Blackbird (22 page)

“I won’t.”

He closed his eyes and did the last thing Claire
was expecting. He kissed her on the lips, and although it was short-lived, it
was soft and supple, leaving a tingling feeling.

When her eyes opened he was still bent down,
looking at her with the same look she’d seen before. “I can’t lose you. I won’t
lose you,” he breathed into her.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

He closed his eyes and took one last breath, then
raised his head and continued to carry her to the car.

The feelings she had tried so hard to push aside
had risen again. She turned her head into his chest trying to think about what
just transpired, but all she could see was the artwork on his body. A reminder
of just how beautiful he was.

He bent down and opened the car door, then placed
her on the passenger seat. “Wait here,” he said, turning and running back
towards the beach.

How close she was to drowning scared her. She
shouldn’t have been so stubborn. She should have listened to Nate. Making
stupid decisions seemed to be the only thing she was good at. Nate had saved
her, like he’d done before. He loved her.

When she thought her head was going to explode
with thoughts, Nate returned with their belongings. He dropped their phones in
the centre
console,
the car key was still in his hand.
She could only presume he had gone into the water with it.

With one quick movement he ripped his shirt,
pulling a thin piece of material from it.

“What are you-” she started to say, but cut
herself off when he started wrapping the shirt around the cut on her leg.

I was cut, that’s right.

Claire had forgotten all about it, but the moment
she remembered all the pain returned.

Nate tied it off tightly and wrapped the towel
around her. He seemed in military mode as he wrapped the seatbelt around her,
clipping it in, then shutting the door and getting into the driver’s seat.

“Should you be driving?” she asked as he turned
the key to the ignition and pulled out of the park.

“Now is not the time to lecture me, Claire. I mean
it.”

“But you said you couldn’t drive.”

“In a few weeks I’m allowed to again, so I think
we can make an exception.”

Claire took her attention back to the road,
cringing at every bump they hit, each jolt sending pain through her thigh.

“Where are we going?”

“The hospital.”

She snapped her head to his direction. “It’s that
bad?”

His eyes didn’t leave the road when he replied,
“No I don’t think it’s that bad, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. I think it missed
your main artery, and there isn’t too much blood which is a good sign.”

“What about the surfboard?” she asked, suddenly
remembering what had caused the injury and the fact Nate hadn’t retrieved it
from the beach.

“It snapped in half. A mate I knew nearby took it
for me,” he said abruptly.

Claire’s face dropped.
“Oh, no.
I’m sorry, Nate.”

That must have been why Nate was upset, she’d
snapped his board.

“I don’t give a damn about the board,” he snapped.

“Then why are you angry?”

“I’m angry because I told you not to go out there.
But you were too stubborn and did it anyway.” He looked at her briefly. “You
could have drowned.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I really am.”

She couldn’t be sure, but she would have sworn he
mumbled something under his breath about not being able to live without her.

She wanted to ask him what he’d said, but she
wouldn’t. She’d been enough of a pain in the ass at it was, and she didn’t want
to make matters worse so she sat there in silence.

***

“Thanks again, Nate,” Claire said
as he laid her down on the couch. Even though the doctor had said it was just a
bad cut that didn’t need stitches and she would be fine walking it, he still
insisted on carrying her, and for once Claire didn’t strike up an argument.

“I’ll listen to you next time, that is, if you let
me go surfing again?”

Nate had thought about telling her that he would
never take her surfing again, he couldn’t risk it. He’d come to his senses once
his anger wore off a bit. If every surfer stopped it because they hurt
themselves then there’d be none left in the world.

“You can surf again, but only if the conditions
are okay. I won’t let you go out in that kind of surf again.”

She smiled.
“Whatever you say.”

A knock at the door pulled him from her smile.
“I’ll get it,” he said, walking towards the front door.

The moments he was with Claire he focused on their
time together, not that she was with someone else. Even the thought that she
was intimate with someone else made him sick to the core. Thinking about Dave
would eat him up inside, so instead he imagined a world without him. Well, that
world was about to crumble to bits when he turned the doorknob and Dave was
standing on the other side. The look on his face said it all. Fuck, if he was
in the same position and Claire was seeing someone else he probably would have
knocked his rival’s head off by now.

“What the fuck are you doing
here!
”
Dave yelled pushing the door open further open with his fist.

“Dave?” Claire called from inside.

Nate took a step back. “Now before you start a
fight I’m here for Claire, okay?”

“What the hell do you mean you’re here for
Claire?” Dave stepped forward and pushed Nate backwards.

Nate clenched his fists, turning his knuckles
white. “Settle down.”

“Settle down? Settle down? Are you fucking
insane?” Dave roared.

Nate stood his ground, not intimated by Dave’
anger one bit.

“Dave, stop, please,” Claire pleaded, limping to
stand next to Nate.

Dave’s eyes automatically went to the bandage on
her leg. “What happened to you?”

“I had an accident while I was surfing. I’m okay
now. You’re back early. You weren’t meant to get back until tomorrow.”

“Surfing?”
He looked at
Nate, completely ignoring Claire’s comments.
“With you?”

“He told me I shouldn’t go out. It’s not his
fault,” Claire said.

“Is this
who
you’ve been
spending time with?” Dave seethed.

Claire stepped forward. “Dave, you need to calm
down.”

“Answer me!”

Nate was two seconds away from knocking this
asshole over.

“Yes, Nate’s been teaching me how to surf. We’re
friends.”

“Friends?
Are you fucking
kidding me?”

“Dave-”

Nate put his hand on Claire’s arm to stop her from
reaching out to touch him. He didn’t know the guy, didn’t know what he was
capable of. For all he knew, this situation could get Claire physically hurt by
Dave’s anger.

Claire looked up at him, her eyes filling with
tears. “It’s okay,” he said soothingly.

“Wait a second- is this the guy you cheated on me
with?”

Nate saw Claire’s body tense at Dave’s accusation.
She’d told him about their kiss, but didn’t say that it was him.

Fuck. This is about to turn ugly.

And it did. Dave threw a punch to Nate’s jaw,
smacking him hard. It was probably the hardest he’d ever been hit but he was
ready for it. It knocked him hard, but not hard enough to send him to the ground.

“Okay, I deserved that,” Nate said clutching his
jaw.

Claire jumped in front of Nate. “Stop, Dave!
Please don’t hurt him.”

“You’re defending him again?”

“He’s my friend, Dave.”

“So you’ll choose him over me?”

Nate stood upright.

“I’m not choosing anyone.”

“Yes, you are. I won’t have you sneaking behind my
back anymore to see this asshole. It’s me or him.”

Nate studied Claire. Her mouth opened, but she
didn’t say anything.

“Well I guess you’ve made your choice then,” Dave
said, turning towards the door and walking out.

Claire stood stationary, not following him, not
calling out his name to come back to her. Instead she watched him, watched him
walk away.

Had she chosen him? After so long waiting for her,
could they finally be together? Or did she really mean to choose Dave?

Nate put his hand out and touched her arm.

She looked down at his hand,
then
turned her head to him.

He moved his hand other hand to her face, wiping
the tear from her cheek that had fallen gracefully from her eye. She leaned her
head into his palm and closed her eyes, tears falling from them.

He let his hands go and pulled her into his arms,
letting her cry into his shoulder. He held her until her sobbing became softer,
then he held her face in his hands.  Her eyes were swollen from crying,
and he hated himself for being a part of the reason why she was so upset.

“It’s going to be okay, Claire, I promise you. I’m
here and I’m not going anywhere.”

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

Graduation.

Graduation signifies the end of journey and the
beginning of a new one. A new time in someone’s life to celebrate their
achievements, and their ability to strive and be the best they can be.
A time to shine.
A time to be everything you’ve ever wanted
to be.

Claire’s time was now. In a few short minutes, she
would be called up onstage to receive her certificate.
A
certificate that signified the four long years of hard work and dedication.
After this moment she would be officially
be
a
physiotherapist.

Her career was on track, she was exactly where she
wanted to be, except in all other areas of her life.

Her relationship with Dave was over. Well, she
assumed after the confrontation they’d had that it was over. She’d tried to
call him and text him after it to try and explain it. She didn’t want it to end
like that.

And then there was Nate…

“You’re up next,” the lady said to her as she
approached the end of the stage.

Graduation was definitely not what she’d expected
it to be. It was hours of speeches, followed by hours of handing out
certificates and sitting in the hard chairs waiting for your turn. Why they did
hundreds of University students’ graduations at the same time bewildered her.

Regardless, her time had come. She was dressed in
her graduation cap and oversized gown. She knew her parents and Stella had come
along to support her. Tristan couldn’t come for the obvious reasons.

She didn’t know if Dave would come. She’d invited
both of them months ago, but now with everything that happened she didn’t know
if either of them would turn up. She’d screwed everything up.

“Claire Greene,” the speaker said over the
microphone.

Claire smiled at the sound of applause as she
climbed the stage and accepted her certificate. She turned to do a quick
recognition at the crowd. She could see a few people standing near the back
clapping for her. She couldn’t see them very closely as the stadium was jam
packed with people but she guessed it was her family. She moved towards the end
of the stage and took her seat again. She smiled with her
uni
friends. Finally it was over.

After the ceremony had concluded Claire met up
with her family outside the stadium.

“Congratulations!” Her mum, dad and Stella all
said at once.

“Thanks!” she replied excitedly.

She hugged them all individually telling them about
how excited she was that it was finally over and that she was starting a new
chapter in her life.

She spoke to them for several minutes about the
future and took happy snaps before she spotted Dave standing close by, staring
at her.

“I…I have to go,” she said, still looking at Dave.

“That’s okay, honey. You go and celebrate,” her
mum said, giving her one last hug.

When Stella hugged her, Stella whispered in her
ear, “Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

She waved at her family then walked towards Dave,
anxious to hear what he was going to say.

She nervously looked at him and said, “Hi.”

“Congratulations,” he said coolly.

“Thanks.”

They stood there in silence. Claire avoided his
eye contact. She had to tell him the truth, and she had to tell him now.

“Do you have feelings for him?” Dave asked.

Claire pressed her sweaty palms against her gown
and looked up at him. A tear fell down her cheek as she answered him. “Yes.”

“So that’s it, then? We’re over?”

She nodded. “I wish I could give you what you
want, Dave. What you deserve. But I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“Un-fucking-believable!
You chose him over me? A dead shit like Nate?” he hissed.

She took a step back from him. “Don’t,” she
warned, looking around to see people staring at them now.

Dave noticed it too, but it didn’t stop him. “I
could have giving you a future, Claire, a life!
Marriage,
kids, security!”

“You don’t get it, Dave. That not what I want
right now.”

“So you’d rather run off with a fucking loser like
Nate? You’re ridiculous, Claire! You and Nate deserve each other!  You’re
both fucking idiots! Hope you two have a great life together,” he said through
his teeth before walking away.

Claire let her shoulders drop like a weight had
been lifted.

***

She ran up the stairs towards
Nate’s apartment. She’d stripped off her graduation gown and hat as soon as
she’d gotten into the car. There was only one place she wanted to be right now.

When she’d messaged Nate, he’d said to come by his
apartment and that he was sorry he couldn’t make it.