Eternal Sunshine - Chapter 2
Claire sat on top of her comforter with her knees drawn up to her chest trying to think of a plan. A plan would give her structure and structure would make her feel less adrift. She should probably take a shower, but didn’t want to move yet. The phone rang again, but she didn’t reach for it. She didn’t feel like talking to anyone until she felt somewhat steady.
Maybe if she could retrace her steps, everything would fall into place. What did she last remember? It had to be Saturday because yesterday was Friday. She remembered that much. She remembered waking up, reading the paper, checking her e-mail, and calling Zach. She didn’t remember what she and Zach talked about. In fact, she couldn’t remember anything past dialing his phone number. She couldn’t remember talking to him and she couldn’t remember the rest of her day. The harder she tried to remember, the more painful her headache became.
Claire looked around the room. It was messier than she remembered. T-shirts and sweatpants that she didn’t remember wearing were piled on the floor next to her laundry basket and a pink blanket was strewn on the floor at the foot of her bed. A poster of the New York City skyline near the door was torn in half with both ends hanging loosely from the wall. Her dresser drawers were open and disheveled. A few books and a picture frame had fallen out of her bookshelf and were now scattered on the carpet.
Claire got out of bed and walked over to the bookshelf. She picked up the fallen novels and reached for the silver frame. The glass had broken during the fall and left a spider web fracture over Peter’s face. The picture had been taken of them two years ago when she’d just signed for this appointment. They both looked so happy in that picture. Claire felt a sudden burst of anger at whoever had broken it.
Someone else had been in her apartment, someone who didn’t care about the destruction of her personal property. Someone who did something, any number of somethings, to her. Claire felt violated and shaky.
She wanted to curl up into a ball, tighter and tighter, until nothing could touch her. She wanted to be numb and alone and fall back asleep. Claire wanted to sleep until she could forget how scared she was. She would risk the nightmares in her dreams to avoid the nightmare that she was living.
Claire looked at the shattered photo in her hands. She could see Peter’s crooked smile through the broken glass and made a choice. She wanted to be alone, but she needed to see him. Claire had reached out to Peter in every difficult moment in her life.
He had saved her from Sylar and died to protect her.
“You’re totally my hero,” she told him flirtatiously.
When she was on the run from the company, she tried to find him.
“Peter Petrelli cares about me!” she insisted to the Haitian.
When they had the weight of the world on their shoulders, she leaned on him.
“When I met you, I finally felt like I was a part of something,” she said through her tears.
Except for the times when they’d been forced apart, Peter Petrelli had always been there for Claire. She needed him now, needed someone to hold on to, someone to steady her when she felt like falling apart. Claire needed Peter before she gave into the temptation to collapse in on herself.
Setting the picture frame down gently on the night stand, Claire sat on her bed and reached for her cell phone.
7 Messages.
She absently dialed her voicemail and entered her passcode.
The first voice she heard was her father’s.
“Claire, your mother and I wanted to know when you’re going to be able to come for a visit. Check your schedule and call me back. Love you, Claire Bear.”
Beep.
“Claire, it’s Zach. I need to buy my tickets tonight so I hope you asked for a few days off like you said you would. Don’t forget, you promised we’d go see the Colbert Report. Later.”
Beep.
“It’s Peter. The movie’s sold out, so I hope it’s fine if we just rent something and order Chinese. I’ll be back from work at six so you can come over any time after that.”
Beep.
“I hope you’re okay, Claire. I got your message, but I couldn’t make out much of what you were saying because you were crying so badly. I’m really worried about you. Call me back. Please.”
Beep.
“Claire, it’s Peter. I came by your apartment today and you weren’t there. We need to talk. Call me.”
Beep.
“It’s Zach again. You never called me back and that message...I'm worried about you. You know that if I have to come to New York to track you down, I will. Call me, Claire. I’ll be there next Saturday, but I really don’t want to wait that long to make sure you’re okay.”
Beep.
“Hi Claire, it’s Susie. I wanted to make sure you got home all right last night. You seemed pretty upset when you left the club. I’ll see you at work on Monday.”
Beep.
Claire hung up on her voicemail and took a deep breath. She blinked and a single tear dripped down her cheek. She wiped the wetness with her free hand and blinked back the tears that were starting to pool in her eyes. The turn that the last few messages had taken concerned her.
Had she called Zach for help? Had she not been at home when Peter stopped by because she’d been kidnapped? Did they torture her? Push her to her limits like her dad always told her they would?
Shaking, Claire dialed the familiar number of her uncle.
“Hello,” he mumbled, his voice sounding husky from sleep.
“I don’t know what to do, something’s happened and I - ”
“Claire?”
“I can’t remember any of yesterday, it’s like it never happened. Something’s wrong, Peter. My room’s trashed and Zach left a message saying I’d called him crying and I don’t remember a single thing.”
Claire took a shaky breath. The room around her looked blurry through her tear-leaden eyes.
“What have they done to me?”
“I’ll be right there. Claire, I promise, I’ll be right there.”
Peter repeated the words over and over, his litany the only noise breaking through her sobs.
“I’ll be right there, Claire.”
“Hurry,” she whispered.
*****
A/N: Hope you liked the new chapter!
Next Chapter