Stages

Part 4: Despair and Realization

Jean stared at the door in shock. With her arms still wrapped around her body, she turned around and leant with her back against it. Slowly, she slipped to the ground; pulling her knees close while she rested her head on it and began to cry heavily. The pain she just felt was unbearable. Not only was the man she intended to marry sleeping with another woman in the room opposite to her, she's also just lost her best friend and the only one who really understood her. Everything was her fault. Sobbing she kept on asking herself if it was caused by her that Scott was betraying her. If she did something or didn't do something and he was missing it in their relationship. If she could give him what Jean couldn't. Even if she's no idea what it was… Feeling the pain, she knew now how Logan must have felt. How much she must have hurt him. Shaking her head, she didn't notice that the door opposite to her opened.

"Jean…," Scott said shocked and froze immediately. Slowly, Jean raised her head. Her expression was completely blank. He swallowed hard, knowing that she'd just caught him. "Jean, look I…," he began and came closer; looking directly into her wet green eyes, which mirrored the pain she felt. Watching him, she pulled the ring from her left finger hand and threw it at him, before she ran down the corridor crying heartrendingly.

"Jean, wait!" Scott called but she was already gone. "Damn!"

"What's wrong?" someone asked and Emma came into view, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"She caught us!" he said panicky and ran a hand through his hair.

Emma only shrugged. "Well, she would have found out sooner or later anyway. Wolverine already knew."

Angrily, Scott faced her. "But I didn't want her to find out about it lie that!"

"She'll get over it," she replied calmly. "And besides…from what I've caught she had quiet some fun with your favorite X-Man up in Canada."

"What!" he asked shocked. "You men they have…"

She only smiled knowingly. "It's not going well between them anyway. So are you coming back inside now?" she asked bluntly.

"I should check on her…"

Sighing she pulled him back into her room. "She'll be fine and I doubt she wants to see you now. Let Wolverine comfort her."

"But…," Scott protested.

"No but's!" the blonde woman gave back and closed the door. "She'll get over it. So stop worrying about her!" Before he could say anything, he felt her lips on his again.

In the meanwhile, Jean was running. Blinded by her still flowing tears she kept on running. She didn't feel the cold on the outside, the snow under her bare feet, nor did she realize that a heavy snowstorm was coming up. She only ran. As fast as she could, as far away as possible. Only her legs, which quitted their work as she bumped against a tree on the ground, stopped her all of a sudden and she fell down on the snowy ground in the wood, which was close by the mansion. A sharp pain jolted through her entire right leg as she twisted her ankle. Crying and sobbing heavily, her body was shaking all over. She wrapped her arms around herself again. Shaking her head she wished that she would die. She wanted the pain to stop, wanted her heart to stop aching and racing in her chest. She'd felt as if she'd lost everything at once. In fact she had… She'd lost her future husband to an attractive blonde woman and she'd lost Logan to the same kind of woman… Sobbing, Jean finally knew that it was because of her. Emma was younger than her, Eliza, too. Maybe she was just no longer attractive to them. Closing her eyes, while her breath was visible in the cold air, she lowered her head to the ground. At least, so she thought, she finally knew the truth…

I know that one is rather short. But the next one is longer. ; )