“Are you sure your dad isn’t going to mind us coming to stay for a while?”
“I told you it was his idea,” Nathan responded casting a quick glance at her before his eyes went back towards the road in front of them. “Wants to know why I’ve been staying in town so much for the past four months.”
“In a good or bad way, because I don’t want to already be on his bad side if I’ve been taking up to much of your time for you to help with the land.”
“Believe me a good way. Besides my uncle lives on his own house just past our land and he stops by every now and then to help. Well, actually it was all my uncle’s land at one point, he let my father have some of the property.”
“That was nice of him.”
“Yes,” the word was slightly strained.
She noted the way his hands tightened on the wheel.
“You’re not nervous are you?” he teased throwing her a smile.
She glanced away from the window. “Do I have anything to be nervous about?”
“No,” he answered. “But if my uncle comes down while were here, just to let you know it’s not you or anything he’s just naturally surly.”
“Fantastic,” she muttered.
“Don’t worry he’s not much of a people person.”
“Neither I’m I,” she murmured.
“Hey, I’m people.”
“I suppose,” she teased him.
He gave a small laugh.
She gave a small sigh. “I just hope your father doesn’t ask too many questions when I don’t…”
“Hey,” he started seriously. “It will be fine, I’ve already told him you’re a mutant, not that that matters since we’re all mutants and he doesn’t need to know about everything else right away and I’ll make sure he minds his own business.”
“Alright, but I just don’t want to be the cause of any distress between you two.”
“You worry too much.”
“It’s in my D.N.A.”
Although, she figured it wasn’t so much worrying but paranoia or intuition that she had received from years of being locked up in a lab. Three months into their relationship and she figured he would be ready to leave, he was always having to make the effort and the moves, she felt as though she was just along for the ride. She wasn’t very open and he didn’t seem to mind, it was as though he was use to people being closed off, he was surprisingly patient.
One time he had surprised her by taking her into the next town over which had a large library, knowing she enjoyed reading so much. He let her take her time and later took her out for a picnic. It was when they were sitting underneath a large tree that he made the first move, when he started telling her about himself.
“You must have a lot of questions about me,” he murmured as he sat against the tree.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I haven’t really told you much about me.”
“Either have I.”
“So you figured if you asked questions that mean I’d end up asking the same questions of you.”
“Something like that,” she spoke a sudden chill to her voice, not liking how close he was getting.
“Got something to hide?”
“Not much to hide actually, that’s the problem,” she murmured.
“I see,” he spoke reaching for the bottle of wine, his body still relaxed. “You don’t even wonder about the glasses?”
“I,” she started opening her mouth and then closing it realizing she really hadn’t wondered about it she had just accepted it. “To tell you the truth, no.”
Laughter escaped him as he quirked his head at her. “You are unlike anyone I’ve ever met.”
“That good or bad?”
“Good.”
“So what’s with the glasses then?”
He smirked. “So you’re curious.”
“Well now that you’ve pointed it out.”
Slowly, he reached up and pulled his sunglasses off of his face, his right eye was blue as the sun reflected off of it. His left eye was flashing a yellow light all on it’s on; she couldn’t make out an iris.
For a moment neither of them said anything as she noted the way a serious of metallic markings moved out from his eye across his temple and disappeared into his luscious hair.
“You’re a mutant,” she whispered.
“Yes.”
“Forgive me but I thought this was a mutant friendly world why are you so hesitant to tell me?”
He gave her a small smile. “I was brought up through harsh conditions and my family still does not believe the supposed dream. I work on that every day, my father more then anything. He’s still a bit weary about the mutant love our world professes, prefers sticking to his own land and what he has.”
“Fair enough,” she murmured.
“Not much fazes you does it?”
She gazed at the ground. “I’m sorry. I…I realize I’m a bit strange…I too have things to work on.”
“Nah, perhaps just that enthusiasm I keep teasing you about,” he joked.
“You joke, but you do have a point. I feel like I’m living with a filter on, always aware but never reacting.” She paused a moment before speaking again as she gazed at her hands in her lap. “So what is your mutation?” she asked suddenly.
“It’s a bit all over the place. I have telepathy and telekinesis. My skill for marksmanship is above any human average so I attribute that to my genes.”
“And the eye?”
“You know you’re really ruining this moment when you don’t gasp in dramatic effect after each thing I tell you.”
“What are you looking for a B-movie performance or a heart wrenching Oscar worthy act?”
“How ‘bout X-rated,” he spoke as he quickly leaned in and kissed her on the lips.
“And?” he whispered as he pulled back a content look on his face.
“Do they have anything lower then B-movie because that was just terrible,” she drawled at him.
He sighed dramatically. “You’ll just have to let me work on it later, a couple of retakes.”
She gave a small laugh at his lopsided grin and pushed him back. “We were trying to have a serious moment here.”
“Oh, yeah the eye,” he smirked as he pointed at it openly. “Does it bug you?”
“No.”
“No?”
“If we ever get lost will just use your eye as a flashlight,” she responded dryly.
He laughed but only for a moment as he looked at her deeply. “You know you’re not the first to say that, my uncle use to say that when we’d go hunting.”
“Well I suppose we both do have points.”
“You know if you keep reminding me of my uncle, I have a feeling you’re going to rub off on my dad the wrong way.”
“Why?” she asked frowning.
“Nothing really, it was more of a joke but yeah my dad and my uncle have a strained but strong relationship.”
“I see.”
“Anyways,” he started as he reached for his sunglasses squinting at the bright sun. “When I was born it was during the mutant war and there were several weapons around then, one was a technological virus that I was susceptible to. My powers along with my mothers helped shield me for the most part from its effects but when I reached puberty my body started to produce sort of nano-chips and circuits through out my body. So the eye and the few markings are a side-effect but I know it could have been worse. My mother sacrificed everything to keep me alive.”
“You look healthy to me,” she spoke reassuringly as she shifted beside him. “What…what happened to your mother, this is the first time you’ve mentioned her?”
When he didn’t answer right away she chose to speak instead. “It’s alright you don’t have to tell me, I shouldn’t have asked.”
“No, it’s just my father hasn’t talked about her for years I’ve never really had anyone to tell her about to. Both my uncle and father don’t ever like talking about the past. My mother was a wonderful woman from what I was told and little things I can remember, I know I was too young but I think when she used her powers to protect me, I like to think a part of her stayed with me.”
“So she died protecting you?”
“Not in reality but perhaps in theory,” he murmured. “It was a year or two after the war, the strain of it and of using her powers so much took a toll on her and eventually…eventually she couldn’t handle it. Her death almost destroyed my father and to this day it is why I think he doesn’t fully believe the world accepts us, because his wife died going through it all and in the end not getting to really get to experience the outcome for herself.”
“Not for nothing,” she spoke softly. “You came out of it that has to stand for something.”
He gazed at her softly. “Where is this sudden optimism coming from?” he remarked, quickly rebounding.
She shrugged. “It’s the truth is all.”
“Yeah,” he whispered as he pulled her against him and kissed her on the forehead just by her bangs. She stiffened and he noticed pulling back right away.
“I’m sorry,” she spoke quickly. “I don’t know why I did that.” And she really didn’t understand why her body had reacted so fiercely when he kissed her so simply on her forehead when they had already done much more pronounced things.
“It’s alright,” he spoke sincerely.
“Why are you so patient with me?” she inquired.
He shrugged. “I don’t feel like I’m supposed to push you. I just feel like I’m supposed to be there for you.”
“No questions of your own?” she asked surprised.
He shrugged again.
“I never got the feeling that you trusted so easily, why do you trust me now?”
He sighed. “A feeling is all, never been wrong before.”
“I suppose it would be fair for me to tell…”
“No,” he interrupted her. “I didn’t tell you that just so you’d feel obliged to do the same, I’m not trying to force…”
“I know,” she interrupted him. “But I’m sure it be nice for you to know I’m a mutant too.”
His mouth gaped open and then quirked into a smile. “Really?”
“Really.”
“So…”
“Look, I really don’t know much and that’s the truth. Only about a couple of months ago did I wake up in a lab to a pair of happy-go-lucky doctors telling me I was freed and was being paid for the crimes I had suffered during the war,” she interrupted herself by laughing a bit darkly. “Funny thing is I don’t remember the crimes against me, they said amnesia was one of the symptoms for what I had gone through. Sam Spence isn’t even my real name, I don’t know it. They gave me a new identity and shipped me off here.”
“Well,” Nathan spoke as he leaned back. “Gotta say that does explain a lot.”
“I’m sure it does.” She glanced away from him as she fidgeted with the sleeves on her shirt.
“You know I’m not trying to take anything away from what you’ve gone through but you’re not the first person I know to have the type of baggage you have. Doesn’t make you any less of a person.”
“I’m half of a person,” she found herself yelling suddenly.
“For now, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop living.”
She glanced sideways at him, narrowing her eyes. “God, your optimism sickens me sometimes.”
“That a good or bad thing?” he asked wryly.
“I have yet to decide,” she answered in a dramatic fashion, tapping her chin.
He laughed deeply as he gave her a hug. “So what powers do you have?”
“Skin absorption, although I haven’t found the need to use it, and enhanced senses with healing abilities.”
Nathan snorted.
“What?”
“Oh you healers always sound so downtrodden, no idea what you have. Lucky bastards.”
It took her a second to realize he was joking because for once his words seemed slightly bitter.
“I’m kidding,” he emphasized as he pulled her closer.
“Good, otherwise I’d wipe that goofy smirk off of your face.”
“Somehow I believe you,” he retorted, his hands passing her her glass as they both sat in the sun.
She was jolted out of her memory as the engine stopped and the car jerked as it was put into park.
“We’re here,” Nathan smiled at her.