A TWIST OF FATE
Chapter Two
The next morning played out as usual, the alarm sounded, Jean shut it off, and woke up to see that Warren was almost ready to go to work.
She smiled. "Good morning." She fumbled, still half-asleep.
He smiled broadly and leaned over the bed, his hands resting on the mattress on both sides of her body.
"Hi." He replied kissing her fully on the lips.
He broke away and the kiss lingered.
She held her hand to his cheek. "Sure you can't stay?" She asked.
He bit his bottom lip, playfully debating the question. "You know I can't. I have to go to work. And so do you." He reminded her.
She let her head fall back on the pillow disappointedly. "Ugh, I know."
"I'll see you after work."
He said kissing her on the cheek.
He walked away from the bed, put on his suit jacket, grabbed his briefcase, and turned around from the doorway.
"I love you." He said.
She frowned slightly and looked to him for a moment, he'd never turned to say that before leaving for work.
"I know." She replied, to reassure him.
She watched as he slowly turned and walked out the doorway, leaving the apartment.
Stretching her legs out on the bed, she stretched her left arm out and stared at the diamond on her ring finger. It glistened when touched to the light. It was beautiful.
She sighed and snapped back to reality and stole a glance towards the clock. She gave out a reluctant groan as she realized she should get up to prepare for work.
Jean came home exhausted. Dumping her purse, keys and other belongings on the counter to her right, she prepared to plot down wearily on the couch. She was surprised to see the couch was already occupied; Warren was home early and typing on his laptop setting on the coffee table.
"Warren! What are you doing home already?" She asked.
He looked up from the computer and smirked.
"Well, I am CEO of the place, and I am capable of coming home early." He said as he stood up.
His voice lowered. "Under certain circumstances of course."
She smiled and lowered her tone of voice to match his. "And what would those be?"
Keeping the quiet tone he continued. "Oh you know, family emergencies, sickness…my engagement." He finished slowly as he neared her.
"Oh really? That's an emergency?" She asked playfully.
"Well, not really. But they don't need to know that." He said wrapping his arms around her waist.
She frowned playfully. "So why is it you're home early?"
"I dunno, I guess I couldn't wait to come home early and spend some time with my lovely fiancée." He said tightening his embrace around her and capturing her lips with his.
"Mmm…" Jean murmured as they parted. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "You should leave early more often." She added with a smile.
He smiled too. "So how was your day? Work?" He asked as he moved away from her and back to the couch and the laptop.
"Exhausting. I told the girls our news and they just wouldn't leave me alone. They all knew I was dating you of course, I must have been asked at least 20 questions. I had to take the ring off just so they would stop hanging over me and I could get a shoot done. Oh buy the way, how many karats are in this ring?" Jean asked showing him her left hand.
He shrugged. "Six point Eight. Why?"
She shook her head. "No reason really. It's just all the girls made a bet on how many karats were in it. I'm telling you, they handed over cash like you cannot believe. Picture this: Twenty girls in swimsuit bikinis. Where do you think they'd put their cash? I was in a bikini too and I couldn't even believe it. I mean I wouldn't even think about putting my money in places like that."
"You may not believe this, but I actually know where they keep the cash, See what they do is…" He started explaining to her playfully.
"Warren! Warren! Please stop! It was a rhetorical question. You don't need to tell me." She said giggling.
"I was there, I know. And I really wish I didn't know." She said as she was telekinetically filling a glass of water. She levitated the glass over to her and drank from it.
"Anyway, how do you know where they keep their cash?" She asked sitting on the coffee table next to the laptop.
He glanced up at her. "Trust me, Jean, You really don't want to know." He said with a smirk.
"You're right, I don't." She said setting the glass down.
She glanced up at him as he stood up and took his shirt to reveal his large white wings.
Warren fluxed his shoulders causing his wings to flutter. "That feels better."
He said rubbing his shoulders. "I hate having to conceal my wings."
He bent over to briefly kiss Jean on the lips. "If you need me I'll be in the den." He said grabbing a towel and walking towards the other end of the apartment.
Jean knew Warren was going to go exercise and probably work on business stuff. That's what he did in the den, mostly he exercised on the equipment, but the room was also furnished with a cherry red oak desk and a couple of bookshelves for Warren's work purposes.
A 'bing' sent her thoughts away from Warren to the computer screen in front of her.
An instant message window popped up on the computer screen from 'Shadowcat17'
Jean wrote back than pressed enter as her screen name appeared in the box next to 'Shadowcat17'.
She wondered if she should tell Kitty about her engagement to Warren. It was a little soon, having been engaged just last night, but she thought Why not? She had nothing to be ashamed of. And Kitty would be everything short of ecstatic.
But than again if you want something left in the greatest of secrecy, you don't tell Kitty.
"Oh my gosh! Like, I'm so excited for you guys!" Kitty wrote back on her laptop after hearing Jean's good news.
Before Kitty could write anymore, with a door slamming sound, her computer shut off.
"Like, hey! What's the deal?" She shouted at the blank screen as she jumped off the bed to examine her computer.
"Oh, man! I forgot it had low battery charge. Like, great! Now I have to charge it." She said annoyed as she grabbed her laptop off the bed and placed it on her desk, plugging in the charger.
"What are you so upset about?" said a voice coming in the room. Kitty could recognize Rogue's southern accent any day. Sharing a dorm with Rogue was just like sharing a room with Rogue, a pain in the butt.
"My computer battery died, so now I have to charge it for like, five hours."
"That's too bad since you've only been on it like all mornin'." Rogue answered less than sympathetic.
"And you have something else I should be doing?" Kitty asked as she glared sideways at Rogue.
Rogue walked toward her dresser and picked up a book and plopped down on her bed in the dorm.
"Yeah right. All ya' ever do is talk, talk, talk. If it weren't for that machine quieting you up I'd be forced to touch you just to shut you up. This Mornin' was very peaceful."
"I suppose you don't want to know what Jean told me before my computer shut off?" Kitty asked, a little insulted by Rogue's comment.
" 'Course not. If I was that interested in what Jean was doing, I'd take the time to go and see her mahself."
"You don't even want to hear that Jean is engaged to Warren." Kitty crossed her arms and pursed her lips.
"Well now ya just told mah!" She grumbled. She glanced up at Kitty who was staring at her expectantly.
"What more do ya want me ta say Kat? It's not like it's the news of the century. She's been datin' the flyboy for a couple years now."
"Well couldn't you just say something nice for a change? Instead of being so rude."
"Ah'm sorry, Ah wasn't aware Ah was being rude. Tell me what Ah said that was rude. Ah said nothin'!"
"That's the point." Kitty shot back.
"Ya know, spare me your mouth, Ah got places to be." Rogue said waving her hand in a dismissive gesture as she got up from the bed.
"Maybe you could congratulate them. Like, you know, for a change." Kitty yelled after Rogue who was walking towards the door.
"Bite me." Came Rogue's reply as she slammed the door. That was how Rouge ended most if not all, their arguments.
Kitty just took it as a sign that she won.
"Don't think I didn't hear that!" Kitty yelled at the door.
"Hey Jean what are ya writing?" Warren asked coming out of the den wiping his face with a towel.
"I guess I just finished Instant Messaging Kitty. She disconnected from the net." She replied shutting the lid on the laptop.
"So how's everything on the NYU grounds?" Warren asked.
"Everything seems to be doing good. You know Kitty's pretty excited with only a week left in this semester. She can't wait to get a break from all the homework."
"Well since we're on the subject of taking breaks, I've been thinking about your semester ending, and I know Rogue and Kitty spend their time at the institute, and I was thinking that this year we could do the same."
"Huh? Oh I don't know Warren…" Jean said shaking her head, doubtful.
"No really." Warren said trying to convince her.
"I'll pull a few strings at work and get the time off as well. If we wanted we could spend the whole week there. I mean there's a couple weeks in between semesters for you and business is doing alright, I've got guys that I could leave it with for a few weeks anyway. We could stay until Worthington Industries picks up during the summer months and you could lay off your job until then…I mean it's not like you couldn't get it back. I do own the majority of magazines you model for."
"It's not that Warren, it's just…I don't know if I'm ready to go back."
"Jean, I really want you to get through this. But it's been two years, you can't keep hiding from it. It's something that happened, just take it in stride and move on."
"I have moved on, Warren."
"Okay, than show me. Let's go to the institute for the week. We don't have to stay any longer than that."
"Well putting it that way, I guess I really don't have a choice do I?"
He nodded. "Yes you do, but I believe this is what's best for you. Don't you think?"
She shrugged. "I just have so many memories there, so much of my life was spent there. I grew up there…I experienced so much there. I just don't want to go back and experience that pain again."
What she wanted to say, but didn't say, couldn't say, infront of Warren, was that everything was there for her. Every first experience she had, she had while living in the institute. It was something to cherish for sure, but it had also become something for her to fear, and she didn't want to.
"You know, I guess, maybe it is in my best interest, as far as healing goes. I think it could help, yes, I mean I've put that all behind me, that's not who I am anymore, so I shouldn't worry about it."
Warren leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "That's right. I'll inform the limo driver to pick up Rouge and Kitty as well, we can drive to the institute together."
He got up to change his clothes and Jean watched him leave.
She stared at the closed computer lid and sighed. She shut her eyelids tightly as she suppressed the tears coming to her eyes.
Well there you go! Second chapter down! I'm so happy I revised this. I really enjoyed reading it over again, but I just feel good. It reads better now, everything can flow...