Sorry that it took me so long to get this part out but I have been busy and not much in the mood to write. Hopefully the next part will be out faster. Spidey, Remy is about nineteen in this one, kay? As always, read and review, please:D
Chapter Three
The basement is dark and dusty, smelling of mildew and rot. I hate it down here. Down here is the cause of my worst nightmares and I say that literally. I'm huddled in a corner, trying in vain to hide, to escape notice. It never works; he always knows where I am. Maybe it's my crying that gives me away. I don't even know what I did wrong, he never tells me no matter how much I beg him. He doesn't say a word other than to tell me what a worthless piece of shit I am.
I was only seven when this started. For some reason this man, Darcy I think his name was, decided that out of all the kid's at the orphanage he would use me to vent his anger on. If I ever found him now, I think I'd kill him. I know I'd kill him.
I hear footsteps coming down the stairs and try to press farther back into the corner, try to make myself invisible. It's useless, though, and he walks right to me, stopping a foot away. You would never imagine that this man could be so cruel. Sandy blond hair, normal clothes, average build, just some guy off the street that nobody would even look twice at. But, people always say that looks can be deceiving.
People also say that eyes are the windows to the soul. His eyes are windows to cold, hard hatred. He's looking down at me now and I can see that, while he is pissed, he's getting some kind of sick enjoyment out of this.
He slaps me hard when I look up to meet his eyes and I instantly drop my gaze back to the floor. But, I've already seen what's in his hand, coiled like a whip. It's not a whip though; it's a length of chain. Out of all the things that he used to beat me, I hated the chain the most. Hard and heavy, I fear that it will break bones if he brings it down hard enough. He did break my knee once and even that didn't stop him from beating me.
I can hear as he lets the chain drop, can see it as the end hits the floor by his feet and I brace myself for the blows that will be sure to follow. He even chuckles softly as he brings the chain up and down to strike me across the back.
I try not to scream, I don't want him to see how much he is truly hurting me. But, as the blows continue to fall, I can't help but cry out in pain and beg for him to stop. He never listens; he will keep going until he has had enough.
By the time he does stop, I'm nothing more than a sobbing mess curled on the floor. He laughs again and I can just picture him sneering down at me. His footsteps walk away from me but I don't get up. I don't think I could even if I wanted to. The pain is too much and it is so much easier to just lay here. I close my eyes and let the darkness wash over me.
#
As I seem to float towards wakefulness, I hear a voice calling my name and hands on my shoulders. The touch is gentle but in my sleep clouded mind it is harsh, somebody holding me down.
"NO! Not again… can't take anymore…" I sob out and strike out with one arm. I don't have to take this anymore, I can fight them off.
I feel my fist connect with something hard and the sound of delicate bones breaking reaches my ears. My eyes finally snap open as I wake fully and realize what I just did.
"Shit…" Remy is knocked down on the floor, holding his nose which is streaming blood and groaning. I cringe inwardly; I can only guess that it is broken. "Gambit, I'm sorry…" I try to get myself up off the bed but he waves a hand at me to stay where I am. He stumbles to his feet and retreats momentarily to the bathroom.
Thankful for the moment to compose myself, I wipe the tears from my eyes and start chewing my lip in worry. I feel bad for breaking his nose but he shouldn't have been in here in the first place. Just how much did he know? What had I said in my sleep? I knew that he would want to know what was going on but this was my own problem and I didn't need anybody bothering me about it. I could deal with it on my own. I was getting pretty angry by this time and was ready to start yelling when he walked into the room. But, there was so much concern and pain in his eyes that my anger dissipated and I dropped my gaze. Why would he be worried about me? He didn't care he was only here because Magneto had ordered him to be.
He sat next to me but I didn't bother looking up. I wished that he would just leave me alone. I didn't need anyone and certainly not him, who I barely knew. There was silence for a while and I wondered if he felt just as awkward as I did.
"Wanted t' talk t' y' 'bout goin' t' school," Gambit finally broke the silence. I looked up at him in surprise. Wasn't he going to ask about the dream? He noticed my surprise and gave a small smile. "Not my place t' ask y' 'bout y' dream. If y' want t' talk 'bout it y' will. 'Sides we ain't exactly de best of friends, non?" I looked back down, grateful that he wasn't going to interrogate me about the nightmare.
"Did you go to school?" I wanted to get the subject off of me for a moment.
He paused before answering. "Non. Never had de chance. Most of what I know is from Magneto. Y' don' know what you'll be missing if y' don' go." I could tell that he was speaking from experience and wondered what kind of childhood he had had. Had it been like mine? I couldn't ask though.
I had, however, already made a decision on whether or not to go to school. My dad had dropped out because he had gotten hooked on drugs and nothing else mattered to him. He wasted his entire life on them. One day he overdosed and it killed him. That was when I had gotten placed in that god-forsaken orphanage. There was no way I was going to turn out like him.
"I'll go," I told him quietly. The sadness in his eyes was momentarily eclipsed by the smile he gave me. A thought hit me and, as I have problems with keeping what I think to myself, I voiced it. "Why don't you go back to school?" That sadness was back again, mixed with a tinge of anger. I started to wish I hadn't asked.
"No time for school when you're working for Magneto." He sounded bitter.
"Does Magneto really want us to go to school or is that just you?" Magneto didn't strike me as the type that would really care whether or not we got an education, just as long as we followed his orders. Gambit smirked at me.
"Y' smarter dan y' look, homme. Besides, I had t' find some way t' get y' outta de house before y' drive me crazy." I snorted at him in humor. He got up to leave but I had one last question to ask.
"You never told us your real name."
"You never asked," he said simply. His voice was quiet and I a heard some hurt. Had we hurt him by not caring enough to bother asking such a simple question?
"I'm asking now."
"It's Remy." With that, and another quick smile, he left the room.
I was finally left alone but now I wasn't so sure that that's what I wanted. I went over our conversation in my mind. My eyes widened in horror as I realized what had just happened. Had we been bantering? Oh God, we were getting along, this couldn't be happening. Well, at least I had broken his nose so something good had come of this. That thought didn't provoke as much humor as it should have, I still felt kinda bad about it. Maybe Gambit, Remy, really did care. And maybe it was time for me to lighten up on the guy a little.