Chapter 11

A Rooftop Discussion

John sighed loud as he entered the guest bedroom down the hall from Eva's and Adie's rooms. The girls had set up the pull out couch shortly after Derrick left, and Dominic had collapsed, not even waiting for sheets. Billy had then promptly slumped onto the other couch, where he soon fell asleep. Thus, leaving John with nothing to do but retreat to his room. However, when he got there, he didn't feel like sleeping.

He walked to the window on the other side of the room and noticed that there was a small roof area just outside. He sighed, and opened the window, then carefully unscrewed the screen, placing it against the wall in the room. He crawled out, not taking anything with him. He sat, knees pulled up to his chest, the warm Florida air cascading over his skin. The little patch of roof overlooked the beach below, and he reveled in the calming sound of crashing waves. The sun had gone down, but it's radiance still shone vaguely on the horizon.

For a good half hour, he just sat, manipulating a flame person and thinking about his current situation. What would he even do once he met these people in New York? Would he just live there? Could he go back to Xavier's? Would they even forgive him? He couldn't get any accounts in any banks since the government was after him like a fat kid on cake, so he couldn't even take out a loan for his own place. And he couldn't leave Billy and Dominic. They had nowhere to go, just like him, and they needed just as much help. Why was everything so complicated?

"Hey," he heard from behind him, and he jumped, the little flame person disappearing without a trace. It was Eva.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I just saw your door open and thought you might need something," she said sweetly.

"Oh, no. I just… I'm sorry. Should I not be out here?" he said, and made to crawl back inside.

"No, no. It's fine," Eva said, stopping him with a hand, and then crawling out next to him. She curled her legs up as well, and stared out at the ocean, wrapping her arms around her knees. "Whatcha thinkin' about?" she asked.

"Oh, lots. I'm just… confused. I don't know how I'm supposed to live like this," he said, and ignited another flame as a safety blanket.

Eva stared as the differing colors of the fire danced over her tan face. "So I take it your not real big into religion?"

He scoffed. "How could you tell?"

She grinned. "Adie was just trying to help. She really does believe that. And you know, I'm not sure what I believe, but you have to admit, what she said has some merit."

"No it doesn't. She doesn't consider that maybe God has a few exceptions to the whole 'love' rule," he said, laying his head on his knees.

Eva was quiet for a second as she stared at him. "Who hurt you so badly that you're this bitter toward everything?" she asked, a hint of anger in her voice.

He didn't look at her; didn't even react to the statement. "I did," he said.

She was quiet, and John decided it was time to tell someone. No one knew exactly what had happened that night, not even Xavier. And the truth had been eating away at him from the inside out. Besides, he would leave soon and forget all about this girl, and she'd probably forget about him. And hopefully what he was about to tell her.

"The night I got my ability," he said, staring at the flame before him. "I destroyed everything I had."

Eva didn't interrupt, but merely listened quietly.

"When I came home from school that day, everything was fine. My parents were getting along, which wasn't normal. I should have known it was the calm before the storm. Figuratively and literally. It started to rain around 7:00, and that's when everything went downhill. I was in my room doing some homework when I heard them start yelling at each other. I usually just let them, but my baby sister was in her crib in the living room, and she was crying. They didn't even care. They just kept yelling at each other. So I went downstairs to bring her into my room.

"Somehow I got dragged into the argument, and my dad started hitting me. I mean really hitting me. I fell back against the dining room table; broke my arm. My mom got angry. She tried to stop him, but he was drunk, so he didn't care. He threw her back too, and her head hit the granite countertop. Sometimes when I sleep, I can still hear the sound it made," John almost choked out the last sentence as unforeseen sobs worked their way into his voice.

"I was so scared," he went on. "There was so much blood, I didn't know what to do. And then he started storming toward Claire. I just got so angry…"

"Claire was your… sister?" Eva asked quietly, and John nodded.

"I… I jumped up and charged after him, screaming. He turned to hit me again, and then it just happened. The flames in the fireplace just jumped out and attacked him. And he was screaming. He tried to get them off, but the angrier I got, the worse the fire became. He stumbled around, trying to get them off, and ignited the house in the process. And as he fell, he took down Claire's crib with him. She… she was crying so hard. I just wanted to keep her safe. And the sight of her rolling out of that crib, crying, reaching out for anyone who would just hold her… I just snapped. It was like the whole room caught at once; everything from the furniture to the curtains. I went to grab her and run, but the fire followed my hands. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but I knew I had to get her out. So I grabbed her and ran. But wherever I went, the fire followed.

"I tried to wake my mother, but it was obvious at that point that she was gone. That just made me worse; she was the only part of my family that cared about me. And the fire just…" he stopped, his voice breaking.

Eva leaned close, and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"The people at Xavier's did the best they could, but Claire died that night of massive third degree burns," he said, exterminating the flame he held in his hand.

"John, I… I didn't know. I'm sorry," she said, rubbing his shoulder again.

He shrugged, embarrassed that a tear had fallen from his eye, and he quickly wiped it away.

"John," she said, and forced him to face her. "Whatever happened, it was not your fault."

He stared down at the roof, refusing to look at her.

"Look at me," she said, and put a finger gently under his chin and forced him to look up. "It was not your fault."

He sighed, then tried to turn away from her again. She didn't let him. She inched closer and leaned against him, keeping her hand gently on his back.

"I killed them," he said, staring at the now pitch black horizon. "It doesn't matter if it was intentional or not. I murdered my family."

"Don't say that," Eva said. "It was an accident."

"Yeah, when a car crashes, it's an accident. That doesn't mean people didn't die," John said, igniting another flame.

"Except accidents lay no blame. You're human, John. People make mistakes. And you may not think God loves you. Hell, I don't even know if there is a God. But regardless, people are bound to love you. You're a good person. You've just got some cracks to fill," she said, staring at the fire.

"Yeah, I guess," he replied, forming a flame-wolf and making it run in place.

"Now, you get some sleep," Eva said, and crawled backward through the window. John shivered at the loss of heat the joining of their bodies had created. "You gunna sleep out there or what?" Eva said, and held out a hand to help him crawl inside.

He closed the window and turned back to her. "Thanks for listening. I've never told anyone that before."

She seemed surprised that he would share such private information with her, but the shock quickly wore off. "Glad I was here to listen," she said.

She turned away, letting a hand rest on his arm for a few extra seconds. "I'm just gunna take these and wash them," she said, picking up his old clothes from the bed. "They smell."

John laughed. "Thanks."

"Goodnight," she said as she stepped out the door and closed it.

"Goodnight," he said to the now empty doorway.