twenty-one
LUCAS
Chris Taylor and Sam Connors are sitting at the same dinner table as me… what the fuck is going on right now?
Everythingdoesmake sense now though, the tickets she got us, the signed jersey, all the secrets surrounding her family. I feel kind of stupid to be honest, I mean, Tony coached Chris for Christs sake. I get why Claire and Tony are so close.
It was all right in front of me.
“Wait, I’m still confused. Explain it to me again” Blair says, shoving homemade pizza in his mouth.
Claire stares down at the table, “my actual last name is Taylor, I use my middle name so I can keep my life separate from his. I didn’t want my figure skating to be linked to his hockey career, I wanted to be successful because of my own talent, not of my family name.”
I don’t blame her. I can’t say that I know what she’s going through or how it would feel to be in that situation, but I can imagine that it’s caused a lot of trouble for her in the past.
“A lot of people used me in high school, like those boyfriends I told you guys about. I guess I just wanted a fresh start at Livler, one where people didn’t see me as a stepping stone to my brother. I wanted my own life.”
Chris smiles softly at her, grabbing her hand and turning to us, “she isn’t ashamed of me, but my fame has brought her some uncomfortable situations. Webothdecided a long time ago that it’s better for her to live a normal life.”
“It may seem fun, but there's a lot of stuff you don’t get when you’re affiliated with someone like Chris, I learned that the hard way,” Tash says.
I’m not really in a position to question her, they’ve been together for a long time now, pretty much since college. I’ve seen pictures of Tash, she’s pretty, with long curly hair and dark eyes, but I always thought she’d be the basic hockey wife type. In reality she’s the farthest thing from it, she’s kind and down to earth. She has no problem telling Chris off when she wants, she’s actually a lot like Claire.
“So, what’s it like living with my little sis?” Sam asks us.
“She’s not your sister!” Chris yells. Tash slaps him over the head and tells him to shush, “sorry” he grumbles.
Davis throws an arm around Claire but takes it off when both Chris and Sam send him death glares, “she’s awesome. I’ve never met anyone like her.”
“We’re very lucky to have her in our lives,” August smiles.
That we are.
Claire and Chris get along so well, and I can see how much they care about one another. Even though I haven’t known her very long, I can see why Chris is so protective.
Hell,I’mprotective over her and I didn’t even like her that much at the start.
* * *
“Can we talk?” I ask, walking into Claire's room.
“For sure, just give me a second to submit this report.” She types away on her laptop, glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose as her eyes dance around the screen.
I take a seat on the edge of her bed and wait patiently, I feel like a dick after how I’ve treated her. I know that if I wasn’t such an ass she probably would’ve felt comfortable enough to tell us that stuff sooner.
She admitted to us yesterday that we’re starting to feel like her family, and she hasn’t had a lot of people she can trust… I don’t want to be lumped in with that group of people.
“Alright shoot” she smiles, closing her laptop and putting it to the side.
“I just wanted to apologize for how I’ve been acting. I know I can be an ass and I tease you and stuff, but I want you to know that youreally cantrust me.” I shift uncomfortably on her bed, “if you tell anyone I said this to you I’ll hurt you, but I like you being here. You’re my friend and I want you to feel safe living with us.”
“That hurt you to say didn’t it?” She laughs.
I chuckle along with her, “yeah a little, but that doesn’t make it any less true.”
Her smile softens, there’s something in this girl that I can’t quite make sense of. I’m jealous of her, she’s so calm, caring and forgiving. I turned into someone who holds onto rage, into someone who holds grudges against people for as long as possible. I hate that I’ve turned into such a hateful and angry person, but that’s normal, right? It’s normal to take what life’s given you and run with it?
I wish more than anything that I could be less like my dad. I don’t lose control of my anger and hurt people like he did, but I’m like him in so many other ways.
