Claire felt safe in Shane's arms. Sure, he smelled like bad memories, but she didn't want to let go. This had been the longest three months of her life and she had done her best not to complain. Okay, yes, she had gotten a little more stubborn when dealing with people, but none of them really knew why. She didn't want sympathy, she didn't want to say she watched Michael die. No, she had just bottled it all up inside and tried to act like she was fine.
She wasn't fine.
Claire let out a laugh that sounded more like a sob as Shane pulled away. She quickly rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. "You do stink," she gave him a forced smile. "I did too when I first arrived." She had arrived when it was slightly warmer and had still found this place cold. Shane had to be freezing! The remark about food had her shaking her head as she pretty much yanked him inside the house. She didn't ask, didn't invite, just pulled. He seemed to come over the threshold just fine and she breathed a sigh of relief.
"I can reheat leftovers. We had this pasta dish for dinner that I think you'll like." Yeah, it wasn't chili or tacos, but it was food. She motioned for him to take off his shoes before she started to head towards the kitchen. She was going through the motions as she yanked the leftovers out of the fridge and piled up a decent portion on a plate. Said plate ended up in the microwave after being covered by some wax paper. She did not want to get the inside of the microwave clean, okay?
Standing there, just watching the microwave, well, something inside Claire seemed to break. A sniffle emerged again and she realized tears were actually falling down her face. Oh no! She quickly covered her face as months of fear just kind of bubbled over. What had happened in the Glass House had never left her mind. With Shane here, it was like it was all so real now. He smelled of the fire. He smelled of the fire. Claire let out a sob as she tried to get herself under control.
"Michael-" She sniffed loudly as she tried to yank back her tears. "Did Michael show up with you?" What she really wanted to ask was if Michael was really dead this time, but she didn't want to say the words.