Disclaimer: Characters are not mine.
A single red drop fell unnoticed. The young blonde woman watched as the thick liquid came in contact with the tile countertop in front of her. There had been a time, and in reality that time wasn't really that long ago, when she would have gone to any lengths to keep a situation like this under wraps. The truth is that now, things like this were so common, she sometimes failed to realized that the blood leaking out of her nose was actually her own. She used to panic. The crimson used to scare her, and if it scared her, there was no telling how those around her would react. But where she was now, none of these people mattered. There were few who ever did matter to her, and those that had, didn't... at least not anymore. Her blue eyes never left the warm liquid in front of her, but slowly she brought her right hand up to meet the oncoming stream of red as it seeped out of her nose. She never even had to lookup to know that the elder waitress had now stepped in front of her. Emma knew the woman was about to ask her a question. She even knew what question. She always knew what question.
"Coffee?" the grey haired woman asked as she held up the half empty glass decanter.
Emma gently nodded her head, her left hand slowly reached out and took a small handful of napkins from the metal container that matched all the metal décor in the retro dinner. Without a smile, the woman filled her cup with a thin liquid made from recycled grounds, and quickly walked away. That is why she always liked it here. Everybody, even the workers, were in some sort of transit. Just tourists. On their way through to move on to more important things. Except for her. She found her ever moving backdrops and surroundings to be comforting in a way that only she could.
With her unintentional mess now cleaned up, Emma set out to finish off her last cup of coffee. She didn't exactly blend in. But then she never really needed to. The door was behind her, and in the busy dinner it was always in a state of moving. But she never turned around; she had no need to be nervous anymore. She knew everything about everybody, without knowing anything about anyone of them. That was her gift. She knew the who, what, where, when, why and how about everybody, without ever wanting to. She knew their life story before they even contemplated stepping foot inside the door. She knew their intentions and what actions would stem from them. So by keeping that one part of her always on alert she could allow all her other parts their much needed rest. And their coffee.
Sitting the now empty porcelain cup down on the counter, she slowly stood up and scooted the red stool back. Reaching into her jeans pockets she pulled out a twenty dollar bill and slapped it down onto the counter. As a friendly gesture, to someone whose name she didn't care to know, she flashed her waitress another smile before she turned and strode out through the metal doors.
No one had noticed her presence, and therefore no one really noticed her retreat. Not even the waitress, and it wasn't because Emma Delauro blended in. It was because she made them think she did. No one ever made eye contact with her, even though she could look directly into their souls with a single glance. That's how she managed from day to day. At this point in her life she was an expert at barriers. Whether these barriers were real or only in her mind, she could use them to control just about everything that she came in contact with. She could see and sense everyone, but she could also filter out whom she let see or sense her and whom she didn't. Or as chance would have it, she could control individual parts of her she let them see. This allowed for convenient cover-ups of things such as spontaneous bleeding in retro dinners. There was no more worrying. There was no more looking behind her, she now knew what was behind her... in front of her... and everywhere around her. Even if somehow a threat found its way to her she could just fend it off without a second though. This was the single comfort that her powers gave her, but the negative aspects of her mutation far outweighed this one positive. And these negative aspects where always apparent and they seemed to only come in large quantities, so her patented barriers were always up. If these barriers were to ever falter... she knew she would fall. She knew she was going to fall. For good. And that time was coming quickly. The nosebleeds were a constant reminder of this fact.
Even if someone who knew her from her past adventures saw her now, they wouldn't recognize her as the same scared junior member of Mutant X. She wasn't even the slightest bit afraid anymore. She could use her powers to her full ability, but she was never cocky. There was always too much going on in her brain to have time to become conceded, so she somehow managed to walk tall without looking arrogant. The lanky girl had let her hair grow back to its natural dirty blond hue, and she now let her locks fly free around her face. Her bangs she had allowed to grow out, Adam had guessed that she would look younger this way, and he had been right. She used to have her hair like this as a child. Maybe that's why she liked it so much, since it reminded her of a simpler time.
After two blocks she turned a quick right and entered a downtown alley. This was her favorite part of town. The back. The entire history of a building was there in front of her, it was laid out on the stones that made up its rear. Often neglected and uncared for, Emma always felt that if she paid enough attention she could see time move in the bricks that made up the structures skeleton. She couldn't help but smile. She enjoyed where she was. Well... physically anyways. After climbing up a small cement stair case. Emma reached into her pockets and retrieved her keys. A few seconds later, the door to her apartment opened and she was home.
It had been quite a transition from the large open area of Sanctuary, to move into this small studio apartment. The ad had actually called it an efficiency. Basically all that meant is that it was all one big room. Even the toilet would have been visible if it wasn't for a well placed curtain. It was small, almost tiny, but Emma loved it. She even loved the constant hum of the jukebox that never stopped playing in Norman's, the bar that was located directly below. The two big windows that overlooked the street, were Emma's favorite attributes. She could sit there forever and watch the people of Manhattan stroll by.
Emma pulled off her tan leather jacket, to reveal a dark red tank top underneath. She slipped off her sandals and walked over to a small cabinet in which she found a small bottle of Advil. She quickly poured herself a glass of water and took six of the small orangish colored pills. She had stayed out in public too long, and already her head was beginning to pay for her mistake. She quickly pulled the curtains closed on Manhattan and turned off all the lights, as she made her way over to the tub. Soon her jeans were off and she stepped one foot after the other into the white basin. She sat down at first and then finally leaned back into the soft pillow, and pulled the blankets up around her. Adam would be here soon, she knew that, even though she wasn't quite sure what day it was. She knew he always came on Tuesdays. She actually tried to not keep track of the time that passed. She was afraid that if she looked forward to his visits that she might end up missing him, and then she would, without thinking, let the loneliness in. And she was more afraid of that than anything.
