Chapter 17

15.4K 471 92
                                    

Trigger Warning: there is some parent/child abuse in this chapter. I know there are some people out there that are dealing with this now, or have in the past, and reading about it can bring up unwanted, or harmful, memories. I just thought I would let you know before reading this chapter. And if you are a victim of abuse, please call your authorities for help.

With that said, I hope you enjoy the chapter, I tried making it a bit longer :3

*           *           *           *           *         *          *           *

Days passed and things seemed to settle down some, though Kaya still wasn’t allowed to leave the grounds, in fear that Magneto would find her. So, she did what she could with her time, even taking a few classes, though she wasn’t required to. Kaya didn’t know what else to do though, most of the time she was bored, just walking around campus with nothing to do. However, Logan and her were spending more time together, and she quite enjoyed his company. After all, she had found someone else like her. Not being alone in all of this made her feel safe, a feeling that she thought had abandoned her when her world was turned upside down a few weeks ago.

When they were together, they mostly talked about their life or, in Logan’s case, what they could remember of their life.  Kaya only talked about the good moments though, which were rare in her life, only when her father was still a part of her life it seemed. Her father was the only one who could keep her mother in a good mood, whereas Kaya could only remind her mother of what she used to have. It wasn’t fair, but she had grown to accept that as a part of her life. She would never be the person her mother cared about the most, just a painful burden.

The day had turned out to be a nice one, at least for a Monday that is. The sun was shining down, warming Kaya’s bare skin as she laid down on the grass, reading a book she had borrowed from the Library. It was a book she had read many times before, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, one of her favorites. It was a book she would get lost in when her parents were fighting, when her father died, and when her mother’s beatings began. Somehow, going on an adventure with Hobbits, Elves and Dwarfs helped her escape the nightmare that she had to live in every day. Now, it was helping her escape once more.

No one seemed to really know why Magneto wanted her so badly, not even the Professor, who she thought knew things like this when it came to his old friend. However, according to Xavier, there was some sort of helmet that prevented him from being able to see every move Magneto was making. The news only made Kaya lose even more hope that this whole ordeal would ever be resolved. How where they supposed to protect her, if they didn’t even know why? Logan kept telling her to keep her head up, that the Professor knew what he was doing, but it was hard to. It was easy telling others that everything was going to be alright, they weren’t the ones that Magneto was focused on, it was a completely different scenario if they were in her shoes.

She rolled over on her back, staring up at the blue, cloudless, sky, closing her book. For once, she could not run to Middle Earth from her problems, this was something she would have to face, despite her unwillingness to. Closing her eyes, she let out an aggravated groan, why couldn’t thing’s, for once in her life, be easier?

“You okay?” a voice, that sounded like it was coming from right next to her, asked. Kaya opened her eyes and sat up to see a somewhat familiar face.

“Oh, Rogue, hey.” She greeted with a small, forced, smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She shrugged, hoping Rogue wouldn’t see past the lie.

“Seems like I’m always asking you that.” Rogue laughed, sitting next to her.

“Did Logan ask you to keep an eye on me?” she replied, half-joking, but also half-serious. The last thing she wanted was to be babysat, by someone younger than her no less.

This caused Rogue to laugh. “Nah, I just know that he likes you, so I thought I’d ask.”

Kaya smiled, knowing that Logan and her were friends and that he did like her, but it was nice to hear it. If only her mother could see that she was capable of making friends, but she knew that was impossible. “Just thought I’d ask.”

“How do you like it here?” Rogue looked over at her as she plucked grass out of the ground.

She shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess. This place holds some memories.” Not all good, but memories nonetheless, she thought to herself. The last time she was here, she had just ran away from home and was trying to fit in, but being surrounded by other Mutants just reminded her that she would never be normal. Never be what her mother wanted.

“So you’ve been here before?” Rogue asked, going back to looking at the grass as she played with it.

“Yeah, when I was about your age.” She nodded, becoming a bit hesitant. Her past was not something she liked, or wished, to talk about.

Rogue stopped playing with the grass, becoming much more interested in Kaya’s story. “What made you leave?”

Kaya looked away, biting her lip. Rogue seemed like a nice girl, but not someone Kaya wanted to confide in, especially when it came to her past. She wasn’t someone who trusted easily, it was a miracle that she had told Logan what she did. “It’s not something I like talking about.” She finally managed to say, looking back at Rogue, who looked disappointed almost.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She apologized. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

Kaya flashed a small smile. “It’s okay, you didn’t know.” On the outside she appeared calm, but a storm was raging inside her. Panic and fear were consuming her, and she wanted nothing more than to leave, to get away and be by herself. “But, I best be going. I have to talk to the Professor about some things.” She lied, standing up.

Rogue looked a bit hurt, but smiled. “Okay, see you around then?”

“Yeah!” she hurriedly replied, gathering her stuff and walking away.

Kaya flung herself on her bed as soon as she locked herself in her room, doing her best to take deep, even, breaths to calm herself.  She didn’t know why she was this worked up about it, but she wasn’t really thinking about that at the moment.  Why couldn’t people just leave the past where it was? Why did they continue to bring it up? The past was something that should be left alone, Kaya believed, and not just because it was something she hated talking about. She just thought that talking about the past brought nothing good, just brought up more pain, or memories, people didn’t want to think about.

Maybe she was simply overreacting, but she didn’t think so. Her past wasn’t a good one; it held nothing but painful memories and heartache. There had been so many nights Kaya had wished for her life to end, for the nightmare to be over. Nights she cried herself to sleep after one of her mother’s drunken episodes, where she had beaten Kaya until she was black and blue. Days after episodes like that, she would miss school, until the bruises were gone, so that no one would question anything. If someone became suspicious, that was just another reason for her mother to lash out at her, and so Kaya would tell the teachers that she was simply very ill, and that was why she missed school so much. Why not go to the authorities? For the same reason wives who were abused didn’t, fear of what the other person would do to them and, in Kaya’s case, fear of what would happen after. Where would she have gone? Foster care? She didn’t even know what happened to mutants who went into foster care, and didn’t want to even think of it. So she just stuck it out. After all, her father wasn’t there to save her, and running away had done nothing to help her before.

Thinking about that just made Kaya cringe, bringing tears to her eyes. Why was she tormenting herself like that? Why couldn’t she just let it all go, forget about it, and move on? Perhaps it was just a sign that she was weak, proving her mother right once more. She sat up, drying her eyes. No, she wouldn’t wallow in self-pity, not today at least. There were bigger issues at hand, like demanding answers from the Professor. Kaya stood up and left her room, determined to do just that.

A Future Unkown: An X-Men Fanfiction.Where stories live. Discover now