Another day. Another chapter.
Enjoy!
~Zari
Chapter 22: Cody.
Rogue sat in the train car as it sped over the tracks. She hadn't even given thought to the fact that she was alone with Remy. She was focused on what she was going to say to Cody. She owed him an apology, weather he was awake to hear it or not.
"So where we goin', Chère?" Remy asked her as he shuffled his cards.
Rogue looked out the door of the car. "Ah thought you had business of your own here?"
Remy smiled. "I do."
Rogue looked over to him with attitude. "Then why do you need to be in mine?"
Remy let out a soft laugh. "Have it your way, Chère."
Rogue turned away from him. "Ah really wish you'd stop calling me that," she mumbled beneath her breath.
()
Rogue felt her heart beating faster as she stepped up to the hospital. To her surprise, Remy had left her alone. He said he was going to finish his "business" and that they would meet back up later. Part of her wondered if he was around there somewhere, watching her in hiding. She ignored her imagination and went into the hospital.
She made her way up to the room where Cody was staying. She felt horrible as she slowly opened the door and came upon the sight of the sad young man looking as though he was sleeping peacefully in the hospital bed.
Rogue snuck over to his bedside. She looked down at his innocent face. She new this man. He would have been graduating right now. He would have been on his way to a football scholarship to a good college. He would have grown up, married, gotten a job as a business executive and had three kids. She knew all of his daydreams, his memories, his wishes, and his life. She knew everything. He didn't deserve this.
She tried to say something, but her voice caught in her throat. This was all her fault, and no amount of apology was going to make this right.
She forced herself to calm down. She had to do this. There was nothing else she could do. "Hi, Cody…" she managed to push out. Her voice was shaky and unsure. She hated herself more and more with ever second that she saw the blonde hair falling over his creamy face. "Ah'm…really sorry. Ah know nothin' Ah say could ever make up for what happened, but Ah would have stopped it if Ah had the ability to…"
Cody stirred.
Rogue didn't know much about the medical understanding of comas, but she was pretty sure that the people weren't supposed to move. "Cody?" she said as she came closer to him.
Cody lay, unmoving again.
Rogue wondered if she had imagined it, or if he was finally regaining his life force. She waited a few minutes in the room. "Ah don't think you'd like me anymore. Ah'm a mutant now. That was mah power, when Ah absorbed your life force, abilities, and even your psyche. There hasn't been a day go by that Ah haven't felt you inside mah head." She thought that telling him about her would make her feel better, but it wasn't doing anything of the sort. She felt more like she was justifying what had happened, rather than taking responsibility. "Ah'll come back to visit you again. Ah don't know if you'd actually want me to, but…Ah want to make sure you make it through this."
Cody didn't move, and the only sound in the room was his breathing and the beep of his heart monitor.
Rogue stood up straight and looked down at him. "Ah wish Ah had noticed you before that party," she told him. She turned and made her way out of the room and walked, defeated, out of the hospital. She didn't get the closure that she was hoping for. She realized now that there was a chance that she never would.
()
"Gambit," John, Pyro, said as he approached him.
Remy looked at him with his red eyes. "John. Following me for a reason?" he asked.
John smiled at him. "Come on! If ya didn't want me ta folla ya, then you shouldn't have left your letter for your divorce finalizing in your room," he said, waving a piece of paper in front of him.
Remy took the paper from him. "It wasn't on purpose."
John smiled at him. "Done with the sheila, huh? And here Oi thought ya were crazy about her?"
Remy looked down at the piece of paper. Everything had been taken care of. He couldn't just leave Belladonna hanging after everything that happened. It wasn't her fault. He wasn't going to leave things unfinished. Now they were finished. This would be his last trip to Louisiana. He was going to be the leader of the Thieves' Guild by reputation only from that day forward.
"Unless that isn't the same sheila…" John said. He clearly knew what he was talking about.
Remy looked to John and then away. "I had to fix things."
John shrugged. "You're too noble for a thief."
Remy laughed a little. "That I am." He handed John back his wallet.
John took his wallet back and couldn't hide the surprise on his face. "All right. Oi have a job that Oi could use some help on, if you're interested…"
Remy smirked at him. "What kind of job?"
()
Rogue sat on a bench, waiting for Remy. Honestly, she wasn't waiting as much as she was thinking. She had hurt Cody. She had really hurt him. His life would never be the same because of her. Maybe her power was her punishment. Maybe it was supposed to keep people away from her to keep them safe. She felt a few tears rolls down her cheeks as the thought hit her. It was irrational and unfair, but it was brought on by guilt and her self-loathing.
Remy slid into the seat beside her. "How was you're day, Chère?"
Rogue wiped her tears away quickly, hoping that he hadn't seen. "Just perfect. How was your 'business'?" she asked, looking him in the face.
Remy smiled. "Productive," he answered. His expression changed, and he pushed her hair from her face. "What' wrong, Chère?"
Rogue stood and moved toward the train station. "Ah'm just ready to go home."
Remy watched after her for a moment, and followed her.
()
Remy watched Rogue as she sat in the train car. She had been quiet for far too long. She hadn't even rolled her eyes at him when he would say something. Whatever she had done in Louisiana had really affected her. He knew he should have followed her to make sure she was all right.
Rogue looked out of the car and her eyes were glossed over with tears.
Remy moved to sit next to her. He looked at her seriously. He couldn't play with her and make this better. He should have never helped her come here. He should have found out what she was doing before he offered. She would have just found her own way here anyway, though. "Rogue?"
Rogue looked at him, and then looked away quickly. She should have known better than to assume she could hide her feelings from him. He had spent far too much time learning about her.
"What happened, Chère?" Remy asked her smoothly.
Rogue didn't look at him. Her lower lip trembled as though she were holding back sobs. Her eyes filled with tears that she refused to let fall. "It's nothing…" she squeaked out.
Remy drew closer to her. "You don' have to lie to me."
Rogue stared forward at nothing in particular. She must have been trying so hard not to cry in front of him.
Remy leaned closer to her, and whispered, "Tell me…"
Rogue let one tear stream down her cheek. It was all she needed to break down. "Ah went to see the first boy Ah touched with mah power," she struggled to say without sobbing. "He's in a coma! There's nothin' Ah can say to fix this. There's nothin' Ah can do. Ah'm helplessly trapped in this power and damned to be alone forever!" Tears rolled down her cheeks and dropped off her chin.
Remy was surprised that she had actually opened up. She had built such a strong wall to keep him out that it was alarming to know that she was telling him her feelings, for once. He wrapped his arm around her to comfort her. He hoped this wasn't pushing her too fast. "That' no' your fault, Rogue. You couldn' control it."
Rogue turned and curled herself up into his chest. She let her tears fall down freely and placed her face to his chest.
Remy was alarmed by her reaction at first, but he quickly recovered and wrapped his arms around her. This might have been the first of many times he would hold her like this, or it might have been the only time he would be able to hold her like this. Either way, he was going to eat this up while he could. "You don' have to be alone forever, Chère," he told her. "I won' let that happen."
I had a bunch of stuff written here and accidentally hit the back button, so it is all gone! It was just some babble about how hot Remy is though... Hehehe. Remy...
Ahem! Anyway, The next chapter is underway and I will have it up as soon as I can. Hehe.
Thanks again to everyone who favorited and reviewed!
Chellerbelle - Thanks! I thought that was a good touch! Hehe.
Rogueslove22 - He totally would do something like that! He's such a player! He knows what he's doing. Mwahahaha!
DontMessWithAnime - I have been very busy! I've been a writing fiend on this story! I hope it stays that way! Hehehehe!
clueless c - Yes! That was something Evolution didn't cover, so I made it up to fit with the other storylines. Hehe.
ONIX-21 - I'm glad you like it. Hehehe! He's so sneaky! Just wait until the chapters to come! It's going to be awesome!