He kept his distance. The moment that she registered that she was stark naked, she grabbed a bigger white towel from the towel rack and wrapped herself quickly. Not that it really mattered, he had seen her naked a thousand times before he left. It was a privilege he lost the moment he walked out on her.
"It's 'bout time that you got home." He growled. Aggression in every syllable that he spoke. "Where the hell have you been??"
~What no 'Hey baby, Ah haven't seen you in 4 years, how's life been treating you?' or an 'Ah'm sorry Ah left you to emotionally rot in the hell that became ya mind when Ah walked away.' Fuckin prick.~
"That's none of your God Damn business Logan." The words slid from her mouth easily and with hot emotion and it wasn't the good kind.
"The hell it isn't." He crossed his arms and grimaced. It was his sure way of trying to be intimidating. There was no way in hell that that was going to work on her. She knew him too damn well, unfortunately.
"The hell it is! What the hell do ya want from meh?" Her voice bordered on anger, but had twinges of desperation in it. She needed to get out of this room. Suddenly the walls were too small, the air was too humid from the shower, and the bastard was hogging up the doorway. He was here. Why? Why the fuck would he come back now? Just when she decided to give up on him...just when she was going to reclaim her freedom. When her heart couldn't take anymore of his bullshit.
"An explanation would be a great fuckin' place to begin." His eyes cut through her. God when did she suddenly lose the ability to hide how she felt? You would think that she would have had enough practice keeping her emotions in check around people in the last 4 years...
Laughter, she couldn't help but bitterly laugh at him.He had to be joking. "Logan, Ah don't owe you a fuckin' thing. It's not like we're togethah anymore. Ya walked out on meh remebah? Ah don't gotta tell ya a damn thing about mah actions or what Ah do. It's none of ya concern anymore. Ah ain't one of ya concerns anymore."
"You're wrong Marie." He shook his head. The expression on his face showed clearly that he was trying to keep that trademark temper in check. Thus far he hadn't lost it. Nothing more than an aggravated tone of voice and a few growls.
Rogue on the other hand, was about to lose her composure. Every night that she had stayed awake crying because she missed him, because she felt so alone, the long night of tears that were shed the night she found out she was pregnant, the countless hours of questioning why she even bothered to get out of bed after he left... and most of all the pain of being abandoned by the man she loved more than anything else in the world; all started to flood back as excruciating memories. Rogue pulled the wrapped towel off of her head, her damp hair falling all the way down her back in soggy strands, and threw the towel on the tiled floor. "NO LOGAN. Ya wrong. What in Gawd's name do you think gives ya the right t' come in here after 4 years without a damn word of if ya was alright, not a damn phone call to check an' see if Ah was okay, not a letter, no fuckin' postcard, not a single fuckin' shred of contact, and ask meh where the hell Ah was fer the day? What the fuck is wrong with ya?! And when the hell did ya start givin' a damn again?" Her chest was heaving from the intensity of her anger. Her left hand that was keeping the towel up was clutched in her fist tightly. If anyone else would have walked in, they would have seen hellfire and brimstone in her green eyes.
"I came back for you!" The words were out of his mouth before he could even take them back. The choice of words wasn't exactly what should have been chosen at the time being considering how upset she was.
"Bullshit. Ya came back t' see if ya could have a cleared conscience. Ya probably hoped that Ah wouldda got smart and married someone else so that Ah wouldda been someone else's 'responsibility'." Her voice was now full of hatred and disgust.
"Marie..-"
"No Logan. Ya don't get the pleasure of calling me that anymore. Ah ain't Marie. Especially not t' you." Ouch. Nothing like a woman scorned..
"Fine. ROGUE, I left because I didn't think it was the right time for us to be together... You needed time to grow up.. and I just wasn't ready." His voice was dangerously calm, and he looked as though he was choosing his words carefully.
"Ah needed time t' grow up? Ya left meh with no other option Logan. Ya just left me."
"For the record, I didn't know you were pregnant." His eyes looked down, almost as if he was too ashamed to look at her.
"Yeah well, neither did Ah. How do ya think Ah felt when the only man Ah had evah loved walked out on meh, only t' find out a few weeks latah that Ah was pregnant with his child?" She loosened her death grip on the towel because she was cutting off the circulation to her fingers and made a move toward him, now that she was almost completely dry it would be nice if she could get dressed.
"If I would have known Ma-Rogue... You know I would have been back here in a heartbeat." His eyes met with her face and a glimpse of sadness shined in her eyes before her anger came back.
"Well, it's too damn late for that now isn't it?" A look of frustration gave him the incentive to move out of her way when she obviously wanted to make it into their room. No. it wasn't their room anymore. It was her and Draven's. There would be no way in hell that she would let him sleep in this room anytime soon.
"I'm here now." He uncrossed his arms. He started looking around the room that she stood in, taking in all of the changes since he had been away.
Rogue opened her dresser and pulled out a pair of sweatpants. Almost slamming it closed. Tearing open another one to take out a tank top. "Have ya lost touch with ya hearing? Ah said it's too damn late Logan. There is nothing you can d' t' change mah mind. Ah don't want ya here. An' Draven doesn't even know ya. We don't want anythin' ya have t' offer." Regret filled her heart the moment the words left her mouth. She knew she was over-reacting... but now she was just being overly-cruel.
"I don't give a rat's ass what you say. I'm not leaving. No matter how much you may hate me." Suddenly she couldn't stand to look at him. She turned her back to him and stared at the clothes she pulled out of the dresser, not saying anything in response.
He resisted the urge to touch her shoulders. Didn't she know that this was killing him? He didn't come here to make her upset... he came to make everything right. Now he has a little boy who is a spitting image of himself running around. Doesn't she understand that he cannot walk away from that?
A few more moments of agonizing silence came about before he spoke again. Logan's voice was low, nearly a whisper, but she heard every word.
"I never stopped loving you Marie and I never will."
Her eyes started to burn. She was about to turn around and respond when she heard the door close quietly. Marie didn't have to turn around to know that he had left her. She didn't think that she could feel anything more heartbreaking than when he walked out on her the final time...but she was wrong. This hurt so much worse.
In all of the arguing, the repeated song had been forgotten entirely. It was the only noise that was heard from Marie's room.
All that shines turns to rust
All that stands in time turns to dust
Finally she gave into the burning sensation in her eyes and broke the promise that she made to herself... as one lonely tear slid down her cheek with Logan's name on it.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
2 chapters in one night? Damn I'm good :) This one may be shorter but it's very important. I hope you guys like it!
~~ Rogue's thoughts.
Again check out Black Label Society's song Rust on YouTube to get a feel of the mood.
~~ Rogue's thoughts.
Again check out Black Label Society's song Rust on YouTube to get a feel of the mood.
Chapter End Notes:
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