No Angels

Chapter 14

Heather stayed in the hallway for a while after Darwin disappeared.

Leaning against one of the walls, her eyes downcast, she had no idea what to tell the others. Should she just walk back to the lobby and say 'Hey, guess what, I saw your friend, Darwin. Yeah, but don't be expecting any visits from him. He's off to a better place. You know, the great unknown, kingdom come, eternal rest, the Promised Land.'

Or should she even tell them? What if they had all moved on? What if - bringing Darwin up just hurt them all further? Heather remembered the pain and discomfort she had noticed in Alex's eyes when he had brought Darwin up. She knew that she had promised to tell Alex if she saw him but - did she really want to cause him further pain?

Heather let out a sigh, running her hand through her hair, pushing the locks behind her ear, before deciding. I won't tell them yet, she thought to herself, as she stood from her spot, I'll wait until we get home and everyone gets settled. She nodded to herself, seemingly pleased with her own plan, as she made her way back to group, her snack long forgotten.

The group had pulled three couches together to make a circle and were currently laughing and speaking rather loudly to one another (The main culprits being Raven and Sean). The woman at the desk shot them all a glare before mumbling something in Spanish and walking into a back office, slamming the door behind her. They didn't seem to even notice - or maybe they just didn't care.

Heather glanced at the seats for an empty spot, before noticing with a sigh that the only one left was by Erik. She pondered whether sitting on the floor beside either Charles or Raven was an option, before quickly deciding that 1) she and Erik were not fighting, therefore she had no reason to try and avoid him, and 2) it would seem terribly rude.

She paused briefly, before squeezing her way through the sides of the couches and taking her seat beside Erik. Despite Heather's inner hopes, Erik didn't immediately turn to her and begin talking or - apologizing. Instead, the air was filled with silence - silence so tense that even Charles glanced at the two in worry. There was no reason for Heather to feel so awkward or tense around Erik, especially since she'd felt comfortable around him almost from the beginning.

Part of her kept telling herself that she was the one making things worse, that she should turn and start a conversation instead of waiting for Erik to. But - something wasn't right. Erik hadn't been the same since they left the beach; he seemed more emotionally conflicted than usual, he hadn't spoken to her, he hadn't even looked at her - 

Was he angry that Heather stopped him from killing those humans? 

Heather was so consumed by her thoughts that she didn't realize that someone was talking to her until she felt a hand shaking her shoulder. "Heather," the familiar voice called firmly and Heather jumped, before whipping around to face Erik, her face drawn up in surprise and a little embarrassment.

Erik's eyebrows were furrowed in concern, as he asked rather sincerely, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Heather replied instinctively, "I'm just - tired."

Erik continued to look at her, seemingly not believing a word she said, before sighing. After a small pause, he looked away from her and added, "Well - you can always sleep on the plane." Heather nodded slowly, as a thought came to her. What if they turn her away now? They didn't need her anymore. Erik had killed Shaw, World War III had been prevented, Edie and Erik had been (sort of) reunited. There was no need for a girl who talked to ghosts anymore.