Claudia Rose Everhart
I'm not sure how long I waited up there, but looking back on it... I wish I had been able to stay longer. If only I could preserve that moment in time for Jesse... to just pause the world in that one happy moment. I would have. He didn't deserve what happened to him. No one deserves that. I wish I would have thrown the truck keys out the window, refused to go, begged him to stay... so that maybe I could have saved him... Maybe I could have kept all of this from happening... Maybe. Just maybe.
Claudia bounded down the stairs with a happy grin on her face, her new outfit much warmer than her last one. "I'm driving," she chirped, [color=darkred"you two won't mind if we grab some lunch first, right?"[/color] With a grin she led the boys out to the truck and made the thirty minute drive into town. She had never known why her parents wanted to live so far away from people until she found out about Klaus. Now it all made sense.
I knew Jesse didn't want to go out to eat, because he explained that he needed to get home but.. I didn't care. I was hungry. It ended up taking us a good two hours to eat, since most of the time we spent joking around. After we were done eating Klaus mentioned a movie he had been wanting to go see, and of course it was the same one I had been dying to go see, so we went to that too... before I knew it, it was dark out.
"Well, it's not like you're going to be in any more trouble than you were before," Claudia reasoned as she climbed back into the truck, letting Klaus drive this time. Trying to lift Jesse's spirits, Claudia reached over and turned up the radio dial, blaring Light 'Em Up by Fall Out Boy. She grinned and sang along to the song as she danced around in the middle seat between the boys, laughing and having a great time as they all jammed to the song.
And then we pulled into his house...
Klaus slammed on the breaks, sending them to an abrupt halt. "Oh my god..." Claudia breathed, eyes growing wide as she watched as flames danced against the dark night sky. The entire house was consumed. Jesse was out of the truck faster than she realized, and she scampered to follow after him. Screams could be heard from inside the house, and Claudia watched helplessly as Jesse made a run for the front door. The whole front of the house collapsed inches from Jesse's face, sending fire and wood splinters raining down on him. "Jesse!!" Claudia's scream echoed through the night.
They were gone. Everyone that Jesse had ever loved, all burnt to ashes as we stood by, helplessly watching. The cops and firetrucks arrived, and we were asked an endless amount of questions. I remember just feeling numb. I had never seen someone so broken before. His whole life had just gone up in flames, literally. I still remember the way the fire lit up the sky, dancing under the moon as if it was some sort of sick sacrifice. I knew that Jesse would never be the same... and he hasn't been. Knowing that he didn't have anywhere else to go, Klaus and I offered to let Jesse stay with us. The funeral was a small one. No one really cared about Jesse, the quiet kid who was failing out of school. Of course Klaus and I went. Our parents were gone on 'business', but mom sent flowers. That quiet, handsome kid showed up briefly. He stood at the very back of the graveyard, watching from afar as if he wanted to come over, but couldn't. Eden. I saw him again the next night, at the candle light service the mayor held for the fallen family.
The candles that the parents of the town had left were all glimmering in the darkness. It had only been two days since the accident. Claudia watched with a heavy heart as her brother stood silently beside Jesse as the adult and elderly population came by to give him their regards. By law he was old enough to live on his own, so even the social workers abandoned him. Claudia lit a candle for him, her heart heavy with guilt. If only she had gotten him home sooner. If only she had not pushed them to go out to eat, or jumped on the bandwagon to go see the movie. If only...
The list of ifs continued to grow as she slowly looked up, spotting Eden walking towards them. He looked incredible in the candlelight, as if he belonged to the shadows. "Eden," she breathed, "hey..." Her eyes were red from crying, and for once she was not wearing her raccoon eyeliner. It would have just smudged down her face, anyway. Instead, her blue hues were encircled with puffy red skin, and accented with a cherry red nose. Claudia pulled her red black peacoat closer to her, shifting her weight onto her hips. "Thanks for coming."
It's not as though I had asked him to come... but seeing him was like a cool spring rain. Over the past 48 hours my heart had felt like it was going to explode from sadness. Seeing him there, though.. with that cool, straight line his lips make when he's being serious... It made me feel better. Only a little, but at that point I needed anything that could make me forget the smell of Jesse's life burning away.