Lucy sat on her bed in only the light of a single candle, (the lamps were too bright) her hand moving furiously across the paper on which she was writing, believe it or not, a song. Yes, Lucy wrote songs. It was something she had been doing since she was young. Not words with songs, so it wasn't really a song, per say. More like a composition. She placed her pencil in her mouth and picked up the guitar that Charles had dug up for her, trying as quietly as she could to strum the notes she had written. A scowl crossed her face and she shook her head, erasing that whole measure.
What am I missing? She scratched her head.
Go to sleep Lucy, a drowsy voice said in her mind and she winced.
Sorry Charles. She set down her guitar and pencil, falling backwards onto her bed. Her insomnia seemed even worse tonight, and she knew that the next day would be filled with her struggling to stay awake. The others didn't know about it, of course, she didn't want to be a burden on them. A quiet knock interrupted her thoughts and she stood, walking over to the door and opening it slowly. "Hi," she greeted the person standing there. "What are you still doing up?"
"I was thinking," Sean replied, leaning against the doorway.
"Funny, I didn't know you could do that," she said coolly, although she was gripping the doorknob (the one not facing Sean) so tightly her knuckles were white. He rolled his eyes and peeked behind her.
"Can I come in? Or did I come all this way for nothing?" A small smile appeared on her face and she stepped to the side, making a sweeping gesture with her hand. He smiled and ambled inside in his flannel pajamas. "Only one candle?" he questioned, turning to face her.
"The lamps hurt my eyes when it's dark," she explained, pulling another candle on the dresser this time. "I'll light another one." She took out the matches and carefully lit the candle, waving the match to put it out before tossing it in a glass of water. "Just a precaution," she said upon seeing the look Sean gave her. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"I was lying in bed, thinking, when I had the sudden urge to come and see you. I don't know why." He sat down on her bed and pulled the sheet music into his lap, glancing at the guitar for a second. "You write songs?"
"They aren't really songs, more like compositions."
"How come they're only compositions?"
She pointed at her throat. "I can't sing, remember? Not even by myself. If even the slightest trace of my voice reaches someone's ears, they'll be dead like that." She snapped her fingers and frowned, stroking the neck of the guitar. "I miss it though…singing until my throat hurt. My mother used to be convinced that someday I'd be a world-famous singer."
"When did your mutation show up?" She crinkled her nose in thought, which Sean found rather cute. It reminded him of a rabbit.
"When I was about sixteen, my boyfriend wanted me to sing for him…" She trailed, wiping away a glistening tear. "His parents invited me to the funeral, but I didn't go. I couldn't." Sean pulled her across the bed and into a hug, which she gratefully returned.
"It'll be okay, Lucy."
"I know, but still. It gets to me sometimes." He pulled back and smiled.
"Don't worry, I'm here for you." He gently tapped his fist against her jaw, and she smiled. "There's that smile!" She laughed and pushed him a little, setting everything on the floor next to the bed before lying down. Sean followed and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. Her body seemed to mold against his perfectly, her own arm resting over the one around her waist, intertwining their fingers.
"Goodnight Sean."
"Goodnight Lucy."
xxxxOxxxx
Lucy wandered into the kitchen the next morning, yawning. Elisabeth and Alex were sitting at the table, playing a game with a piece of paper and a pencil that would occasionally make her hit him. Rose was leaning against the counter, yawning at every moment while staring at the tea pot in expectation. Charles was sitting at the other counter, the island, with his nose buried in the paper, occasionally taking a bite of his cereal. Marianne had her elbows placed on the island across from Charles, slowly stirring her spoon around in her mug of what appeared to be hot chocolate and looking very bored. Hank and Sean were nowhere to be found.
"It's not like we could've gone outside anyway," Rose said after a few moments of silence, aside from the occasional slapping noise coming from the table. "I'm honestly not surprised."
"Surprised about what?" she asked.
"Didn't ya hear?" Elisabeth said, throwing open the curtains. "We're having a lazy day." Lucy's eyes widened and she ran to the window, pressing her hand against the cold glass. The entire garden was covered in a thick blanket of sparkling white snow.
"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed, putting a hand over her mouth. "But…it was so nice yesterday." She turned around to look at the others.
"The weather is quite unpredictable, my dear," Charles said, not looking up from his paper. "I'm just surprised that it hadn't snowed sooner." She crinkled her nose again and shrugged, walking over to Marianne.
"Where's Hank?" she asked and Marianne shrugged weakly, clearing her throat and rubbing her neck again. "Are you okay?" The red-head nodded, waving a dismissive hand. She plucked the pencil out of Charles' hand and scribbled something on the paper in front of her.
Just a cough, don't worry about it. Charles' eyes flickered up from the paper to meet with Marianne's, but she quickly looked away and placed the pencil back in his outstretched hand.
"Are you sure?" Marianne's shoulders rose and fell in rapid succession, her version of a laugh, and she nodded with a smile, kissing her cheek lightly as reassurance. "Alright, fine. But if something is wrong, you know you can tell me."
"I'm reading her mind right now, Lucy," Charles cut in with a smile. "I can assure you she's fine." Lucy sighed and nodded, giving the red-head a quick hug.
"I need to catch up on my reading. I'm so far behind it isn't even funny. David is going to be so angry with me." She grabbed a bagel and hurried into the lounge, the door swinging shut behind her. Marianne gave him a grateful look and mouthed a thank you.
"Who's David?" Alex asked.
"Her pen pal in America, we smuggled the letters in and out back at the place." They mentioned that place much more casually now, but still wouldn't talk about what had happened. "But we all know they fancy each other, even if they won't admit it. They like to read the same books and then talk about them in their letters. It's kind of cheesy if you ask me." Elisabeth poked her tongue out and Alex laughed, writing something down on that paper. "Hey! You jerk!" She swiped the pencil from his hands and started writing something else down. Marianne, tired of being lonely, stood up and walked out of the kitchen, still rubbing her neck. Charles watched her leave and waited for a moment.
"I'll be right back, nature calls." Elisabeth made a face while Rose giggled and Alex rolled his eyes. Charles walked out and down the hallway, noticing a figure sitting against the wall, knees pulled to chest. The head of red hair gave away who it was and Charles broke into a jog, dropping onto his knees beside her. "Marianne? Marianne what's wrong?" He lifted her head up and saw that her neck was red from where she continued to rub it and tears glistened in her eyes.
I don't know, Charles. I'm scared.
"I know, darling, I know."
What's wrong with me?
"Maybe you should let Hank-"
No! She blushed. I don't want him to worry. He panics so easily, I would hate for him to freak out and it turn out to be nothing.
"Well…if you'll allow me to look into your mind, I might be able to find the problem." She gave him an apprehensive look. "You can trust me, Marianne. I'll do everything in my power not to hurt you." Finally, she relaxed a little and allowed him to place his hands on her face, fingers spread out. Both their eyes slipped shut and gasps escaped their mouths as they were plunged into Marianne's memories.
"Hand me the scalpel." The shine of the knife made Charles wince as he watched a man place it into the doctor's hands. He was standing at a distance from the table, but the mass of red curls flowing over the edge told him exactly who it was. She was naked, and a long stitching ran down the middle of her torso, but what caught his attention was the knife that slowly cut open her neck. Blood as crimson as her hair flowed out, but there was an IV that was pumping more into her, and a bucket underneath to catch the spilled liquid. "Watch closely as we discover how this girl's mutation works." The doctors all leaned in closely, and Charles couldn't help but do the same, suddenly next to the doctor as he began to cut open her voice box. Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open, and she looked around.
"What-" The scalpel slipped as the voice box vibrated, and her eyes went wide as she reached up to grasp her neck. A silent scream rippled through her until one of the doctors placed a towel over her mouth. She was unconscious in moments.
"Patch her up," the doctor said, disgust in his voice. "This experiment is ruined, a lost cause."
STOP!
Both mutants were thrown out of the memory, gasping for air as Marianne tore her face away from Charles' hands, grasping her neck. As tears slipped out of her eyes, he felt moisture well up in his own eyes and slide down his cheeks. Marianne's hands had slid up from her throat and were now cradling her face. Slowly, she removed her hands from her face and pulled her shirt up to her bra line, looking down at her stomach. A long scar ran down her stomach, stopping just where her skirt began.
I don't even remember this. How could I not remember?
"Marianne," he murmured, and she looked at him. "The reason your throat has been itching is because your voice box is almost done repairing itself. You should have your voice back very soon." Her eyes went wide, disbelief apparent in the blue orbs, before she startled Charles by throwing her arms around him, her face lighting up with a grin.
This is amazing! I have to go tell Hank! Thank you Charles, thank you so much!
"I really didn't do anything," he began, put she put a finger on his lips, giving him a warning look before kissing both of his cheeks and standing, running in the direction of Hank's room. Charles stared after her in amused surprise, rubbing the spot where she had kissed him and unaware that Rosabelle had been watching from the doorway, blinking a few times before walking back into the now empty kitchen.
xxxxOxxxx
Hank tapped a blue finger against his book, trying to remember something important, when the door flew opened and he was bathed in red hair and blue eyes. Marianne grabbed the nearest pen and paper, scribbling something down in a hurry before thrusting it into his hands. He gave her an odd look before looking down at the paper.
Charles said that I should be getting my voice back very soon! He looked up in surprise, a wide grin spreading across his face to match hers.
"Marianne that's great!" he exclaimed and she nodded excitedly as he picked her up and hugged her. She shook with laughter, burying her face into his shoulder. "I'm so happy for you!" She lifted her legs off the ground and kissed his cheek again, an action she seemed to like doing to everyone. He set her down and held her at arm's length, still smiling. "I'm so, so happy for you!" She smiled again, feeling perfectly content. She was getting her voice back soon.
And Hank was going to be the first person she talked to.
I just want to thank everyone that reviewed and subscribed, you have no idea how much it means to me! Tomorrow is my last day of school, so I'll probably be working on these a lot more, but in a couple of weeks I'm going to San Diego with my family, so there might not be any updates for a couple of days or even a week, not all the details are clear to me yet. Once again, thank you so much if you reviewed and/or subscribed! It means so, so much to me!