Chapter 16:
Jubilee stepped back awkwardly after a few moments to clear her throat. Remy's lips quirked, but he made his way back to his own stool, leaning on the bar as he did so. When he sat back down, he noticed that she was staring at him oddly. He raised an eyebrow and waited for her to speak.
"Your leg," she paused as if searching for the words, "Was it when you came to find me?"
He shook his head with a slight grimace. "No," he admitted, "Dat was all Remy's fault, and it happen years afterward." He lifted his foot, pulling up his pant leg to reveal he prosthetic that attached mid-calf. "De foot was stuck under a collapsed portion of a building. It was lose it or get buried since de rest of it was comin' down." He dropped his leg back down again, not bothering to mention that it had been Laura who had made the decision to cut through the bone and carry him back to safety. He turned away to look at the closed blinds, hoping Jubilee would let the topic go. He didn't want to talk about what had happened or to even remember the hard months afterwards as he'd battled the anger and frustration he'd felt at losing full mobility.
To his relief, Jubilee nodded, and her gaze drifted to his neck, which was covered by the high collar of his sweater. She pressed her lips together, "Did they bite you?"
He shook his head in surprise, "You really got no idea what dey did?" When she shook her head and turned her gaze back to watch her fingers trace patterns in the marble top, he sighed and debated with himself. What was better? To play it off like it hadn't been a big deal? But she'd know that was a lie immediately. She'd lived with that particular group of vampires for a few years, and he'd heard stories that she'd gotten just as bad as they had at times. Shaking his head with a weary sigh, he stood on his good leg and reached for the hem of his shirt. She looked up to watch as he pulled the thick material over his head, baring his body for her view.
He kept his eyes closed, but he couldn't keep from hearing her gasp of shock. He opened his eyes to focus on folding the shirt carefully, as if it were a very important task. "Dey not all from dat incident." He admitted as he set the folded material down and rested his weight on the stool again. When he looked at her again, her eyes were still focused on his torso. He didn't have to look to know it was a maze of scars. He was being honest when he said he'd gotten some of them in other ways. He'd been an X-Man too long to not have reminders of the battles he'd fought, not to mention the different scrapes he and Laura had gotten into, but he'd be lying if he didn't admit that over half of the ugly scars were from the vampires. She stared at his neck the longest, and he didn't blame her. It was the main reason he always kept it covered. It was disgusting, the skin thick from the scar tissue that covered his entire throat.
He lifted a hand to run over the bumpy, rough skin as he spoke. "Dey fed from me, but dey didn't bite me." His voice became cold as he relayed what had happened, trying to detach himself from the pain of the memory. "One of dem used barbed wire. He came up from behind me and started here." He tapped his throat. "He was smart enough to not take de whole head off, so it was clear he done it before. A bald guy, lotsa tattoos on his face…"
He paused until she nodded and murmured a name under her breath. Her fists were clenched in front of her now, and her jaw was tight as well. He didn't ask her to repeat the name. He didn't want to know. Instead, he continued. "Dey kept me alive while dey did what dey do. I'm guessing you don't need de details." She shook her head stiffly, and the anger, guilt and distress swimming in her eyes disturbed him enough for him to pull the shirt back on. As he tucked the tail of it in, he ignored the scars that he knew continued down his hips and onto his legs. She'd seen enough to satisfy her curiosity. He rested his hands on the table, halfway between them. He flipped his palms up in invitation, but didn't try to touch her clenched fists.
"It was a long time ago, chere. Long enough dat it need to be buried and dead. Remy told you dat he forgive you, dat he don't blame you. Whether you could have stopped it or not don't make no difference. It be done. It be time to bury it and move on. For both of us to do dat." He waited a few moments, the tension of the situation weighing heavily on his shoulders. He was tired and felt as if every year of his life was pressing down on him. The stress of their current situation would have been enough to tire anyone out: Dealing with these old demons, knowing that The Collector was after them, and the long hours of travel to first go to Canada and then to return here.
It was several long moments before she slipped her hands into his and met his gaze again. "I am sorry. I regret staying with them." She said simply.
He nodded, accepting that before adding, "Everything happen for a reason." He'd learned the truth in that statement, thinking of the love affairs he'd had, the heart break that they had resulted in, and how it had all ended up in what he often thought of as the best times of his life, treasure hunting and thieving with Laura. His lips curved into a smile, "If it had never happened, we probably wouldn't be sitting here now."
She met his gaze, and her lips curved. "That's true," she said. "But I still have a lot to answer for." He watched as her gaze drifted to the doors that lead outside and she seemed to get lost in her thoughts. He grinned, thinking of the odd relationship she had with Logan. She was probably thinking about that too, wondering if they would have found each other in the same way if she hadn't run away.
He squeezed her hands before standing, deciding that he had better get rest while he could find it. "It be getting dark. I'm going to lay down for a bit before we get to work tonight."
Jubilee was just opening her mouth to respond when there was a startled shout from Logan and a loud crashing sound outside, followed by shattering glass and Laura's high-pitched scream.
Author's Note: Another short one, but the action will definitely pick back up in the next chapter. Thanks for the reviews, follows, favorites, etc. Y'all are my inspiration.