I staggered into the house, grabbing a knife from the kitchen and proceeding to the bathroom, leaving bloody footprints as I walked. I switched on the light, my eyes trying desperately to adjust to the brightness, throwing the knife onto the countertop. I stared into the wallpaper, blue and white vertical stripes with a line of pink flowers halfway down the wall. The light was the color of sunlight, and the room smelled of perfumes, which at the time felt sickening. I turned my adjusted eyes to the mirror, leaning against the counter with my good hand.
My stomach fell, an eerie tingling spread across my body. My lungs flew into overtime, causing me to hyperventilate; little squeaks of my voice barely audible between gasps. Regardless of my being an atheist, I only found the words "My God."
Where my blue irises had been were pure white ones, surrounded with a small bit of light gray, blending in to the sclera, leaving only the pure black pupil visible. Along with my beady eyes, my curly blonde hair was oily and sticky with sweat, clinging to my face at awkward areas. My face was red and irritated by tears, and my feet, knees, and left elbow were all bleeding.
Hearing the rushed sound of footsteps, I slammed closed the door and locked it, keeping my foot pressed against it.
"Lillian! Lillian, what's wrong?" My dad asked from the hallway, sounding more irritated than concerned.
"Nothing. Just a bad dream," I said back, which was partially true, "I'm fine." That was an outright lie. "Just go back to bed dad."
"Fine, but can you be a bit quieter?"
"Alright dad." I barely had the breath to say that.
My gaze stiffened upon my reflection once more. My heart tensed, and my chest began to ache. I soon found myself crying on the closed toilet. This wasn't happening, it couldn't be. It isn't. My left hand was normal now, surely it had been a hallucination. Surely I wasn't a monster like the ones on the television… like the ones at school. It wasn't true! It wasn't true!
I stood up, and stared at the mirror again, a contorted expression on my face, a mixture of hatred and disgust. My eyes were still wrong. I didn't have to live like this! I grabbed the knife, and held it against my left arm, ready to cut off the hand that had turned on me. I couldn't do it. I held the knife for a while there, sitting on the floor, leaned against the wall, hysterical with anger.
There had to be a better way out of this. A cure? A treatment? I would give anything for a cure to this right now. But nothing I could say would ever change this, my life is over. Destroyed. I'll probably end up killing thousands from the evil that has invaded me. My body felt numb then. I closed my eyes and let sleep envelope me, the knife rattling across the tile floor.
I woke up at some unknown time, the bathroom had no windows and no clock, and so I stood up and walked into the kitchen, eyes meeting the oven's clock. 9:52 am, I sighed, glad it was Saturday.
"Miss Alber," I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of a stranger, "My name is Charles Xavier, your father and I were just discussing your current situation. Please, come sit with us."
I turned around, looking into the living room, where I could see a bald, handicapped man craning his neck to see me.
"Excuse me, but I have no idea what the hell you're talking about." I said to him, shooting a glare.
"I'm certain you do. Please, sit down."
I leaned against the wall, refusing to move. "What seems to be the problem, officer?" I said sarcastically.
"Lillian, this man is giving you an offer, listen to him, please." My father said.
"Thank you Mr. Alber. Lillian, I have recently learned about your unique talents, and am inviting you to join my school for gifted youngsters in New York, such as yourself."
"What type of talents do you mean?" This sounded like a scam.
"I assure you my institute is not a scam." Xavier said.
"Are you deaf? What type of- wait. You're a mutant! Get out of my house!" He had just read my mind; the creep was trying to kill me!
"Lillian, listen to him." My father said, irritated.
"I mean you no harm Lillian. I understand if you are confused, but I can help you. You need to learn how to control your powers or you will be a threat to yourself and others."
"Prove to me that you won't harm me or my family." I seethed
"Very well… I brought someone closer to your age to help explain this to you." The mutant said, "Jean, could you please come in?"
A girl stepped in from the front porch, red hair, flawless skin, full lips, wide hips, maybe eighteen years old.
"Hello, I'm Jean Grey, a student at Professor Xavier's institute. I understand how difficult this must be, but I went through the same thing as you are now. Trust me when I say it really is for the best."
I looked to my father, who nodded. Fine. Fine! Three to one it seemed, fine, I'll go, it's not like I gave a shit about my life anymore anyways. I'd much rather senselessly loose my humanity and murder people in New York than in my hometown.
"Whatever," I said, "I'll go. I don't know what the hell my power even is, but fine. How much am I allowed to pack?" I said, practically spitting the words out.
"As much as you want." Jean said, smiling and quirking her head to the side. I felt the overwhelming urge to punch her.