The Ending Beginnings: Clara (An Ending Series Novella) (The Ending Series) (6 page)

Amidst
Andrew’s channel surfing, he finally muted the TV and turned his attention to
Clara. “What’s wrong?”

She
shook her head and offered him a weak smile.

“Tell
me,” he said, turning to face her fully. “What’s bothering you?”

Clara
peered at him, searching his face for answers to the questions she was too
scared to ask. “You’re not seeing anyone else, are you?”

Andrew
frowned. “What? No, why would you ask that?”

Clara
shrugged. “I just…we never said we were official, so—”

He
took her chin between his fingers and angled her face toward his. “There’s no
one else. I spend all my time with you…how would I even find the time?”

Clara
wasn’t stupid. She knew guys could always find time for a fling on the side,
but there was truth in Andrew’s eyes. Why was she being so pathetic? She needed
to
show
him why he should be with only her.

She
leaned in and pressed her lips against his, needing him more than she ever had
before, wanting to feel euphoria and bliss instead of doubt. His mouth was
intoxicating, making her forget about Joanna and flooding her body with
reassurance and heat instead of cold uncertainty.

With
a grunt, Andrew came up for air, his passion-filled eyes searching hers. “Take
off your shirt,” he rasped, pulling her bottom lip gently between his teeth. A
thrill of excitement ran through her already electrified body.

Without
hesitation, she broke their kiss only to remove her clothes and then climbed on
top of him, wanting to explore every single inch of his body and feel his hands
all over her skin. She wanted to consume him…for him to devour
her
. And as
if her fairy godmother was watching over her, she was granted her wish.

Andrew
took her readily, need making his grip tighter and his kisses rougher. Clara
absorbed every sensation, committing to memory the pressure of his body against
hers, the feel of his hot breath on her skin.

And
afterward, they lay together, Clara holding him in her arms all night as he
slept. There had never been anything in her life so real, so perfect. She felt
completed by him in every way. All of her hard work, her determination to be
something more than she’d been, had come to fruition. She’d worked so hard and had
finally found her Prince Charming, and she knew that nothing short of death
would come between them.

But
the next night, things seemed to change. Just as Clara finished blow-drying her
hair for a date night with Andrew, her cell phone rang. She ran for her purse
and fumbled around in the bottomless pit. Finally finding her phone, Clara pressed
ACCEPT, and brought it up to her ear. Her smile broadened when she heard Andrew’s
velvety voice.

“Hey,
beautiful.” Although upbeat like normal, he sounded somehow different.

“Hey,
I was just about to head over.” Clara heard the sound of a door slamming on the
other end of the line. “Are you just getting home from work?”

“No.”
She could hear his car keys jingling. “I’m actually calling to see if you’ll
take a rain check for tonight.”

Clara’s
breathing grew labored. “Why, what’s going on? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,
everything’s fine. I just found out a friend of mine is in town. A group of us
were going to go out for a few beers,” he said, oblivious to her mood change.
“That’s all.”

“Oh.”
Clara tried not to sound too disappointed that she wasn’t included. “Okay,
well, maybe we can go out tomorrow night instead.”

“Yeah,
maybe.” His truck roared to life on the other end, and Clara could barely hear
him.

She
frowned. “
Maybe
?
Do you already have plans tomorrow night?” She felt an invisible weight on her
chest.

“She’s
only here for a week, visiting her brother, so I think we’re trying to get the
group together as much as possible.”

She?
“Well, then why don’t we all plan something together?” Clara didn’t like the
high pitch or the slight waver in her voice, and she hoped he couldn’t detect
it.

“Sure,
I’ll talk to the guys tonight, and we’ll figure something out.”

Flopping
down on her bed, Clara kicked off her flats and flung her free hand above her
head. “Alright…” She stared up at her blank bedroom walls.

“Sorry,
beautiful. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“You
better. Call me when you get home, so I know you’re safe, okay?”

“Promise.”

“Okay,
have fun,” she said. “But not too much fun…”

He
chuckled. “I won’t. Talk to you later.”

Pulling
her hair back into a ponytail, Clara removed her best jeans and flowy top,
replacing them with her favorite pajama ensemble—yoga pants and an over-sized
sweatshirt she’d bought her first semester at the University of Colorado. She crawled
into her bed, and turned on the TV, flipping through the channels until finally
settling on a stand-up comedian who wasn’t very funny in hopes that he would
make her feel less miserable as she lie there, alone. The longer she watched TV,
the more tired she became, and the easier it was to forget about Andrew and the
fact that he was out with a girl Clara had never even met.

Around
three AM, Clara woke to someone jiggling the locked handle of her dorm room door.
Her roommate worked nights, so Clara knew it wasn’t her. The knob jiggled again,
and then there was a light knock from the other side.

“Clara,”
Andrew whispered. “Unlock your door…”

Clara
jumped out of bed and ran to the door. She eased it open to find her boyfriend
propped up against the wooden doorframe.

“Hey,
beautiful.”

She
was beyond happy to see him, and a smile engulfed her face. “Hey, yourself. What
are you doing here?”

“I
missed you,” he said, stumbling inside as she opened the door wider. He was
drunk.

“How
did you get here, Andrew? You didn’t drive, did you?”

Shaking
his head, he peered out the window, down at the complex’s parking lot. “Nope,
Kenny dropped me off.”

“Good.”

When
he turned around, Andrew wrapped his arms around Clara and started kissing her
neck. She nearly melted in his arms.

“Did
you miss me tonight?” he asked as he trailed kisses from her collarbone up
behind her ear.

Steadily
and with effort, Clara stepped away from him, causing him to stumble forward.
“Why do you smell like perfume?” she asked, trying to keep her emotions in
check.

“What?”

“You
reek of another woman,” she bit out. “
Why
do you smell like another woman?”

Andrew
scrunched his face for a moment “Oh”—his eyebrows rose, and he smiled—“I was
dancing with Jo.” He shook his head, like that explained everything.

“With
who?”

“My
friend from Oklahoma I was telling you about.” He sobered, registering the
burning fury in her eyes. “It’s not like that. Don’t get your panties in a
twist.”

Her
eyes narrowed to slits. “Excuse me?”

Andrew
hooked one thumb in his pocket and scratched the top of his head with his other
hand. “You’re seriously going to freak out about this?”

“Of
course I am, Andrew!” She turned away from him, trying not to lose it
completely. “How would you feel if I sauntered over to your house in the middle
of the night with men’s cologne pouring off me?”

Andrew
heaved a sigh, watching her as she began to pace.

“Look,
I’m sorry if I’m over reacting,” she said. “But it’s not like you to ditch me
in the first place, and then you come here, smelling like another woman…a woman
I’ve never
even met.” Her voice was exasperated, but with great effort, she remained
calm.

Moments
of silence passed, and Andrew’s face was unreadable. Just when Clara was about
to scream in frustration, Andrew took a step toward her and gently cupped her
face in his hand, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “I wasn’t thinking, Clara.
I’m sorry, but nothing happened. It’s not like that with Jo. She’s just a
friend.”

His
sincerity made Clara feel like a fool for doubting him. “Promise?” She hated
herself for falling back into the complying, lovesick dimwit she’d once been,
but she couldn’t help it.

A
wolfish grin spread across his face. “I’ve been thinking about you all night,”
he said and began trailing gentle kisses down her neck, his hands finding their
way beneath her sweatshirt. He apologized, over and over until they were both
bleary-eyed and too sore to move.

Everything
was Joanna’s fault. Andrew leaving her. The Josie woman dying. Clara sentenced
to a year in Pine Springs before she could be re-evaluated. It was truly
poetic. After years of screwing each other over, Joanna had finally won.

Clara
shook her head, wondering how long Joanna had planned it and how she’d found
out about Andrew in the first place. Although Clara knew it was borderline
paranoia to think her mom had been involved in any way, she couldn’t help but
wonder if it was a possibility. Or if Andrew…

Bile
rose in Clara’s throat as reality smacked into her. Had her entire relationship
with Andrew been a ruse? Had any of it even been real? Had it all been part of
Joanna’s elaborate, sadistic plan to get back at her? Questions and memories
careened into one another, vying for space; everything began to make sense.

Clara
trembled with rage. She fisted the letter in her hand, ready to explode. Her
head was throbbing with surmounting emotions, emotions she didn’t want to think
about, emotions she didn’t want to feel. She needed to numb them. She needed
something to take the burning anger away…

Hearing
the squeaky wheel of the laundry cart down the hall, she glanced over her
shoulder in time to see Devon slip into the laundry room.

Determined,
she stood and strode after him, away from the chattering girls and complaining
orderlies. She could hear the strong but silent Devon whistling a slow,
comfortable tune in the laundry room. Pulling her hair from its noose, Clara
let the golden tendrils fall around her shoulders and into her face. With a
quick rap of her knuckles on the laundry room door, she pushed it open and
stuck her head inside. The room was steamy and smelled of detergent and bleach.

The
whistling stopped. “Someone there?”

Clara
felt a thrill at hearing the deep timbre of his voice. This would be a
challenge, she thought, and then smiled with anticipation.

“Want
some company?” she said as she stepped inside, clicking the door shut behind
her.

Devon
cleared his throat. “What are you doing in here?” His voice was detached, but
Clara thought she detected a hint of desire. His features hardened into a mask
of aversion.

She
knew he was determined to turn her away like he’d done so many times in the
past, but what he didn’t know was that
she
was determined to get what
she wanted this time; she wasn’t simply flirting. Something about today
felt…promising. Whether it was her sheer resolve to bend him to her will, or her
need to be distracted, she was dead-set on making him worship her body. She
needed to regain control over her life, the life she’d lost the moment she met
Andrew. She was already in hell, so she might as well have as much fun as she
could while she was there.

Clara
flashed Devon a sultry smile.

“You
shouldn’t be in here,” he said, his body tensing as she stepped closer.

She
glanced around the room and lifted her hand to the laundry cart parked beside
the door. Running her fingers over the stacks of folded towels, she wondered
what Devon’s skin would feel like against hers.

“You
should go back to the rec room with the others.” His voice was strained and
impatient, likely a result of the sexual tension flooding the room, she thought.

Clara’s
smile grew, and she cocked her head to the side. “I should be doing a lot of
things…” She noticed his eyes flick from her chest to her lips, so she licked
them sensually in a silent offering.

A
slight twitch gave Devon’s otherwise inscrutable emotions away.

Clara
chuckled softly, letting her eyes scan the room as she wondered which corner
they could stash themselves away in. “You intrigue me,” she admitted.

 “Cut
the shit, Clara. I already told you, I’m not losing my job over you.”

She
frowned and walked around the shelves in the center of the room, dividing the machines
and the folding station. She strolled toward him, her fingers trailing over the
metal shelving as she passed. She felt a thrill of excitement as their gazes met
and lingered between the riveted, steel uprights as she walked around the
shelves.