A/N: Thank you for the kind reviews! Very touching! =)
6
Again Laura wakes up to the pressure of an arm, and this time a knee between hers. Opening one eye, she sees Julian's face burrowed into the pillow beside hers, close enough that
she can feel his breath wafting on her neck. Laura feels a curl of irritation.
She pushes him away, still in a huff about the other girl.
…
"Morning, sunsh-sh-shine," Julian yawns.
It's Saturday morning, and he's slept in, apparently having nowhere to be. Laura doesn't answer, lacing her shoes up on the other edge of the bed.
He watches her for a moment, then rolls over a bit to face her. "Where are you going?"
"I have to lend my notes to Sofia," Laura says, her voice a bit clipped. She doesn't look at Julian, suspecting that his face might light up at the mention of the girl.
"Oh," he says. "Coming back after?"
"No," Laura says, even though she'd been planning to. "I'm going to take Kenny for a walk."
"Sounds good. Give me a sec and—"
"No," Laura says again, a little sharper than she'd intended. He gives her a surprised look. "Why not"
"You pulled your back last night," Laura says, for lack of a better answer. In an almost accusing fashion, because she does not want him present when she summons Sofia with a knock at the
other girl's door; it's bad enough when she appears unplanned.
Julian scoffs. "I'm not a baby. I'll be fine. In fact—"
He insists on carrying Kenny, to prove that he is fine. Laura can't think of any other excuses to get rid of him, so he follows her down one of the hallways in the women's' dorm. The door
looms at the end; Laura's fingers grip the edges of her notebook unwillingly, tensing, like toes curling.
Knock knock, her own fist on the wood.
She waits, one minute, two. "She's not there," she says, relieved—then tenses, seeing—over Julian's shoulder—as the girl jogs in their direction, up the hallway. "Laura! I am so sorry—I went for a jog. "
Julian watches as Laura passes the other girl the notes.
"I would like to get to know you better, Laura," Sofia says, smiling as she takes the notebook. "Do you want to get coffee sometime?"
"I don't drink coffee," Laura says. She gives a half-hearted smile back. "Thanks, though."
"Oh, okay," Sofia says, a little hurt. But Laura doesn't care; she turns away and starts to head down the hallway, her muscles tense.
"She's kind of grumpy today," Julian's murmuring to the girl apologetically. "You know, I wouldn't mind getting to know you better. Are you free Sunday?"
"I am," Sofia says. "What's her name?"
"Kenny," Julian says. "Who's this nice lady?" he says to Kenny, meaning the other girl.
Laura stops in her tracks, her spine freezing. Her first instinct is to kill Julian for using the baby—whom she'd made unbelievable sacrifices for—to pick up girls. It's hard not to act on it. She
takes a calming breath through her nose and calls "Come on, she's going to need a diaper change soon!"
"Oh," Julian says. "In that case…I'd better take her away now. Her shi—poop smells like sulfur."
Sofia laughs easily, a musical sound. In contrast to Laura's usual complete absence of laughter. She feels cold, suddenly seeing how much better this other girl is for him as a match. Another
icy stab—would she make a better mother to Kenny?
Don't be ridiculous, Laura thinks sternly. Julian makes Kenny wave good-bye, then follows her up the hall. They walk in silence for a while, both lost in thought.
…
"Thanks for the notes, Laura," Sofia says as they exit English class the next day. "I was thinking—if you do not like coffee, how about tea?"
"Maybe," Laura says, feeling mildly bad about her behavior towards the other woman. It's not her fault that Julian cares for her. She can hardly be angry at Sofia for being a nice, caring
person. "Let's see how much homework we have by the end of the week."
"That sounds good," Sofia says, smiling.
Laura smiles back slightly, and amongst the rush of students exiting the classroom, she smells Julian nearby. She spots him leaning on the wall of the hallway, his arms folded and his
books in a stack by his feet.
"Oh!" Sofia says. "He meets you after class?"
"Apparently," Laura says. She can hear his heart now, like her hearing has tuned in to that sound alone. It's beating faster, and she grits her teeth. He must have been waiting to
see Sofia, now that he knows she's in this class.
"That is very sweet."
"That's him, alright," Laura says, sarcastically, but the other girl doesn't get this. They stop by Julian, who smiles. "Lunch?" he asks.
"Sure," Laura replies, her voice flat. He reaches out with his hands; she blinks uncertainly.
"Give me your books."
"I'm fine carrying them, thanks." Laura feels more annoyed. He's using her now to win points with Sofia.
"Would you mind if I come with you guys?" Sofia asks.
"Not at all." Julian touches Laura's lower back; she arches away from his fingers and shoots him a glare so that the other girl can't see.
He raises his eyebrows, and shrugs slightly.
They go to lunch.
…
"We need to talk," Julian asks, lying spread-eagle on the bed that night, his arms behind his head as Laura tucks Kenny into her crib.
She strokes her daughter's small face, and doesn't answer.
"I said—" Julian starts, a few moments later.
"I heard you." Laura looks up. "I don't have anything to say, so I was waiting on you."
"You're being a real—" his eyes go to the crib, "—b-word lately. I figured something's up."
"Nothing more than usual," Laura says quietly.
"You're doing it again," he says. "You start acting weird, like you're mad at me…but you won't tell me why. Are you going to start throwing dishes at me?"
"We don't have any dishes in here," Laura points out.
"Poo?" Comes Kenny's voice from the crib.
"That doesn't make me feel better," Julian says. "We need to talk about this."
"You know what you're doing," Laura says calmly. "I shouldn't need to tell you."
"Laura—" he begins, but is cut off by Kenny's voice, louder this time.
"POO!"
"I agree," Laura says, looking back at the little girl.
"Stop teaching her to call me that." Julian sits up. "I'm trying to understand you better, but the more I try, the more you pull away. I don't—"
"POO!" Kenny yelps again, louder.
"You haven't tried to understand me," Laura says. "I don't like the way you use us."
"Wha—" Julian's eyes narrow.
"POOOOOOOO!" Kenny begins screaming and flailing her hands.
"I think she wants you," Laura says. "Come here."
Julian gets to his feet and moves closer to the crib, to stand beside Laura. He peers in at the little girl, who stuffs her fist in her mouth and makes a squeaky noise that
sounds suspiciously like a giggle.
"Maybe you should stay with her for a bit," Laura says flatly. "She obviously doesn't want me."
Julian glances at her, sensing there is a double meaning to her words.
"I need to sleep. I have a quiz tomorrow," she adds. "Just stand there for a bit and stroke her face, she'll go out like a light." She heads to the bed and gets in,
feeling tired of dealing with her problems.
…
"I am very glad you have stayed on with us, Laura," Professor Xavier says, as they sit at his enormous oak desk, in his office. "Have you liked the school so far?"
"It's been great," Laura says. "A real life-saver."
"How are your courses working out for you?"
"I like them so far. English is interesting…so is Biology, and Chemistry."
"That's good to hear." The Professor smiles. "Do you feel ready to involve yourself in the volunteer aspect of the school?"
"Sure," Laura says. "I've got a lot of homework, and Kenny—but I more than owe you one."
The Professor smiles. "You owe me nothing, Laura. However, your involvement will help us to make sure that this establishment can continue to function."
Laura nods. "I can live with that. What kind of things will I be doing?"
"Interesting things," the Professor says. "Take Kenny to daycare this coming Saturday, before seven PM, then meet me at the elevator. It's time you toured the school's sub-basement."
"Sub-basement?" Laura asks. "But—the elevator only goes down to the basement, where the gym and things are. You mean there's another floor to the school?"
The Professor smiles. "You'll see."