A/N
Hey guys, here's the next one! Sorry that it took a little while to update. I've been super busy and time just kinda got away from me. Just a little word of warning, I have exams coming up so updates will be a little slow, but I'm going to try my best to keep on top of this. Anyhoo, enjoy this one! :)
Oh, also, thanks for the reviews!
Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel.
"I told you to stay out of there! You promised me yet you still went back!" she shouts, causing the hairs on my arms to stand up.
"I'm sorry," I blubber, tears forming in my eyes. I examine her face, seeing bloodshot eyes and red puffy cheeks. She's been crying.
"You never listen to me, Lyla. You always do whatever you want, never thinking about the consequences."
All I can do is nod, a foolproof method I've picked up in all my years of doing the wrong thing. I've never seen her this furious, even after I accidentally dropped her phone in the pool when I was thirteen. Some smarty pants I was, thinking I'd be able to play Angry Birds while I was chilling in the pool. And an angry bird my mother was.
A few wordless moments pass, with only the sounds of my mother's sobs filling the apartment.
I contemplate asking her, despite her woeful state.
"Why don't you want me going there?"
"That's not something you need to know," my mother replies, her words sharp and dangerous.
"Clearly it is." I don't bother hiding the attitude behind my words. "Are you a Traveller too?"
Her eyes widen considerably in shock.
"Where did you learn that word?" she gasps.
"Answer my question first."
"Lyla, please," she begs, but I refuse to let up.
"No, tell me why I can't go in there!"
"Lyla!"
"Mum," I mimic her tone.
"Lyla, I lost your father in there, and I don't want to lose you too."
"W-what?" I stutter. "What happened?"
My mother sucks in a sharp breath, preparing to tell me the story.
"Your father was a Traveller, Ly," she begins slowly, the tears welling in her eyes. I feel my own begin to prick as she continues. "There were only twelve at the time, all hunted by the Exterminators."
I listen intently, soaking in the information she's giving me.
"This group, they're dangerous. They came together to take out mutants, Inhumans, or anyone of the sort, supposedly to protect the human race. If you were a normal mutant, it wouldn't be so dangerous for you. But you aren't."
My eyes are wide with curiousity, urging mum to continue.
"Every time you go through a portal, there's a spike in cosmic energy which they can trace. And since you're the only one left, and the first to activate a portal in seventeen years, you're going to be on the top of their hit list."
"But mum, it's safe. The portal leads to S.H.I.E.L.D.. They can keep me safe."
Mum looks sceptical. "I don't think you quite understand how dangerous these people are. Travellers are very powerful, but they still lost."
"How powerful exactly?"
"I don't know for sure, but because you're only half Traveller, you could be a lot less capable of protecting yourself."
"So what do you know about Travellers then?"
"Not too much, I'm afraid."
My mum turns her back to me and disappears, only to return mere seconds later, clutching a small brown notebook. I stare at it curiously.
"I was hoping to never have to give this to you," she says silently, gingerly passing the tattered leather notebook to me. My fingers gently brush over the cover, following the grooved pattern.
"What is it?" I ask her, while carefully opening it to the first page.
"It's been in the family for decades, passed down generation to generation. Everything you need to know about Travellers is in this book." I glance down at the decrepit notebook, on the brink of completely falling apart, and notice the keyhole that keeps it locked. My finger runs delicately across the lock, afraid that one sharp movement could break it.
My eyes find themselves looking at my mother again, who is unclipping the golden chain that hangs off her neck, one I've never seen her without. She passes it to me, which I examine briefly before clasping it around my own neck. It's a key, to the notebook it seems. Not wanting to overwhelm my mother more than I already have, I leave the necklace on and place the book gently on my bedside table. I have a lot of bedtime reading to do tonight it seems.
Mum and I sit at the dining table in silence, with only the sounds of cutlery scraping against plates to be heard. My food sits on the table before me, the plate almost untouched. I chew slowly, not allowing myself to swallow until it's just a tasteless mush that was once lasagne.
The windows, oddly enough, are still completely whited-out by the fog. I've never seen anything like it. Sure, I've witnessed fog before, heaps of times, but every time it would disappear within a matter of hours. This fog has hung over the city since this morning. It must be a New York thing, I guess.
I begin to recount the events of the past few days in my mind, playing the scenes in my head like a movie. I try to hide the smile that's beginning to creep onto my face when I picture Calum, standing buck naked in his room when I stumbled inside. That really was a day to remember.
"What are you grinning about?" Mum asks, an amused smile appearing on her pale face.
"Nothing, nothing," I respond, stifling giggles as she continues to stare me down.
"Come on, spill," she urges.
I ponder for a second, before finally deciding to tell her. After all, she's currently the only person I can actually talk to about this stuff. I can't exactly tell any of my actual friends about Calum and the whole Traveller shebang.
I begin my story from the moment I crashed through his wardrobe doors and seeing his flushed cheeks as he scrambled for his towel.
"Sounds like you have a crush," she coos. "My little girl is growing up!"
I groan. "I don't have a crush on Calum."
"Sure, whatever you say," she responds sardonically, wearing an annoyingly sly grin. She stands from the table, gathering both her plate and mine. My glare follows her to the kitchen, her bellowing laughter floating through the apartment. I can't stay mad for long though, her laughter causing a rush of happiness to surge through me.