The Sword And The Shield (X-Men) (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

Chapter Fifty-One: Aftershock

Aftershock

Belle's POV

I can't remember the last time I felt this sad.

There was the day I came home from school to find that my parents had left. I'd been having a lot of accidents dealing with my mutation and they didn't want to deal with it. I was sixteen.

There was the day Weston disappeared. It was after the warehouse party ended with a literal bang, thanks to him. The cops had cornered us and the next thing I know he was gone. I was still sixteen.  That was a little over two years ago.

Then there's the day Aaron Mason Shield died. I think that's the worst.

It's like the life has been sucked out of the house. Everyone is sad and crying, but no one wants to talk about it.

Classes continued, even though a majority of the kids couldn't go ten minutes without reality hitting them and making them want to curl up in a ball and cry. Or maybe that's just me.

Logan left a week ago, he didn't say where he was going or when he'd be back. He missed the funeral.

We never found a body, just a pile of ashes next to Jade's swords, but we still had a funeral. Aaron deserved that, even though he didn't deserve to die. We engraved a stone and planted it next to all the other mutants who have died over the years. One of them is Scott's older brother.

Dan locked himself in his room for a few days. He blared his music so loud my pictures fell off the wall between our rooms. I can hear him crying when the songs change. He won't talk to me, at least not past the casual hello, how are you? Besides, neither of us are remotely okay.

I don't walk places. If I'm hungry, I zap down to the kitchen and then back up to my room. I can't walk past Aaron's room. I tried once, a few days after it happened. The little kids had covered his door with drawings and cards, and I just lost it.

Then there's Jade.

It's been three weeks, and she hasn't moved. She sits in the center of her bed, with her legs crossed, watching the wall that Aaron used to walk through to get to her.

The Professor had to put her in some sort of trance when we got back. She freaked out when Logan brought in her swords and she tried to attack him. She was like a rabid dog, and it broke my heart. The thing is, Charles said the trance faded naturally, and Jade's been out of it for over a week. She just won't move.

She only blinks once every five minutes, and she only eats if someone forcefully puts food in her mouth. It's only a reflex, though. Chewing. She doesn't really want to eat. She doesn't really want to live.

Storm and I take turns feeding her, but I left in her charge of bathing. Jade's the strongest person I've ever met, I just can't be there when Storm has to physically carry her into the shower.

"Jade?" I back into her room, my hands full with her food tray. "It's time for dinner." I walk in slowly, hoping that she'll look at me, but she doesn't. She just sits there, perfect posture. Her straight hair is a matted mess, the green strands are tangled through the rest of the brown mop.  Storm put in her pajama pants and a large T-shirt, trying her best to make Jade comfortable. But she won't talk, so we don't know what she feels.

Well, we have a general idea.

"Li made you a roast beef sandwich." I set the tray down on the bed by her leg. "Only meat and bread, just the way you like it." I run my hand over the soft fabric of her pants as I kneel down in front of her. I silently pray for her eyes to follow me, to recognize me. "Come on, Jade..."

Aaron would be destroyed if he saw her like this. He wouldn't be able to live with himself.

Then again, this wouldn't be happening if he were here.

I sit up and cup her cheeks with my hands, urging her to look at me. "Don't disappear on me." Her fading eyes flicker, as if she was momentarily tempted to look at me. "I need you here." I reach for the sandwich and hold it to her lips, hoping she'll take a bite. "Dan won't talk to me, Li's always cleaning or doing yoga, Logan is missing..." Everybody is busy keeping busy. They're too busy for me. I don't have hobbies like the others. I mean, I play the violin, but I'm too sad to play.

I did get another tattoo.

It's a simple, three-pronged crown on the inside of my wrist. Aaron was practically Prince Charming, and i figured a crown was the least morbid thing I could remember him by.

Something cold wraps itself around my wrist, turning it upwards. Jade gazes down at it, and I swear she smiles, for a split second. "Aaron." That's all she says, before her eyes glaze over once again.

I move to her side and hold her in my arms, telling her that it wasn't her fault, but i'm speaking to a shell. I run my fingers through her hair, accidentally yanking her head to the side when they get stuck in knots. After a few minutes, I get up, leaving the tray of food next to Jade, and walk out of the room. I close the door carefully, not wanting to startle anyone. Just as I turn away from the room, Dan walks out of his. He steps dead in his tracks, staring at me with sad eyes. His hair is greasy and flat. I guess he can't bring himself to gel it everyday. He's wearing a plain white shirt and regular denim jeans. Dan doesn't wear normal jeans.

I let go of the doorknob and begin to walk towards my room, and towards Dan. He doesn't move an inch, his brown eyes just follow me. "How dare you." The words roll off my tongue without me really knowing it was happening, but it's too late. I said it. Just as I'm about to pass Dan he sticks out his arm, trapping me in front of him.  I stare straight ahead, ignoring him as he tries to talk to me.

"Belle..."

"No." I stop him before the tears come. He does not get to be weak. I was left alone to cope, and I had to take care of Jade. Dan disappeared on me, and that is not okay. "Don't 'Belle' me, don't 'Izzy' me. You left me alone." His pierced lip quivers as I push past him, refusing to let him throw a pity party for himself. "When you're ready to deal with things, you know when to find me." I slam my bedroom door and fall onto my bed, burying my head in my Doctor Who body pillow. When I finally look up, the framed photo of Aaron and I was staring straight at me. I had my arms wrapped around his neck, he was giving me a piggy back ride. He was smiling so wide that he couldn't even open his beautiful eyes. "I miss you."

This house is missing something, it's missing Aaron.