Hidden Truth

Chapter 12

Blake

One second, I was dreaming about Claire, her small body lying under me in my bed, our eyes locked as I ran my fingers over her cheeks. The heat between us intensifying and the need burning in her eyes. The next second something smacks my face, making me jerk awake. A small giggle comes from my left side as I rub my eyes. Glancing over I see Claire clutching a pillow to her chest as she holds in her laughter.

"I will get you back when you least expect it." I playfully threaten her as I lay back down and close my eyes.

"Oh yeah," she sweetly whispers. I could feel her body shifting in the bed, when suddenly the pillow connected with my face again.

"That's it Doll," I yell as I flip over. She's sitting next to me clutching the pillow to her chest laughing. I grabbed the pillow from her arms and threw it across the room. Grabbing her legs, I pull them out from under her and flip her onto her back. I climb over her, straddling her body just like in my dream. She's still laughing as she holds a hand over her mouth. "Oh, I'll give you something to laugh about."

Her laughing got louder as I started to tickle her sides. She tried to grab my hands to stop me, but it was no use. "O-kay," Claire gasped out between laughs, "you win." I pulled away and placed my hands on either side of her head. Claire's breathing slowed, but I could feel her heart still racing. Her eyes left mine and drifted down to my lips, before going further. The look in her eyes almost made me cave. There was nothing more I wanted to do than kiss her and rip that shirt off her.

The chime of my phone snapped me out of my thoughts. Saved by the bell, I thought as I broke eye contact and rolled off Claire. She let out a sigh and got out of bed, walking to my bathroom, as I grabbed my phone. The door shut softly, and I let out the breath I was holding. That was a close call. I'm not sure how much longer I can go without giving in to my feelings.

The last few days hanging out with Claire, sitting in my room binge watching Harry Potter and her sleeping in my bed with me, stirred feelings I buried. But being together could never happen, so I have to be the strong one. Getting out of bed, I grabbed my shirt from the floor and pulled it over my head as Claire walked out of my bathroom.

"Hungry for breakfast," I asked as I walked to the door. She nodded and followed me but never said a word the whole way downstairs. She slid into a seat at the counter as I went to the fridge. "Want eggs?"

"Sure," she replied. Claire stared silently out the back door while I cooked. All throughout breakfast not a word was said. I wish I knew what she was thinking. The last thing I wanted was to hurt her feelings.

When we finished, she went to wash the dishes, it was our routine. I couldn't take it anymore and broke the silence as she placed the last dish in the strainer. "Get dressed, I want to take you somewhere." With that I walked out of the kitchen and went to my room to change.

***

"Where are you taking me," Claire asked as we drove down the gravel road.

"It's a surprise," I shrugged and turned right at the fork in the road.

"Where are we going, seriously Blake. This is the place those things attacked us were. What if there are more?"

"We will be fine Claire, I promise." I reached out, placing my hand on her knee to try and reassure her. She nodded and looked out the window as the trees blurred past. Truth be told, I wasn't sure if there would be more ferals at the cabin, or if those two were just lone ones passing through. Ferals tended to live in groups, and that cabin has been abandoned for years. There could be a horde living there. The cabin came into view down the hill, and it looked clear.

"What is this place," Claire asked as I pulled into the driveway.

"This was my grandparents old vacation cabin. They stopped coming here a couple years ago after my Nana got sick. So, it's empty. They have a few acres and I thought it would be a good place to train. Stay in the car until I clear the area. If a feral comes out, drive off." I turned the car off and stepped out. Claire tried to yell for me, but I walked away.

I walked the perimeter outside and saw no broken windows. Grabbing the spare key from a fake rock, I unlocked the back door and inspected the house before going back out to Claire. "Clear, you can come out."

Claire stepped out; eyes glued to the log cabin in front of her. "Come on," I motioned to her and headed for the back of the property.

"They had horses," Claire asked from behind me as we walked to the barn.

"They did for years, but this barn has been empty for the last twenty years. My grandfather ran the council and my Nana loved working with horses." I slid open the metal door and flipped the switch. Everything was covered in dust and wood was rotting. "It has seen better days," I laughed and walked down the aisle of empty stalls.

"I bet it was very beautiful." I nodded in response and opened the second metal door in the back leading to the riding arena. "Oh, wow," Claire softly whispered.

"Ready to get started," I turned to Claire and folded my arms.

"When did you set all this up," she asked.

"Last night when you passed out." I shrugged and motioned to the many targets I had set up. There were wooden beams I dug into the ground placed all over the ring. "You are going to use your powers to knock down the targets."

"I'm not sure I can do this Blake."

"How will you learn to control your powers if you don't practice them," I asked. She looked from me to the targets all over the ground. "You seem to have nature powers. You can control the wind, create lightening, and effect the sky."

"And how am I supposed to conjure up these powers to knock down the targets?"

"You need to concentrate on what you want to do and believe in yourself that you can do it. Try not to use your emotions. Remain calm." I walked behind Claire and leaned against the fence, crossing my arms.

I watched Claire as her back tensed and her breathing slowed. The sky grew dark as the wind picked up speed, but that was as far as she could get. After an hour passed Claire huffed and turned to me.

"I can't do this," she yelled.

"I said remain calm."

"I am calm."

"No, you aren't, and you know how I know that?" She sent me a glare as I got off the fence and walked to her side. "I've been watching your back tense up. You're breathing is nice and calm, but you aren't relaxing your body." I grabbed her shoulders and turned her back around to face the targets. "Try again."

With a deep breath she brought back the harsh winds and the sky darkened. I lowered my face, my lips right next to her ear. "Now relax your muscles and knock over that target. Send a hard gust of wind at it." I ran my hands down her shoulders and rested them on her sides.

Thunder sounded in the distance and a strong breeze blew past us, the targets wavering. With a deep breath she raised her right hand and swept it to the right, a gust of wind following her hand movement in the distance. A line of targets fell to the ground as the wind whipped through the trees. Her shoulders slumped and a smile spread across my face.

"That was amazing," I whispered and kissed the top of her head. "We can stop for the day and come back tomorrow for more practice if you want to."

"That would be great."

"Come on let's get home and have dinner."

"Pizza and a movie," Claire yelled and started running to the car. I laughed, shaking my head and I turned to run after her. "What are we going to watch now that Harry Potter is over," she asked as we pulled away from the cabin.

"I got a movie in mind." I smirked and we drove back in silence.

***

"So, what's this movie?" Claire asked as she sat on the couch. She set the pizza down on the table and opened two beers. She took a sip as she watched me, trying to see what movie I was grabbing.

"It's a surprise." I turned back to my tv and placed the disc into the DVD player. The tv screen went black before previews started on the screen.

"Ugh, fine," Claire huffed, setting down her drink she got up, going to my bathroom. I pressed the menu button to skip to the movie and grabbed a slice of pizza. When Claire walked out of the bathroom my breath hitched and I couldn't take my eyes off her body. f**k it, I thought, I want her.