Chapter 55: Healing Old Wounds

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Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. The pink eraser of the pencil bounced off
of the wooden counter top. Bits of pink flakes covered the area and
bounced each time the eraser did. Down stairs the door slammed so hard
that all the pictures on the walls shook, threatening to let gravity
pull them to the floor. Not that it mattered; the mounds of clothes
piles up would soften their landing.
The air outside the door moved and color-black, white, and blue- shot by
in a quick but dull haze. The door sucked shut. It opened again and
Pietro stood by Asher's bed.
"What'sthematterwithyou?" He asked; his arms crossed over his chest.
Asher raised a black eyebrow and took the pencil between his fingers.
The ends started to smoke.
"Maybe I'll leave you to your thoughts pal," Pietro said. "See ya."
Asher grinned as the speed demon took off. Pietro-good for a laugh, if
good for anything. He threw the pencil onto the table. It bounced then
rolled off onto a pair of boxers. Asher shook his head. Andie would
never have let him leave his clothes on the floor like that. Andie.
The bed groaned as he rolled onto his back. He tried not to think about
Andie, it only hurt. But the thoughts would rush over him like an
avalanche. He remembered the night he ran away. No-he didn't want to
think about that, he didn't want to remember the look on her face, or
the way she clung to his waist, or the tears that soaked his shirt. He
did not want to hear that little voice begging him to take her too.
Asher leaned over and turned on the radio as loud as the knob turned.
The base shook the table and all other sounds went silent-but his
thoughts continued to flow. Andie-in her little pink dress-perched on
the edge of the window, clinging to its sides like a little monkey.
Andie-her tear stained face trying so desperately not too look
terrified.
Asher stood and clicked off the radio. He looked out his window-through
the dirt and grim-at the snowy world. Andie making snow angles. The
steal toe of his boot hit one of the legs of his bed. Andie and that
creep who broke his CD. One of the pictures on the wall fell as he
slammed the door shut behind him and thumped down the stairs.
He walked past Toad and Fred sitting in the living room watching the
TV. A huge sub sandwich stuck out of Fred's mouth and his hand groped
through a bag of Cheetoes. Toad hung upside-down off the coffee
table-flies congregated around his head.
"Where you goin'?"
Asher turned to see Wanda leaning against the wall next to the kitchen.
He rolled his eyes. "Why don't you go make someone cry Wanda?"
"Somebody's got a thorn up his back-side." Tabitha said emerging from
the kitchen as well.
Asher crossed his arms. "Then you best not be messin' with him." He
slammed the door behind him. More pictures fell.
His boots sunk deep in the snow-up to the knee. His breath came out
coated in condensation. Up in the sky the clouds hid the sun, no birds
sang. But the wind howled. It pushed the trees so that it seemed they
would break. Asher shoved his hands in his pockets and walked against
the wind. He set his jaw.
When he reached the Xavier mansion he stopped and stared through the
gates. The house was so big, much bigger than the Brotherhood Boarding
house. He searched for a doorbell. A car drove up and stopped beside
him. The left window rolled down and very familiar face peered out of
it.
"You lookin' for Andie?" The young man said.
"How'd you know?"
He grinned. "We met at the bar-I'm the guy who hexed you," he said.
Asher nodded.
"Do you want to come in and see her?"
"You'd let me come in there?" Asher asked.
"Sure-why, are you a spy or something?"
Asher laughed. "No-I just want to see Andie."
The young man hopped out of the car-assisted by a pair of crutches and
the car drove into the mansion. He extended a hand. "Ryan Walker."
"Asher."
They walked through the open gates. Asher stared at Ryan. Why would he
trust him? He didn't know him at all-except that he was Andie's brother
and that he created and controlled fire. "So," Asher said. "Why are
you just letting me come in here? How do you know I'm not a spy?"
Ryan grinned. His brown eyes squinted as the sun poked its way though
the clouds. "I prefer to trust people." He moved on in silence for a
few moments and then looked back up at the giant. "Besides-I think
Andie wants to see you."
Asher glanced down at Ryan's foot and laugh. "Is that what Wanda did to
your foot?"
Ryan laughed. "Yeah, she did."
"I thought you guys had a healer or somethin'," Asher said.
"We do."
"So why didn't you get him to heal you?"
Ryan simply moved on. They mounted the steps rather slowly-Asher tried
not to go to fast for Ryan. Then, they walked inside.
Huge, absolutely huge. For the first time in his entire life Asher felt
small.
Ryan let out a heavy breath. He looked winded-the skin beneath his eyes
swelled and his chest rose and fell quickly. "Well, I'm not even going
to try to make it up the stairs so we're going to take the elevator."
The walked over to the right of the stairs and entered the elevator.
"She should be up in her room, but we'll see. We're the only one's home
at the moment because everyone else is at school so she should be
there."
Asher glanced at the scars on Ryan's face. Part of him itched to ask
where they came from, but another part warned him not too. The doors
opened and Ryan led him down a hall and stopped in front of one of the
doors. He knocked the back of his hand against the shiny wood.
"Yeah?"
They heard a dull thud. It sounded like someone falling over.
Ryan laughed. "Andie it's Ryan, you have a visitor."
"Just a sec." More thuds. Drawers opened and closed as did doors, and
finally the lock clicked and she opened her door. The grin faded and
her mouth hung slightly open. "Ryan-"
"Andie." Ryan took her hand. "Talk to him." That said, he hobbled
away.
Asher cleared his throat. Andie sighed. "Can I come in?" Andie pushed
the door out of the way and walked to her bed. Big room. Clean
room-surprise, surprise. Andie sat down on her bed and drew her knees
to her chest.
Asher sighed. "Look Andie, this is stupid. I don't want to be in a
fight anymore okay? How 'bout I let you live your life and you let me
live mine, how's that?"
Andie stared down at the floor and played with a string hanging from her
jeans. She rested her chin on her knees.
Asher groaned and sat on the chair beside her bed. He leaned on his
knees and looked up at her. "Andie this is killing me."
She put her forehead on her knees hiding her face.
Asher rolled his eyes. "Oh come on you've been doing that since you
were in the first grade. It only works on Mom and Dad remember? I see
past your spoiled princess act."
"I'm not a spoiled princess," she said, her pouty voice muffled by her
knees.
"Oh yeah? I think you are." Asher said. He reached out and tickled
her sides.
She squealed and rolled onto her side trying to push his hands away.
"Yeah see, spoiled princess."
Andie grinned and lunged at him. Her arms wrapped around his neck. "I
want my big brother back." Despite her smiling face he heard her voice
quiver.
Asher hugged her close and rubbed her back. Finally, peace. He just
listened to her cry and held her. Five year of separation and they blew
a few months over some stupid argument that was resolved in a matter of
seconds. Wasted. Completely wasted.
Andie leaned back rubbing the tears from her cheeks. "I'm sorry Asher,"
she said.
"Yeah, you gotta stop acting like a girl."
She smiled and slugged him in the shoulder.
"Man, you hit harder than you used to."
"Yeah, I keep forgetting. I hit Hope in the shoulder the other day and
I gave her bruise." They both laughed. "I'm sorry I told you how to
live your life Asher. I just wanted things to turn out the way I wanted
them to."
Asher grinned and leaned back in his chair. "Guess that's how we all
are. Like those earrings." He pointed to the silver rings that crawled
up her left ear. "You look like a punk."
"Hey, it was my way of rebelling against Mom and Dad. You should have
seen their reaction when they found out about my bellybutton- uh-"
"You got your bellybutton pierced?" Asher asked. "Any other body
mutilations I should know about?"
Andie's face reddened and she gabbed her pillow. "Maybe."
Asher crossed his arms and lowered his eyebrows. "What?"
She pulled the bottom of her pant leg up and pushed her sock down. A
small bumblebee hovered in mid-flight on her ankle. Andie grinned.
Asher rolled his eyes and sighed. "I never should have left you to your
own schemes."
"You goof ball," Andie said. "I still have this." She leaned over the
other side of her bed and came up with a big stuffed puppy. Its ears
flopped as she set him on her lap.
Asher put a hand over his eyes. "Oh, the dog."
"Yes, the dog. You were so proud of winning him at Disney Land. And
you were such a good brother to give it to your little sister."
"Yeah and you were so kind to name it after me," Asher said.
"Yeah, he's missing an eye though."
Asher sighed and leaned back in the chair again. He stared at his
little sister. Not so little anymore. He had seen her in the mall but
he really hadn't seen her. The only reason he recognized her was
because Anthony had called her Andrea Daugherty. The last time he saw
her, five long years ago, her hair, brown at the time, hung down to her
elbows in two braids with little pink bows at the ends, and she wore a
pink dress. That's how he wanted to picture her forever-the little girl
with the long pigtails and the little hopeful pink dress.