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Before Valentine comes...
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To Duet With You Thinking out loud
The night before it was easier to walk away from her father, furious as she was, and most importantly because she did not want Evan to be subjected to his judgment. Conciliations are more difficult than disagreements, which is why Claire is so apprehensive as they walk into the cafe where they are supposed to have breakfast together.She is also grateful that Evan is next to her, he did not have to do this, but his sole presence is encouraging her in ways she can't measure. “I’ll only greet your father before I go, but I am always just one call away, okay?” These words right before they enter the cafe work their magic to reassure her.“Ok, thank you. Evan, it's not the first time I’ve had a disagreement with him, I’ll be fine.”Her father still wears a severe expression on his face when they reach his table, but she is just pulling out a chair when he throws hostile words.“I invited my daughter, and I would like to talk to her without outsiders.”“Dad…”But Evan just smiles.“Of cou
To Duet With You You feel like home
When August comes, Claire thinks she never had a summer as good as this one. They spent a week with the Fogels in July, and although Halley still has to do her check-ups every month, she is doing good, which also translates in Evan worrying a little bit less. Afterward they spent a good part of the summer looking for an apartment, before finally landing on this one.“Where do you want me to assemble the bookshelf?”“Hmm. What about this spot? And we can have your desk over there.”“I think this corner will do for your videos. What do you think?”“Uhmm, the light is better on this side.”It takes a while to unpack and decide where everything will go, fitting everything in the small one-bedroom apartment is not an easy task, but they manage to do it in one afternoon, and then throw themselves on their brand new mattress completely exhausted.“I like how this looks now.”The bedroom walls are mostly naked, but she can see it slowly becoming their home. It’s crazy she is doing this with
To Duet With You One-year milestone.
Singing from the comfort of home, or sharing her covers through the distance of her channel are very different from being on stage. This is the first time since she was in high school, and how fitting it is that Claire attended this concert in this auditorium exactly a year ago… because that was also the start of her relationship with Evan.“Are you nervous?” He asks.How can she not be? She is drumming her fingers on a desk, thinking of what could go wrong. What if her voice just does not cooperate? If she freezes and humiliates herself in front of the public….You think you are good, but outside of this city you will be just a nobody with mediocre abilities at best.Erick would say something like that. He had said things like that, but she knows there is no value in any of those words trying to bring her down, and there are people outside of Green Valley that genuinely appreciate her.So this is something she must do.“A little bit.” She admits, his thumb stroking the back of her ha
To Duet With You Let's get a family portrait that looks pretty normal.
He remembers Claire’s mother was a beautiful woman, and yet she wore a permanent scowl on her face that made her look older than what she probably was. Now he meets Mr. Gardiner’s current wife, and can see the man definitely had a type (blond, slender, with milky skin and big eyes, she could easily pass as Claire’s older sister). It’s disturbing, actually, and he kind of understands how a person could become bitter and filled with hatred after such a betrayal. Evan would be more willing to sympathize with Claire’s mother if her treatment of her daughter had not been so awful. He keeps this judgment to himself, since this visit is already a challenge for Claire as it is. “Well, then I’ll let you both rest until dinner is ready.” “Thank you, Helen.” At the stairs, the little boy is staring at them with curious eyes, but he keeps his distance, and when Evan waves at him, he runs away. A timid kid, then. The baby, Jossie, is too young to remember Claire later, but her brother, Tom, is
To Duet With You You can run, but you cannot hide from the family line
Life is like this. She doesn't have a perfect family, with two parents who have been negligent (to put it nicely), a stepmother who could have been her sister, and two young kids who are her actual siblings and have no idea of the messed up world of the adults. Contrary to her expectations, the week goes by without incidents. She suspects her father might have said something mean to Evan again, but he is tight-lipped about it and anyway it appears to have been resolved, so she doesn’t ask any further.Perhaps the only detail that made her feel uncomfortable is that, in such a big house, she still gets woken up by Jossie crying at 2 a.m. Rushed footsteps from Helen always follow and Claire thinks babies are indeed cute, but they suck all of their parents’ energy, there's no doubt about it. They are leaving after breakfast, and she doesn’t get much sleep afterwards. Her gaze falls on her boyfriend, who doesn’t seem to have the same problem.“How unfair…”In the silent hours before the
To Duet With You Back in town
Mr. Brown died in a car crash. He was driving drunk, apparently. Evan still doesn’t know much besides the few words his stepmother told him on the phone, and a text message with the details of the funeral.In this kind of situation, Claire doesn't know what to do or what to say except help him pack,“Do you want me to go with you?”She has not been back to Green Valley for so long, and the prospect of doing it now fills her with dread. Evan must know that, too, because he shakes his head and mutters that it is not necessary.“It won't take long. I’ll just be away for a couple of days and you have classes.”Perhaps he just can’t handle that, too, at a moment like this. There is no doubt that going with him means encountering Rick face to face, and she isn't ready for that.“Okay. I’ll take you to the bus station, then.”“I can drive, we’re just a few hours from the town.” He cups her face and kisses her forehead. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”He barely slept a couple of hours, but even
To Duet With You Throw out our cloaks and daggers, it is morning now
“How could it go like this? You were here just three hours earlier than me…” She complains while pressing the bag of ice to his lips, “and now you have bruises here and there.”“He got it worse.”This is no comfort for her. Claire decided to come because she worried Evan would be alone at a time like this, but she did not imagine he would get into a fight with Rick as soon as they saw each other. That horrible, hideous bastard.She only had to see him for a couple of minutes, but it took all of her strength to remain calm in his presence. Unexpectedly, Evan could not do the same. How did Rick provoke him so?“You did not need to come, Claire.”“I know you wanted to protect me, but I didn't want you to be alone.”“I have to go back to the house tomorrow, after that I’ll pick you up and we can go back home.”He wants to spare her from having to face Rick again, and frankly, she is grateful for it. Since she chose to love Evan, it was inevitable that some encounters would happen even if
To Duet With You Same old tired and lonely
The voice mail from her mother asking her if she is going back home for Thanksgiving left her with a sour mood for the rest of the day, and she hasn’t even replied yet. Go back to that awful town? Claire remembers when she was seventeen, the happy and brilliant cheerleader and star of the glee club who’d be valedictorian by the end of their senior year. Her future looked bright back then because Claire had always been an optimist, and after getting admitted into her dream school, it felt like nothing could go wrong in her life. Now she can’t even sing or stand on a stage. God knows she’s trying hard. But when she stops to look back and count the horrible memories that are all linked to the hometown she left behind, she just knows that going back there is impossible. It is a bit ironic, because Green Valley is considered to be an idyllic place by most of the people who live there, and the occasional visitors who pass by. A town kissed by sunlight every day, and yet all Claire can a
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- To Duet With You Throw out our cloaks and daggers, it is morning now
- To Duet With You Back in town
- To Duet With You You can run, but you cannot hide from the family line
- To Duet With You Let's get a family portrait that looks pretty normal.
- To Duet With You One-year milestone.
- To Duet With You You feel like home
- To Duet With You Thinking out loud
- To Duet With You Before Valentine comes...
- To Duet With You That's how it used to be, now this is us
