming because they hadn’t been fighting but he would have seen Nathan coming. It would have been nearly impossible for Nathan to do.
“Daddy, it was Sylar we burned that night, wasn’t it?” She knew she now sounded as breathless as she felt.
“Of course it was, Claire-bear.” Despite the fact he was still trying to soothe her, the firmness was there now. There was no room for arguing with him. “Who else would it be?”
'Nathan! It was Nathan who died that day, wasn’t it? Tell me the truth!'
“I don’t know.” She swallowed the screams down as she closed her eyes, tilting her head back against the wall.
“Claire, where is this all coming from? You saw Sylar burn that night.” He was just trying to reassure her, he was trying to make her see reason and she wanted to believe him. She just wanted to believe it was actually all a nightmare and not reality. But the reality was that Sylar had to have gotten the ability to shape-shift from somewhere, which meant there had been a shape-shifter somewhere and that meant that she couldn’t necessarily believe what she had seen that night when they had burned Sylar.
“I know.” She replied, feeling hollow.
“Claire?” He paused for a second and she could almost hear him thinking. “What are you doing tomorrow?”
Her suspicious nature wanted her to ask if he was going to call the Haitian. “Just go to class, why?”
“Why don’t we have supper tomorrow night?” It was a nice offer but a voice in the back of her head warned her to watch herself.
“Sure.” She said it lightly with a fake smile he couldn’t see.
“Good.” He sounded pleased with the idea. “I’ll pick you up after your last class.” Being Noah Bennet, he knew her schedule as well as she did and so she knew he would be right outside the science building when her last class was done.
“Sure, Dad, that would be great. I’ll see you then.”
“Great. I love you, Claire-bear.”
Hoping he wouldn’t hear the tears in her voice, she swallowed thickly while nodding. “I love you too, Dad.” She closed her phone with a final click and a few seconds later it crashed against the wall as she let out a furious grunt.
The silence of the room was disturbed by the ragged breaths she sucked in as she tried to keep the tears from falling but it was an impossible battle. As they started to fall, she rolled to her side and hid them by pressing her face to the pillow. By the time she finished letting it all out, she was sure her head would feel like it was splitting apart if she could still feel pain but she felt nothing. Nothing beyond feeling like someone had poured sand under her eyelids and ripped her heart out of her chest.
When she finally had the energy to pull herself out of bed, she knew what she had to do. Quickly and quietly, she grabbed a bag and filled it with some clothes as well as some other personal items she might need. If she had a chance, she would come back later for the rest of her stuff but for now she only took what she needed.
She had to be gone before Gretchen got back and she had to get out of there without anyone getting the chance to ask her where she was going. She didn’t want to give an answer because she wasn’t sure what she would say.
'I’m going to get some answers.'
No, it wasn’t as simple as that and neither was getting off campus without talking to anyone but she managed it as she got to her car without having to answer any questions. She was the one who would do all the asking, she decided. She wanted answers this time.
When she parked in front of the Carnival, she could see it was empty without all the excited young people running around, riding the rides and playing the games. As she entered into the glowing playground, she shivered as she turned slowly to take it all in. Without the crowds, it was creepy and garishly bright. Swallowing thickly, she looked past the rides and the booths, looking for the trailers on the edge.
As she got closer, people started to appear like bugs crawling out of the woodwork, all watching her and waiting. She only glanced at them, barely giving them a second thought as she was looking for a particular someone. As she got near the end, a man stepped in her way, startling her to a stop as he stared her down and she could see the knife in his hand. Lifting her chin, she didn’t waver and she didn’t step back.
“Edgar, she doesn’t mean us any harm.” There it was, the same amused voice and the same man from before. This time he wasn’t dressed in dirty purple fabric but he had changed into more casual looking clothes though he was still clearly a Carnie.
As the knife man stepped to the side, Claire moved past him while focusing on the obvious leader. “Who are you?”
“I am Samuel Sullivan, at your service.” He mocked her with a sweeping bow, still smiling as he studied her under his eyebrows.
“How did you know?” She demanded, ignoring the introduction even if she had wanted to know.
“Because we’re special, Claire, just like you. This lovely lady saw it all.” He motioned to his side as a willowy blonde moved up from the chair where she had been sitting, casually drawing the top of her dress back up to cover herself.
“You’re...special.” Claire bit out the words, swallowing thickly. “Then you can fix it? One of you can.” Now she looked to the other people who had surrounded them to watch the scene.
“We could.” Samuel nodded, tilting her head as he was clearly assessing her. “But do you want us to?” It was a very serious question and as she started to nod, he arched a brow. “Are you sure? Because if we fix this, we’ll be letting Sylar back out. Are you ready to handle what will happen?”
“I can’t look at him and pretend that it’s Nathan in there.” She shook her head slowly, her vision starting to shimmer a little. “I just couldn’t, it’s not fair to Nathan....or to anyone.” It wasn’t fair to Sylar but she wasn’t going to say that out loud.
Samuel stepped closer to her, still assessing. “No, it’s not. It’s not fair what they did and it’s not fair that they hid it from you, from everyone.” His hand moved to rest lightly on her shoulder. “We’ll fix this, Claire, but I’m going to need your help.”
It was one thing to ask for it to be fixed but another to actually help. Still, she nodded slowly as she tried to ignore the distinct feeling that she was stepping off the edge of a cliff. “Okay. I’ll help you.”
[
offering_hope and
right_handman are used with love and permission. The use of Lydia and Noah Bennet aren't aimed at any specific journals.]