They'd arisen and been out of the room just after ten in the morning. Since the motel's breakfast options consisted of various items in the vending machine, Logan and Marie headed back to the small diner where Logan had gotten dinner for them the night before. Seated in a corner booth, Marie watched as Logan devoured his breakfast as if he'd been starved for weeks.
"Hungry much?"
Logan paused and looked at Marie as he held a forkful of eggs in front of his still full mouth.
"Yeah." He mumbled through his food and continued eating.
She took a bite of her oatmeal and glanced over at the counter where the waitress stood staring at Logan as if he were the blue plate special. Yolanda - according to her nametag - was apparently none too concerned about the other few patrons in the diner. It wasn't until a man yelled for her that she finally turned around and tore herself away from her new past time - ogling Marie's man.
"Jealous much?"
Marie whipped her head around and looked at Logan indignantly. "Me?" Marie chuffed under her breath as she tried to play off her embarrassment. "Seriously, Logan."
"Uh huh."
"I am not jealous of Yolanda."
"You can't bullshit a bullshitter, darlin'. You reek of it." He shrugged and continued eating. "It's cute."
She was full on flustered now. "Cute? I...you...oh nevermind."
Logan laughed softly as she hastily grabbed her coffee and took a sip.
"I kinda like that you're a little possessive of me. I get the same way about you." He tilted his head in the direction of two men sitting further down the restaurant. "Those guys have been borin' holes into you since we walked in. It's all I can do to keep myself from shovin' a claw in their fuckin' eyeballs."
Marie leaned back and crossed her arms. "You never put a claw through Remy's eyeballs...or anything else for that matter."
"Don't think I wasn't tempted. You wanted him so I backed off." He turned his attention back to her after finishing a bite of his bacon. "But if he'd ever so much as made you sniffle, I would have skewered him in a heartbeat."
"I applaud your restraint."
"Yeah, well don't pat me on the back too much. I purposely put the fear of god in plenty of your past would-be boyfriends."
"That explains a lot." She took another sip of coffee and finished off her breakfast, glancing once again at the tall women who continued to stare at Logan. "I guess this happens to you often. I mean, I know you've got a lot of admirers in the mansion. But I've never really noticed before how many women would jump you in a second if given the chance."
In an attempt to brush off the comment, Logan rolled his eyes and put the last piece of bacon in his mouth.
"Face it, you're a stud."
She almost laughed out loud when he started coughing. It took at least a minute and a large drink of water to get himself back under control.
"Jesus, Marie, you want to kill a guy?"
"So you can be shot, stabbed, punched, mutilated and thrown out of an airplane but bacon is your secret weakness?" Marie allowed herself to laugh this time.
Logan raised his eyebrow. "No, baby, you're my secret weakness."
Marie stared into his deep brown eyes and felt that familiar tightening in her stomach. She'd loved Logan for so long but now - just like that moment in the garage and yesterday at the motel - Marie wanted him. It was exhilarating to feel a sense of normalcy again. She reached across the table and took his hands in hers.
"And you're mine, Logan."
He smiled at her and she was lost to everything but him.
Until Yolanda cleared her throat. Marie's eyes tightened and she turned her head to look up at the woman who glared down at her through clenched teeth.
"You folks need anythin' else?" Yolanda shifted her attention to Logan and her smile turned from ice to pure lust. "I could get you some pie, sweetie. It's fresh."
Pie? Seriously? It was Marie's turn to roll her eyes.
"Nah, we're good." Logan released Marie's hands and fished in his pocket for his wallet. He pulled out forty dollars and handed it to the waitress. "Just keep the change."
She grinned broadly. "Well, thank you!" Yolanda bent down and leaned close to Logan's ear. Marie barely restrained herself. "If you ever come back this way without the lady, make sure to look me up."
Logan didn't respond, he just grinned lopsidedly at Marie. He gestured at her that they should go and she got up as Yolanda walked back to the cash register. Logan had made it to the door, opening it for her, when Marie glanced back and saw the flirty server punching in the code to open the cash register. Suddenly, the drawer flew open with such force that change and bills exploded out of the tray.
Marie heard Logan's chuckle as she walked out the door.
"That was mean, darlin'."
"Mean? Nah, mean would have been making her think she was a duck."
Logan chuckled as he snaked his arm around her waist. "Remind me never to piss you off."
"Oh, I'll remind you." He opened her door and as she got in, Marie put up her hand, her thumb coming up to touch her four fingers. She opened and closed them twice. "Quack, quack."
Logan's roar of laughter echoed through the trees.
oOo
Late that afternoon, Logan pulled the car into the Life Care Center of Caldecott County, Mississippi. Marie sat and stared at the building she'd passed so many times when she was young. The relatively small nursing home was positioned just outside the town center but remained on the main route to the school. Every day, Marie would ride her bike just a little bit faster past the building, afraid that she would contract whatever disease the people inside might have. Holding her breath when she passed the cemetery was another ritual she still held onto even now. Superstition was always alive and well in her little town.
That superstition compounded by fear was the reason her daddy took the opportunity to voice his disdain for mutants whenever he had a chance. While they ate dinner and watched the news, he would comment on the 'freaks' and how they should all be taken away by the government. She never heard her mother agree with her father's opinions, but Marie knew that should push ever come to shove, her father would always win.
That was exactly why, after she watched Cody seizing on the floor of her bedroom, Marie knew that if she stayed in her father's house, he would either turn her over to the government or kill her himself. So she ran. Better to be on her own with two hundred dollars to her name than in a lab being used as a guinea pig.
Now she was back, staring at a building that used to seem so plain and ordinary. It wasn't so nondescript now. The young man who'd changed her life was inside; comatose from what she'd done to him seven years earlier. The first victim of many to fall prey to her poison skin.
"You don't have to go in now, Marie. It can wait, he's not goin' anywhere." Logan interrupted her trip down memory lane. She turned to the side to see him sitting with one elbow up on the edge of the door frame and the other in his lap. His eyes were focused and serious.
"Yeah, I do." Marie shifted in her seat. "I need this to be over with."
"Okay, let's go then." He turned off the car and moved his hand to open the car door.
"Wait." Logan stopped and stared at Marie. "I'm going alone."
"The hell you are."
Once again, that fleeting wisp of doubt that Logan didn't trust her powers carried itself through her mind.
"What could happen, Logan? I'm not going to hurt a guy in a coma."
"I didn't think you were going to hurt him, darlin'." Frustration was evident in his voice.
She shook her head, regretting her subtle insult to the man who only wanted to love and protect her.
"I'm sorry. I just feel like I need to do this by myself."
He nodded and brushed her cheek with his fingers. "I get it, but I already told you I'm gonna have your back every step of the way. I can stand outside the room if you want, but I'm goin' with you."
She tilted her head and smirked. "Are you going to be one of those clingy boyfriends now?"
He snorted derisively. "Fuck that. I'm the Wolverine. I don't do clingy. Clingy is for douchebags like One-Eye."
"So you're going with protective, then."
"I can live with that."
Marie leaned forward and kissed Logan lightly on the lips. She took a moment to look into his eyes, gathering the courage she needed from the ever-present strength in his gaze.
"I can live with that too. Let's go."
She got out of the car and shut the door behind her. Taking a deep breath, the familiar aroma of the trees and flowers transported Marie back to a time fifteen years ago when she played and rode her bike so innocently down the street behind her. Marie knew she could never regain that sense of innocence. Dwelling on what Cody and Victor had stolen from her would only continue the cycle of shame and anger that had dominated her life for years. Today, it was time to face the past and put it behind her. Today she would be free.
Marie walked to the front of the car and took Logan's hand as they approached the front entrance. The doors slid open automatically and Marie was pleasantly surprised to see that the interior reflected a light and modern décor. The cheerful receptionist greeted them and Logan responded when Marie failed to answer.
"Yeah, afternoon, ma'am. We're hopin' to pay a visit to Cody…"
"Robbins. Cody Robbins."
You know, the patient who's in a coma because of me.
The guilt bloomed fresh inside her chest and she felt Logan's hand tighten around hers. She looked at him and calmed at the encouragement in his eyes. Marie returned her attention to the receptionist - Angela according to her nametag - who smiled although a question remained evident underneath her friendly demeanor.
"Well, isn't that nice. Cody doesn't get too many visitors. Go ahead and sign in right there."
For a split second, Marie wasn't sure if she should use an alias but decided using her name would be fine. It wasn't like she was undercover and as long as she was facing up to the past, she might as well be honest about everything. As she finished writing her information, she heard the receptionist place a call.
"Yes, would you please come and escort some visitors to see Cody Robbins?" A slight pause while the other participant spoke. "Okay, thank you." Angela hung up the phone and smiled again. "Miss Lila will be right up."
Marie nodded. "Thank you."
They turned away from the front desk and moved over to the windows. Logan put his arm around Marie, gently rubbing her shoulder as they stood silently in the foyer. In only a few minutes, they heard the buzz of the door that lead to the patient wing. Marie and Logan turned around to be greeted by a petite, dark haired woman. She was in her fifties, wore very little make up, and had a natural beauty that made her appear radiant.
"Hello there."
"Hello." Logan and Marie spoke in unison.
"Won't you follow me?"
"Thank you." Marie smiled as she and Logan walked through the door and paused, waiting for her to take the lead.
"It's nice to see that Cody has some visitors. Are you friends or family?"
"I'm a friend. I haven't seen him in a very long time. He doesn't get many visitors?"
They turned a corner and continued down the clean hallways. Miss Lila spoke as she waved to another staff member.
"No, not really. But he doesn't seem to mind."
"Oh, you can tell that?"
Miss Lila turned her head to the side and Marie could see her brow, wrinkled in confusion. "Well, sure. He's doin' just fine here, that's easy to see."
She stopped and opened a door, gesturing for Logan and Marie to enter a room filled with tables and rehabilitation equipment. Marie thought that maybe she was making a quick stop before moving on to Cody's room. A few patients worked with their therapists at various stations in the room and Marie watched Miss Lila approach a man in the corner. He wore scrubs and his back was to Marie but as soon as she saw the dirty blonde hair, recognition washed over her.
He turned around, the puzzled look on his face morphing into shock as soon as he looked at her face.
"Anna Marie?"
Cody.
oOo
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