sunday_reveries prompts for 10/25-11/8 [quote #4]
4. "Whether you want it to or not, time takes it all away, time bares it away. And in the end, there is only darkness. Sometimes we find others in that darkness, and sometimes we lose them there again." - Stephen King
Noah Bennet looked at his daughter like she knew something he didn’t.
As they gathered outside of Angela’s hospital room waiting for news on if the Petrelli matriarch would survive the knife wounds, Claire had seen the barely concealed suspicion on his face whenever he looked at his adopted daughter. Everyone could see it but no one asked. She knew what he was thinking though.
Just days after Claire had asked questions; Angela was attacked and left for dead. After she asked what happened on the fateful day where Sylar supposedly died, someone came for something and left a bloody mess in their way. Looking at her father, Claire was sure he knew exactly who had done it too. Hell, she knew. She knew who loved to use knives and who could move faster than anyone could possibly see but it left her with a question of why. What had been in the safe to bring them to this place?
After being told Angela would most likely survive, she tried to escape. She knew Nathan and Peter would look for her but she couldn’t deal with it. She couldn’t see the concern and the fear on Nathan’s face, knowing that it wasn’t really him underneath and she couldn’t lie to Peter. He would know by looking at her that she knew something and so she had to leave. But her dad was quick to catch her.
“We have to talk.” He hissed at her, anger threaded through his tone as he caught her arm hard enough to bruise her. She couldn’t feel it though and so she merely walked with him as he pulled her outside the hospital towards her car.
“No.” She pulled back from him before he could get her to the vehicle. “I’m not talking to you right now. I’m tired, I’m upset and I just want to go to bed.”
“What do you know?” He demanded, ignoring her last statement.
“What do I know about what?” She snarled back at him, her eyes dancing with anger.
“Claire.” He caught her arm again, stepping forward and causing her to step back. “Listen to me, if you know anything about what happened to Angela, you need to tell me.”
“I don’t know anything.” Her eyes narrowed, starting to glitter with an onset of fresh tears as she yanked her arm away from him for the second time that night. “Remember? I’m not allowed to know.”
“Claire...”
“No!” She yelled at him now, unable to stop herself. But fear, all consuming guilt and anger at the whole world made it harder to use restraint. “I’m not having this discussion right now. I want to go home.”
“It’s not safe for you to be alone right now.” Noah did his best to keep his voice even and calm but she could tell from the tightness in his jaw that he was close to losing his temper.
“I’m safer alone than with any of you.” She meant each word to be a stabbing barb, aimed to shred through him and to hurt him as much as he had hurt her. She saw the surprise on his face as he pulled back like she had slapped him.
“What....”
“I hate you for what you did.” She spat at him before she twisted around, running away from him as her throat grew thick with emotion. As she ran, she heard him yelling her name but she could only run to escape him. She knew he wouldn’t give up though and she could hear him on her heels as she ran across the parking lot, her heart pounding in her ears.
But as she rounded the corner, the whole world blurred about her and changed. The darkness melted away into a whirl of dizzying colors and bright lights, the sounds of cheerful conversations and squealing children replaced her dad desperately yelling her name and she knew she wasn’t outside the hospital anymore. Blinking the tears out of her eyes, she turned around in confusion as she found herself standing in the middle of the carnival. Swallowing, she looked to her left and saw Samuel standing nearby with a blank look on his face. As she moved towards him, he moved backwards, leading her back into the darkness and away from the crowds.
“Why? Why attack her?” She demanded when she knew he could hear her, slipping between a set of trailers.
“She wouldn’t give us what we needed.” He explained with a strange look of regret. “We don’t like to hurt people, Claire, but we will when it comes to protecting our family.”
“She’s my family....” It was a lie and she nearly choked on it.
“No, she isn’t.” He replied with a knowing look as he placed his hands on her shoulders. “Blood doesn’t make family, Claire. You should know that.”
“I thought I did.” She looked away, swallowing thickly. “But all they ever did was lie to me.”
“They thought they were doing the best for you.” His thumbs moved over her shoulders, rubbing a little as though he were trying to relax her.
“The best?” The laugh she forced out was a rather bitter sound. “They killed my birth father and pushed his memories into the mind of a psychopath. A psychopath who I’m helping you to unleash and because of it, my grandmother nearly died!”
“I understand you’re upset, Claire. If we could do this without spilling any blood, we would have but we needed....”
“What did you need?” She cut him off with her question.
For a moment he paused before reaching into his pocket to pull out a watch with a broken face. “This.”
Claire looked at the watch as a flicker of recognition crossed her features. “Sylar....he wore that.” She could remember because the watch had caught her attention that day. She had looked at it when he tried to catch her attention by playing with her hair and trying to seduce her into some wacked out idea that they were meant for each other.
For some reason, the memory filled her eyes with tears once more as she pressed her lips together in a broken line. She had started to twist away from him, wanting to hide as she didn’t expect him to comfort her but he did. With soft noises that were surprisingly comforting, he drew her close and cupped the back of her head to guide her face to his shoulder. As the velvety texture of his jacket scratched her nose and her cheek, she cried there in the darkness till she felt empty and weak but strangely at home.
WC: 1106
[Samuel is
offering_hope , and is used with love and permission. The use of Noah isn't aimed at any specific journal.]
Noah Bennet looked at his daughter like she knew something he didn’t.
As they gathered outside of Angela’s hospital room waiting for news on if the Petrelli matriarch would survive the knife wounds, Claire had seen the barely concealed suspicion on his face whenever he looked at his adopted daughter. Everyone could see it but no one asked. She knew what he was thinking though.
Just days after Claire had asked questions; Angela was attacked and left for dead. After she asked what happened on the fateful day where Sylar supposedly died, someone came for something and left a bloody mess in their way. Looking at her father, Claire was sure he knew exactly who had done it too. Hell, she knew. She knew who loved to use knives and who could move faster than anyone could possibly see but it left her with a question of why. What had been in the safe to bring them to this place?
After being told Angela would most likely survive, she tried to escape. She knew Nathan and Peter would look for her but she couldn’t deal with it. She couldn’t see the concern and the fear on Nathan’s face, knowing that it wasn’t really him underneath and she couldn’t lie to Peter. He would know by looking at her that she knew something and so she had to leave. But her dad was quick to catch her.
“We have to talk.” He hissed at her, anger threaded through his tone as he caught her arm hard enough to bruise her. She couldn’t feel it though and so she merely walked with him as he pulled her outside the hospital towards her car.
“No.” She pulled back from him before he could get her to the vehicle. “I’m not talking to you right now. I’m tired, I’m upset and I just want to go to bed.”
“What do you know?” He demanded, ignoring her last statement.
“What do I know about what?” She snarled back at him, her eyes dancing with anger.
“Claire.” He caught her arm again, stepping forward and causing her to step back. “Listen to me, if you know anything about what happened to Angela, you need to tell me.”
“I don’t know anything.” Her eyes narrowed, starting to glitter with an onset of fresh tears as she yanked her arm away from him for the second time that night. “Remember? I’m not allowed to know.”
“Claire...”
“No!” She yelled at him now, unable to stop herself. But fear, all consuming guilt and anger at the whole world made it harder to use restraint. “I’m not having this discussion right now. I want to go home.”
“It’s not safe for you to be alone right now.” Noah did his best to keep his voice even and calm but she could tell from the tightness in his jaw that he was close to losing his temper.
“I’m safer alone than with any of you.” She meant each word to be a stabbing barb, aimed to shred through him and to hurt him as much as he had hurt her. She saw the surprise on his face as he pulled back like she had slapped him.
“What....”
“I hate you for what you did.” She spat at him before she twisted around, running away from him as her throat grew thick with emotion. As she ran, she heard him yelling her name but she could only run to escape him. She knew he wouldn’t give up though and she could hear him on her heels as she ran across the parking lot, her heart pounding in her ears.
But as she rounded the corner, the whole world blurred about her and changed. The darkness melted away into a whirl of dizzying colors and bright lights, the sounds of cheerful conversations and squealing children replaced her dad desperately yelling her name and she knew she wasn’t outside the hospital anymore. Blinking the tears out of her eyes, she turned around in confusion as she found herself standing in the middle of the carnival. Swallowing, she looked to her left and saw Samuel standing nearby with a blank look on his face. As she moved towards him, he moved backwards, leading her back into the darkness and away from the crowds.
“Why? Why attack her?” She demanded when she knew he could hear her, slipping between a set of trailers.
“She wouldn’t give us what we needed.” He explained with a strange look of regret. “We don’t like to hurt people, Claire, but we will when it comes to protecting our family.”
“She’s my family....” It was a lie and she nearly choked on it.
“No, she isn’t.” He replied with a knowing look as he placed his hands on her shoulders. “Blood doesn’t make family, Claire. You should know that.”
“I thought I did.” She looked away, swallowing thickly. “But all they ever did was lie to me.”
“They thought they were doing the best for you.” His thumbs moved over her shoulders, rubbing a little as though he were trying to relax her.
“The best?” The laugh she forced out was a rather bitter sound. “They killed my birth father and pushed his memories into the mind of a psychopath. A psychopath who I’m helping you to unleash and because of it, my grandmother nearly died!”
“I understand you’re upset, Claire. If we could do this without spilling any blood, we would have but we needed....”
“What did you need?” She cut him off with her question.
For a moment he paused before reaching into his pocket to pull out a watch with a broken face. “This.”
Claire looked at the watch as a flicker of recognition crossed her features. “Sylar....he wore that.” She could remember because the watch had caught her attention that day. She had looked at it when he tried to catch her attention by playing with her hair and trying to seduce her into some wacked out idea that they were meant for each other.
For some reason, the memory filled her eyes with tears once more as she pressed her lips together in a broken line. She had started to twist away from him, wanting to hide as she didn’t expect him to comfort her but he did. With soft noises that were surprisingly comforting, he drew her close and cupped the back of her head to guide her face to his shoulder. As the velvety texture of his jacket scratched her nose and her cheek, she cried there in the darkness till she felt empty and weak but strangely at home.
WC: 1106
[Samuel is
offering_hope , and is used with love and permission. The use of Noah isn't aimed at any specific journal.]