Chapter Eighteen: Destroying Us
A/N: Another update! Who's seen the Days of Future's Past trailer? So many ideas for the sequel, so determined to get through this one ;)
"What exactly are you running from?" Tobi inquired over her bottle of Chardonnay – the one she'd kept from her eighteenth and had only just opened. She passed it across to Danni, who took a grateful swig.
"I don't think 'what' is the right question," Danni acknowledged grimly, "Rather 'who'."
Tobi inclined her head. She and Danni had been playing this game for a little while now. They would ask each other questions, taking swigs from the bottle in order to bolster their confidence. Now, it was getting down to the deep stuff and Tobi was a little troubled. Was she prepared to answer the questions Danni might ask?
"Okay, who, then?"
Danni sighed heavily and crossed her legs. Her dark, glossy hair had been braided back and she looked a little sad.
"I was fourteen years old when my older brother was killed in a car accident – except it was my fault. I was only just coming to terms with my power, experimenting…and he was driving at the time. My parents – well, they dealt with his death differently. Mum sank into a depression and she sort of just stayed in her room most of the time. Dad…he got angry. One time he hit me…but it was like he couldn't stop. It was like he needed to do something to relieve all the grief pent up inside him and…the hitting grew more constant. I decided I just couldn't take it anymore. So I packed up and left."
Tobi nodded sympathetically, passing over the bottle of Chardonnay. It had taken courage for Danni to tell her story. Now the dark-haired girl examined Tobi a little curiously.
"How about you?" Danni asked, dark eyes fixed on her friend. "I heard you were a street thief for a few years. How did that happen?"
Tobi laughed uncomfortably. This was a story she hadn't told anyone, not Alex, not even Charles. Yet Danni had confided in her, so it was only fair that she returned the favour. She rolled over on the bed, onto her stomach.
"Umm, well, it's kind of a long story."
Danni shrugged. "We have a long time."
Tobi took another gulp of Chardonnay for courage. She was going to need it.
"Well, my life's always been pretty screwed up. I'm from Las Vegas, born and raised. My dad, ironically enough, was actually a cop. My mum…I don't know. I don't remember. She died when I was really young. Then, things got complicated when I was…twelve, I think."
Tobi exhaled deeply. She remembered her dad well. He'd been tough, but kind. She often missed him and it was hard digging up a past she'd hidden for so many years – but someone, it was like sucking poison from a snakebite. It felt good.
"There was a group of criminals stirring up trouble in the red light district one time. A lot of the officers thought that prostitutes were asking for it and left it alone, but my dad went out with two others to sort it out. The criminals got agitated by police involvement and they shot my dad. He survived…barely. He was in a coma and at twelve years old, I was left with the hardest decision of my life: did I want to see my dad like this, or would it be kinder to just pull the plug? Eventually they decided it would be for the best."
"Oh, my God." Danni pressed her hands over her mouth, reaching over to touch Tobi's arm. "I'm so sorry. I never would have guessed…"
"So I was left alone," Tobi continued in a detached tone, not wanting to stop now that she'd already started telling her story. "What was I supposed to do? I had no family, no one to take me in. No one would employ me because I was too young. So I lived off my wits for nearly two years, until Fiddler took me in after I was caught stealing on his turf. He saw that I was skilled and wanted to use me for his own benefit…only I was disguised as a boy, so no one knew who I really was. What would they do if they found out I was the daughter of a cop? I would be dead. Then…well, the story goes on from there until Charles and…Charles found me."
She had been about to mention Erik, but that would have raised more questions, questions that Tobi didn't really feel like answering. Danni nodded understandingly, her dark eyes wide. She gnawed at her lip.
"Can…can I ask you a question?"
Tobi raised her eyebrows. "I thought you already did. Isn't it my turn?"
Danni looked troubled. "It's not about you. It's about Alex."
The alarm bells were ringing in Tobi's head, but she found herself bobbing her head of her own accord.
"Shoot."
Danni shifted almost uncomfortably and there was something glimmering in her dark eyes as she looked at Tobi.
"Who's Shae?"
Tobi was torn. Could she trust Danni with Alex's secret? It wasn't hers to share and that made her hesitate – but weren't they best friends now? Didn't best friends tell each other everything? Tobi made her decision, but she was aware that it was the wrong one.
"Shae was…Alex's cousin. They were being bullied when they were young, and Alex lost control of his power. He accidentally killed all of the bullies, and Shae as well. He's never really forgiven himself for it."
Alex marched up to Tobi at lunch, his face twisted with pure rage. Tobi was just about to stack her plate in the sink when Alex grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her against the fridge. The plate smashed to the ground, prompting Sean and Perry – who had been eating lunch – to whip around, startled.
"You told Danni," Alex snarled, his fingers digging painfully into Tobi's shoulder blades, making her wince. "You told her about Shae."
Tobi felt betrayed, yet the ironic thing was, she was the one who had done the betraying. Why had Danni told Alex? Tobi was mad at her friend, despite the fact that she had no right to be. Alex's anger always scared her, because she never knew its limits.
"I'm sorry," Tobi blurted, unsure what to say to make things better, "Alex, I was only trying to help you…"
"Help me?" Alex had Tobi pressed so hard against the fridge that her back was starting to ache. "You had no right! You had no fucking right, Tobi. I trusted you, and you betrayed me."
"Danni was the only person I told!" Tobi defended, "I did it because I saw how you reacted when she used that against you…"
"No, you didn't," Alex snapped at her, his blue eyes blazing with incandescent fury. "You did it because you wanted to prove that you trusted Danni. You know what? Tell people your own secrets. I don't care. Does she know about you, Tobi? Does she know what you've done?"
Tobi's green eyes widened. "Alex…"
"No, shut up!" Alex barked, his hands rising from Tobi's shoulder to her throat. Her eyes widened as she saw the darkness within him, the darkness that had only threatened before under Danni's influence. His fingers tightened around her neck and she gasped. "Have you told anyone about how much of a slut you are, how you fucked a guy when you were thirteen to get money, like a prostitute."
"Shut up!" shrieked Tobi. How easy it would be to grab Alex and throw him from her, across the room…only she didn't want to hurt him. Alex, however, had no such inhibitions. His hands tightened around her throat, choking her.
"Hey, man." Sean was crossing towards Alex and Tobi, looking horrified. "You're hurting her, Havok. Let her go."
For a dangerous moment, Tobi thought Alex wouldn't let her go, that he was going to choke her. Then he stepped back, panting heavily and raking back his blond hair with his hands as though he couldn't believe what he'd done. Tobi took a shuddering breath, pressing herself further into the fridge…away from Alex. He examined her with astonishment.
"Alex…"
He shook his head at her hoarse voice, turning and marching out of the kitchen. Tobi ran after him, desperate to talk to him, to say it had all been a mistake, but Sean caught her by the arm and pulled her back.
"He's just having a sulk. Leave him alone and he'll be right in a couple of hours."
Someone, Tobi wasn't so certain. She pulled her arm from Sean's grasp and marched determinedly down the corridor. She was going to make Alex see reason even if she had to slap it into him. Couldn't he see that she was sorry?
"Tobi…"
It was Danni. She'd stepped out of her room and suddenly, Tobi couldn't restrain her anger. She folded her arms and examined Danni through narrowed eyes.
"Are you happy now?" she demanded furiously, although the guilt ate away at her because she knew it was her own fault and not Danni's. "Thanks a lot. You've officially ruined things between Alex and me."
Danni's dark eyes widened. "Tobi, I had no idea…"
The sound of a car starting up made Tobi nudge impatiently past Danni. Her steps grew faster and faster until she found herself running, desperately, using her power to speed her up…only it was no good. By the time Tobi had shoved open the double doors and staggered outside, the Cadillac was already roaring down the driveway, leaving behind only a trail of dust.
Tobi stopped in her tracks, watching as Alex drove away from her, heart hammering in her chest. Of course, he was just going to go and have a drink, get the anger out of his system…or was he? Something inside Tobi made her think maybe she'd ruined things between them once and for all.
The sunlight filtered through the curtains to Tobi's room. She groaned and flung an arm over her face, fervently hoping that the fight between her and Alex had been nothing more than a bad dream. Maybe Danni had used her power on Tobi. Anything would be better than coming to accept the cold reality.
"Morning, Tobi."
It was Lucie, leaning against Tobi's dressing table with a steaming mug of Earl Grey and a plate of toast in her hands. She crossed over and placed the plate on Tobi's lap, before easing the mug of Earl Grey into her hands. Lucie watched in silence as Tobi took a tentative sip.
"I should probably go and talk to Alex," Tobi mumbled, raking back her bronze hair and taking another gulp. "He'll be mad at me, and probably still hung-over from last night…"
Lucie's expression was a troubled one. "Tobi, Alex isn't back."
Tobi sat up straighter, nearly knocking the toast off the plate.
"Then where is he?"
When Lucie didn't answer, and Tobi sensed the roiled wave of emotions like concern washing off the girl, she pushed aside the plate of toast and jumped out of the bed, advancing on Lucie.
"Where is he, Lucie?"
Lucie couldn't look Tobi in the eye. "We don't know. That's the problem. He's just…gone. He didn't come back."
Tobi was stunned into silence and the guilt smothered her. Was this her fault? She paced agitatedly back and forth, wishing she'd kept her fat mouth shut. Alex must be really angry if he hadn't come back. Either that, or…or he'd gotten into some kind of trouble.
"Where did he go?"
Lucie shrugged. "I don't know that either, sorry."
Grinding her teeth in frustration, Tobi left the toast where it was. She marched towards the door, slamming her mug of Earl Grey down on the dressing table where it sloshed. Now Tobi was rather beginning to hope that Alex was missing because he was pissed at her. A nagging had started at the back of her mind, the troubling possibility that something bad had happened to him.
Who could Tobi trust? She needed to gather together her friends – only the ones she would trust with her life – and sort this out. They might think she was making excuses for her own behaviour, trying to blame Alex's disappearance on someone else, but Tobi was genuinely worried about him.
She could think of someone who might have a grudge against Charles, who had been a friend of his not that long ago – who Tobi now hated. It was time to pay a visit to Magneto and his brotherhood of misfits.