Someone To Care
Sledgehammer by Rihanna but Emma Heesters Cover
Friday evening and Clarke was slowly awaking. The first thing she noticed was that she was alone in bed. Last night, Clarke had made dinner, Finn Ayden and her had eaten together and Clarke had been thanking God because nothing bad had happened, and they all had went to sleep. Fortunately, Finn hadn’t touched her, and Clarke had thanked God for that too. She wasn’t really a believer but right now, she needed to think someone was looking out for Ayden and her. She frowned, because Finn wasn’t here with her, and he hadn’t been the first up in the house in a very long time. Clarke put a sweater on, and went downstairs. Ayden was up too, and he was playing with a few toys in the living-room.
“Good morning Honey”, Clarke said, leaning to kiss his head, but Ayden moved a little so she couldn’t kiss him.
Clarke’s heart broke. She was sure Ayden had just rejected her, even if he was acting like he didn’t, acting like he hadn’t meant to move away from her.
“Hi mom”, Ayden said, not looking at her, and Clarke’s heart exploded in a thousand pieces. Ayden had never called her mom, always mommy. Ayden didn’t love her anymore.
Clarke forced herself to not let the tears fall down, and got into the kitchen to make breakfast. She was worried about Finn; not worried something had happened to him, because if she was completely honest she didn’t really care, but worried about where he was and what his reaction was going to be once he would be back home. Clarke knew there was a possibility he went in a bar to drink, but she put that idea far away from her mind, not wanting to think about it.
Half an hour later, Finn was making his way on the living-room and crashed on the couch. Clarke’s nose tinkled, because booze’s smell was all over him. Clarke quickly gave a plate to Ayden, telling him to go eat and play in his room while she was speaking with his father. The boy nodded, not even looking at his mother. Clarke’s heart broke even more, and she watched her kid going upstairs. But what Clarke didn’t see was a tiny hand sliding in her coat’s pocket, taking her phone.
Once Ayden was upstairs, Clarke put a plate on the coffee table for Finn, and sat in a chair a few feet away from her boyfriend. Could she really call him “boyfriend” though?
“Finn”, she said, “what happened to your face?”
Clarke knew this surely wasn’t a good idea to ask, but she couldn’t look at him without wondering what had taken place. Finn slowly opened his eyes, and Clarke could see he was still clearly drunk. He put a hand on his face, getting up a little, and chuckled.
“Bellamy came by. Told me some crap. Hit me on the face.”
Clarke’s eyes widened. Bellamy never liked Finn, but he wouldn’t have hit him if it wasn’t for a good reason. If Bellamy had hit him, he had seen the house. He knew what was going on, and he probably had told everyone.
“Clarke come here”, Finn said trying to reach her, “I’m glad you’re back, I love you; let’s make another baby”.
His breath hit Clarke’s nose and she made disgust face she was too long to hide. Finn saw it, and a flash of anger passed by his eyes.
“What is it? You don’t want to have sex with me anymore?” he asked, getting closer to Clarke, “what happened Clarke, I remember you were a sex beast”, he said, smirking.
Clarke rolled her eyes, trying to get rid of him by walking towards the kitchen.
“Where did you put my bottles anyway?” he shouted at her as she was leaving.
“In the bin, Finn”, Clarke answered.
And it was clearly the wrong answer, because he saw red.
“How did you dare?!”
Clarke’s eyes widened. It was the Finn she was so afraid of. She tried to take a few steps back, but he didn’t let her.
“Stay here”, he growled, “Who do you think you are? Why don’t you want to have sex with me? You are seeing someone else, is that it? You’re screwing someone else, Clarke, is that why you were gone?”
Now, Finn was shouting, and Clarke was scared. Really scared. She had a feeling it would not end well. She never should have come back. She should have told her friends. She should even have stayed with Lexa.
“Is this your lover’s clothes”, he shouted, half-reaping the shirt Clarke was wearing, “are the ones I buy you not enough?”
They didn’t see the little boy watching them from the stairs, tears rolling down his cheeks.
“Answer me, Griffin!” Finn shouted. Suddenly, he grabbed a vine bottle Clarke had forgotten to throw, and he threw it at her in a single move.
Clarke didn’t see it coming, and the bottle hit her right in the chest, making her fall to the floor, her breath cut. As she was falling hard on the floor, she finally saw him with her blurred eyes; her little boy, running upstairs. A tear rolled down her cheek.
Upstairs, Ayden had run into his bedroom and was hearing everything. He had buried himself under the blankets of his bed, trying to shut everything down. He knew it wasn’t supposed to be this way. Her mommy wasn’t supposed to be hit by anyone, and Ayden was feeling so, so useless and unworthy. He had spent all night crying, angry at the whole world because he didn’t understand. He knew life wasn’t this. He knew a family wasn’t this. He knew someone was supposed to protect him, because he was only five and he couldn’t do anything on his own. So why nobody was taking care of him? Ayden was now sobbing in his bed, wishing someone would come to pick him up and carry him far away, anyone really, just someone to take care of him and tell him everything would be ok. He was crying, alone and scared, waiting for the storm to pass.
But then, he heard her mother scream, and it was too much for the five year old. He pulled out of his pocket the tiny piece of paper Lexa had given his mother a while ago, with her phone number on it. He switched on the phone he had stolen from her mother, and composed the number for the second time this week, crying for his mommy who was in trouble.
“Hello?” Said the voice into the phone.
Ayden burst into more tears when he heard Lexa’s voice.
“Yexa”, the boy cried, “please come and get me Yexa, he is mad again, he is going to kill mommy”.
Lexa was sat at her desk and she almost fell backwards when she heard Ayden’s teary voice and the words he was saying.
“What? Ayden, where are you?”
“I am at home”, he responded, “Yexa I’m scared, come pick me up...”
Lexa was trying really not to cry too in hearing Ayden’s despair. It took her half a second to make her decision. Today, she was supposed to give a conference with important people to talk about why she wouldn’t be running for Mayor, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was the boy calling her for the second time to come help him. She took her coat and keys and locked her office, ready to go pick them up.
“Where do you live, Ayden? Where is your house? “
“I don’t know”, he cried even more.
A scream suddenly pierced into the phone, far behind. Lexa’s blood went cold when she recognized Clarke’s voice.
“Ayden, listen to me. Can you describe me where you are? Like you did when you called me in the park. What is around your house?”
“Hum there is a park with swings near my house”, he choked on every word, “and there is a café where mommy sometimes buys me donuts, it’s red and brown.”
Skaikru Café. Thanks God I know this place.
“Ok Ayden I know the café, what’s the number of your house?”
Lexa rushed downstairs the building, trying to get a cab.
“I don’t know”, cried Ayden, “but my house has blue shutters, clear blue like Mommy’s eyes”.
“OK don’t panic Ayden, I’m going to get you and your mommy, alright? I’ll be there soon!”
“Be quick Yexa please”, said Ayden, now sobbing.
Lexa rushed into the first cab she got, yelling her destination to the driver; giving him five times the money she needed to pay asking him to be as quick as possible.
Downstairs, it didn’t seem it was going to be over soon. Finn was enraged, and was trying to ripe more of Clarke’s clothes.
“What do you have to say in your defense Clarke? Are you afraid of me? Are you fucking afraid Clarke?” Finn was shouting.
And suddenly, Clarke saw it. Finn’s hand clenched into a fist, coming into her direction. Too late, she couldn’t avoid it. She fell on the floor again in a matter of seconds. Her vision went dark for a moment, but then, she could feel Finn’s foot hitting her in her ribs. There was nothing she could do. She was going to die under his foot, right now, lying on the floor, with her son upstairs, probably scared to death of the man who was supposed to be his father.
A single tear rolled down on her cheek. His son was going to die soon too, and there was nothing she could do. She was already fading.
But suddenly, she heard a voice she didn’t expect.
It had taken Lexa five minutes to reach Ayden’s and Clarke’s neighbourhood. She had thanked God for having her buildings so close to them, and she had found the house easily with Ayden’s description. In front of the house, she had heard Clarke scream once again, and hadn’t waited to burst into the house.
Her eyes widened. She recognized Finn the moment she saw him. It was an older version of Ayden really, but an angry and mad version of him. Then, she saw Clarke lying on the floor, half-unconscious, and Finn ready to hit her again. She didn’t think twice about what she was about to do. She tackled Finn to the floor, thanking herself for being sporty and muscular.
“Don’t touch her!” Lexa said, getting up fast.
She took a quick look at Clarke, eyes closed. Her nose was bleeding. She didn’t have time to check on her, because Finn was back on his feet and tried to punch Lexa. But Lexa was faster than him, much faster, and hit him in the jaw, instantly knocking him cold. She waited a moment, panting, waiting to see if he was going to get back up again. He didn’t, and Lexa rushed to Clarke, taking her cheeks in her hands.
“Clarke? Clarke can you hear me?”
Lexa relieved the breath she didn’t knew she was holding when Clarke slowly opened her eyes, a tear falling down, and pulling back from Lexa.
“It’s ok Clarke, it’s ok, this is Lexa, you’re ok, Finn won’t hurt you anymore. It’s ok”, Lexa tried to reassure her.
Clarke relaxed herself and stopped fighting Lexa, letting the brunette hold her. Clarke couldn’t think. Her mind was empty. Everything was hurting. Everything was blank.
A neighbour must had heard the fight, because someone came into the house, asking what had happened.
“I’m Marcus Kane”, the man said to Lexa, worriedly looking at Clarke.
“Lexa Woods”, Lexa introduced herself, not leaving Clarke’s side.
Lexa and him talked for a while, and the neighbour confirmed he was suspecting Finn to beat his girlfriend sometimes. He told Lexa he was a friend of Clarke’s mom and that he was keeping an eye on them because Clarke wasn’t talking to her mother anymore. He told her he was often hearing broken glass and everything, but since there weren’t any proofs, he hadn’t been able to do anything, and Clarke had always denied everything when he would ask. Marcus Kane suggested bringing Finn to the police station, and Lexa gladly accepted. She needed to take care of Clarke and Ayden first.
The man nodded and grabbed Finn by the sweater to put him in his car and went to the police station with him. Lexa gave him her number to contact her, and told him Clarke and Ayden would be at her place if someone was asking for them.
Once Marcus Kane was gone, Lexa took her phone out of her pocket, calling Gustus to come and pick them up. Waiting for him, Lexa didn’t take her eyes off Clarke, soothing her and trying her best to make her feel safe. She quickly checked Clarke didn’t have any big injuries, and felt relieved when she saw it was “just” small cuts and bruises.
Gustus was there ten minutes later, and Lexa helped Clarke getting into the car, promising her she would be back when she noticed Clarke was shaking at the sight of Lexa leaving. Once Clarke was settled, Lexa run back into the house, looking for Ayden. He was probably dead scared, hiding somewhere. Lexa mentally growled at herself, because the boy had called her almost twenty minutes ago and she still hadn’t seen him.
“Ayden?” She called, heading upstairs.”Ayden it’s Lexa, you’re safe now. I’m here.”
Lexa saw Ayden’s door with his name on it, and went inside. She saw Ayden’s form under the blankets slightly shaking, and kneeled near the bed. Her heart broke, because she knew how afraid he probably was.
“Ayden? You can get out now. Finn is not here, he is at the police station. He cannot hurt you”, she whispered, “I promise”.
Ayden knew Lexa had arrived, and he had heard all about Marcus Kane’s the neighbor and Lexa’s discussion. He knew Finn wasn’t there anymore, but he was paralyzed. He couldn’t move.
But then, he felt Lexa’s touch on the blankets, drawing circles on him. He knew it was really her, because she was the only one who ever did that to him. Lexa had really come to get him and protect him. He suddenly pushed the blankets off him and threw himself at Lexa’s neck. He felt Lexa’s strong arms wrapping around him, and he cried, because he was five and he was scared about everything.
Lexa tightened her arms around him, feeling him shaking as sobs were running down his tiny body.
“Yexa...” he chocked, but Lexa buried his head in her neck, trying to soothe him as much as possible.
“I’m right here Ayden”, Lexa whispered, quickly checking if the boy wasn’t hurt, trying hard to stop her own tears from falling down. She quickly grabbed a coat which was on a chair in the boy’s room, and made him wear it before heading outside with the kid in her arms.
She carried him into the car and kept him close to her the whole time. Clarke was shivering, and Lexa put an arm around her shoulders, not knowing what else she could do. At Lexa’s surprise, Clarke sank herself in Lexa’s embrace as Ayden’s wasn’t loosening.
None of them said a word as Gustus began to drive and Lexa wondered what was going to happen now. What was she going to do now?