Dismal Angel 2010 - Episode 4

Chapter 1:  Bad News

             Remy LeBeau rolled over in bed, he'd been drifting in and out of sleep all night, but this time it hadn't been his troubled dreams that had awoken him.  This time, it was something very real.  He lay on his side and tried to understand what had stirred him, he glanced around the room, in the darkness all he could make out was the shapes of the lavish furniture in the guest room. 

             Then he heard it, the phone was ringing, quite loudly.  It sounded as if it were directly in the hall.  He waited, listening, hoping to god someone was going to pick it up, but the ringing continued for some time, persistent as ever, intent on an answer, and he realised much to his own dismay he was probably the only person awake to answer it.

             With a sigh and a string of swear words, he pulled himself out of the bed, pulling on the nearest item of clothing he could find – a pair of black pants – and he made his way through the room in the dark to find the door, and he spilled out into the hall in a tired stagger, the ringing growing louder as he approached the phone.

             The east wing of the mansion was silent, but this wasn't very unusual as the third floor of the east wing was generally unused by the mansions inhabitants, the west wing being the place where the students dorms were located, and the second floor of the east wing belonging to the X-Men. 

             The corridor was dimly lit, but well enough to locate the marble-effect telephone sitting on a small end table next to an exquisite bench with blue satin cushioning.  Remy picked up the phone, "Xavier institute," he snapped, he glanced at a nearby clock on the opposing wall, it was almost three am.  Angrily he pondered who would be calling at such an absurd hour.

             "I'm looking for Katherine Pryde," came a voice, definitely one Remy had never heard before.

             Remy leaned against the wall, scratched the back of his head, he let out a yawn, "it's nearly three am – she's sleeping, like everyone else in the mansion," he said coldly, he rolled his eyes at whoever was on the line, how stupid could someone be to be calling at this time? 

             "Can you please wake her, its important," the voice became even more urgent than before, and left Remy slightly agitated at the tone of insistence within it.

             Despite the woman on the other end had used the word pleased, Remy really had no intentions of going out of his way to wake Kitty up in the wee-small hours of the morning, "can't it wait?" he asked with another yawn, the only thing he could think about was getting back to bed as the need for sleep overwhelmed him once again.

             "No, I can't," the woman suddenly became quite harsh, "can you please just get Katherine and put her on."

             Remy frowned and swore mentally, "fine, hold on…" he muttered, he put the receiver on the table next to its cradle and he headed towards the small stairwell down to the second floor, his bare feet padding softly against the plus carpet.  He wasn't sure how he expected to find Kitty's room, he hadn't even been in the second floor of the east wing before, and had no clue where Kitty's room was located.  Luckily, her name was on the door on a small plastic panel.  K. Pryde.

             Remy didn't knock, he simply opened the door and peered in.  As he opened the door wider, light spilled in from the hallway.  Kitty was sprawled over the bed, her feet hanging out from under the covers, her head resting on her arms as she lay on her belly.  Eyes closed lightly, she looked so peaceful it almost seemed like a crime to wake her.

             "Kitty," Remy said loudly.

             Kitty didn't stir.

             "KITTY," Remy said a little louder, his voice quite impatient.

             No response, Kitty seemed to be sleeping far too deeply.  He moved over, placed a hand upon her shoulder and shook her hard.

             "KITTY."

             Kitty gave a murmur, "hmm?" she asked half asleep.

             Remy sighed, "Phone call for you…"

             Kitty groaned, "tell them to call back tomorrow," she rolled over pulling a pillow over her head.

             "I did but she said its important," Remy headed for the door, "sounded quite upset actually," he said.

             Kitty sighed and sat up, phasing through the pillow rather than removing it from over her head, "who is it?" she swept her bangs back from her face, her short brown hair was sticking out at all kinds of strange angles.

             "I didn't catch the name," Remy scratched his shoulder absently.

             "What phone?" Kitty asked, knowing full well there were more than ten separate phone lines in the mansion.  She rubbed her eyes, threw her legs over the side of the bed and stepped into her slippers.

             "Third floor," Remy said, "no one else seemed to hear it," he added as he tried to stifle a yawn, he led the way out of the room, towards the stairwell and up into the third floor hallway.

             Kitty gave a yawn too, "people sleep deep in this place," she stated tiredly, stumbling her way after him in the hallway.

             Remy gestured to the phone, "there ya go, goodnight," he sighed and headed towards his room, slamming the door shut impudently, and had to remind himself sheepishly afterward, he wasn't twelve anymore and couldn't get away with such immaturity. 

             He lay on the bed wary, closing his eyes and not even bothering to pull the covers over himself, he could hear Kitty's talking out in the hall, he listened carefully but could barely make out nothing more than the occasional word.  Eventually all went silent, and he relaxed once again – knowing that with the sound now vanquished from the mansion, he'd once again sleep.

             And then, when he'd least expected it, the door opened, Kitty was standing there, silhouetted against the dim light, her voice sounded strange when she said his name, "Remy?  You still awake?"

             "Yeah," Remy forced back a sigh, "what is it?" he asked, his voice didn't hide the frustration of lack of sleep.

             Kitty leaned against the doorway, "My, uhm…cousin Lucy just called me…I need to go to Illinois…" she said softly, her voice sounding almost on the verge of being close to sobs, "tonight."

             Remy sat up straight, the mention of Illinois somehow intrigued him, "why?" he asked curiously, flicking his very long brown hair back from his shoulder.

             Kitty stepped in slowly, "I…uhm…" as she stepped in closer, her tears shone in the light reflecting from the hall onto a mirror on the wall, and Remy could clearly see she'd been crying, "My parents…there was a fire at their house…" she said, sounding quite choked up.

             Remy looked at her, "a fire…are they alright?" he asked, he reached over and switched on the light, but he should have known by the look on her face that her parents were not alright, she hugged herself insecurely, looking away.  He wondered why she was telling him this, was it because he was the only one awake and she needed someone to turn to?  Or was it because she needed something of him?

             "I…uhm…" Kitty sniffed.   Despite her faltering, Remy felt she was doing incredibly well at keeping together, but he could see any moment, she was about to break down, as if realisation hadn't quite hit her yet, but was about to.  Just as she broke down into collapsing point, he rushed to catch her, her sobs loud, her tears oozing onto his bare shoulder.

             He waited until her sobs died down, and the tears weren't quite as potent, and finally the room seemed to fall into a silence as he held her.  He'd never been good at comforting women, and the only way he knew how to properly hold any woman was in a loving embrace.  So it felt strange to try and comfort Kitty and finding himself wondering if he were going about it the right way. 

             Finally, Remy felt he had to speak, "you're leaving tonight?" he asked, rubbing her back awkwardly, hoping it was doing something to sooth her.

             "Yeah," Kitty sniffed, a half sob escaping, her breathing irregular and her body trembling with emotion. 

             Remy took a few minutes, "where'll you stay?"

             "My older cousin and her fiancé said I can stay with them…but…we never really got alone, I'll probably just check into a hotel," Kitty moved back, drying her face with the back of her pyjama sleeve, her eyes were now puffy and red, she was still shaking.

             "If you like…you can take my Illinois apartment for as long as you need," Remy stated, "it's not very luxurious or comfortable, but…its there…"
             Kitty looked at him, "will you come with me…?" she asked quietly, she looked so distraught he wouldn't have been able to say no even if he wanted to.  "Please?" she added tentatively.

             "I…uhm…course, course I'll come," he sighed, he looked at her and tried to put on his most sympathetic expression, "when do you need to leave?"

             "As soon as possible," Kitty dabbed at the corners of her eyes with the sleeve of her pyjama top, sniffling still, "like an hour.  Is that alright?"

             "Fine, its…fine…" Remy felt almost as if he'd been roped into it, but…he couldn't deny her his company on this, she'd asked him, not Rogue, that had to mean something.  And also, she was the only friend he had – the only one he could trust.  Besides, he had some business to take care of in Illinois – and this would give him just the excuse he needed to leave the mansion and deal with this obligation of his. 

             Kitty pulled herself up, tears still trickling, "I better go get some stuff together…" she left the room before more tears came, although Remy was almost sure he heard a sob from outside in the hall. 

             With nothing more than a sigh, he began to dress.