The Dark Proposal (The Claire McCormick Trilogy) by Megan Cashman Page B

interfere with her time with them.
    Her phone suddenly rang. Gasping, she dropped it on the carpeted floor. It kept ringing as she stared at it. Brightly lit on the screen was Daniel’s phone number. He was calling her. Maybe he really did just read her mind.
    Claire clasped her hands over her head as if to block him from hearing her thoughts, and then took them away. How pointless was that? He was already calling her, he knew what she was up to.
    The phone rang again.
    Taking a deep breath, she leaned down and picked it up. Slowly, she pressed the green button and put the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
    “Claire?” Daniel’s cultured accent sounded. “I was just calling to see how you’re doing.”
    “Okay,” she said weakly. Clearing her throat, she tried to sound stronger. “Daniel, it’s Thanksgiving Day. I don’t think this is a good time.”
    “Oh, I know. I was just thinking about you and wondering how your day is going.”
    “It’s going well, really. I was just watching a movie with my family.”
    “That’s good, good to know. Well, I won’t keep you away from them for long -”
    There was knocking at the door just then. Claire told Daniel to hold on and stood up to open the door. Her father was standing there, eyebrow raised in an annoyed way.
    “Hey Dad, I’ll be right there. Just let me finish this phone call,” she told him.
    “Who is it? Daniel?”
    “Yeah, it is.”
    Her father wordlessly took the phone from her and put it to his ear. “Hi there, Dan. How’s it going?”
    Claire was aghast as she watched as her father had a good chat with Daniel, sharing a few jokes with him. She knew her father was under the impression that her boyfriend was an all-around nice guy, and this phone chat further proved it. There was no way Daniel was being sinister with him.
    As her father laughed away, Claire’s mother came up to see what was going on. She overheard her husband say Daniel’s name and she asked to speak to him. Claire tried to stop her, but there was no hope. Her father passed the phone to her and then she was charmed by the man who had choked her daughter last night.
    After a few minutes of saying hello to him, Claire’s mother gave the phone back to her. Putting it back at her ear, Claire said calmly, “Well, sounds like you’re one of the family.”
    Daniel laughed. “Perhaps I am!”
    “I really have to go. My battery must be running out now. I’ll see you next week?”
    “Absolutely, dear. How about Monday?”
    Claire felt her knees buckle and hoped her parents did not see. “Sure. Sure, just let me know the time and place.” Her voice weakened.
    “How about after I’m done with my class? We’ll take the express bus back to my place for a more cozy ride?”
    “Yeah. I’d like that.”
    “ À bientôt ,” Daniel whispered and the two hung up.
    Claire sighed heavily as she put her phone on the bed. She would have avoided seeing him if her parents were not standing right next to her. How come they never gave her much privacy? That was another reason why she stayed on Staten Island after graduation. But now, she wanted their protection more than ever, even though they were being intrusive.
    “Claire, is everything alright?” her mother asked.
    “Yeah. I’m fine, why?”
    “Your face is flushed and you look kind of upset.”
    “Now Judith,” Claire’s father said. “She’s a young woman in love. Let her be.” Putting his arm around her shoulders, he said to Claire, “Come on. You’ve already missed too much of our movie.”
    Shuddering at having another arm around her shoulder, albeit a more gentle one, Claire let her father guide her downstairs to re-join Zachary and Kristina in the living room.

    For the rest of the four day weekend, Claire tried to pay attention to her family. She played and took care of Ava, who grew more relaxed around her. Claire sang songs to the now seven month-old, talked to her by using her stuffed animals, and encouraged her to