Hello! Happy two year story anniversary! This is very late, but limited dialogue chapters are hard... Here's Chapter 43, enjoy!
Laurien shut the flaps of the cardboard box and then reached for the roll of tape to seal it shut. Satisfied that nothing would come spilling out of it, she got up from her seat on the carpet and made her way over to the fridge. Though devoid of anything substantial, besides Jane's now three-week old lasagna that had a sizable layer of mould accumulating on the top, it contained what Laurien direly needed in that moment, a cold beer. She twisted off the top with the gentle persuasion of her powers and took a healthy swig as she observed the room before her.
There were perhaps ten decent sized boxes she'd completed in the past few hours, filled with some of the items she'd collected over the past three years to make her house not seem so cold and uninhabited. The majority were destined for the thrift store or the charity shop, considering the fact that she didn't want to be dragging them all to wherever she'd end up next. With almost everything packed up, the house looked unusually barren. No picture frames lined the walls, or the old carved wooden figures upon the mantelpiece that her Opa had made so many years ago. The absence of her many books that had taken up residence on the bookcases next to her reading chair gave the impression that they were missing the meat that so naturally clung to their bones.
She had debated on whether or not to take the chair with her. It was a dark wooded rocking chair with a deep crimson cushion tied to the backrest and the seat with the small tassels on each corner. There were orange knitted slips on the rockers that Laurien had made herself to prevent the chair from leaving marks on the hardwood. She'd found it at the thrift store during a trip into the city, and after taking a seat in it and rocking back and forth in it for a few moments, had bought it on the spot. Her mother had had one similar ever since Dan was first born, and Laurien was read many stories upon her father's lap when they were trying to wind down after a long day of running around the yard. She'd recently found that the gentle rocking soothed the unbearable throbbing that rose in her head, and took to it like a drug. Unfortunately, considering that she cringed every time she thought about the cost of bringing it with her overseas, their parting of ways seemed to be approaching soon.
It felt strange to become so nostalgic of this house after three years of it never really feeling like home, but even so, Laurien allowed herself a moment to reminisce with the comforting company of her beer. Her gaze was drawn to one of the walls where a large patch of drywall was obviously newer than the rest. She'd had to fix it herself when she'd come back home, having stared at it for a moment once she'd entered through the front door, wondering as to what the hell had happened when she was gone, before remembering the events prior to her departure.
Needless to say, the men were not still strewn around her property, but Laurien nevertheless took the precaution of checking every inch of the house before hesitantly settling back in for the time being. Staying in the house, in Ottawa, was not an option after all that had happened. She had known that from the first signs of dawn after she had been staring at the ceiling for the entirety of the first couple of nights she'd been home, always listening intently for sounds in the dark, anything that could reveal that there was a team of government agents outside her door.
The sense of uneasiness was too much to bear, though at the same time, the process of finding yet another new place to live, along with a new identity, was beyond irritating. It would be much more difficult this time as well, considering the source of her previous papers and identification, her old companion, Bellamy Awnan, had his past finally catch up with him a year prior. He'd been found in an alleyway, just next to a pub in Berlin, with a bullet hole between his eyes. She couldn't exactly say that she was overly surprised upon hearing the news from his partner through an unmarked letter, considering the steadily lengthening list of ridiculous instances where he'd put his own life in danger, but at the same time, she was sorry that he was gone.
She set her beer down on the counter, just next to all the newspapers she'd accumulated on her doorstep while she'd been gone. On the top of the pile, the edition's front page was littered with all sorts of headlines vying for the readers' attention. The first that caught her eye spelt out in large bolded letters that 'Mutant Saves President and Cabinet'. Further down, other articles depicted more of the aftermath, with repairs and reconstruction to begin for both the White House and the RFK Stadium, the announcement of the arrest of Bolivar Trask, and consequentially, the cancellation of the Sentinel Program.
Laurien's shoulders had sagged in relief upon reading the news, seeing as she supposed that it was as sure of a positive response to their actions as they could have ever hoped for. Whether or not it had any lasting impact for the future, she couldn't be sure. There had been no sign of Logan in the following days after the incident on the front lawns of the White House. Laurien couldn't quite be sure at what point during the battle that she had lost visual contact with him, and for all she and the others knew, he could have just disappeared into thin air.
Even two weeks later, there was still news coverage about the event being broadcast around the globe and mutants were now coming out of the shadows every day, much to the surprise of their friends and neighbours. Laurien knew that having the cameras rolling had been a great risk should something have gone wrong, and it almost had. In the end, it had allowed the world to see the scene unfolding before them and to interpret it themselves, rather than anyone feeding a biased and manipulated story to the people.
There seemed to be a new piece that the news would cover about the story every day, starting off with Raven and all the theories and questions surrounding her. The broadcasters took phone calls and statements from those who had seen her in the flesh at the Paris Accords or those who had watched her save the day on television. There was an all-around tone of fascination directed toward Raven, which sent a slight thrill of excitement into Laurien's heart as she attentively listened to complete strangers gush adoringly about her.
The piece on the cost of the damage caused by the incident was much less interesting, with financial and insurance experts droning on about hundreds of millions of dollars in dull, monotone voices. Likely sensing that they were losing their audience's attention, the network then quickly shifted their gaze upon Erik Lensherr, AKA Magneto, and the entire timeline of his 'nefarious' crimes against humanity. As they had with Raven's piece, they took phone calls, but all it took was one person to phone in saying that Erik was right to 'fucking stick it to the man' for them to promptly shut it down.
Another article in the paper had stated that world leaders had all pledged to unite and find Magneto. "Well," Laurien had muttered to herself upon reading it, "At least they're working together for once." There hadn't been any more signs or events related to Erik since Washington, and personally, after hearing first-hand about all of his years of running and hiding, Laurien doubted that Erik would be found unless he wanted to be.
Laurien felt strange when she would watch Erik's speech that the network was playing for the hundredth time. Even though she was there in person, having heard the speech with her own ears and having seen the words come from his mouth, it didn't quite seem like it was really him saying it. The ferocity in his voice sent ice cold shivers down her spine as she stared at the screen, his face never quite visible as his helmet cast shadows upon his features.
Though a few weeks had come and gone, an anger was still so ever present in the blood that pumped through her veins. In which direction it was aimed, whether inward or outward, Laurien hadn't the slightest clue. She took a deep breath. Part of her ached terribly as she stood in the kitchen, staring unseeingly at the boxes as she thought about the past interactions that inspired this sensation inside of her.
She'd had a particularly abrupt departure from the mansion in Westchester, having only stayed for a few days after the mess in Washington. She'd debated just leaving without saying a word, but a guilty pang in her stomach prevented her from doing such a thing. With her bags packed and a taxi on its way, Laurien had tentatively padded over to Charles' study and slipped through the slight opening.
Charles was seated in his wheelchair just behind his desk, flipping through an ancient copy of some book that was devoid of a title. His blue eyes flitted up once she closed the door behind her and met her gaze, the reduced redness around the rims told her that he had finally gotten some rest.
Laurien kept his gaze for a few moments before her hands reached up to her throat and grasped the necklace as she pulled it up over her head. The simple ring on the end of the chain glinted in the single ray of light that snuck past the curtain and into the study's choking confinement.
She heard a small intake of breath from him as she held it in the palm of her hand before it levitated gently through the air and onto Charles' desk before him, the chain coiling itself up into a perfect spiral upon the mahogany. She watched the telepath, waiting for the inevitable reaction that was to follow.
"You kept it." Charles said, a slight hint of disbelief in his voice. She gave him a small nod, keeping close to the door as his emotions bombarded her from across the room. In response, he closed the book with a sigh, his fingers hovering tentatively above the ring as he searched for the words. "So, this is goodbye." He murmured, a sad smile appearing on his face. "But for how long?"
"I don't know." Laurien admitted quietly, clasping her hands behind her back as a blue hue edged into her vision. "To be honest, I wouldn't count on it being anytime soon."
He nodded slowly. "Where will you go?"
She shrugged. "I haven't quite figured that part out just yet."
"But you'll be alright?"
"Of course." She assured him as a smile tugged at her lips.
The silence in the air between them seemed to be growing quite prolonged as each waited for the other to break it. Laurien found herself trying to avoid Charles' piercing eyes, as she knew that the moment they found her, they would make leaving all the more challenging. "What about yourself?" She finally asked, feeling his relief flow towards her. "What are you going to do next?"
"I suppose I'll try to get the school up and running again." He revealed freely, though Laurien could sense foreboding lingering in his mind. "I've got some promises to keep."
Laurien wondered if he was alluding to the conversation he'd had with Logan on the plane to Washington. She'd heard every word as she'd pretended to be asleep, and she was sure that he was aware that she had. Logan had mentioned so many names, and it filled her heart to know that there were newcomers who would make his heart whole once more. What sent a stabbing pain through her chest was the fact that she was one of the people who had made it so empty in the first place.
"Well, I wish you well in your endeavour, Charles." She declared softly, her heart aching as she uttered his name for what she predicted to be the last time.
"And you in yours." He returned, flashing a smile that she knew was not deserved.
She turned to leave, her hand on the ornate doorknob. "Laurien." Charles' voice suddenly called, drawing her attention back to him. "When you were wounded during the raid on the mansion, we decided to perform a transfusion on you."
"Okay." She acknowledged quietly, wondering where he was going with this.
"We gave you a compatible bag of blood. In fact, it was Sera's blood." He explained. "She'd given me a few bags before she'd left to find you and your brother, after your siblings had died."
A cold chill seeped beneath Laurien's skin at this revelation. "Why had she given them to you?"
"She wanted to know if there was a cure."
Laurien frowned. "A cure to what?"
"To eternal life, I suppose." Charles offered, looking somewhat troubled. "Her blood is most likely what saved you. There are healing factors involved, but we haven't any idea of the side effects, whether the DNA carried through the white blood cells had any significant consequence your body or your health."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Just thought you ought to know." He said simply. "You deserve to know the entirety of the truth."
Laurien had nodded, not quite knowing what to say. This wasn't exactly how she imagined their parting of ways going. "Well, I suppose I'll let you know if I notice anything odd." She muttered, giving him one last look, before turning to open the door and leaving the past behind.
Laurien took the beer bottle in her hand and took another sip, wanting so desperately to erase the scene from her memories. If the conversation hadn't been difficult enough on its own, now she was left feeling rather unsettled by the last piece of information he'd given her.
And on another line of thought, she couldn't help but feel as if she had left him when he had needed her most, twice now. At least he still had Hank, she thought hopefully, though then again, Hank was never one to stand up to Charles when the latter wanted something, even if it meant a risk to his health and wellbeing.
She sighed and walked over to the remaining boxes that had yet to be filled with objects, only to be halted when a slight knocking sound met her ears. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she held her breath, wondering as to who it might be. It couldn't have been the neighbours, considering that Jane and her family were still visiting the children's grandparents in Halifax. Laurien slowly turned toward the source of the noise, which had emanating from the other side of her front door, though there was no shadow in the window to declare a physical presence behind it.
Pausing for a few more moments, Laurien's eyes flitted to where the back door lay waiting for her to escape through, should the need arise, before taking one last swig of her drink and heading towards the front door. She opened it slowly, though, as she had suspected, there was no one at the doorstep. Laurien's gaze extended out to the front yard and she immediately spotted a solitary figure standing amidst the long blades of her overgrown lawn.
Laurien let out a small huff of what could only be described as one of nervous laughter, before leaning against the doorframe with her arms folded against her chest. She couldn't help but stare. The way she saw it, she had two options, though neither seemed too tempting at the moment as her stomach seemed to be performing nauseating summersaults within her. She bit her bottom lip as she regarded the person with searching eyes, her fingers tapping against her arm in deliberation. Laurien took a deep breath, before enacting her tentative decision.
"Well," She called to him as she gently kicked the door open wider, not breaking eye contact all the while. "Are you going to help me pack or not?"
It's obvious, huh? Yup.
Game of Thrones has dominated my summer, so good, but so frustrating. Don't worry, no spoilers here. Saw Baby Driver, love the soundtrack. Saw Detroit when I was already emotionally wrecked, so that made it worse, good movie though, good soundtrack. Read a lot of depressing books to get a head start on the knowledge that I'll need for my future dream job. Woo. Saw a Jack Johnson concert, crazy wonderful.
Has anyone been listening to the My Favorite Murder Podcast? It is fantastic! All the morbid humor you could ever need.
Unfortunately, one of my hermit crabs has passed on. He seemed quite old when I first got him. RIP Machina. They say that hermit crabs are rather social and don't like being alone, so I got another little guy to keep Ozymandias company and named him Lito, after the magnificent character from Sense8.
Thank you for reading, and for sticking around with me on this journey of over two years, hopefully there will still be more to come. Thanks again, I love you all, hope you enjoyed, and please comment or review, it really makes my day to hear from you!