“Phew. That was tough,” Anna said after they made their way to the top level of the house. Logan figured he would start from the top and they could work their way down.
“It wasn’t that tough,” Ororo replied, admiring the decorated hallways as they passed several closed doors that Logan told them were empty rooms.
“Whatever, show off. You didn’t have to go all stormy nights on the Professor. You could have just told him,” Anna said, making Logan chuckle at her candidness, “Don’t you agree Logan?” Anna wanted to pull Logan into the conversation. He had become tour guide and stayed focused on that task, just listening to her conversation with her sister.
“Naw,” he said, still chuckling, “It was a nice touch. Sometimes it easier to show ‘em than tell ‘em.”
“Thank you, Logan,” Ororo replied, smiling at him, then turning to her sister, “And I wasn’t showing off. I was just doing what the Professor did. I guess you forgot how he read your thoughts, making you curse in front of him.”
“You can’t be mad at me about that, Ro. He caught me off guard. I didn’t think he was going to do something like that. Cut me some slack, right Logan?” Anna replied, as they made their way down to the main floor and head to the west wing.
Logan looked up when he heard his name and found two sets of eyes on him. He knew that this wasn’t a conversation he needed to get into.
“My name is West and I ain’t in this mess,” he said, making them laugh, breaking up the slight tension in the air.
Logan led them to the elevator that took them to the sublevels. Exiting on the basement level, he showed them the laundry room, the additional class rooms and the secondary library, much larger than the library on the main floor. Ororo made a mental note to visit the both libraries later to explore the shelves.
“Logan, you never told us your gift,” Ororo said, as they entered the elevator again, headed down to subbasement 2.
“Like yours, mine is a gift that easier to show ya than tell ya,” he said as the doors opened. He was about to release his claws when a scent hit his nose. Ororo noticed the change in his body language and facial features.
“Logan, what is it?”
Before he could say anything, Emma rounded the corner.
“There you are, my love. Where have you been?” she asked going over to him and getting between Ororo and Logan, taking his arm.
Ororo took a few steps back, no liking Emma’s actions. My love, Ororo thought looking back at her sister who shrugged her shoulders. Now it made more sense. The cold shoulder at breakfast, the huffed leaving when he didn’t do what she asked…Ororo guessed Emma and Logan were in a relationship. That thought caused Ororo to take a few more steps back, giving the couple some space.
Logan sensed Ororo’s absence at his side and looked over at her.
“If you need some time, we can ask Remy to finish the tour for us,” Ororo told him, watching as he tried to unhook Emma’s hand from his arm.
“No. Just give me a sec,” he said, taking Emma’s elbow and leading her down the hall a bit.
“What cha want, Emma?” Logan asked.
“I want to talk to you. We need to talk about us and how we are going to fix our relationship,” she told him.
“There’s no us. Ya made that clear when ya walked away from me and went to Shaw,” he replied angrily.
“I’ve apologized for that. Why won’t you give me another chance?” she asked.
“Another chance? I’m out of chances for ya. I gave ya more than ya deserve and ya still threw that shit in my face. I’m done with it,” he replied, “And I’m done talking about this.”
“Why? You don’t want your new jungle bunnies to hear? Are the girls from the hood the reason why you don’t have time for me now?” Emma spat at him angrily.
“This conversation is over,” Logan growled low and turned away from her, going back toward the elevator.
“No, it’s just beginning, Logan,” Emma shouted after him. How dare he brush me off to spend time with those black bitches, she thought.
“I’ll show him that he can’t toss me aside for some chocolate drops,” she said aloud, making her way to the elevators.
Pissed, Logan rounded the corner and wasn’t surprised to find the girls gone. He decided to take the stairs so he could work off some of the frustration from his conversation with Emma.
It had been two months since he called it quits with their relationship. He was tired of trying to fight for a relationship that Emma obviously didn’t want, based on her lies and continued cheating escapades. What he couldn’t understand was how she thought she could get away with sexing someone else, being in a relationship with a guy with super keen senses.
And to top it all off, she had insulted Ororo and her sister, which pissed him off even more. He knew that Emma had said those offensive things as a way to get back at him. He needed to find them so that he could make sure they were okay and apologize.
He followed their scents to the lake. When he arrived, he saw Anna sitting on the deck, kicking the water with her feet. He spied Ororo a few feet off in the distance, looking out over the water, seemingly deep in thought. He went to Anna first and took a seat next to her.
“Hey Logan,” Anna said. She stopped her feet so she wouldn’t get him wet. Anna really liked Logan and thought he was the right guy for her sister. But, she also knew before that could even happen, he would have to handle his business with Emma.
“Hey,” he said gruffly. Anna was taken aback by his tone.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Naw. She was out of line for what she said,” he replied angrily, taking a deep breath, trying to calm down.
“It’s okay. It’s nothing we haven’t heard before,” Anna replied.
“Maybe but ya shouldna heard it today,” he said roughly.
“Logan, we are the only two black girls in a mansion with mostly white people. There was bound to be at least one prejudiced person,” she told him, sounding very mature, “And to be honest, I would rather someone tell me how they feel up front so I know what I’m dealing with rather than them hiding it.”
Logan looked at the teen, amazed at her maturity and the wisdom she just shared. He couldn’t help but smirk, his anger lessening.
“How old are ya?” he asked.
“Now you should know bettah than to ask a woman that,” she replied, a small smile on her face.
“Yeah, but yer not a woman yet,” he replied.
“Thanks for busting my bubble,” she replied, swatting him, making him chuckle, “I’m 15.”
“15? And ya talkin’ like that?” he asked.
“Blame my sister,” Anna replied, nodding to Ororo who still stared out at the lake, “She’s wise beyond her years.”
“And how many years is that?”
“Ya gotta ask her,” she replied, her eyes on her sister.
“Think I can go talk to ‘er?”
“At your own risk,” Anna smiled, resuming her splashing.
“Thanks, kid,” he replied, ruffling her hair, making her duck and swat him again in protest.
Logan made his way over to Ororo. Though she didn’t let on, she saw him as he approached them. She’d watched him and her sister interact out of her peripheral to make sure everything was okay. She noticed his body language and knew that he was angry. But after talking with her sister, he had calmed down and now stood next to her.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked, enjoying the view.
“It is,” she replied, glancing at him before looking back at the water, “What are you doing here?”
“Wanted to make sure ya and Anna were okay,” he replied.
“We’re fine. The question is, are you?” she said, looking at him.
“Yeah.”
“What happened back there?” she asked, sensing he wasn’t going to continue without being asked.
“How much did ya hear?”
“We left when we heard ‘girls from the hood’,” she replied, the slight waver in her voice betraying her emotion, “I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to eavesdrop but I thought you would be right back.”
“Ya have nothin’ to be sorry about. I owe ya an apology,” he told her, looking over at her, “Emma was out of line for what she said.”
“She was but we weren’t surprised,” she replied, looking back over the water, “We’ve heard worse.”
“Yeah, Anna told me,” he replied, wondering where they heard it. A comfortable silence fell around them. Ororo looked over at him and read the wonder in his face.
“You’re curious about where we heard those things?” she asked.
“Ya sure yer not a telepath?” he replied, sure that she had read his mind.
“Definitely. I’m just really good at reading body language and facial expressions,” she replied, moving a stray strand of hair from her face.
“I guess I need to work on my poker face around ya,” he replied, making her smile.
“I guess so,” she replied, turning to face him, “Why don’t we do this. We can pick up where we left off on the tour while you tell us about your gift and afterwards, we can grab something to drink and Anna and I can tell you the stories where we were everything but a child of God. Deal?”
He smiled, liking the way her mind worked. “Deal,” he said, shaking her outstretched hand. He release one hand and grabbed the other, wrapping it around his arm, making her laugh.
