Chapter 3:

                Andi soon forgot her troubles with Candace. Ryan was so much fun to be around; he made her laugh with his jokes and stories about life at Julliard and stories about the teachers. "…and Madame Dvorovenko said, 'Zis ees ze class for teaching young dancers, Mademoiselle Jones, not ze night club'!" He mimicked the aging Russian teacher's accent perfectly, and Andi laughed so hard she had tears in her eyes.

                "I can just see her saying that too," she wiped her eyes finally. "Oh, my."

                Ryan stood up from where he had been stretching out on the floor, and went to the small stereo set up on the table beside the small couch. He looked through the stack of CD's, finally choosing one and slipping the disc into the player. "This is the music they want us to use," he said. "Let's listen to it once through, and then we'll work out steps." Andi closed her eyes, listening to it, concentrating. She could see herself doing a pirouette here, an arabesque there; attitude en devant, rotate, and oh, that last soaring set of notes would be perfect for a swan dive…Eyes still closed, she began to dance to the music, following the inner promptings of her mind with her body. When the music ended she opened her eyes, and found Ryan looking at her amusedly. "Do you always dance with your eyes closed?" he said good-humoredly, smiling at her. "It could be a handicap when you're on stage."

                Andi flushed. "I listen to music with my eyes closed," she said. "It helps me get a feel for the patterns I see when I'm listening to it. The patterns give me ideas for steps." She looked at him through lowered eyelids. "I guess you think I'm nuts now."

                Ryan tilted his head. "On the contrary, I'm intrigued. You see stuff when you listen to music? I've never heard of that. Is that some special mutant power?"

                Andi smiled. "Oh, goodness, no. Though, now that you mention it, Mom and I both see music, and we're both mutants, so maybe that might be it, but I don't think its exclusively mutant-related. It's called synesthesia."

                "I think I've heard of that," Ryan said after a moment. "When you see music, do you see like patterns and colors and stuff flashing to the beat of the music, like in the movie Fantasia?"

                Andi frowned. "I've never seen the movie, so I wouldn't know," she said.

                Ryan grinned. "I loved that movie. I saw it when I was real little the first time, and that was when my mom decided I was going to be a dancer. And she was right, too. I'll have to rent it sometime so we can watch it together." He fell silent, going to the stereo and starting the CD over from the beginning of the song. "So how did you get interested in dancing?"

                "My mother enrolled me in ballet class because that was what all little girls from wealthy families did," Andi said, a trace of sarcasm creeping into her voice. "She didn't expect that I'd like it; after all, I hated the piano lessons and violin lessons and other crap she made me do; but I was good in ballet, and I liked it. She was completely surprised when my teacher told her she should arrange for private lessons for me so I could get into a good school."

                Ryan looked puzzled. "Your Mom didn't seem like the type to try to force you to do stuff you didn't want to do," he said. "Miss Emma, though…"

                Andi laughed at his expression. "Not Mom, it was my mother. My real mother, not my biological…oh, hell," she threw up her hands.

                "How many moms do you have?" Ryan said incredulously.

                "My biological mother dumped me off on the Sandersons' doorstep when I was a baby. The courts decided to give me to Mom…to Ororo…last year when…when…" Andi decided she didn't want to talk about it. "Come on," she said, jumping up. "Let's dance." She didn't see the thoughtful look Ryan gave her as he started the CD player and joined her out on the floor.

                He only put as much concentration in the dance as he had to; the rest of his mind was occupied with thoughts about the lovely young nymph twirling on the floor in front of him. She was an intensely private person; she didn't like to talk about herself; and she had no ego to speak of. He liked that; she seemed more down-to-earth than other dancers he knew.

                As the music swelled and started its spiral into the descant, he signaled to Andi. She knew immediately what he wanted to do and ran lightly across the floor toward him. He reached out, grabbed her in his hands, and lifted her, then lowered her into a swan dive, having to adjust his grip further up her ribs as he did so. Her cry of pain caught him by surprise. She wrenched away from him, her hands and arms going to the throbbing pain in her side, and he ran across the floor to stop the music, then returned to her.

                Andi sucked in air through gritted teeth, her hands pressed to the flaring pain in her side where Candace had kicked her earlier. Tears filled her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to shed them; she didn't want to appear weak. She fell to her knees on the floor, biting her lip hard to keep from crying out. Ryan was beside her, asking her what was wrong, but she shook her head; she couldn't speak at just that moment. She waited until the pain passed and she could breathe again, then shamefacedly climbed to her feet. "I'm sorry," she said nervously, fiddling with a stray lock of hair that had escaped her bun. "Can we try that again?"

                Ryan was behind her, and she felt his hand on her shoulder. In a quick movement he pulled the shoulder of her leotard down, exposing her bra straps as he tried to see what had caused her so much pain. Andi struggled to break away and pull her leotard back up, but he kept a firm grip on her other arm as he pulled her leotard down. She cringed as the black material pooled around her ankles and her upper body came into view.

                Ryan stared, shocked. His eyes were captured not only by the ugly rainbow bruise under her last rib, but also the stark white scar lines on either side of her spine, and the terrible white patches over her kidneys and on her shoulders. "Andi…"

                She wrenched away from him, tears filling her eyes, and tried to pull her leotard up. Ryan reached out to prevent her, catching her wrist, but she ducked away from him. He turned to look at her face, and was shocked by the sight of similar patches on her chest and on her diaphragm. "Andi…" his voice was raspy. He cleared his throat. "Andi, what happened to you?"

                Andi started crying.

                He settled her on the small couch in the corner and went to the small refrigerator in the corner. Opening the freezer door, he quickly dumped some ice into a plastic bag and wrapped a towel around it, then returned to her where she was lying with her head on the arm of the couch. He dropped to his knees beside her, and lifted one elbow. "Here. This'll help the swelling on that bruise." He tried not to flinch at the sight of her wincing in pain as he placed it as gently as he could on the bruised patch of skin. Andi hissed in a breath through her teeth, her eyes screwed shut in pain. After a moment, as the cold started to seep into her skin and the pain eased, she opened her eyes.

                Ryan reached out and gently wiped at the tears clinging to her lashes. "Can you tell me?"

                Andi scrubbed at her tear-streaked cheeks. "They're electrical burns," she said, her voice going flat. Her eyes stared into thin air somewhere just past Ryan's ear; he didn't try to keep eye contact with her as she told him about the electroshock machine and the cold cement cell in the asylum; about the starvation, the beatings, the emotional, mental, and physical torture she had endured, and finally, in a dead, flat, unemotional voice, about the rape and sadistic abuse when her parents had coldheartedly and callously signed her over to Dr. Hebron's care. Ryan didn't say a word until she was done, stroking her hand as his head rested on her knee.

                "I'm sorry," he said finally, quietly. "Alexandra, if I could, I'd go kill the man who did this to you. No one should have to suffer like that. I see this kind of thing on the news all the time, but I've never wondered what happens to the victims afterward." He got up and pulled her upright, seating himself on the couch and pulling her head against his shoulder. She leaned against him, and they were silent for a while. "So how did you get that bruise?" he asked after a time.

                Andi tensed. "Oh, nothing. Just got in a fight."

                "After detention today?" Ryan cupped her chin in his hand. It was an intensely intimate gesture, one that made it impossible for Andi to lie to him, he'd found out. "You're a pretty strong girl, Andi, so who at school would be strong enough to take you on? Was it one of the upperclassmen?"

                "Don't have to be strong if you have someone else to do your dirty work," Andi said tartly before thinking.

                Ryan stared at her, then swore explosively and got off the couch. "It was that Candace girl from your class, wasn't it," he said. He turned in a tight circle to face her where she sat on the couch. "It was that bi--" he stopped abruptly. His anger was only making Andi feel worse. "Andi, tell me. It was her, wasn't it?" he stroked her cheek again, then tried to lift her chin to meet his eyes. She refused to meet his gaze, and her silence answered his question.

                "Oh, Andi." He sighed. "Life isn't easy for you, is it." He sat down on the couch beside her again, abruptly. After a long moment, he pulled her to his shoulder again, liking the feel of her head on his shoulder. His arm crept around her shoulder and touched her bare arm. And froze. "You're cold."

                The abrupt change in conversation topic startled her. "A little, I guess," she said hesitantly.

                He sighed. "There's no heat up here. How about I take you home? Didn't you say you've got a new apartment?"

                "Yeah," Andi smiled. "My Dad rented it for me. Rose pays half the rent and utilities there."

                "Will she be there now?" Ryan looked worried. "I don't want to disturb her."

                "Oh, we'll be fine," Andi said. "She was doing her homework when I stopped in, so that usually means she's going out with her boyfriend tonight. She won't be back until tomorrow morning. The only classes we have are our Saturday dance classes, so she'll come home and we go, then when we get back she'll disappear again."

                "So have you given any thought to dinner?" Ryan asked as they both got into his car, a blue Chevy Malibu. Andi had walked to the loft; her apartment was only a few blocks away.

                She smiled at him, but her smile was wary. "After what you saw, you still want to hang out?"

                "Oh, more than ever," Ryan said. "I really like you, Andi."

                She grinned at him. "Then okay," she said. "Dinner sounds great. But I have to wash up first. I've still got mud in my hair."

                "Take your time," Ryan said amiably as he drove down the street. As soon as they got in, Andi dropped her dance bag on the floor by the front door and disappeared into the bathroom. He looked at the tasteful décor, tried out the portable barre set to the side of the living room, then made another ice pack and wrapped a towel around it. Then, out of sheer curiosity, he went to the two doors and opened the first one. Not Andi's room; he could tell by the bright pink roses on the messy bedspread. He opened the second door.

                Andi's room was as neat as a pin, a holdover form her days living with her parents. There was a deep blue spread on the neatly made bed, matching pillows, and a blue throw rug on the floor. Two blue slippers sat neatly next to the nightstand. On it was a brass tiffany lamp with blue iris flowers on the shade. A picture of Ororo and Andi sat on the table under the lamp.

Andi's books were spread out on the desk, and there was what looked like a hastily scribbled note on the desktop. He read it.

Andi, Thom's here, and he wants to go out. I printed up another copy of your English Lit report and put it in your folder. I dried out most of your books, but the covers were ruined by all that mud Candace dropped them in. Thom says he's got some paper bags at home; I'll bring them with me when I get home tomorrow so we can recover your books. Gotta run! Love, Rose.

Ryan put the paper down. So it was Candace. He'd straighten the girl out the next time he saw her, so help him…

The door opened, and he spun. Andi stood there, dressed in nothing but a towel, hair still dripping, just as startled as he was. "Oh, gosh!" she yelped. "Ryan!"

He held up the ice pack. "Uh…just came to put this down," he said. He stared at her, at the long slim legs under the towel, and licked his lips. Oh, he wanted to…

Andi bit her lip. After what he'd seen, he still thought of her as pretty? More than pretty. Desirable. Her eyes dropped to his groin, where a slight bulge seemed to be making his pants a little too tight for him, and she grinned. She crossed the room, dropped the towel when she got close to him, and kissed him. Startled at first, he responded quickly. The kiss deepened, and he edged her backward until she tumbled on her back onto her neatly made bed. Thoughts of how messy her bed was getting were quickly lost as he kissed her back with increased fervor, and his clothes and shoes fell to the floor beside her bed.

*                                                              *                                                              *

                "What about dinner?" Andi asked drowsily, much later. Ryan snorted as he delicately ran his fingers down her spine, tracing the scars lazily. "Ooh, that tickles."

                "Screw dinner," he said succinctly. "I want to stay here." He leaned over her back, gently kissing the scar patches on her shoulder blades, then tracing the long lines with his tongue. Andi shivered and arched like a cat, murmuring his name. He kissed the patches at the base of her spine, then turned her over and began applying kisses to the scars on the front of her body, starting with her chest and ending down between her hips. Andi moaned delicately, and the sound fired up his blood again…

*                                                              *                                                              *

                Candace came out of the front door, and smiled as she saw who was standing there. "Well, hello, Ryan," she cooed flirtatiously, reaching out to hook his arm in hers. "So nice of you to come pick me up."

                Ryan yanked his arm out of Candace's grasp. "Listen, Candace," he said angrily. "I heard about that little stunt you pulled. I saw the bruise you left on Andi when you kicked her. She refused to tell me who it was, but I know it was you. Don't you dare try to tell me you didn't, okay? I know you better. Your sister warned me about you just before we broke up. I'm not yours, I don't want you, and I will never go out with you even if you were the last girl on earth. If you know what's good for you, you won't touch Andi again, because if I hear you're hurting her again, I'll tell my uncle and you'll get kicked out of school." He stepped closer, and dropped his voice. "You do remember who my uncle is, Candace, right? All I have to do is breathe a word into his ear, and you'll be out. I've never done that to anyone, no matter how much I disliked them, but Andi's been through too much crap to have to put up with your stupid tricks. So leave her alone. Got me?"

                He saw Andi heading out the door, wearing a pretty yellow sweater and a long black skirt with yellow daisies on it. Turning away from Candace wordlessly, he strode toward her, smiling. He never saw the expression of pure hatred cross the other girl's face.