Chapter 10 is up, peeps. Hope you enjoy. I'm working on finishing this baby. Read and Review, please!
Thanks to Acidbuk for helping me get this story together. It was a great help.
"Cory, we won't kick you out. I couldn't do that to you. Not now." Andi embraced Cory again. He needed the comfort; any sign of love he could get.
"I don't want to leave, Andi. I didn't mean to put anyone in danger or hurt anyone, I only wanted someone to love." He wiped away his final tears. "I swear, I hate crying, but I can't help it. Every time I think of Grace, I think about how bad I want to hold her in my arms one last time and let her know I love her. I would have died for her…" He was only bringing back the pain, but he needed someone to help him get through this; someone to talk to.
"If she hadn't died, you would have never met Fiona, Van, or…me." Andi stared into Cory's eyes and at that moment she knew he meant every word he was saying; he didn't have to use his powers. She could see the pain in his eyes, the hurt, the love, the only thing he had left to hold on to. "I will tell the others, only if it's okay with you; if you really want to stay." Andi had been through enough in her life to know how Cory felt.
"Yes, tell them. I'd do anything to stay here. Here is where I have a life, a place to belong." He kissed Andi's hand. "Thank you, Andi. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Cory." She left to find Van and Fiona, maybe even Moonbay. She knew Moonbay hated Cory, for some reason or another.
Andi walked through the halls for any sign of Van, Fiona or…Moonbay. She knew the last time she left Van and Fiona alone they weren't even talking. They had both been skeptical; neither knew what to say to the other.
Andi looked down the hall to Van's room where she had last left them, and sure enough there were the two of them; Fiona leaning on one side of the hall wall and Van on the other. Fiona had blackened tear stains down her cheeks, but she was laughing. Van was smiling, warmly. They were so cute together.
She approached the two of them slowly.
"Hey, guys." She managed a weak smile. "I…uh…need to talk to both of you about Cory. I can see this isn't the best time, but I have to tell you now."
Fiona stood, silently. Her smile vanished. "What is it?" She wiped her face.
"He isn't who you think he is. He's not who he made himself out to be."
Now Van was standing. "You mean he's not Cory?"
"No, that's not what I mean. He is Cory. He's just different on the inside. There's more to him than he lets on."
Fiona looked down. "I never really got a chance to truly know who he was on the inside…"
"Fiona…you still have a chance. Let me tell you his story. You'll understand more about him." Andi motioned for both Van and Fiona to sit down. "It'll take a while."
She told his story just as Cory himself had told it.
Cory expected Van to come storming in any minute, screaming in his face to get out and leave forever. He wanted to stay. He needed to stay.
Whenever he was alone, he thought of the past. He couldn't help it. But every time he did, he only depressed himself. Some nights he would cry himself to sleep. He felt like such a wimp. No real man would cry; only babies cried. In Cory's case it couldn't be true. He had the right to cry. He had been stuck in a coma for seven years! He lost seven years of his once perfect life…
Grace. Grace was Cory's gorgeous brunette wife. He would give anything to see her face, to touch her, to hold her. He used to tell himself that if he ever lost Grace he wouldn't be able to move on with life. That had never come true, because here he was moving on with life. He never even got the chance to say goodbye…to tell her he loved her for the last time. His mind was in the present, but his heart was still stuck in the past.
Tears stung his eyes. No, man, don't cry. You've cried enough for now. You choked on almost every word when you told Andi what happened…
I'm not moving on with life. What was I thinking when I told myself that Every day I think of the past. And when I think of the past, I'm not moving forward.
I need to wake up from this nightmare.
Van and Fiona were speechless. They had never expected what they heard.
Fiona blinked. "What if he was lying?"
"He wasn't. This time, I saw. I saw in his eyes sincerity. I knew he was being truthful His eyes didn't look neutral like you said they had always been." Andi breathed in deep and sighed. "I'm sorry Fiona. I never expected him to tell me what he told me either. I especially didn't expect to hear him say he had powers that he used on you."
"But how could he do something like that to me? What did I do to deserve it?" Fiona couldn't help but be angry; just the thought of someone forcing her to love them. Nothing like that had ever happened to her before.
"Listen, Fiona, you have to understand he was hurting, longing for someone to love so badly. When he met you, he knew you would never love him the way he loved you, so he used his powers to get what he wanted." Andi did her best to console Fiona.
"I still don't understand. I thought I loved him; I thought I had real feelings for him." She obviously wasn't giving up that easily.
"You probably did have some real feelings for him. Don't get mad at him, Fiona, he only wanted someone to love."
"I guess you're right…" Fiona was hurt but at the same time she felt sympathy for him. "I should probably say I'm sorry. He deserves it…"
Van spoke for the first time. "I'll apologize, too. I treated him the worst. I thought that he only came for revenge because…I'm so well known as a Zoids pilot.
Irvine decided to join their conversation. "Guy problems?"
Fiona rolled her eyes and stared at Irvine. "Yes, I guess you could call it that."
"I 'overheard' you saying you were gonna talk to him." Irvine grinned and ran his hand through his hair. "Good idea. He's a wreck; completely destroyed, in there."
"Awww…poor him. Now that really makes me want to talk to him."
"Yeah, he's…like, crying." Irvine's eyebrow rose.
Fiona started for Cory's room. Van hesitated. "Come on, Van. Are you coming?"
"Yeah." He followed Fiona as they wound through hallways.
Fiona stopped at Cory's partially opened door. "You go in first." She stepped out of the way.
Van held up his hands defensively. "Hey, he's not my ex. You go in first."
Fiona sighed, rolled her eyes, and gave Van the evil eye. "Fine." She slowly pushed the door open, hoping not disturb anything. "Cory?"
Cory looked up and quickly turned away. He was wiping away new forming tears. "Come in…" He answered shakily.
"Why did you do it, Cory?" Fiona's question caught him off guard.
"Fiona…I'm sorry…I…" Cory didn't know what to say, but Fiona wasn't taking "I'm sorry" as an answer. "I know it seems like I used you…but that wasn't my goal. I just wanted to be with you. You're the first girl, who has taken me in since my…wife."
"I understand. I just wanted to hear you say it." Fiona sat down on his bed. "I wanted to tell you that I wasn't too nice. I know I was horrible. I wish you would have talked to me about…everything. It would have helped. Forcing someone to love you never lasts. You have to earn love. Love is the most precious emotion." Fiona stopped to gather her thoughts. "I'm sorry, for everything. I mean it. I know it has to be tough to walk in pain every day of your life."
"I forgive you." Cory turned away again. He was still hiding his tears.
Now it was Van's turn to speak up. "Uh…Cory, I should be apologizing, too." He scratched his head. "I was a jerk, I know. So…I'm sorry. I don't have anything mushy to say. Hope you don't mind…"
Cory managed a smile. "You're forgiven, too. But I owe you an apology, as well. I'm sorry, Van.
Van shook Cory's hand and pulled him into a hug, patting his back. Fiona hugged Cory tightly and whispered something into his ear that no one else could hear. Cory smiled and nodded.
Fiona no doubt loved Van. She was in love with him. She couldn't keep her eyes off of him. She couldn't keep her mind off of him; the kiss, his touch.
Moonbay went looking for Van and Fiona. She could have sworn she heard them somewhere in the halls. She passed by Fiona's room and stopped at Cory's door, across the hall.
"We'll come back a little later, Cory." Moonbay heard Van's voice from behind the door. Why was he talking to Cory?
Van and Fiona walked out of Cory's room, hand in hand. Andi remained in the room with him. Moonbay's jaw dropped. What the hell is going on here?
Van noticed Moonbay standing in front of him with her mouth wide open. "Close your mouth, Moonbay."
"Moonbay!" Fiona took her hand and pulled her off to her room. "You have to hear this!"
Fiona sat Moonbay down on her bed. She clapped her hands together. "We fixed everything with Cory."
"Wow…I've been missing out on a lot, it seems." Moonbay sighed and rested her head in her hand.
"No kidding!"
"So what else did I miss?"
Fiona's eyes widened. "Cory was stuck in a coma for seven years!"
Moonbay blinked hard. "He what?"
She repeated herself. "He was stuck in a coma for seven years, Moonbay."
Moonbay's hand dropped away from her head. I'm missing out on more than I thought I was. She shook her head. She needed to let it sink in. "You're kidding me, right?"
"Nope."
"I had no idea anything like that ever happened to him." She flopped back on to the bed. "And I thought I'd been through a lot."
Andi settled on to Cory's bed. She studied his wounded expression. She could tell he was feeling better, but their earlier conversation had brought back some pain.
Cory sighed heavily and leaned back against the wall. "You don't have to stay in here if you don't want to."
"I want to. That is…if you want me to." Her eyes bore in to his.
He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I want you to stay." He smiled, his eyes betraying the heartache that overtook him each and every day. He settled down next to her on his bed. "Thanks, Andi." He stared up at her with his puppy dog, brown eyes.
"For what?" She cocked her head off to the side.
"For being my friend."
Moonbay made her way to her Gustav; grocery time. She groaned. Grocery after grocery after grocery. Groceries suck. Why can't someone else do my job? Yeah, sure, Moonbay, keep dreaming. Gag!
Irvine quietly snuck up behind the complaining brunette. He tickled her sides; Moonbay let out a whoop.
"Irvine!" She slapped his arm and then laughed. "You're such an idiot."
"Don't be rude." He grinned and folded his arms. "Where you goin'?"
"Where do you think?" She hopped in to the Gustav. "Wanna come?"
Irvine shrugged and hopped in after her. "Sure, I've got nothing better to do."
Fiona and Van gazed up at the night sky, counting stars, pointing out constellations. They were perfect together. After only just a kiss they were inseparable. Van didn't want to let go of what he had; Fiona. He had lost her once and he wouldn't let her go again.
"I knew I loved you all along." Fiona broke the silence in the air.
Van turned his head and spoke quietly. "I've loved you from the first time I met you. I just didn't realize it till later on." He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "But hey, at least I realized it."
"Yep, yep, I'm glad you did."
Van poked her in the stomach. "Ew…fat…" He laughed.
"Hey!" She punched him in the arm. "I am NOT fat!"
Van caught Fiona in his arms and swung her around in circles, the wind captured her hair and pulled it away from her face; her eyes sparkled with delight. This was the happiest he'd seen her since…he couldn't remember when.
Fiona threw her head back and stared straight in to the dark night sky, watching the stars twinkle their light. She smiled softly, wondering what her future with this man would bring; only knowing it would be bright.