Chapter 24

TRIGGER WARNING: SELF-HARM/INJURY

Unbeknownst to the two teens, the music did not keep a certain set of prying ears away from their conversation. Seeing the two so close together this past week was beginning to strike a nerve in someone. Someone who had previously been in love with Foster was hearing about how their sexual endeavors meant nothing to him. Hearing him confess his love to some random ugly girl stoked the fire inside this person's heart. They were not going to sit back and watch Foster 'fall in love' with someone other than her.

The constantly being around each other, holding hands, laughing at inside jokes, and shit like that was fine. It was cutesy and everyone experiences puppy love at some point in their life. That wasn't what bothered her. It was the fact that all of the time she spent trying to get Foster's attention was being snapped away from her like she meant nothing at all. That is the straw that broke the camel's back.

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Foster and Claudia exit Joe's vehicle, giving waves and hugs to the new friends. Joe might have been abrasive at first, but once you get to know him a little better you can see why he acted how he did. He and Micah have been playing a cat and mouse game for a bit and so he has heard about Claudia. In fact, Micah talks about C like she has known her for years and so Joe was just making sure that Foster was going to treat her right. Because if anything were to happen to Micah's friend, Joe was prepared to unleash his fury on whoever that perpetrator may be.

Joe's car pulls away from the curb, leaving Foster and Claudia to themselves. Foster wraps his arms around C's waist and pulls her to his chest. C giggles, breathing in that forest smell that always manages to soothe her. Foster holds her like this for a few moments longer before pulling away and looking down at C.

"Should we head inside? It's getting a bit cold and although you look incredible in my jacket, you would look even more incredible without anything at all," Foster smirks and lifts C by her waist, planting a hot wet kiss on her. C moans quietly into Foster's mouth as he teases her lips with his tongue. Foster starts to stumble back towards the home, keeping C's body flush against his chest.

Unlocking a door while occupied by other activities is much harder than he initially anticipates so Foster reluctantly breaks the kiss to let them inside. He shuts the door and turns the lock. Upon hearing the snap of the deadbolt locking into place, he turns back to C. His hungry eyes take in C's form. All the dancing, singing, and shouting of the dance left her hair a bit messy, her cheeks a bit flushed, and her dress a bit ruffled.

"Fuck. C you have no idea what you are doing to me right now." C giggles and grabs for Foster's hand, pulling him up to the living space above the craft store. Once they are inside Sylvia greets them from the dining table.

"I'm glad to see you guys made it home safely. Now I can finally get some rest. I know I didn't need to be worried because I know you guys are responsible young almost-adults, but I am still a mom and you guys are still under my care. Sleep well, you guys." With that Sylvia stands from her seat and walks towards the other end of the loft to her room to retire for the night.

Foster winks at C and heads to his room. C stands in the living room, unsure of whether she should follow him or head to her room to get changed. After a few minutes of deliberation, she makes her way to her room.

She slips out of her dress and hops into the shower to wash off the grime from the night. Once she feels clean, she ends her shower and treks back into her room to find something to wear to bed. She shuffles through her dresser drawers for a bit and finds a suitable pair of pj shorts to wear. Unfortunately, she realizes that she doesn't have any of Foster's tees in there.

Just as she starts to think about what to do she hears some shuffling from above. She peeks into her closet to find a half-naked Foster lowering himself to the floor. Foster turns to C. C takes note of his lack of shirt and growing bulge in his gray sweatpants. He takes a few steps closer to her, stopping just inches away from her. Realizing she is still shirtless her arms shoot up to cover her chest.

"C you know you don't have to hide from me. There is nothing about your body that should ever make you feel ashamed. You are incredible," Foster reaches forward, tugging her arms away and pulling her into him, tightly wrapping himself around her.

"I-I know but they are just so small and most of the girls at that dance looked so much better than I did. I'm just ins-" Foster stops her with a sweet and gentle kiss. Some of the tension from her body eases as she melts into him. He pulls away and looks at her with seriousness behind his ocean-colored orbs.

"I have no idea what you are talking about C. The only one I saw was you. I only see you."

Tears prick at the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill as he pulls her back into the hug. He realizes that the last few times they've been together, he hasn't really ensured that he was showing just how much he loves every part of her. He curses himself for being a dick and not thinking more about her feelings.

"C is it okay if I show you what I mean? I want you to know just how serious I am about you and I want to do something to help you realize just how beautiful you are," he focuses on her eyes, looking for any sign of nervousness or apprehension.

"O-Okay. What are we going to do?" Foster simply grabs Claudia's hand and pulls her in the direction of his room. Once inside he heads for the bathroom. He flicks on the lights and shuffles in. He stops in front of the body-length mirror adjacent to the shower and positions Claudia so that she is directly in front of him. She turns her head to the side, avoiding the image of herself. Foster kisses her cheek and waits for her to muster up the courage to look.

"You gotta look in the mirror C. I want you to tell me exactly what you see," he whispers.

Claudia turns to the mirror and gazes at her topless figure. Long curly black hair cascades down her back, wild and unkempt. A light dusting of freckles covers her cheeks, neck, and chest. She has always hated her freckles. They make her feel dorky and childish. Continuing down she glances at her breasts. They are symmetrical and full, but they are so small. This only makes her feel even more childish. 'No true woman has a chest this small,' she thinks to herself. Her ribs jut out sharply making her look almost malnourished. Despite this fact, she still thinks she is too large. Her hips and thighs and butt are larger than she would like. Instead of telling all of these things to Foster she just closes her eyes and turns her head away again. "I don't want to talk about all of the horrible things I see."

"What horrible things? I can't help you if I can't see what you see. I just want to help you," Foster turns her away from the mirror, realizing that it isn't helping her. "Do you want to know what I see?" He asks her, a small frown forming at the corners of his mouth. C just nods her head, refusing to look at him. "I see someone who is strong, kind, capable, intelligent, and incredible. I see a beautiful person, a beautiful woman. Someone who I have been so lucky to get to meet and spend time with. Someone who may be shy but that doesn't make her cowardly. I see someone who I want to spend the rest of forever getting to know. I see you C."

"How can you see all of that when all I see is a chubby and ugly little girl?"

"You are more than just your body C. You have such a beautiful body, but that doesn't even begin to measure up to how beautiful your heart and soul are. I don't know what I can do to help you see just how much joy you bring to the people around you. Being around you is enough to make me feel like I have found my safe space." Foster turns her back towards the mirror. Instead of having her look at herself, he tilts her head so that she is making eye contact with him instead. His eyes darken and his brows knit together making him look almost as if he is in pain.

"Why do you look so sad and hurt? Did I do something wrong?" C holds his gaze, rubbing her hand up and down his forearm, trying to provide any type of comfort that she can.

"It's hard to explain. I feel like I have been failing you. I have been so selfish and so focused on the sex and the touching these past few days that I have made you feel more like an object than a person. I feel like such a dick. I haven't done this kind of thing with anyone before and I am making so many mistakes. I feel so useless," he looks towards the ground, unable to meet her eyes because of the shame welling up inside of him. Hearing all of these sentiments brings a hollow ache to Claudia's heart.

No one has ever cared this much about how she feels. She has had a handful of other relationships with guys. None of them ever snapped into place as quickly as her relationship with Foster has. In every other relationship, she was so focused on being perfect, looking perfect, and trying too hard to make the other person see her worth, that she wasn't being herself. The gears in her head start to turn and she realizes that she has been worrying about nothing. "I'm sorry Foster. Sometimes I let my insecurities get the best of me. Even though you told me not to compare myself to other people, I still seem to find myself doing that. It's a bad habit but I will try to work on it. I'm starting to realize just how silly I have been acting today. I heard one little rumor and it messed with my head."

"No your feelings are so valid C. Everyone has insecurities, especially about their bodies. It just sucks that I haven't been able to help you. I feel like I rushed in too quickly because of how drawn I am to you. I'm just so sorry C."

"Hey it's okay," C turns around to face Foster and cups his face in her hands, "We are still learning. We are human and humans tend to make mistakes. Perfection is impossible and boring so I am happy that we can work through these things together. I just want to know more about who you are and how you came to be you. I think that will help," C drops her hands from his face and reaches to hold onto his hands. She gives them a gentle squeeze.

"Okay. I think that's something I can do." Foster pulls them out of the bathroom. He grabs a t-shirt from his dresser, realizing that it C is still topless and probably cold. When he turns back around to face C, she quickly glances back at the floor, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Hey Foster, can I ask you something?" He takes a few steps toward her and hands her the shirt before retreating to plop himself down on his bed. She pulls the shirt on and lays down beside him.

"Sure. Anything you want."

"How did you get all of those scars?" Foster's breath catches in his throat.