He loves her

Claire sat in the huge velour chair in the tiny quaint coffee shop thinking about what had happened the night before. She had spent the night with her long-time best friend Jet, and was now waiting for him to meet her there.

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Claire had walked into his apartment, kicked off her shoes and sat down in his leather chair. "Got any Vodka?"

Jet whistled. "Rough day?"

"It could be classified as that."

He started to pour her a drink "So, tell me what happened?"

"Me and Jake had a fight." The realization seemed to hit her as she said it and she fought back tears.

"Claire, what was it about this time?" He handed her a drink and sat down next to her with a beer in his hand. Tightening his grip on the can as she told him what had happened with tears in her eyes.

"He started accusing me of cheating on him, I know now that it was my fault, I mean I came home from work late, you know how that must have looked. But I was so tired and I told him that he had to trust me. Oh god that was a mistake, I haven't done anything to earn his trust, Jet whats wrong with me, why can't I make our relationship work, I love him so much!"

Jet just sat there, she had such low self-esteem, how the hell could she think that this was her fault? Jake had no control over his temper. "Claire I think you need to get out of that relationship!"

"Jet!" She said shocked in a hoarse voice. "I love him! How could you say that?" Tears were leaving a trail of mascara down her cheeks.

"You don't love him Claire!" He was angry, angry because she couldn't see how beautiful she was, angry because she settled for scum like Jake and let them blame her for their mistakes. "You don't love him! I don't know why the hell you would date him! You deserve better!" He was screaming at her now.

"Better?" Her voice accused weekly "Jet I love him, and as my friend, my best-friend, I thought you would be happy, I came to you for advice, not to be criticized." she stood up from the chair and reached for her jacket.

Jet turned away from her and rubbed in between his eyes with his thumb and fore-finger. "Claire, I'm sorry! I just-"

"You just what?" Claire asked throwing her arms in the air dramatically. Then started walking toward the door, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Claire," His voice was almost a whisper and he grabbed her arm lightly.

"Ow," the words escaped Claire's mouth before she could stop them. Jet let go just as quickly as he had grabbed her and looked at her bruised arm quizzically. "I-I should go."

"Claire," he should have known, all the signs were there.

Claire looked at the floor and started sobbing uncontrollably.

"He hits you doesn't he?" She didn't answer him. "Doesn't he?" his voice was becoming hoarse. "Claire, answer me!"

She just nodded. Bringing her hands up to her face and collapsing into his arms.

Jet held onto her,pressing her head against his chest and rocking her back and forth, trying to calm her down. "It's not your fault."

Claire looked up at him, and placed her hands on the sides of his face. "What would I do without you?"

"You don't ever have to worry about that!" he kissed her forehead. "I'll always be here for you, you're going to stay the night. I'll sleep on the couch."

She looked him deep into his eyes and pressed her lips against his. It took him by surprise, but he kissed her back. His mouth encouraging hers to open. She pulled way.

"I'm sorry, " Jet said thinking he offended her.

"Don't be," she grabbed his hand and pulled him into his bedroom.

Claire woke up in his arms the next morning, with a pounding head. She climbed out of bed and got dressed, tiptoed out of the room and the apartment.

The whole ride home she was thinking about what she was going to face when she got home.

She walked up the stares instead if taking the elevator, hoping to think of something that would reedeem her. Slowly she opened the door

"Where the hell were you?" Jakes voice greeted her angrily.

"I was just out, I thought you should calm down after the argumeant we had yesterday." She stood up behind the chair he was seated in and started massaging his shoulders. He grabbed her wrist tightly and swung her around in-front of him. He pulled her down into his lap and began to kiss her forcefully.

"Jake, Stop!" Claire pleaded.

"If you loved me, like I love you, you would make love to me right here right now, I'm sorry for last night." He added with a pout.

"Jake, please that's not fair." She tried to squirm out of his amrs, but he continued kissing her, pressing hard on her wrists. "Jake, please you're hurting me!"

"Claire, if you weren't cheating on me, then you would prove it by fulfilling my needs!" He said through gritted teeth.

Finally she succumbed to his pressure and kissed him with no emotion. But it was all he wanted, pleasure for him. He picked her up and brought her to the bed room, laying her on the bed. Then slowly forcing himself on her.

After she was sure Jake was asleep she climbed out out the bed quietly and slowly left the room. On her way to the car she called Jet and told him to meet her at the coffee shop.

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"Uh, hi!" Jet said sitting in the chair across from Claire.

"Okay," Claire said beginning "I'm just going to get this out. Last night was wonderful-"

"Yeah, yeah it really was." Jet said agreeing

"But it can't happen between us, me and Jake are okay now, we made up, he apologized!" She said all in one breath as if it would make the news easier.

"You can't be serious!" Jet said with a blank face, that was definitely not the response he expected.

"Jet, I'm sorry, I still want to be friends. Do you think we can do that?" She really did want to be friends, and she really was sorry.

He shook his head in disbelief. "I can't just be friends with you, Claire!" his voice was hurt and wavering, he was trying to be strong, but the news hit him hard. "I can't just be your friend anymore. You deserve better than Jake, can't you see that? Don't you see how beautiful you are? Claire look at me? If it's me you don't wan't to be with, well I'll live with that!" His voice cracked and tears were rolling down his face. "But I can't live knowing that you're with Jake! He hits you Claire! How can you not see that he's unhealthy?"

"Unhealthy? It was my fault-"

"Don't Claire, it could not possibly your fault that he has anger problems, there are other ways to deal with it, other ways besides taking it out on you!"

She sat there dumbfounded. "Jet, whether you like it or not, Jake and I are together." Claire stood up to leave.

"Well I don't like it! Claire, he's hurting you, please, if you don't leave him I will go to the police, Claire what he's doing is illegal. He could really hurt you!" Jet turned away to hide the tear that rolled down his cheek.

"Jet, I already told you, he loves me and I love him! Please, if you don't want us to be friends, then this conversation is over." Claire stood up and walked out the door.

He ran after her, making his way through the crowd that had gathered to watch there fight. "Get a life he muttered." she was almost to her car and he screamed at her, "Claire, you go back to him, you go back to him, it's your life you're ruining, but think about this..."

Claire had just opened her car door when she heard Jet scream after her, she didn't want to listen but stood outside her car, her head parallel with the ground.

He continued, after wiping the tears from his face, "When something happens to you. Something serious, because your 'love' Jake hits you too hard. And your parents have to get that phone call. A phone call from the police, telling them their daughter, their only daughter is dead. "He had emphasized all the right words, "Think about how they'll feel." Jet turned around and walked to his car.

Claire stood there crying. She wanted to be with Jake, and Jake had apologized, Jake had told her he loved her. And she loved him too. right?

Jet stuck the key in the ignition and backed out of the parking lot, he definitely didn't expect that from Claire. She said that last night was wonderful. If it was so wonderful why did she want to go back to Jake. Maybe he was too hard on her. Maybe she really did love him.

Claire got in the car and buckled her seat-belt. She turned out of the parking lot and started driving home. Where would she tell Jake she had been? What would he say if she told him all of what happened.

Jet opened the door to his apartment and kicked his shoes off he went to the fridge and grabbed a beer. He opened it right there and took a big swallow. He wanted to be with Claire, but maybe being her friend and supporting her was the best he could do.

Claire ran into her apartmeant ready to tell Jake everything, hoping that that would make things better between them. She felt uneasy about the whole thing, maybe it was because of her fight with Jet, she would call him fist to let him know what she was doing. It involved him too after all.

The phone range but Jet just ignored it. He was too drunk to care. The answering machine clicked in. "Hi, uh Jet this is me, Claire, I'm not sorry about the decision I made," then why the hell are you calling, Jet thought. "but I am sorry about the way it ended. I just called to let you know I'm telling Jake what happened." there was a long pause. "I just thought I should let you know because its your business too. Well bye."

He must be ignoring me, thought Claire, why did I even think that he would want to talk to me now? "Jake, I have to confess to something." she turned around the corner into the kitchen where Jake was.

It took a while for Jet to grasp what the message meant. But when the realization dawned on him he sobered up quick. How naive was she to think that Jake wouldn't kill her for what she done? He ran to the porch and slipped on his shoes, he ran out the door. He had to get to her, maybe she wouldn't tell him right away, maybe he could get to her before she said anything.

"You what?" Jake said dumbly after Claire had explained to him the happenings of the last 24 hours.

"Jake, don't be mad, I mean I love you. That's all that matters!"

"You Bitch!" Jake slapped her across her face, his finger getting caught in her earing and ripping it through her ear.

Claire grabbed her ear and began to cry, looking up Jake with hate. She felt a passion for this man, but it wasn't love, how could she have confused the two? And she had just made the biggest mistake by leaving Jet. She braced herself as Jake's fist came at her again.

Jet raced down the street trying to get to Claire's apartmeant, it would take at least ten minutes, even going over the speed limit. there must have been an angel with him because he never hit one red light. He pulled into the parking lot of Claire's apartmeant building. Damn, the elevator was out of service, he ran to the stares and didn't lose the pace he gained in the lobby.

Claire laid on the floor, trying not to pass out, she was loosing so much blood. She'd watched enough hospital shows and dramatic movies to know she had to try and stay awake. Her vision blurred around her and she saw Jake's face in front of her with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. "Come on Bitch, get up!" the blood around her felt warming, it made it harder for her to stay awake. Maybe if Jet got her message he'd come for her.

When Jet reached her floor he ran to the door without thinking, and threw it open.

She couldn't hold on any longer. The darkness concealed her entire line of vision. She thought she had heard Jet's voice, but everything was so confusing to her right now.

Jet glanced down at the floor, Claire's delicate body was spread across the floor, surrounded by dark blood. NO. He wouldn't let her go without a fight. "Bastard!" Jet spit out. He whipped out his cell phone and dialed 911. Jet crouched down by Claire and smoothed her hair out of her face. "Everything's going to be okay!" he said soothingly. "I promise." It was one promise he wasn't sure he could keep.

Claire felt a faint throb in her head. Where was she? She tried to sort out the thoughts in her head. She remembered some of the day before. She remembered being at the coffee shop and driving home but she couldn't remember entering the apartmeant.

"Claire!" Her mom sobbed breathlessly. "Oh Claire! Barney, get a nurse!" her mother instructed her father.

She was in a hospital. Everything came rushing back to her at once, tears began to roll down her face. She looked around the room for Jet, he had come in, she remembered him talking to her. He was asleep in the chair across from the bed, "How long have I been here?"

"Two days Claire, how do you feel?"

"Claire?" Jet woke up and rubbed his eyes "Oh my god Claire!" he ran over to her side and kissed her forehead tears running down his face.

The doctor came in and examined her, everything was fine, but she'd be drowsy for the next couple of days. It was best that she stay there all week.

Her parents left three days later, resentfull toward there jobs. Which left just her and Jet. The first couple hours had been silent. She had so much to tell him, but she couldn't find a way to word it.

"I'm sorry," Jet said finally breaking the silence.

"You're sorry?" Claire said both amused and surprised. "I'm the one who should be sorry, I brought this on myself!"

Jet walked over and lid down in the bed next to her. She rolled over on her side and faced him. "I love you" she said staring at his lips.

Jet looked into her eyes and smiled as if he was five and he knew a secret. He moved towards her leaving a small gap between there lips, Claire moved closer eliminating the space. There lips pressed together, Jet placed his hands on both sides of Claire's face, and moved on-top of her, careful to keep as much of his weight off of her as possible. Her hands went on his shoulder then slid down his arm. He pulled away and smiled at her, "I love you too!"