Chapter 13 - How to do a Mansion
She stayed til the morning
Left with her soul intact
Mrs Goldstein handed her daughter a bowl of ice cream and sat down beside her on the sofa.
"It may have been a long time since I had my heart broken, but I do understand," she said, putting her arm round Lainey's shoulders, "I'm not so old that I've forgotten what it's like."
Lainey prodded at the ice cream with her spoon before taking a mouthful
"If you know what it's like, why do you so persistently throw me in the way of it," Lainey said, passing her Mother the spoon.
"Because sometimes you have to take risks to be happy," she replied, brushing her daughter's red tresses out of her face and eating a spoonful of ice cream, "I just wanted you to be happy, the way your Father and I once were."
"It's not working out so well for me right now," Lainey took the spoon back.
"We all make mistakes, and generally they are handsome and seem to care."
"And you never thought to warn me?"
"Because I know what you're like! You're cynical, and don't like taking chances."
"Maybe I'm better off that way."
"No one is better off that way," Mrs Goldstein said.
"Feels like I would have been right now."
"Yes it does, and it will for a long time. But one day you will be glad you took chances."
"One day… Why does that elusive 'one day' always seem so far away?"
"Because you're young," Mrs Goldstein smiled knowingly, "you know, we may have our differences of opinion, but deep down, we're not so dissimilar. And by the way, if I ever hear you say that you are not amazing, wonderful and beautiful again then I will have to subject you to some form of torture."
"You do enough of that already, and besides, I never said I wasn't, I just said I wasn't as amazing, wonderful and beautiful as you."
"I may be possessed of some beauty, but you are far more amazing than I am. You're smart, determined and stubborn as well as beautiful."
"I would say you're just as stubborn as I am," Lainey smiled.
"I have to be, otherwise I wouldn't be able to put up with you!" Mrs Goldstein laughed.
"Maybe it would be easier if you admitted that I'm not like you, that I want different things."
"You know, I always thought that you didn't know what you want. I thought that going to college and university was like a rebellion. You made all these decisions when your father died, and at the time they seemed rash. They seemed to come so out of nowhere. I tried to be a firm hand, to keep you on the path I thought you'd strayed off, but I guess you're right, you just want different things."
"Dad dying didn't change me," Lainey said, "it just taught me that life is short, and you never know when it's going to be over, so I decided to do everything I wanted to do, to seize the moment and become the person I wanted to be. Everything I decided to do, I'd thought about before, just never with much conviction. I always thought I'd just grow up to be like you in the end, like I was predestined to become a lady of leisure."
"Well, I'm glad you decided not to, because you would have been terrible at it!"
Lainey laughed. She hadn't talked to her Mother like this since before her Father had died. His death had taken so much of her life out of her, her sense of humour, her joy. Lainey figured she'd been so busy pretending to be happy that she'd forgotten how to genuinely be happy.
"I saw what happened to your Father's lab on the news, is he ok?" Ella asked Warren as they drove back towards the mansion together.
"He's fine," Warren said, "a little humiliated and down on some investments, but otherwise fine."
"Well, I'm sure he's got enough investments to be down on some," Ella said.
"He certainly does."
"I'm guessing you still don't get along too well."
"Not really."
"Try having a good cry over a bowl of ice cream. It worked wonders for me and my Mum."
"Somehow I don't think that'll take with my Father."
"Too girly, huh?"
"Just a little."
Warren steered the car out of the busy streets towards the quieter Westchester area. He was a much less aggressive driver than Logan she noted with a smile.
"It must have been hard, growing up with your Dad on your case like that," Ella said, "harder than it was putting up with my Mother in any case. God, I feel awful for ever complaining about stupid parties."
"What, because my lot was so much worse?" Warren asked with a grin.
"That's what I want to say without seeming rude or condescending."
"I thought you usually aimed to seem that way," he teased.
"That was a long time ago, I've grown up a little since then. Just a little, mind."
"Good, because I was always rather fond of your immature side."
Ella stared out the window at that remark, not quite trusting herself to speak without betraying her currently whirlwind like emotions.
"So, how come you ended up driving halfway across the country with Logan anyway?" Warren changed the subject.
"Well, I was driving across the country by myself until I got my car stolen. Logan helped me out," Ella said.
"And you trusted him enough to drive you all this way?"
"Well, when I say he helped me out, I mean he tried to get my car back off the guy who stole it. Took a bullet."
"I suppose that sort of thing has a way of connecting people."
"Yeah, it really does," Ella said.
"So, besides coming to America and getting robbed, what else have you been up to in the last five years? Married?" Warren tried to sound casual.
"Nope, still haven't managed to find the one my Mother disapproves of just enough yet," Ella joked, aware that she too was trying to sound casual, "you?"
"No, having a pair of wings growing out of your back kinda gets in the way of stuff like that."
"Did you ever consider getting the Cure?" Ella asked as sensitively as she could manage, "your Father went through all that trouble, you must have been tempted."
"I was going to take it," Warren admitted, glancing sideways at her, "But as they approached me with the needle I heard someone's voice in my head, telling me I was a coward, nothing but a coward, so I took my life into my own hands."
"Mum, I'm leaving," Lainey said sometime later, "I got offered a job, and I'm taking it. I don't know where exactly I'm going to be living just yet, but I have to get out of this house, and be my own person for a while."
"You got offered a job?"
"Yeah, at the vets, it's basic, but it's good experience and should lead to bigger better things."
"So you've been for an interview?"
"Yeah, a week or so ago."
"And you never bothered to mention this to me?" Mrs Goldstein questioned.
"Well, I knew you would react badly, so I thought I'd wait until I knew for definite if I'd got the job. No point getting you worked up if it came to nothing."
"I can see you've thought a lot about this…"
"And probably still managed to go about it entirely the wrong way," Lainey said, "I have a habit of doing that."
"You sure you have to leave?"
It wasn't the comment Lainey was expecting. She was anticipating a rant about how inappropriate and stupid her decisions were, but her Mother, for the time being at least, seemed resigned to letting her make the decisions. Maybe they were finally starting to understand one another.
"I'm sure. This is just something I need to do."
"Then at least let me help you look for a place to stay," Mrs Goldstein offered.
"Now this is how to do a mansion," Ella said, as she was shown round.
She laughed with delight at the activity and energy about the place. She was interested in the children and their abilities, but her curiosity was tempered with a kindness that made the children wary, but not entirely mistrusting of her.
"This place is amazing!" she enthused to Storm later, who seemed genuinely pleased at the compliment paid to her establishment.
"Well, as I said, you're welcome to stay for a few days," the regal headmistress said, "seems you and Angel have a little catching up to do anyway."
"I am never going to get used to you calling him that," Ella smiled.
"How do you two know each other?" Storm asked.
"The world may be small, but it's made even smaller when you come from a group of people known as 'old money'," Ella said, "his Father and mine were apparently old friends, though I never knew about it. I met him five years ago when he came to England for a week."
It was late in the evening by now, and all the students had supposedly gone to bed, though Ella didn't need supersonic hearing to hear the giggles and hushed chatter from behind the dormitory walls. She was stood with Storm on one of the many balconies, enjoying a little girl talk for the first time in what felt like months.
She had been allocated a room, given a full tour and introduced to many people, most of whose names she had forgotten already. Now as the day wound down, she was winding down too.
"And I take it from your surprise to see him you hadn't spoken since?"
"We parted on rather bad terms…" Ella confessed.
"You loved him," Storm smiled knowingly.
"Oh god, is it that obvious?" Ella laughed embarrassedly.
"He's a loveable guy, shy in an endearing way."
"So I guess you didn't come up here to talk about me?" Logan said, appearing out of nowhere, cigar in hand.
"We were just indulging in a little girl talk," Ella said, "and no, we weren't talking about you."
"Which means you were talking about the other guy you two have in common," Logan raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, we were talking about Bobby," Ella said with a mischievous smirk, "now get lost and smoke that somewhere else!"
"Well, I don't need telling twice, see you tomorrow ladies!"
Ella and Storm laughed as he made his retreat.
"He's also a loveable guy," Storm said, watching him go.
"In a very strange kind of way," Ella agreed.
Lainey managed to get all her stuff into three large boxes. Besides her wardrobe she didn't really have much by way of belongings.
"You will come and visit, won't you?" Mrs Goldstein said as she watched Lainey load the last box into the back of her car.
"Course I will," Lainey said, "someone's got to come and look after Bo."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure she gets fed and watered."
"You better," Lainey joke threatened, "or I won't have a reason to come back!"
"You don't mean that," Mrs Goldstein said as she pulled her daughter into a hug.
"No, of course I don't."
"So how long before you come running back here for a decent meal huh?" Ellie asked as Lainey waved goodbye to her Mother and walked round the front of a car.
"I dunno, give me a couple of hours," Lainey laughed.
"Well, I got you a housewarming present," Ellie held out a book to her friend with a grin.
"Cooking for dummies, nice," Lainey said, placing it on top of the box in her passenger seat, "maybe I might last a whole day before I'm running back here then."
"Let's hope so," Ellie said.
For the next couple of days, Ella hung out at the mansion. Between spending time with Logan and Warren, she made an effort to get to know the others who lived and worked there.
It was an amazing place, full of amazing people, and she felt very at home. A few of the children were nervous of her at first – news that she wasn't a mutant had spread quickly, and she got a few curious, but slightly fearful looks.
On the third day Ella came across the stables, and spent some time checking all the horses were healthy – a small favour, she said to Storm, in return for letting her stay.
"All healthy?" Warren asked, appearing at the doorway.
"Yep, they've been well looked after," Ella said, smiling up at him.
She still hadn't quite got used to seeing him with his wings on display, and she wouldn't have admitted to anyone for any money that the sight made her a little weak at the knees. It seemed that every feeling she had ever felt towards him had simply been in hibernation for the last five years.
"Thought I ought to do one useful thing around here before I head home, after Storm has been kind enough to put me up these last couple of days," she continued, before her stomach could start flipping too badly.
"You're not thinking of going already are you?" Warren asked in what he hoped sounded like a light teasing voice.
"Nice as it would be to stay here forever, I have to head home soon," Ella said, "I've been away long enough already."
Warren looked over at Ella as she packed up what she had been doing, his heart aching at the thought of saying goodbye all over again. He wondered if she was feeling similar emotions. If she was planning on leaving soon, he would have to gather the courage to find out pretty quickly.
She wasn't giving him any signs, any indication that she felt the same way about him as she had five years ago. Still, she had no boyfriend and she certainly wasn't telling him she wasn't interested.
He guessed that the ball was in his court. She had played her heart last time, and he had turned her down. Now it was his turn to risk a broken heart, and he knew he couldn't be a coward anymore. He couldn't spend another moment wondering 'what if?' Not even the prospect of rejection was as bad as trying to push the idea of what could have been out of your head for five years.
"Lainey," he said.
"Mmm?" she turned to him, looking up at him waiting for him to speak.
"I…" he began, but the words weren't coming. Instead he resorted to the only way he felt he could truly show her how he felt and kissed her.
It was like no time had passed at all. Standing there together, Warren almost thought if he opened his eyes he would be back on the balcony at Goldstein Manor, only this time she was the one pushing him away.
Ella placed her hand over his mouth to stop him talking. For a moment Warren thought his heart would stop.
"Warren, I love you. I always have, but five years ago you broke my heart," she said, barely able to contain the tears that threatened to erupt at the mere thought of it, "I need you to promise me you will never do that to me again."
"Lainey, I promise I will never, ever do anything to hurt you ever again," Warren said, heart beating once again, brushing her hair with gentle hands before kissing her again, releasing all the pent up emotions he had felt for her in the five long years since he had seen her last.
He felt a swell of happiness as she threw her arms round his neck, moving herself so close to him that it took all of his reserve to control the passion she induced in him. He wrapped his arms round her slender form, knowing now as he had always done, that he loved her, more than he thought it possible to love anyone.
Lainey walked round her new flat, placing photographs on the walls, arranging her furniture just how she liked it. Her Mother had treated her to a trip to Ikea (Lainey didn't want anything too expensive, she thought it contradicted her aims to start fresh) and they had filled the small flat, with a little help from some of their male friends to put together the flat packed furniture.
It was small, it was modest, and in Lainey's opinion it was perfect. She wouldn't have imagined it was possible to feel this happy a few days ago, certainly not so soon after Warren smashed her heart into tiny pieces. She stopped thinking about that quickly so as not to dwell on it, and headed out to the shops to stock her cupboards and fridge.
Tonight she would have a small house warming party with Ellie and her friends, then tomorrow she would be starting work, and her life, her fresh start, would begin.
Ella walked inside, leaving Warren for a moment. She smiled at the kids as she walked past them. Many of them who had initially regarded her warily smiled and waved. One girl rushed up to her and grabbed her by the hand. It felt as though a jolt of electricity had passed through her body, centring on her face.
When the little girl let go, Ella raised her hand to her cheek to find the cut there had vanished. She looked back down at the girl with awe.
"Thank you," she said, kneeling down to her level.
"You're welcome," she said with a smile, then skipped off again.
As Ella stood back up again, Logan walked into the room.
"Quite a talent she's got, huh?" he said, nodding towards the little girl.
"Amazing," Ella said, running her fingers along her cheek again, "I think they're starting to trust me."
"It takes a while for some of them to realise not all humans are bad," Logan said.
"I know," Ella said, "and I understand completely. God, if I'd been through half of what some of these kids have faced, I don't think I would trust anyone."
"Xavier taught them to believe there's always good in a person," Logan said.
"I wish I could have met him."
"He would have liked you I think."
"I hope so," Ella said.
"You know, it's funny," Logan said, walking with her outside, "what are the chances that we just happen to bump into one another, and you just happen to be old pals with someone I know?"
"I know, kinda makes you believe in fate," Ella said.
"Hmm," Logan grunted, "I don't know about that."
"I don't really believe in fate, but I do believe in one thing."
"And what's that?" Logan asked with an amused smile.
"That sooner or later you always end up where you're supposed to be," Ella said.
It was with no small amount of nerves that Lainey made her way into the vets for her first day of work. She walked to the staff room where Daniel Warner was waiting for her.
"Morning," he said with a cheery smile, "the old man's not in today so you get me showing you round and telling you what to do, Elaine, isn't it?"
"That's right, and you're Danny?"
"Please, call me Daniel, Danny makes me sound about twelve years old," he said, wrinkling his nose, "you got anything you prefer to go by, or is it just Elaine?"
"Actually, I hate Elaine, I usually go by Lainey," she said.
"Lainey? Sorry, but I hate that," he said with a smirk, "Reminds me of a girl I'd rather forget."
Lainey grinned.
"Well, call me what you will, just not El," she said, "I have a friend called El, she would be very cross if I stole her name."
Daniel grinned, and Lainey could tell they were going to get on really well already.
"How about Ella?" he asked.
"Ella," Lainey said, "Yeah, I like that."
The lyrics in the break are from Restless Heart by Starsailor.
Et Fini