Chapter Seventeen

The water was so cold it burned her lungs and she couldn't breathe and she couldn't see and everything was dark and heavy.

She pushed through it anyway because there was someone down there drowning and she had to reach them before it was too late.

Her hand found fabric and she grabbed it and pulled with strength she didn't know she had. The current fought her and tried to drag them both under but she kicked harder and refused to let go.

Breaking the surface felt like being born and she gasped for air while dragging the boy's head above water. He wasn't breathing and panic flooded through her but she couldn't panic now because she had to get him to shore.

Her arms burned and her legs felt like lead but she kept swimming and pulling him with her until finally her feet touched the riverbed and she could drag him onto the bank.

She rolled him onto his side and water poured from his mouth and she pressed on his back the way her mother had taught her before she died. She kept pressing until he coughed and sputtered and more water came out and his chest started moving with real breaths.

His eyes opened briefly and they were grey and unfocused and so beautiful they made her chest ache.

He stared at her for just a second before his eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness again but she'd seen him and he'd seen her and something passed between them in that moment that she couldn't name.

She heard voices in the distance and knew people were coming and she should stay but she couldn't because her stepmother would be furious if she found out Claire had left the house without permission.

She was sure whoever was coming would take him to the hospital but to be certain, she dashed to a nearby phone booth and called the ambulance.

When she got home she was soaking wet and shivering and trying to sneak through the back door but she didn't make it two steps inside before Sidney appeared in the hallway.

"And where have you been?" Her stepmother's voice was ice cold and her eyes raked over Claire's dripping clothes with growing fury.

"I just went for a walk and..." Claire started but the words died in her throat at the look on Sidney's face.

"Who gave you permission to leave this house?" Sidney's face was turning red with rage and her hands were clenching into fists at her sides.

"I didn't think I needed..."

The slap came so fast Claire didn't see it coming and her head snapped to the side from the force. Pain exploded across her cheek and tears sprang to her eyes and her hand flew up to cover the burning skin.

"You don't think." Sidney grabbed her arm and squeezed hard enough to bruise and her nails dug into Claire's wet skin. "That's your problem. You never think."

Irene appeared at the top of the stairs and started laughing when she saw Claire dripping water all over the floor with a red handprint blooming on her face.

"Oh my God, she looks like a drowned rat." Irene's voice was full of mocking delight and she leaned over the banister to get a better look. "What happened, did you fall in the river? I wish you had actually drowned so we wouldn't have to look at your pathetic face anymore."

Claire's hand stayed pressed against her burning cheek and tears spilled down her face and mixed with the river water still dripping from her hair.

"Get out of my sight." Sidney shoved her toward the stairs hard enough that she stumbled. "And clean up this mess you've made before I give you something real to cry about."

Claire ran to her room with her hand still pressed against her cheek and tears streaming down her face and the sound of Irene's laughter following her up the stairs.

Her stepmother and sister never misses an opportunity to hit and humiliate her.

She slammed the door and collapsed on her bed and let herself sob into her pillow until she had no tears left.

Two days passed before she noticed her mother's necklace was missing.

She'd been getting dressed and reached up to touch it the way she always did and found nothing but bare skin and her heart stopped beating for a terrible moment.

Panic seized her chest and she tore off her shirt to check if it had fallen inside but there was nothing.

She dropped to her knees and searched the floor around her bed thinking maybe it had come off while she was sleeping but she found nothing.

She ripped through her drawers and her closet and under her bed and everywhere she could think of but the necklace was gone.

The last thing her mother had given her before she died and she'd lost it and the realization hit her like a physical blow.

The river.

It must have come loose when she was pulling that boy from the water and now it was gone forever and she would never get it back.

Fresh tears burned her eyes and she pressed her hands to her face because the loss felt like losing her mother all over again.

Voices drifted up from downstairs and she froze because they sounded formal and unfamiliar and nothing like the usual sounds of the house.

She crept to her door and opened it quietly and moved to the top of the stairs where she could see the living room below.

A beautiful woman in an expensive dress stood next to a boy who was sitting on the couch and it was the same boy she'd pulled from the river.

His hand was closed around something small that caught the light when he moved and Claire's breath caught in her throat.

Her necklace.

She started down the stairs before she could think about it and was halfway down when her stepmother Sidney appeared at the bottom with warning written all over her face.

"Claire." Her voice was sharp and her eyes were dangerous. "Go to the kitchen and bring water for our guests."

"But I..." Claire's eyes went to the boy's closed hand and she couldn't look away.

"Kitchen. Now." Sidney's smile didn't reach her eyes and her voice left no room for argument. "Our guests are thirsty."

Claire wanted to argue but Sidney's hand was already on her arm and squeezing hard enough to make her wince and she let herself be pulled toward the kitchen.

The moment they were out of sight Sidney shoved her against the counter hard enough that the edge bit into her back and her stepmother's face was inches from hers.

"Listen to me very carefully." Sidney's voice was low and vicious and her breath was hot on Claire's face. "That boy is holding a necklace he found at the river. Your necklace."

Claire's heart leaped with hope and she opened her mouth to speak. "Then I can tell him it's mine and..."

"You'll do no such thing." Sidney's grip tightened and her nails bit into Claire's skin. "That necklace belongs to Irene now and you never left the house two days ago."

"But mom…"

“I am not your mom, your pathetic mother is six feet under”. She interrupted coldly.

Claire should have been used to it by now but her words hurt. Sidney's face was cold and merciless and completely devoid of sympathy. "When you bring that water out there and if that boy asks you about it, you're going to say it belongs to your sister. You're going to smile and you're going to be gracious and you're going to let Irene have this."

"Why?" Tears were already streaming down Claire's face and her voice cracked. "Why does she get everything that's mine?"

"Because if you don't, I will throw you out of this house tonight and you can go live on the streets where you belong." Sidney's eyes were like ice and her voice was final. "Your father left you in my care when he died and I can end that care whenever I choose. So you'll do as I say or you'll have nothing." She warned before leaving the kitchen, her heels clicking on the marble tiles.

Claire's hands shook as she filled the glasses with water and her vision blurred with tears and she quickly dashed it off

She had nowhere else to go and no one else who would take her in and Sidney knew it and used it like a weapon.

She carried the tray back to the living room and tried to stop her hands from trembling but the glasses rattled against each other.

Jeff was staring at her with an unreadable expression and she tried to compose herself but she could feel his gaze on her skin like a physical touch.

"What's your name?" He asked and her insides trembled. His voice was deeper than she'd expected and it made something warm spread through her chest.

"Claire." She whispered and couldn't make herself look at him because she feared he might see through her.

"Claire, did you go close to the river two days ago?." He asked directly, staring at her, "I don't remember much from the river. Everything's kind of blurry. But I remember blonde hair."

Her heart was pounding so hard she thought everyone could hear it and her hands were still shaking and she had to set the tray down before she dropped it.

“I…I…” she stuttered.

“Oh, Claire was at home two days ago and never left the house, right Claire?” Sidney said, staring at Claire and she nodded.

“Yes, I never went anywhere”. She forced the words out through the clog in her voice.

"She does have blonde hair." His mother smiled and gestured toward Claire. "But we've already established that it was Irene who pulled you from the river, sweetheart. Isn't that right, Irene?"

Irene moved closer to the couch and her voice was sweet and shy and completely fake. "Yes. I was walking by the river and I saw him struggling in the water. I jumped in without thinking and pulled him to shore."

Jeff was still staring at Claire, "I found something." He opened his hand and silver caught the light and Claire's breath stopped completely. "This necklace was on the bank next to me when I woke up. It belongs to whoever saved me."

There it was and Claire's chest felt like it was caving in because that was her mother's necklace with the iris flower pendant and the delicate chain.

"It's mine." Irene said quickly and held out her hand with practiced innocence and fake tears already forming in her eyes. "I must have lost it when I was pulling you out.

Claire's whole body went cold because that was her line and her story.

"Are you sure?" The boy didn't hand it over immediately and his eyes moved between Irene and Claire like he was trying to figure something out. "Because..."

"That's my necklace." Irene's voice broke and tears spilled down her cheeks on command. "You think that I will be lying about something like that?’

"I'm not saying you're lying." Jeff looked uncomfortable now and guilty like he'd accused her of something terrible. "I just wanted to make sure..."

"You think I would lie about saving your life?" Irene's tears came harder and her whole body shook with sobs. "You think I would steal someone else's necklace and pretend it was mine? How could you accuse me of that when I risked everything to save you?"

"Irene, sweetheart." His mother put a hand on her shoulder and her voice was soothing. "No one is accusing you of anything. He's just confused from hitting his head."

"He's looking at her." Irene pointed at Claire with a shaking hand and her voice rose with emotion. "He keeps looking at Claire like she's the one who saved him when it was me. I pulled him out of that river and he doesn't even believe me."

"I believe you." Jeff said quickly and his voice was earnest but his eyes slid to Claire one more time with longing. "I'm sorry. Of course I believe you."

He held out the necklace and Irene took it with trembling hands and Claire watched her mother's last gift disappear into Irene's possession and something inside her died.

Irene fastened the necklace around her own neck and touched it like it meant the world to her.

"Thank you." Irene whispered to Jeff, her voice was soft and grateful. "This means everything to me."

"I'm so sorry about my son's behavior." His mother's voice was embarrassed and apologetic. "He hit his head quite hard when he fell in and the doctors said he might be confused about some of the details. Please forgive him."

"It's fine." Sidney's voice was gracious and warm in a way it never was with Claire. "He's been through a terrible trauma. We understand completely."

“I owe you my life and I promise that I will spend the rest of my life with you. I will forever be grateful to you for saving me”. Jeff said and his mother smiled proudly.

“That's my boy”. His mother said.

Jeff’s eyes slid to Claire one more time and held, her breath caught at the raw emotion in his gaze and heat flooded her, it felt as if he just made the promise to her instead of Irene. Then his mother called him and the spell broke and he had to turn away.

She watched him leave and felt something breaking apart inside her chest and scattering into pieces she would never be able to put back together.

The door closed behind them and Sidney grabbed her arm hard enough to leave bruises that would last for days.

"You did well." Her stepmother's voice was cold and satisfied like she'd won something important. "Remember this feeling the next time you think about defying me. Remember what happens when you try to take what belongs to Irene."

Claire pulled her arm away and ran to her room where she finally let herself collapse on the bed.

She cried until she had no tears left and her pillow was soaked through and her throat was raw.

Claire jerked awake and her heart was racing and her pillow was wet with tears and the dream was already fading.

She sat up and pressed her trembling hands to her face and tried to slow her breathing and make sense of where she was.

The dark bedroom came into focus slowly and left her disoriented and aching.

She hadn't thought about that day in years and couldn't understand why she was dreaming about it now.