Warning: The Aftermath of Death

Rogue was having a very bad day.

She had no recollection of going to her room, therefore she was confused about how she had managed to get there. Of course, someone could have carried her, most probably Carol. There was no way it could have been Irene. She could almost laugh at the thought, if she hadn't remembered why such a thing had been necessary in the first place.

Her mom was dead.

A part of her wanted to stay in her room, shutting out the world, for the rest of her life. But the other part told her not to be selfish. That there things that needed to be done and the best thing would be to wash, dress and face the day. Things would feel a little easier if she felt confident in her appearance. Her mom always said that there were clear signs of neglect and that the first step was to make sure you were ready for whatever happened. Well, she used to say that. Now she would never say anything again...

By the time she was ready and had descended the stairs, there were voices in the lounge. Irene had come to visit and Carol was playing host again.

"Rogue, is that you?"

There was no sarcasm in her reply. "Yes Irene, it's me."

Irene held out her arm, directing her to the sofa. "Come sit with me, my dear."

The lady spoke in a nurturing tone that was dissimilar from her usual polite and cautious manner. Her mother had often run errands for the lady and encouraged Rogue to pitch in where ever possible. Her mother was like that. Always helping out those in need. Was always...

She barely made it to the bathroom before purging herself of the fruit bowl she'd had during her last work break. Since then the thought of food held no appeal. As she rinsed her mouth out, she heard the argument.

"The poor girl needs looking after."

"We are managing just fine."

"I've lived next to them for the last two years and..."

"Well I know what her mother wanted. She was my best friend and she would have wanted Rogue to be taken care of..."

She rejoined the women reluctantly. "Why are you arguing?"

Carol tried to smooth her face, glaring at Irene. "We're not arguing, we're having a discussion..." Carol noticed the way Rogue was holding herself, desperate to show strength when everything else was breaking inside.

"You were shouting." The kid was relentless as her little show of attitude was strengthening her spine.

"Oh hardly that. Look, sit down and we'll talk." Irene was playing peace-maker again.

Rogue sat between the two women, eyeing them both warily.

"There are things we need to do. Decisions have to be made."

"Oh surely, Rogue doesn't need to be involved..." Irene patted her arm sympathetically.

There was that word again.

Rogue's voice was tentative. "What decisions?"

"About the funeral. I'm meeting with the funeral parlour today and I thought you would like to come?"

She nodded, before Irene started protesting that she was too young for those decisions.

"She's just lost her mother, how can you be so cruel?"

"I've saved her the pain of identifying her. I think I know what Anna would have wanted but Rogue has the right to the final say."

"Rogue's just a child whose lost her mother."

"Exactly, who knows their mother better than a daughter?"

XxX

Irene insisted on accompanying them, much to Carol's annoyance. Anna had only praise for Irene's ability to cope and maintain her independence. Carol wasn't so easily won over. Perhaps it was irrational but she wasn't comfortable in the hold Irene had held over Anna and now Rogue.

Meanwhile Rogue stayed silent, only pitching in when she felt a strong desire to ensure her mother's preferences were made known.

"Now, Mrs Green..." Why did they always go with the marital status? Why did people assume a woman had to be married to have a child?

"It's Miss Green. My mother wasn't married."

"Right, sorry about that. Now, Miss Green's life insurance company had an funeral plan that we're affiliated with and the package will cover the cost. Of course, if our options aren't suitable, there would be additional charges." It was all said in a calm and almost patronising manner.

"So she thought of everything?"

He gave her a sympathetic smile.

XxX

With the choices made, the next decision was where Rogue should live. It wasn't too long before the bickering women began their reprieve.

"I have a spare room, it would be more convenient for Rogue to move in."

"Maybe so but I also have a spare room."

"You'll be at work most days..."

"Whereas you live off disability!"

The noise of the raised voices was growing steadily. This was a time where emotions ran high and for Rogue, who was mentally processing the changes and having the meeting at the funeral parlour play over and over in her head, their voices were too much. "Shut up!"

Both women turned to her. "Ah'm sick of you fighting over me like Ah'm nothing more than scraps of meat."

Irene was the first to apologise. "We just care about you."

"Why can't Ah stay in the house?"

"You mother was still paying the mortgage on the house. It will need to be rented out so we can keep up payments."

"Have a think on it and let us know what you want to do."

What she wanted was for her Mother to walk right through their door, be able to explain that the last few days were a horrific joke and that everything was going to be fine.

Too bad none of that was going to happen.

Her mother was gone and she would not be back.

The only thing she could do was replay the last voicemail her mother left on her phone. It helped her sleep when she could replay it on a loop, along with her favourite songs. Her mother always did have a varied and eclectic taste and Rogue interspersed the cheery tunes with her own sedate and metallic preferences.

She was aware that throughout the day, people kept calling to offer sympathy. She couldn't face them. She didn't want to indulge their own selfish needs to showcase how good they were. Most of the people around here belonged to the BBB - Bible Bashers Brigade - and would ram that book down everyone's throat if they could. Her mother had been born a Catholic and tried to instill similar values with her daughter. Some of the things she understood, but the rest was all garbage. She wouldn't go to Hell if she missed a service or two and she wouldn't burn to the ground for admiring boys.

Well, more like one boy.

Cody Parker was your typical blond haired blue eyed boy who excelled in sports, was academically more than average and one of those good boys that you'd take home to mother.

She heard the bell ring but instead of Carol shouting up for her, there were footsteps on the stairs, a small knock on the door and then Cody's face appeared in the doorway.

XxX

Irene was not happy. Carol Danvers had been granted a custody order for Rogue and was even now helping her move out of the house. Not only that, but that boy was there.

In the two years since they'd lived next door, she had tried to warn Anna about keeping Rogue's skin covered from the hot sun, keep her away from boys and in general, keep her isolated from life.

For years, she'd had visions of a child with the potential for limitless power and had been quite surprised that this was said child. Now she was alone and vulnerable and needed careful handling. Carol Danvers couldn't provide that care, she was too self-reliant. She'd bully the child and force her to be something she wasn't.

Something would have to be done.