War Claim (The Claim: Book 3)

Chapter 37 - Chloe (Part 1)

Animkii walked her home. It was almost midnight when they arrived. It was a slow walk, whereby she took her time while mulling over her thoughts with Animkii trailing a few yards behind her.

Her parents were both waiting for her and welcomed her with open arms. They asked her if she wanted to talk about it, anything and everything, but she shook her head.

"I'm too tired right now." It was true. She could barely keep her eyes open and her body ached with exhaustion, not to mention that she still had school in the morning.

School with Kayla, who had her heart set on seducing Animkii in two months.

She didn't have the energy to think about Kayla. By the time her head hit the pillow, she was out.

Her father didn't wake her up early for their usual morning routine, and for that she was appreciative. She didn't shower the night before and she could feel it in her bones, the stiffness that needed a nice warm soak in the tub but she would have fallen asleep there if she had attempted it. Instead, she had a nice long, warm shower and took her time getting ready in the morning since she was used to waking up at the crack of dawn.

"How are you feeling, Chloe-bear?" her father asked her when she came downstairs for breakfast.

She eyed the dark purplish-green berry-protein shake he was drinking before looking at the counter to find he still made some for her like he always did while she showered after their morning routine.

She mustered a feeble smile that quickly fell before stepping toward the cupboard to grab herself a tall glass. "Tired."

"Just think: only two more months left of school. Then the real work of becoming a warrior begins." He tried to cheer her up with a smile. "At least there won't be any more essays to write and tests to study for."

"Yeah," she mumbled, taking her glass to the blender and turning it on for a few seconds to stir the goop up. She poured it into her glass and brought it to the table to sit down and drink.

"Got anything on your mind?"

"Tons," she murmured.

"Want to talk about it?"

"No."

"You know you can talk to—"

She slammed her glass down on the table. "Dad, I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

He nodded, his honeyed-brown eyes probing hers. "Alright. Well, I'm here if you ever want to."

Groaning, she stood up from the table, taking her glass with her, and drank it intermittently while making and packing her lunch.

After a few minutes, she mumbled, "I just have a lot to think about right now."

"I can imagine."

She glanced at him over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing. "You can?"

"I know you had an argument with Animkii and then you took off after visiting Ann. I assume something was said there to upset you, maybe involving Animkii, and he was keen on watching over you after you exhausted yourself by the creek." His serious tone turned to a playful one. "By the way, your speed and endurance were amazing. I struggled to keep up and ended up falling behind."

She gave him another weak smile. "Thanks, Dad."

He rose up from the table and strode around it to her side to set his now empty glass in the sink next to her. "Sadly, these old bones of mine can't keep up anymore. I needed a nice hot soak in the tub when I came home, I can only imagine how tired you must have been."