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Claire, she was definitely different after the fire. She has dealt with the feeling knowing that your family is dead, and she couldn’t even try to save them. She shouldn’t have gone to go see her girlfriend at the time, because she wouldn’t have to deal with the thought of being the only Riley left in Manchester. Her brain keeps tricking her into seeing her family in anyone who even slightly looks like them. Maybe it was because she was trying to cope, or it was their spirits haunting her trying to tell her that they are okay. Either way, she sees a man who looks like her older brother. He was walking with a slightly tanner man than him, blue eyes and dark brown hair. Simon’s type. Claire tried to get a good look at the man dressed in all black, maybe it was Simon, maybe he survived. She tried to hold onto that single thread of hope that it was him and not someone that looked and acted a bit like him.
She took a deep breath, well there’s no pain in asking right? She started to walk up to the male couple, and she let out a little wave like they were long lost friends reuniting “Hello!” She started to say, as the blonde man looked at Claire and she froze. Those weren’t Simon’s eyes, they didn’t have that small sparkle that Claire kept alive as long as she could. They were dead, like he was a zombie walking around the town undetected. She felt a shiver down her spine, she didn’t realize that the man in the mohawk was trying to get her out of her trance. “Hello? Earth to stranger.” Claire shook her head a bit and blinked, “Hello” She was shocked about the man in the mohawk’s scottish accent. “Sorrey aboot Simon scaring yae, he doesn’t have the best manners when it comes to people.” Wait, did he just say Simon “Simon? As in Simon Riley?” Both males looked confused how she knew his last name “Aye…? How did yae ken?”
“Don’t you remember me? Claire? Your little sister.” Simon didn’t believe her statement one bit from how he was crossing his arms and straightening his stance, of course he wouldn’t believe her. She’s a stranger essentially saying that she was his “dead” sister, how was she supposed to prove this to the man? Maybe a memory only she would know? That seems so basic and predictable, but she couldn’t figure out what else to do “Remember when we dyed our hair red because we had that emo phase?” The slightly tanner let out a quiet chuckle, and the blonde one rolled his eyes at the tanner one “Anyone in my secondary school knows about that.” She sighed and tried to think about something, and he and the other male started walking away and she started to panic. No she just found him again, she didn’t want to lose him “Dad made you kiss a snake he brought home once from work!” The blonde male froze, and she covered her mouth.
She panicked and it came out. She didn’t mean for it to, she just needed to prove it was her so that was the first thing she knew no one else knew. Simon clenched his hand into a fist until his knuckles were white and her eyes widen, was he going to punch her? She backed up “Si…?”
“Don’t call me that.” He hissed out, “What?” She questioned with a small whisper “Don’t call me that”
“Why…? You let me call you that all the time when we were close…”
“Well, we’re not anymore” He snapped, it hurt. It hurt a lot, especially since they really were close. Attached at the hip close before he joined the army and she went to collage, and sometimes she regrets not trying to beg him to stay. The man with a Mohawk frowned, he could see the girls heart was broken. She was hurt knowing her brother never wanted to see her again “Si…” the male tried to convinced Simon to talk to her “She’s still yae sister…”
“Why should I Johnny?” He questioned, “Because she’s trying to reach out, now donae be an arse”
“I’m not a-”
“Yae sure acting laike one” Simon sighed, and looked at Claire. He frowned, he was still her overprotective brother. He was trying to be rude so he doesn’t hurt her, of course he would never hurt her himself, but if he let her back into his life he was afraid that he would get her killed “Claire…” He took a deep breath “Come over here.” He opened his arms, and he hugged her tight as he teared up. He was so happy she was alive, that she was able to escape. “Let’s go.”
“What?” Claire questioned, her eyebrows knitting together. “I’m not talking out in the open when everything can hear” He hissed like it was obvious information, she sighed that turned into a chuckle. “Lead the way.” She smiled, he didn’t change much at all as he lead the way to his and John’s jeep. John got into the driver’s seat and Claire laughed “Still can’t drive Si?” She questioned and Simon rolled his eyes “Shut up.” He grunts as he got into the jeep “Not like you could last time I checked”
“But I’ve learned” She smirked as she followed in, and John laughed. It reminded him of him with his brothers. He started up the car and started driving and Simon looked out the window making sure they weren’t followed, and John grabbed the man’s hand as to sorta comfort him. Claire smiled, she was happy he found love. Especially with all the stuff she wasn’t there to help unpack with him, but she too had a partner to help her unpack their father’s abuse he did to both of them. Soon after a while of driving, she saw a cabin packed away from society. It wasn’t deep into the woods but it was away enough to not have people be around the house.
“So this is where you were at?” Claire questioned, and Simon just gave her a stirt nod as they all got out of the stopped car. Claire took a deep breath of the crisp forest air, it was way better then any city in England. Simon unlocked the front door and let both John and Claire into the house. She looked around, it was cozy and cottage-like “Looked like ma decorated it” She gave a small smile as she looked around and Simon grunted as he looked away like that was the point. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way Si-” She sighed. “Tea?” John asked, with a small smile and Claire and Simon nodded “Earl please” They said in unison and John laughed “Gott it” He walked into the kitchen and Claire went to sit on the couch. It was well used, as she heard a pair of footsteps. She looked up at an older kid, about in his twentys. She recognized him since she met him a lot when she was off campus and at home
“Eddie?” She questioned as she stood up and Eddie looked at her “Aunt Claire…?” He asked like he was seeing a ghost, she smiled and nodded “Hi.” Eddie hugged her tight, as to see if she was real and he started tearing up. She ran her hand through his brown buzzed hair, he didn’t look like his father. At least in hair and skin color, he was tanner then the pale as a ghost man himself “I’m alive.” She reassured “I thought you died with all of them…” He whimpered, she shook her head “I was away…” She frowned, she felt terrible for the boy. He like her and his father thought all his family was dead. Simon frowned too, and soon enough Eddie let her go and wiped his eyes, taking a deep breath. “Sorry…” He apologizes, “It’s okay, I missed you too Eddie.” She held his face, with a sad smile.
John soon came back with two mugs that were steaming, one was a Jack Skellington face mug which he handed Simon and Claire chuckled “Should I be surprised?” John smirked “Got it for him for Christmas” Claire took the normal white mug from John and blew on it before taking a sip “Bloody good tea” She smiled “You taught him well Si”
“Yeah, couldn’t handle his ass tea anymore” Claire laughed, “You don’t like any tea that isn’t two cubes and a dash of creme”
“That’s how you make it right”
“That’s how you think is right” Simon rolled his eyes, “At least I know which sibling my daughter takes after” She smiled as she took a sip and Simon’s eye widen “Does anyone know where you live?” Something snapped in her brother, it was the same overprotectiveness he had with her when they were little. John noticed too “Simon, easy-” He tried to calm Simon down
“I just found out my sister is alive today, and now learn I have a niece. I am going to keep them safe”
“I ken, I ken. It’s okaey.” He grabbed his face through the mask, and Simon melted into his hands like putty. “Si, my family and I are safe.” She reassured, and Simon sighed and pulled up his mask to show the lower half of his face. John ran his thumbs on the two scars on his mouth and cheeks, as Simon kissed him “I just don’t want it to happen again”
“I ken. It wonae” John reassured, Claire let John do his thing as he kissed back. Simon started to relax as his shoulders slumped a bit “Cahlmer?” John asked, Simon just nodded and John made him sit and Claire sit next to him as they had tea. They talked, mostly about how their lives were after the fire. How Claire married her girlfriend after collage and how she and her now wife has a child with her wife being the one pregnant. Simon talked about what he could about his missions. John smiled as he watched, it was nice seeing the two interact again.