The boys all stop what they’re doing, freezing exactly how they are. They look up to me with their brows drawn together, confused.
Claire stiffens, shifting in her seat as she avoids eye contact with me, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why would I have a bruise?”
She’s fucking lying, why the fuck would she be lying?
My mind races with about a hundred different questions, many of them make me sick to my stomach. “Because yesterday after practice I slammed a door on your hand hard enough for it to beblack, and yet, I don’t see any kind of mark.”
“What’s he talking about Claire?” Blair turns in his seat, dropping his fork onto his plate.
All the attention is on her now, and by the looks of it the guys are just as curious as I am.
“I- I uh, I don’t know” she sputters.
Miller –who’s sitting right next to her– grabs her hand and inspects it. He takes his thumb and gently wipes over her knuckles, revealing a smudged line and a dark bruise under a layer of makeup. His eyes widen in shock, and she rips her hand out of his grasp.
“Claire?” Miller asks, trying not to cry.
She remains silent though, completely still in her seat as the rest of us throw questions at her.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Why did you lie?”
“Why would you pretend like nothing happened?”
“That must hurt like a bitch, you should have said something.”
While the others continue their attacks, something clicks in my head. The reason why I felt so uneasy before, its because I’ve seen it. I’ve seen first hand why people cover up their bruises and pretend like they aren’t in pain.
“Who hurt you?” I don’t look up from the table, staring at my plate while everyone goes dead silent.
“That’s such a stupid question, you hurt her dumbass” Davis snarks.
I finally look up, scanning the boys before looking over at Claire. Her eyes tell me everything I need to know, the question scares her, and I can’t help the growing rage inside of me. Why? I couldn’t tell you, but I know that it’s there whether I like it or not.
“Who's hurt you so badly before that you learned how to cover up your bruises?” I clarify.
Claire's eyes dart around the table, she’s in complete shock, not knowing how to navigate this minefield. It’s like no one’s actually cared before, she didn’t have to prepare for these kinds of questions because it’s never happened before. She makes eye contact with August before darting away from the table and up the stairs. Not a single word is passed between us, no one knows what to say.
“I’ll go check on her,” Miller finally says, getting up from the table.
But before he has the chance, August stops him, “no, don’t” he snaps. “I’ll go, just… all of you stay down here.”
His chair scrapes against the floor as he gets up. He walks towards the stairs, stopping at the first one to check over his shoulder and make sure we’re staying put.
“That was weird right? It isn’t just me?” Blair says.
Yes Blair, that was definitely weird. It’s weird that August is the one to go and talk to her. I love the guy but he hates everyone. I'm honestly surprised that he hasn’t completely ignored her since her arrival.
Don’t get me wrong, the man is good with the ladies, but I think we all knew it was gonna be a ‘no touchy touchy’ with Claire. Instead, he’s running upstairs acting like a knight in shining armour.
I’m actively trying to ignore the shitty feeling growing inside of me, should I have called her out in front of everyone? Probably not. Do I feel like an absolute douche canoe right now? Definitely. However, Iwillbe getting answers out of her. No one puts their hands on a girl. I may be an ass, but that’s a line I’ll never cross.
six
CLAIRE
“You’re doing so good,” August says as we sit on the floor of my room.
