Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry this keeps taking so long between chapters. I wrote this one listening to "you raise me up" by josh groban. It was interesting. Hope you like it!
The snow was thick and unforgiving. Each step seemed to slow more than the one before it, and all feeling was gone from her nose. It was unbearable. Logan trudged ahead of her, plumes of breath floating from his head into the whiteness. Every little while, Marie would look to the side and see buildings, but she knew not to go into one. Logan would leave her and think nothing of it. That’s just how he was, she decided. The freezing wind stung her face, but she walked on.

“Are you still there, kid?” Logan called out, not even bothering to turn and see for himself.

“Yeah, I’m here” she replied. Logan grunted loudly, and pointed up to a long building, just barely visible from the thick falling snow.

“We’re going ta stay here.” He turned and began to walk towards it.

“How do you know for sure?” she called out, a little unsure.

“I’ve been here before” he yelled. His voice seemed gruffer than before, probably from breathing the cold air in for so long. Marie walked over to the building, following as closely behind Logan as she dared go. She didn’t want to risk him running off, leaving her in the snow. Her heart told her that he would never do that, but her instinct told her to keep a close watch. Just in case. The closer she got to the building, the more uncomfortable she grew with the situation. It was a short, grey building with a brown roof. Cracks ran up the sides of it, and where there wasn’t snow, there were rust marks running down. A sleazy looking sign along the top it, reading “ASH GARDEN MOTEL” in deep green letters. They reached the old, cracked door. Logan opened it, walked inside, and let it close on Marie. It wasn’t a very heavy door, but it still hurt. She pushed it open, and tip toed in.

The main lobby was very small, only about the size of a medium sized storage closet. On one end there was a large pot with a half dead fern coming out of it. The carpet was a deep red, with ugly brown accents giving it an Indian look, but obviously it wasn’t imported. The walls were drab and beige, water stains running down the edges. It smelled musty and old, like a wet vacuum cleaner bag. At the far end was a small brown desk covered with papers. No one could be seen.

“Hello?” Logan called out into the small room. His deep voice echoed around the room, making Marie’s ears ring a little. The room was making her uneasy. This was definitely the sleaziest motel she had ever seen, other than in the movies of course. Small footsteps could be heard coming from the small door next to the desk. Shortly, a small woman with white hair emerged. She couldn’t be any younger than sixty five. She wore a black dress that reached down to the floor, and her pale hair was pulled into a tight bun, a pencil sticking awkwardly out of it. She wore tiny, thick framed glasses, perched at the very end of her nose. She took her place behind the desk, and put on her best smile. I’m sorry to say, it was a terrible smile. Marie stared at her for a moment. The lady reminded her of one of the zombies from dawn of the dead. Logan began to walk towards her. She adjusted her glasses, and her smile became less phony for a moment.

“Oh, Mr.Howlett?” she asked quietly, “how nice to see you again!” She came around from the corner of the desk, and walked frailly to him.

“Hello, Eunice” he responded. There was a sense of security in his voice. Marie stayed by the door, and watched the reunion silently. Logan and Eunice hugged, and spoke for a moment, although Marie wasn’t really paying attention to what they were saying. How could he have not told her he knew exactly where they were? It wasn’t fair that he had her so afraid. Eunice took Logan to the desk, and he pulled out a small bundle of wrinkled money. He counted it out, and gave about half of it to her. She smiled, and handed him a key.

“Cummon” he called back to Marie as he began to follow Eunice through the little door. Marie sighed, and walked behind them. Eunice walked very slowly, and it gave Marie time to look at the bland walls and ugly carpet some more. It was Friday. She had to be here until Monday. Then God knows how long until she got to Calgary. Every few steps, there would be a small brown door covered with cracks. They were all numbered with old brass numbers, half of which were basically falling off. Eunice stopped outside of the second last door, and smiled.

“This is it” she announced in her quiet voice. She shook Logan’s hand, and walked back down the corridor to the lobby closet. Without speaking, Logan put the key into the lock, and opened it. The door creaked loudly as it swung open. Logan stepped inside. Marie followed slowly.

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Logan flipped the light switch. A pulsating yellow light filled the room, making an array of crazy shadows on the beige walls. The floor was carpeted the same as the lobby, except the colours were richer in here. A small black stain sat in the middle of the floor. Inviting, Marie thought. There was a table over to the right, and a single bed with a white blanket in the corner. Well, Marie assumed it was supposed to be white. It looked like more of a brownie-grey colour. A tiny window sat on the upper portion of the far wall, letting a little sun in. There was a little brown door against the right wall with water stains covering the carpet around it. Bathroom probably, Marie thought. In whole, it looked like crap.

“Well, its good ta be back!” Logan sighed. He walked into the room, and turned to face Marie. “What’dya think, kid?” he asked, grinning slightly. Marie looked the disgusting room up and down once more, before forcing a smile.

“It’s... nice” she lied. Logan’s smile faltered, but then returned. He took his jackets off, and hung them on a nail by the door. At least the room smelled like detergent, rather than moth balls like the lobby. Logan then walked over to the table, and threw his keys, four cigars, and a match book onto it. Marie stood by the door, still trying to figure the entire situation out.

“You alright, kid?” Logan asked. Marie looked to him. He was standing in the middle of the room, on the black spot on the carpet. What could that spot even be?

“I’m fine.” She walked in, and dropped the bag near the door. She took Logan’s heavy coat off, and hung it on the other nail jutting from the wall. She shook out her hair, and smiled. “Thank you for letting me stay with you” she said, trying to make up for her obvious dislike for the room.

“No problem, kid. Wanna tour?”

“Oh. Alright.” Logan stood from the bed, and walked over to the small water stained door.

“This” he began, almost cockily, “is the bathroom.” He opened the door, and Marie looked inside. It was very small, with a skinny shower, a sink and a small toilet. A large mirror sat above the sink, and it looked silly compared to how small the rest of the room was.

“Cool” Marie said softly. A wave of homesickness washed over her. She thought of her mother, and father, and of Cody... Logan noticed her sadness.

“You ok, kid?” he asked quietly, almost gently. She looked up at him, and forced a smile.

“I’ll be fine.” Logan swallowed, and rolled his eyes.

“Wanna talk about it?” he asked. Marie smiled, and walked over to the bed. She lifted herself up onto it, and looked into Logan’s eyes.

“Remember when you told me you were a mutant?” she asked. He let out a little growl.

“Yeah?”

“Well, I’m one too.” They sat for a while in silence, just staring at each other. They say that if you stare into someone’s eyes for more than a minute or so, without disruption, you have some sort of connection. Marie felt a tear run down her cheek. She reached up, and wiped it away quickly. It absorbed into her glove, and made her finger cold. Logan’s face seemed to soften for a moment. Not quite a smile, but not quite a frown. Just in the middle. He walked over to the bed, and pulled himself next to Marie. He put his hand around her shoulder, and pulled her close.

“Do ya miss them?” he asked. Marie wiped another tear away.

“You have no idea.”

“I have an idea. I know what it’s like ta wake up one day, and not know what or where ya are. I know how scary that can be.” Marie leaned her face into his chest, and began to cry. He stroked her hair softly, trying to hide how uncomfortable he was. He hadn’t had much experiencing with soothing crying people. He could feel her tears absorbing into his flannel shirt, and resting against his chest. She grabbed at his chest, and pulled herself closer. They stayed like that for awhile.

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“Do you mind if I take a shower?” Marie asked him. She sniffled a little, then smiled. He looked down at the damp spot on his clothes from her tears, then back at her.

“Only if I get one after” he joked. The both smiled awkwardly at each other, then Marie retreated into the bathroom. The door locked loudly behind her. She looked at her own reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying, and she had a small crease along her face from where Logan’s shirt buttons had been pressed against her. She let out a little heave, still coming down from her crying. Her hair was a mess, all tangled and sticking up in random places. She reminded herself of Cinderella, except this time, no prince would save her. She only had the big bad wolf to take her from point A to point B. It was a disgusting feeling, this helplessness. She unbuttoned her coat, and let it fall to the floor. Then her gloves, then her shirt. She stared at her own pale body. A little too thin, breasts too small, and too many freckles on her back. Imperfect. She removed her jeans, and underwear, and turned the shower on. The water was very cold at first, then warmed up to lukewarm. She waited another minute, hoping for more heat, but none came. Taking a breath, she stepped in.

She gasped from the cold. It flowed over her body, making her cringe. It took a minute, but like anything, she got used to it. She let the water flow over her face, and she began to reflect. Where would she be if she had gotten on that train? Maybe Montreal? Somewhere far away. But here, she was with an old, scary man in a crappy hotel room in a cold shower. But for some reason, this felt better than Montreal would. There was something about this that just felt... right. The water seemed to be washing away her sorrows for the moment. It felt good to just get away from it all, even if just for a moment. She lost herself in thought for a moment. Thoughts about her family, Cody, her mutant curse, Bear... and Logan. She smiled.

There was a loud bang at the door. Her thoughts left instantly, and she jumped, almost slipping. A small scream escaped her.

“Marie, could’ja hurry up? I gotta take a piss.”

She rolled her eyes, and turned off the water. She stepped out onto the cold tile floor, and looked for a towel. None to be seen.

“Logan, are there any towels?”

“Under the sink” he yelled back. She opened the little door under the sink to see two small towels. Both white and both basically falling apart. She pulled out the nicer of the two, and quickly dried herself. She put on her clothes, and wrapped her hair with the towel. When she unlocked the door, Logan pushed it open almost knocking her to the ground. He rushed to the toilet, and began unzipping his pants. Marie rushed out and slammed the door as quickly as she could behind her.

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Marie sat on the bed playing with her hair. The sound of the water pouring in Logan was very loud, and she could hear him humming quietly to himself. It was some sort of lumberjack working song or something. It felt good to take a shower. She felt refreshed. She looked down at her watch. It was eleven P.M. She hadn’t realized so much time had gone by. How long had they been outside? How long was she crying? It didn’t matter. The shower turned off, and she heard Logan step out of it. The door opened, and he walked out wearing only the towel. She closed her eyes, and shoved her face into the bed. He yelled a little, and pulled himself back into the bathroom.

“Sorry, I’m used ta bein’ here alone” he called. She could hear him fumbling with his jeans.

“It’s alright” she called, “at least you had the towel on.” They both laughed for a moment. Then Logan re-emerged from the bathroom, wearing only jeans, his shirts in his hand. His upper body was tan, muscular and hairy. He wore no socks, and the tops of his feet were hairy too. She thought of a Sasquatch. He walked over to the ground next to the bed, and threw his flannel shirt to the ground. He put his wife beater on, and then walked over to grab his jackets. They joined his shirt on the carpet.

“You can have the bed” he said quietly. He walked over to the wall.

“Are you sure?” she asked. He didn’t answer. He simply switched the light off, then walked over to the pile of clothes on the ground. He covered himself up, and turned away from the bed. Marie pulled the covers up around herself, and stared up at the ceiling. Slowly, sleep took over, and she dozed off.

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She woke to the sounds of shivering and grunting. They were coming from the ground. Upon opening her eyes, she found herself in the motel room. She had forgotten about the whole thing until now. A loud grunt happened beside her, and she leaned over the bed. Logan had kicked the coats off, and was curled into a heap on the floor, shivering. She nudged him softly. He moaned, and turned to look at her.

“Wanna sleep in the bed?” she asked. He smiled, but shook his head no, and closed his eyes. She poked him again. “Are you sure?” There’s room for one more up here.” He grunted, and stood up. Marie scootched over and quickly did her check. Gloves, shirt, pants, socks, no skin showing? Check. Logan lifted the cover, and slid in. She felt the coldness coming from him.

“Kid?” he asked.

“Yeah?”

“Night.”

“Night.” He turned from her, and she turned from him. They closed their eyes, and fell asleep.
Chapter End Notes:
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