Warning: Grief continueth. Shady dealings and unguarded emotions.
Rogue was having a good day. No, not good, great. She was with the love of her life, the sun was shining, in that typical Mississippi Summer kind of way and she had the strangest sensation that she was, in a word, happy. What more could anyone wish for?
They were on their way back to Carol's on a high from their trip, when they noticed the same police officer waiting. Instantly, the mood froze over. The sun's presence was nothing more than an ironic joke and Irene's sour face, was no doubt muttering disapproval at Cody's presence. Normally, Rogue would have challenged the woman's 'right' to complain about someone who had been there through the worst time of her life. What right did this woman have to complain about anything? She wasn't family and never would be. But by some miracle she held her silence and stepped out of the car, hating the sense of de ja vu that struck, hard. She tried to shake off the darkness, not knowing what was going on but at the same time, knowing that something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
Cody stood beside her, her had wrapped tightly in his own, as she tried to summon the words necessary for this situation.
There was panic in her voice. "What happened? Is it Carol? Did she die?"
She saw the officer's face smooth over as he advised them all to step inside. Her legs had stuck to the ground and not even Cody could budge her.
"Tell me, now."
The officer had exhausted his supply of patience and blurted, "No, she's not dead. She's in a coma. As such, your old neighbour has said she'll take you in. Pack your things and we can take you there. Take as long as you need."
There was something odd about how quickly the whole thing had occurred. There was little time between Carole's accident, the police finding out about her condition and having the time to secure a placement for her, but Rogue would only think about it later, at Irene's. The happiness she'd felt with Cody of barely an hour ago had vanished as she packed up her belongings. Irene insisted that they take the officer's offer of a lift, rendering Cody redundant. Rogue felt that the chains of control were blocking the feelings of independence and had a dulling sensation that this was only the beginning.
XxX
Rogue was having a bad day.
Ever since Irene had become her foster mother, she had felt the chains of control weigh heavy. Cody was not allowed in the house and certainly not allowed upstairs.
Irene would make calls to her work so she couldn't lie that she had a shift, then spend the day with Cody.
Any time she went to visit friends, Irene would call and demand to speak to them which made her resent the change in command. Irene had even annoyed Cody's parents, who up until now, had been pragmatic about letting the two of them be together. They sympathised greatly and were some of the only genuine people she knew.
Now, thanks to Irene, they had done a 180 and wouldn't let her stay over.
"I can't believe I ever thought she was a sweet old lady."
"Don't let her get you down, she was probably brought up in a time where men and women couldn't even look at each other before they were married."
She knew it was mean but couldn't help laugh. Cody always knew what to say and this was no different. They were on their way to visit Carol and had stopped off to get gas and flowers.
On the way to the ward, Rogue nodded to the people that had worked with her mother. There was no time to stop and chat, but when they reached the ward where Carol had been, there was someone else in her bed.
"What's going on?"
Rogue dragged Cody to the reception.
"Where's Carole Danvers?"
"She's not with us anymore..." The reply had been casual and the receptionist was new, therefore had no knowledge of who the girl was.
"She's dead?" Rogue's voice had risen painfully but Cody pulled her tightly into his arms. Another nurse had heard the commotion and arrived to see the distraught teenager and the flustered woman behind the desk.
Rogue was hyperventilating by now and the onlooker's attention wasn't making things easier. She had Cody bring her into her own office, and sat down in front of her.
"Rogue, can you look at me? I need you to calm down now. Can you breath into this?" She opened a paper bag and placed it into the teenager's hands. It took a few moments for things to settle and after a few breaths, Rogue was calmer.
"You came here to see Carole, didn't you?" Rogue nodded. "Carole has been moved to another hospital. We talked to your foster mother. She was meant to explain this to you."
"When?"
"Last week. We weren't given a forwarding address, I'm afraid."
Rogue shook her head. "It's not your fault."
"I have to get back to the ward now. Take as long as you need."
XxX
Irene sighed as another call to Rogue failed to connect. She dialled Cody's number and was surprised when he answered.
"Hi Miss Irene."
Irene's voice was cold. "She was meant to be back an hour ago."
"Rogue doesn't want to come back right now."
"Well I'm her foster mother and I say what time she should be back." She sighed. "Put her on the phone."
Cody offered Rogue the phone but she shook her head.
"She doesn't want to talk to you Miss Irene."
"Why not?"
She heard Rogue in the background. "Ask her why she didn't tell me about Carole."
Irene frowned, but decided to try a different tact. "Why don't you come back and we'll talk about her?"
Again, Rogue shook her head.
"Rogue, it's late. You need to come home."
"I don't have a home."
The phone rang off.
XxX
Rogue spent the night at Cody's. Her boyfriend surrendered his own bed, taking the couch.
"You don't have to do that."
He shrugged. "I know. But it can't hurt."
She didn't sleep well that night, thinking of how Irene's orders had deprived Cody of a good night sleep. When morning came, Cody's mother served breakfast, making Rogue's pancakes extra thick and dousing them in chocolate syrup.
"Eat that up, girl. You need more meat on your bones."
If anyone else had told her that, she would have refused, obstinately. But Cody's mother was used to dealing with challenging behaviour. She was a guard at the prison the next town over and didn't take anyone's misbehaviour. The fact that she made Rogue's favourite breakfast after several nights of late nights, went a long way to reassure her that, whilst her mother may be dead and Carole was indisposed, she wasn't alone.
XxX
There was only enough time to change once she returned to Irene, before she had to go to work. Irene was nursing her anger by maintaining a dignified silence, one replicated by Rogue. They were both at a standstill and neither were willing to bow down.
With school on the horizon, heralding a return of freedom, Rogue knew she should feel grateful to Irene for taking her in but that didn't make the last couple of weeks easier. The woman did all she could to stop her seeing Cody. She'd call into her work to make sure she hadn't lied about having a shift. When she was with her friends from the Gym, she'd call repeatedly and insist on speaking to one of the other girls. When she did spend time with Cody, it was rarely alone and never in her house. Cody's parents weren't over-zealous about girls being in their boy's rooms but Irene made enough calls to make the notion of them being there uncomfortable.
It seemed an age since their getaway and it would be a long time until they could repeat it.
"Don't worry about it Rogue." He told her. "We'll get our time."
Rogue rested her head on his shoulders and knew that she loved him. After everything she'd been through in the past and most recently, he was her reward for staying strong.
XxX
When the first day of school did arrive, Rogue wasn't sure what to anticipate. The whole town knew of her mother's death and would no doubt have their own impressions of how she would act. They were probably expecting the tragically sad girl or maybe the mad-at-the-world girl. Well, how about a mixture of both? Would that please the crowd? It didn't matter anyway. She'd learned a long time ago that there were some people, who no matter what they did, couldn't help being hated. It was ingrained in her DNA and she knew that she could rage against the world and give the f-idiots more of a show, or she could do whatever was needed to live her 'best life'.
The latter way would require the most focus and effort and would pay better dividends in the future, which was what she wanted. A future. To have that, she needed to finish school on good terms and if being fostered made that possible, then she would take that option.
For the first day of the year, she chose black jeans, topped with a long-sleeved black and purple top, with a black gossamer cardigan. The purple was a nod to her mother, who always gave her grief about wearing black all the time. Anna had understood her daughter's reasons and knew when to push and when to stand back. Her patience was legendary and something so greatly missed. Rogue finished the outfit with long black heeled boots. Her make-up ventured on the gothic persuasion.
Irene was eating breakfast when she came down the stairs. "Have you got everything you need?
"Yes, thanks."
"Have a good day dear."
"Bye!"
As soon as the door closed, Irene was on the phone to her dearest friend, Raven Darkholme. It was due to Raven's connections that they had successfully adopted Rogue, rather than let her go into the foster system. Raven's employer had the resources to bribe the CPS and quieten anyone who stood in their way.
"What is it? I'm extremely busy."
"I thought you would want an update on Rogue?"
The lady on the other line barely took a moment to pause."Has something happened?"
"Well, not yet."
"Then please do not contact me until it's necessary. I left her in your charge but if you are not capable, I can move her."
Irene knew her friend was of a cool mind to the point of callousness, but it didn't stop her from feeling hurt. "Of course I'm capable."
"Good. Then make sure it stays that way."
XxX
Rogue arrived at the school and took one of the parking spaces at the far end of the car-park. It wasn't solely for ease of exit, as there was always a crowd of people trying to escape at the end of the day. If she parked too close to the school, she'd be committing social suicide. There was no shelter from the heat towards the centre and there was a good distance from the school towards the back. She wasn't the first to arrive by any means.
As she watched the cliques like the jocks and cheerleaders, the geeks and the goths start to assemble, she noticed Cody hadn't arrived. She felt the nerves strike, as they did so often and took a few more moments to people-watch. The Goths were congregating around the school's stairs. Most people assumed she was one of them but in all honesty, as much as she liked the dark colours and the music, she wasn't a true goth. The consequence being, she didn't belong anywhere. Being Cody's girlfriend hadn't really helped upgrade her status. They were still a-holes to her, unless she was with Cody. She only associated with the people here because they had all been thrown together and it was expected that they get along enough to finish school and graduate.
She left the safety of her car, keeping her shades on for the longest possible time. No-one would question it, given the lingering sunshine. She joined the increasing crowd of students making their way to the building, edging round the people who were greeting each other as though they hadn't seen the other in years rather than just yesterday. They could be so predictable.
She hoped to enter the building unscathed when one of the jocks, who had always made his opinions known about the way she dressed, shouted, "Who are you mourning for now?"
Without a beat, she replied. "Mah mother."
There was a collective silence as his friends watched the smirk leave his face.
"Oh shit."
She had a strange sensation of smugness that she had been able to silence the boy for once. It was too bad that it came at the price of her mother's memory. She turned away before he could ruin her day further. As she walked along the corridor to her locker, she felt someone grab her arm.
It was Cody, pulling her in for a hug, apologising for his twat of a teammate. With him by her side, the day didn't suck as much as she thought.
XxX