Reopen Old Wounds

"Whose baby is it?" Liam stared at Norah's stomach in disgust.

Without thinking, Clara slapped him on the cheek. Then his shoulder was turned by Xander and he threw a punch on his stomach, hard! Oddly enough, Liam didn't punch Xander back, as if he knew he deserved to be slapped and beaten.

He stared at the floor then said in a husk voice, "I'm sorry." Liam walked out of the room.

Clara panicked when the girl in her arms swayed a little, "Norah! Are you okay?"

"I'm suddenly dizzy."

They quickly carried Norah to the bed, and she started to cry again, "I can't get pregnant, Clara.. I want to go to college, I'm only nineteen." Norah gasped between each words.

"We will know for sure, tomorrow.. All you need to do is rest, don't think too much, Norah." Clara tucked her in and Xander got out of the room to give them some privacy.

Norah touched her still flat-looking stomach, "What if.. This baby's father is not Liam? Did my brother just kill this baby's father last night?"

Clara couldn't assure her that it won't be Daniel's child. Hell! She was also afraid. Norah would live with the reminder for the rest of her life.

An idea suddenly occurred to her, "I'm sure we can take paternity test to determine who's the father, Norah."

Her lips quivered, "Really?"

Someone knocked on the door and Noah peeked inside before he approached them with a grim face. He took a glance at Clara, "Will you give us a moment?"

"Yeah, sure." Clara patted Norah one last time and left the room and found Xander was still beside the door. She closed it.

"Where's Liam?" Clara asked.

Xander shrugged, "He has gone out. Maybe need some time to clear his mind."

"Please tell him to go to the clinic with Norah tomorrow. They must take prenatal paternity tests, that's the most important thing to do now."

"Yes, you're right," he chuckled. "You look like a lion protecting her cub, didn't even hesitate to slap my cousin."

"You gave him a good punch too," Clara laughed sadly. "Norah is my friend, I already consider her as my sister. I don't want to lose another friend."

Her mind drifted away, to the dark time that she never told anyone how she feels.

"What do you mean? Lose another friend?" Xander asked with curious tone, urging her to continue.

Clara walked down the corridor and he followed. "I had a new friend when I was in senior year. She had just entered school at that time, she said that she got scholarship. It was strange though because we only have six months left in school. So she was bullied by some kids. You know I'm part of Four Saints, right? So we helped her, protect her from bullies. From there on we grew close."

Her feet took her to the hall, the deer head used to hang on this spot years ago. But it was empty now, her father had sold it when they bankrupted. The spot where she met Xander for the first time.

"Then what happened?" Xander stood beside her, but he stared deep at her.

She looked up, to held her tears at bay. It was like reopening the old wounds in her heart.

"I was looking after my sick mother and I fell asleep. I still remember it was 9 p.m. When I woke up and checked my phone, I got a text from her. I felt she had been acting strange for a while but I was too worried about my mother's condition. When I asked her, she always say that she is fine." She gasped and paused for a few seconds.

"So when I read the text, I immediately rushed to her house. But it was too late," Clara told him while crying.

"What did she text you about?"

Clara shook her head, "Just some words that I don't understand. It said 'you will get what you wish for' and I still don't understand it until now, Xander. I blamed myself afterwards. Maybe if I didn't fall asleep, I could prevent everything…"

Clara buried her face in her hands, but Xander lowered them and looked at her face closely.

"What did you find at that house?"

His face was blurred by her tears, she bit her quivered lips. "She…"

Xander waited for the answer, but Clara shook her head. It was too painful to say it out loud. Then he pulled her hands, "There's a place I want to take you to."

She wiped her face with tissues in the car, Xander was driving so fast with furious face. They passed the street where the accident happened when Rodriguez abducted Clara. Then they entered a shabby and old housing estate. Most of the houses there are not maintained or deserted, even if there are those who live there only from the lower classes.

The vehicle turned to the front yard of a house. From the look of it, it was abandoned for quite some time. It was a small size house with a door and two windows at the front, the white paint on the wall was peeling off, some holes in the roof. The grass in the front yard was barren and unkempt.

"Get out of the car."

Clara was still sitting in the car, staring out the window in trance. She obeyed with shaking legs. The sky that was cloudy before, had turned a bit dark, looks like it's going to rain.

As if impatient, Xander pulled her hand hard. They walked a few steps towards the house. "What did you find at this house?" He asked again. The question that Clara couldn't answer.

Her body was trembling, her mind brought her back to that incident 7 years ago.

"T-there were so many police that night, lines were drawn, the dark night sky was illuminated by the headlights of police cars. They didn't let me in and said that she.."

He yelled, "What? Say it!!"

Clara clenched her eyes shut, "She.. Aurelia died by suicide."