Now that I think about it, what happened to my would-be kidnappers?

"Out of everything that you said, I don't understand only one thing," Claire claimed as she moved her head off from my shoulder and laid down across the sofa while resting her head down on my lap. And as she looked up, right to my face, she asked, "If you despise the idea of calling your uncle so much, why did you bring him up to begin with?"

Looking down, I couldn't help myself but bring my hand up to Claire's head and then brush my fingers through her soft, brown hair. An action that instantly put a small smile on the girl's face as she lowered her eyelids and purred in comfort. 

"You see, it's what my uncle did that I hate, not my uncle himself. And by now, I'm mature enough to admit that while what he did was shitty, it was still a valuable lesson I learned."

Claire leaned her head slightly to the side, as if not sure whether to enjoy the head-patting or to put an emphasis on how little sense my words made to her.