(REWRITING) The Skylar Experiment : Coveting

25. Aftermath

*Lenghty chapter ahead, guys! 2,8k words*

On the way back inside, Emma's unaccustomed stomach rebelled from all the drinking, and Lauren had to rush her to the bathroom before she'd puke over Lilah's carpet. Lauren held her coppery hair in a bunch as she leaned over the sink and endured her guts spasming in revulsion.

They promptly left the party afterwards, Luc and Emma surrounded in a protective bubble before getting in the cars. With Raymond drunk, Devin ended up replacing him behind the wheel. Lauren was too tired and furious to steer right. She refused to talk to him--refused to spare him so much as a glance.

During the trip back, Lauren, Emma and Luc rode with Ben while Devin tailgated them on the highway. Funny enough, Luc tried to convince his sister not to be mad at Raymond, but she wouldn't listen to a word coming out of his mouth. They were both idiots for not measuring the risks. If they had, it didn't stop them.

Instead, she turned to Emma. Color infused her cheeks again, and she seemed better.

"Well, you survived a mutant party," Lauren murmured.

She grinned sheepishly. "Do I get a medal?"

"You should. It always gets... really crazy."

Emma's head bobbed. "I can see that."

At first, she'd wondered why it was so hard to mingle with humans, but the reckless things they were into would get any ordinary person killed. The slaloming car was courting with death for a rush of adrenaline. Luc could have been paralyzed and in need of a wheelchair. Many people, if they knew about this, would complain and loathe the mutants--accuse them of being too irresponsible and too different.

As for her own opinion, Emma wasn't sure what to think. However, she was glad Lauren stayed by her side the whole night and dutifully steered her away from the hot spots. She'd still met some decent mutants who, despite their inebriated state, were able to hold a conversation and try to put aside their repulsion for her.

Some of them were curious to know why Lauren fought tooth and nail for a human. Emma wondered if they found their answer or not and if they will remember it the next morning.

Ben dropped the twins and Emma at the cabin. She was vested a set of pyjamas and disappeared for a shower. Meanwhile, Lauren lingered downstairs and checked again to see if her brother was okay. Her eyes bore straight into him. She hovered around, scanning the exerted pallor in his face and the ailing moves of his arms. Luc sensed the prolonged scrutiny and granted her a sour look.

"Hey, I'm fine. It's thanks to you."

"This wouldn't have happened if Raymond wouldn't have made you do it."

He leaned back on his chair at the table. "Shit happens, okay? Life isn't risk-free. I'm very much alive and well." He passed her the cookie box he ate out of. "You should have a few. You're more exhausted than me."

She didn't acknowledge it. The agitation was too strong for hunger to settle in. "You guys always do dangerous stuff and I was scared someone would get hurt. I was right. What would I do if I had been too late and you never healed on your own? Tell me, would you feel the same as you do now?"

"No," he admitted. "But that's not what went down. I was lucky and now Raymond's going to focus on finding who flipped the car while I was on the roof."

Lauren bit her lip. Why would someone want to hurt him like that? Why did the vigils not react in time to prevent it? Raymond had chosen them for a reason and they've proven to be useless. Her green eyes met her brother's identical ones, resolute and assertive.