Chapter Two: Saviors and Discoveries
I realized, upon hearing Lara close to tears, that I was going to have to play the big sister. Older and more responsible; Lara looked to me as if she just expected it out right. She was after all only twelve. I didn't want to tell her that I couldn't deal, even though she should have been able to tell from the look on my face. The first thing I did was move away from the house, which now seemed to be the worst place on Earth. Daniel had said something about needing to protect mom. Had she helped him with this? I hadn't seen her while we were being tossed out. But I couldn't imagine my mother doing this to us, and then of course I couldn't have imagined Daniel doing it either. Anything's possible.
'Think Amorise' I coached myself while clutching hard to Lara's hand. We have nothing. We're poor and homeless. Not a great basis for a plan. I didn't exactly fancy calling my father, my grandparents lived in St. Louis, and Lara and I had no other relatives that we knew about. Lara's best friend was out of town, and my friends…well my best friend has a car, a driver's license, a cell phone, and a beeper. Scott might be able to help with this one. A plan started to form. I had about one thousand dollars in my savings account. If we could get to the bank before Daniel closed my accounts (as I feared he would) I could get the money and have Scott drive Lara and me to the holiday inn on the outskirts. We could stay there for a night then make our way down to our grandparents in St. Louis. It sounds a little far fetched, but a girl can dream.
I led Lara down the to street corner by the bus stop. There stood one lone pay phone; our savior. Scott's cell didn't take collect calls so I dialed collect and his private number at mansion and prayed he was home. Lara didn't say a word, just sniffled in the breeze. It was cold and we didn't have coats.
"Hello?" Scott's voice greeted me and I sighed with total relief.
"Scott," I said trying to keep the all out terror I was feeling low inside me out of my voice. "I'm at the corner of Elm and Harper at the bus stop with Lara. Can you get over here now?"
"Amori? What's the matter?" He was coming despite the questions; I heard the jingle of keys in the background.
"Daniel threw us out." I said, letting the well of emotion come through.
"He what?"
"We don't know why, but we're out here with no where in hell to go. I was wondering if you could drive us to the bank then to the Holliday Inn."
"Yeah right." He said firmly. "You and Lara can stay here. I'll be right there." The phone clicked leaving me with a dial tone.
Lara turned large eyes at me. "What did Scott say?"
"He'll be here in a few minutes." I hugged my sister reassuringly. She buried her face in my hair using it almost as a tissue. We were probably an odd site to any of the neighbors who happened to peek out between their shades. If this all hadn't been so real to me I'd have been able to create an explanation for it too. But this…this is just too extreme. When this is over I'm going to have to reevaluate reality.
Lara picked her head up from my shoulder and looked straight into approaching headlights. Scott's red convertible had never looked so good. When Lara and I slipped into the car I broke down in Scott's arms. I cried silently for five minutes while Scott embraced me. Finally I let go and allowed him to drive off down the road at a speed that would've gotten him arrested on any major highway.
"So he threw you out?" Scott said, breeching the silence.
"He dragged us out of the house, down the stairs, and out the door." Answered Lara tonelessly.
"What about your mom and Hannah?" he asked.
"Didn't see mom any where." I shook my head. "I don't know where she is. And Hannah, let's just say she even more of a bitch then I thought."
Scott nodded, taking a sharp turn off the main road onto a slope. I could see the mansion about a mile up looking just as big and welcoming as ever. I'd been here before tonight, but Lara never had. She blanched first, and then stared in awe at the grounds.
"Charles is lookin' for y' Shades." As we entered the mansion I heard Logan's rough voice from the stairs.
"Hey Logan." I tossed up a brief greeting.
"Amori." he grunted in return and turned back up the stairs.
Lara was already trailing behind Scott down the hall. I caught up as Scott opened a door. It was Professor Xavier's study. As I walked inside I saw Lara's mouth gaping open in surprise. The professor was there along with an African woman I hadn't seen at the mansion before. Sensing what Lara was about to say I put a firm hand on her shoulder; a sign to keep quiet. Seeing this, Scott passed me a slight grin before speaking.
"Amori and Lara's step-father threw them out of their house. I was wondering if they could stay here, just for awhile." discreetness has never been one of Scott's strong points.
"Ororo would you take Lara up to one of the spare rooms please?" Xavier asked the woman standing next to him. She walked forward and smiled at Lara. Lara gave me another look before walking out of the room next to Ororo. I understood what Lara was trying to tell me. Her eyes were screaming 'reality check'. I was begging to agree that the connection with X-men: Evolution was too much. You don't meet many people named Ororo.
"Amorise, please sit. You as well Scott." The professor gestured to the seats in front of his desk. "I'm sorry to hear what happened Amorise. Do you have any idea why your step-father would do this?"
I shook my head mutely. The fact that I couldn't find a reason was bothering me even more. Daniel had never shown violent tendencies towards Lara and I, and he had never seemed insane. And I still didn't know where mom was. The fact that I wasn't hysterical amazed me as well.
"Your mother had no part in this?"
"I don't think so." I didn't stop to ask how he knew that. "I went out with Evan this afternoon, and when I got back I was in trouble. Mom sent Hannah and I to our rooms so she could talk to Daniel and a few minutes later he came up and dragged us out of the house."
"There was nothing else?" He asked.
The anvil. "Nothing." I lied
Scott looked at me and gave me a look with a raised eyebrow that disappeared into his hair. I shrugged slightly telling him to back off. He did but gave me one last scowl. Xavier watched this with interest before smiling and folding his hands together. He paused for a second before speaking
"Amorise," he said finally; slowly. "Your sisters assumptions are correct."
"Her what?" Now I was the one with the raised eyebrow.
Scott turned to me grinning wryly. "Lara was right. Mutants are real." Like I said, no talent for subtleness what so ever.
"Whoa. Excuse me?" I almost jumped out of the chair in shock. Reality had just shifted another few miles away from my sense of the norm. "Did you say, mutants are real, as in comic mutants and television…"
"Yeah, all that stuff." Scott nodded. "You're in Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters."
The professor nodded confirming it all. He motioned for Scott to quiet and he spoke again. "Amorise I realized this must be a lot to take in and I'll explain more tomorrow but there are two more things I'd like you to know tonight. Amorise, you are a mutant yourself-"
"WHAT!" I yelled, sending my pulse up to three hundred.
"You are a mutant as well as your sister and I think your mother. I have information on your mother. Her name right now is Naomi Rayner, am I right?"
"Yes, that was my fathers last name. She kept it after she divorced him." Managing to get words, let alone sentences, out of my mouth was hard work.
"Her maiden name was Baron. Her sister was Katherine Baron, Scott's mother." Scott sat rigid in his chair staring at me.
"Oh my god." We both murmured.
"How did you-" I started, but Xavier put his hand up stopping me
"The time in eighth grade when you cut your arm in the pool. After Logan cleaned it for you he put the blood in the computer to check for infections. The computer showed a match to Scott's, it was almost direct so we checked into it. This is what we discovered."
"Mom always said she didn't want us dating" The reason for that statement dawned on me. She didn't want us dating because we were cousins. She knew, but hadn't told us.
"It's why we look so much alike." Scott ran his fingers through his hair; I did the same, blushing. I knew we looked alike but I hadn't thought this was the reason behind it. "Your mom knew didn't she?"
"I think she did. She only mentioned her sister once. They didn't like each other. Katherine was mad because my mom married young, and my mom thought Katherine was an army brat, because she married a general." That's what mom had said when I was five and asked why I didn't have aunts or uncles. "And as kids they were always jealous of each other."
"Scott," The professor interrupted. "I'd like you to take Amorise up to her room."
"Right." Said Scott slowly.
On instinct I reached under my seat grabbing the air for a bag and sighed when I remembered that I didn't have one.
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