chapter eighteen
Four years ago
Elaine Martin was sat on the hood of her car. Winona was sat next to her. The two were deep in thought, both remembering the events that happened only months ago. Winona was still angry. Angry at her parents. Angry at the world that she lived in. Angry at life.
"I still can't believe that they did that," she muttered, not taking her eyes away from the horizon as the sun began to set. Elaine sighed and pursed her lips. "Neither can I," she replied, trying to keep the bitterness out of her tone. Winona could hear it nonetheless. "But that doesn't matter anymore. It happened and there's no changing it. We just gotta move on," she added.
"I can't just move on from that, Elaine. They're our parents and they just threw us out like it was no big deal," Winona replied angrily. Elaine carefully thought about her next words. "Maybe because we're not actually their kids--" Winona didn't let Elaine finish her sentence. "No, that's bullshit. They raised us since we were babies. We are their kids. Blood or not," Winona said.
"If they felt that way, do you really think they would've kicked us out. I mean me, I understand. But you? You're not even a mutant and they thought about kicking you out too. In case you were one and they didn't want to take the chance. Now that, that's bullshit. Even if they changed their minds and wanted you to stay," Elaine said. She slid off of the car's hood and landed on the concrete below.
"But they didn't kick me out. I decided to leave with you. And I would've left the house once I finished college anyway. I had one more year," Winona murmured. Elaine nodded her head. "Come on, let's get out of here," Elaine said. Winona sighed before sliding off of the car. Once she was on the ground, she opened the passenger side door and got in. She grabbed her seatbelt and put it on as Elaine entered the vehicle. The two sat in silence.
Elaine took ahold of Winona's hand and held it tightly. "Don't worry. You and I, we have each other. And that's all that we need," she said. Winona smiled and nodded. Elaine put the keys into the ignition and turned on the car. She then put on her own seatbelt and began driving again.
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Winona was in her room getting the remainder of her things together for the journey to Perry. She and some of the others were going there to help out some refugees and bring them back to headquarters. Winona was happy that there was something that she could do.
Her mind continued to travel back to her dispute with John. She was angry, though not at him. At herself. It was her own fault. She got herself into this. She let herself develop feelings for him. Let her feelings overpower her judgement. She let herself get distracted. She was stupid. Winona had one goal and one goal only: to find Elaine.
She was supposed to focus on finding and saving her sister. Instead, she let herself stray from that path. But it's not like she could really help it.
A knock sounded on the door and Winona turned to it. Sonya stood in the doorway, her hand still on the door. "Hey," Winona said. "Hi," Sonya replied with a sheepish smile. "Can I come in?" She asked and Winona nodded. "Are you on your way to Perry too?" Sonya asked. "Yeah, Marcos said they could use a little extra help," Winona replied and Sonya nodded.
"I just wanted to talk to you about John," Sonya said after a beat of silence. Winona contained an eye roll at his name. "What about him?" She asked. "Things between us are, complicated," Sonya began. "So I've heard," Winona said. Sonya briefly looked down before looking at Winona again.
"I don't really know what kind of relationship you and him have but I know that he cares about you and you care about him. And he and I are still figuring things out. Well, at least I am. He's, I don't know," Sonya paused and took a breath. "He doesn't care about me in a romantic way though. Just a friendly one. He kind of made that clear, I guess. I mean, he's with you after all," Winona said. Sonya looked long and hard at her, her eyes holding disbelief, before sighing. "I just don't want things to be weird between you and me. I don't want you to hate me," Sonya said.
Winona couldn't contain the laugh that left her lips. "Hate you? Why would I hate you?" She asked. Sonya shrugged, looking down at her feet. "I kind of heard some of the conversation you two had the other night. And it made me upset," Sonya stopped. "So you kissed him in front of me to show that he was yours?" Winona questioned, though she had a feeling that she already knew the answer.
Sonya looked ashamed. "I'm so sorry. What I did was wrong and--" Winona cut her off. "Petty?" She said with a smile. "Yeah. I don't know why I did that. That isn't me," she said. Winona nodded her head, a smile playing at her lips. "It's okay. Don't worry about it. I mean, John made it pretty clear that he didn't want to be with me. Probably because, in a way, he's with you. So it's all good. No hard feelings," Winona said.
"Really?" Sonya asked. "Yes. I don't want there to be drama between us or anything. It's stupid," Winona replied. Sonya let out a relieved breath and smiled. "I hope you and John are happy," Winona said. Sonya looked down again. "Like I said, things between us are complicated. We're not back together again. Not officially. And I'm not sure that we ever will be," the redhead admitted.
Winona gave her a small smile. "Everything happens for a reason. And if it's meant to be then it'll be," Winona said. "And if it's not?" Sonya asked. Winona gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Then it won't," she replied. Sonya nodded, already knowing the answer to her question.
"So, are we cool?" Sonya asked. "Yes," Winona answered. "Does that mean we can be friends?" Sonya asked, her tone hopeful. "That depends. You think you can handle being friends with all of this?" Winona joked, running the backs of her hands down the sides of her body. Sonya laughed heartily at the question.
"You know, I think I'll manage," she responded with a large smile. Winona smiled back. "Well, if you insist," Winona said. Sonya sent her one last smile before exiting the room. Winona sighed when she was gone. She was glad that Sonya came and cleared the air and that the two were cool.
But she just couldn't stop thinking about John.
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The Martin girl made her way outside of the bank. Clarice was stood talking to Sonya and the green eyed girl did not look pleased. When Sonya walked away from Clarice, Winona began walking over to the green eyed girl. But a voice caused her to temporarily halt her movements. "Winnie, can I talk to you?" It was John.
Winona sighed and started walking again. "Nope. There's nothing to talk about," she replied. "I--" She turned to face him, cutting him off. "Look, I don't want to get caught up in this-this love triangle bullshit. Or whatever this is," she said, motioning between herself and John. She swiftly turned on her heel and began making her way to one of cars again.
"Can we please just talk about this?" He asked. She whipped around to face him again. "What part of I don't want to talk about this do you not understand? Clearly, what you said to me was a lie. You and Sonya have your thing going on and that's fine. My feelings, or whatever, aren't reciprocated. Not really anyway. And you know what, that's fine too. I just feel like a complete and utter idiot but that's okay. There, we talked. Are you happy now?" She said.
John sighed but didn't reply, unable to think of what to say. Winona took his silence as a notion to leave and she nodded her head before turning around and walking to where Clarice stood. The green eyed girl was staring intensely at her as she walked over. "I saw that," Clarice said. Winona rolled her eyes, "Of course you did."
"At least now you know how I feel to having feelings for someone who doesn't feel the same. Although, my feelings weren't real and yours are," Clarice said. Winona sent her friend a glare. "Too soon?" Clarice asked. Winona's eyes narrowed even more. "Too soon. Got it," Clarice said. Winona sighed and looked away from her. "I'm sorry," Clarice apologized. "It's okay. Let's just go," Winona said before walking to the other side of the van.
Marcos was stood there, doing some last minute things. He turned to Winona and attempted to smile. "Where's Lorna?" She asked him. He looked away. "She's uh, not coming," he answered. Winona studied him momentarily. "Trouble in paradise?" She asked him. Marcos scoffed. "I could ask you the same thing," he replied.
Winona's eyes narrowed and he nodded his head to something behind her. She turned around to see John talking to Sonya, though his eyes were trained on Winona. When she caught his gaze, he turned his attention back to the woman standing in front of him. Winona turned back to Marcos who was looking at her with raised eyebrows and a small smirk.
"Shut up," she muttered. His smirk turned into a grin. "What happened?" He asked. She shook her head, "Nothing." He gave her a disbelieving look. "Why are you acting like him and I are together? We're not so there is no 'trouble in paradise'," Winona said. "You two aren't together? Could've fooled me," Marcos said.
Winona chose to ignore his words and take the topic of conversation off of her. "What happened between you and Lorna?" She asked him. The smile fell from his face and he sighed. "She found out about my deal with the cartel. And she was not happy about it," he said. "Can you blame her?" Winona said.
He shook his head. "I guess not," he muttered. Winona patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. She'll come around," she said, sending him a reassuring smile. He nodded slightly and she grabbed onto the van door's handle, opening it and getting inside.
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When they got to the church, everyone quickly exited the vehicles and met up with the pastor. He led them around back to where the survivors were hidden. "Grateful you came so quick. Sentinel Services is even coming after us now. So much for sanctuary," the pastor informed.
"How many refugees are there?" Marcos asked as the group continued walking. "A dozen fled here when the station in Perry got hit. Plus a few strays," the man answered. Winona nodded at the information. It wasn't too many people, which was good. But at the same time, a lot of people were unable to get away.
"Let's load them up," John said. The pastor went to a large dumpster that was in front of a shed. He began trying to push it as he started speaking again. "I just have to hide them in here during services," he said. John stepped forward. "I got you, Padre," he said before using one hand to push the dumpster away. The man looked at John in mild shock and Winona hid her smile.
The pastor opened the shed and Winona could see some people inside. "It's all right. These are friends. They'll get you to safety," the man informed the people. They all began piling out of the shed and Winona sent people smiles. "Toss your stuff in the back, grab a seat, quick as you can. We'll brief you on everything once we get where we're going," Marcos informed the refugees.
Winona counted each individual that exited the shed before making her way over to one of the vans. She felt a pair of eyes on her form and turned to see a girl with short blonde hair looking at her intensely. The blonde looked away when Winona met her stare. Winona's eyes narrowed in confusion before she turned back to the refugees.
She helped them put their bags in the trunk and reassured them that they were safe. A loud crash caused Winona's head to snap in the direction of the sound. John was groaning on the ground in front of the dumpster, a large dent in it from where his body had hit. An Asian woman with short black hair sped over to the blonde who had been staring at Winona and punched her in the stomach before speeding over to a man and kicking him into the shed.
"Everybody, get down!" Marcos exclaimed. The Asian sped back over to the blonde girl again and threw her over the van. She then made her way over to Winona and swung her arm at her. Winona managed to avoid the blow and moved over to the side. The woman sent another swing her way and Winona used her arm to block it.
Winona then swiftly sent a kick to the woman's abdomen, causing her to double over. She then punched the woman in the face and her head jerked to the side. The woman looked up at Winona in anger and knocked her off of her feet. Winona hit the ground with a thud and the woman reached for her. Winona was able to send a kick to the woman's chest.
She rolled onto her side and stood up, awaiting the woman's next plan of attack. Everything that Edward had taught her was coming back to her at full force. The woman sped over and sent a blow to Winona's jaw. She then grasped her by her shirt's collar but Winona used her arms to break free. She sent a kick to the woman's side but her leg was caught and she was again thrown to the ground.
When Winona stood again, the Asian woman was ready and sent her hands into Winona's chest, sending her flying into one of the vans. Winona hit the van full force, thankfully avoiding hitting her head. The air was knocked out of her lungs and she desperately gasped for oxygen. A pain in her chest began blossoming and she placed a hand over it. The woman stalked over to Winona. John grabbed the woman's shoulder and turned her away, attempting to fight her off.
The woman had other plans and sent blow after blow to his stomach before sending a kick to his abdomen and knocking him to the ground. Winona groaned as air finally reentered her lungs and she managed to sit up as the Asian threw another woman to the side.
"Can you get me above her?" John asked Clarice. "Go!" Clarice exclaimed and John took off running. Marcos used his lasers to keep the woman in one place whilst Clarice opened up a portal. Another portal opened above the woman and John jumped through the first one. He fell out of the second one and punched the woman in the face.
He wrestled her on the ground and Clarice quickly made her way over to Winona. "Are you okay?" She asked, kneeling down beside her. "Yeah. I'm good," she replied, the pain in her chest intensifying. "Actually, no I'm not," she said, shaking her head. Clarice helped her stand and held her up for support.
"Where did you learn to fight like that?" She asked. "My friend Renee's husband Edward taught me. I never thought I would use it, but here I am," she answered. John had successfully knocked the woman out and Winona squeezed her eyes closed in pain. "Man that bitch is strong," she muttered.
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Whoo! Winona kicking some ass is what I live for! I hope you enjoyed this fun and drama filled chapter. Be sure to comment and vote. Peace out.
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