The Breakup
Sept 24, 2018 8:46:32 GMT -8
Post by Kimi on Sept 24, 2018 8:46:32 GMT -8
Colleen grinned at her reflection in the taxi window as London passed by on the other side of the glass. She could barely contain her excitement. She had never been to London before! They had been talking about moving to here for months to start their life together now that Simon had graduated. He would pursue his career as a constable and Colleen would continue her work as a musician. All she had to do was get through meeting his family tonight.
Piece of cake! After growin’ up with Da, there’s nothin’ I ain’t ready for! A family of rule-followin’ fuzzes won’t be so hard. I just have to remember to keep my elbows off the table.
She was trying to be confident, but something about Simon’s mood put her on edge. He was happy and excited, but there was something else mixed with those feelings. A discordant tone in his emotions that reminded her of a guitar with its strings tuned too tightly. She could almost hear his emotions get tighter as they got closer to his parents’ house.
He’s ashamed of me and trying to hide it. He is worried that his family will be disappointed that he ended up with some down-and-out trash from Limerick.
She straightened the skirt of the blue sundress she was wearing to keep it from wrinkling as they sat in the cab. It had cost her much more than she should have spent, but she desperately wanted to make a good impression. It was modest, but fit her well and matched her eyes perfectly. She felt a little like a princess in it, which embarrassed and pleased her in equal measure, but Simon hadn’t seemed to notice the dress at all.
Colleen reached over and took Simon’s hand. The silver claddagh ring with the red stone he had given her shone brilliantly in the afternoon sun as their fingers intertwined automatically, but Simon continued to stare solemnly out his window without looking over at her.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Please, I’ll do anythin’! Just let me make him proud tonight!
As if in answer to her prayer, the taxi stopped in front of a brick townhouse with a gray door and white trim. It wasn’t ostentatious, but everything about it was orderly and well kept.
Simon quickly got out of the car and walked around to open her door. He held out his hand to help her out of the cab before grabbing her shabby suitcase and his own matching luggage set. They made their way to the door and Simon knocked in an almost official way.
A tall man in a suit opened the door and gave them a studied look. His demeanor was so indifferent that Colleen assumed for a moment that they must have walked up to the wrong house, but then his hand shot out to Simon, who quickly took it up and shook it as if he were greeting a superior officer.
“It’s good to have you back in London, my boy.” the man said without sparing the slighted glance in Colleen’s direction. “I have set up some meetings for you this week. We shouldn’t waste any time on getting you connected in the department.”
“Of course, Father. I’ll start preparing after dinner tonight. I am ready to get started!” Simon replied with a strangely formal enthusiasm. Then added, almost as an afterthought, “May I introduce you to Miss Colleen O’Conner?”
Only then did Peter Guthrie’s eyes seem to focus on her as an individual, rather than as an accessory hanging on his son’s arm. There was something cold in his eyes that chilled her, but she forced herself to smile and put out her hand to imitate the greeting Simon had given his father.
“Oh, yes. That girl you mentioned. I didn’t realize you’d planned on continuing that relationship after your graduation from university.” He shook her hand once and looked questioningly at Simon.
Colleen blinked as their skin touched. If Simon was a sharply tuned guitar, his father was a violin with strings so tight they were about to break. Everything about his classically impressive appearance belied how volatile feelings were inside. He was not happy to see her and was in fact angry with his son for bringing her here.
“I’m sure I mentioned to Mother that Colleen was coming with me. She said that it would not be a problem. Colleen will have plenty to do and will not impact my performance at these meetings…” Simon’s voice faded as he followed his father into the house with his bags.
Colleen stared at the open doorway for a moment, then she took a deep breath, picked up her suitcase, and followed them.
……..
“So what do you do?” John asked. The plucky thirteen-year-old boy smirked across the formal dining table as he spoke. His hair was brown, but in every other way Simon’s little brother resembled him. Colleen smiled. As a general rule, she liked kids.
“Well, I’m trying to be a musician,” she replied proudly. “I have a few songs out and have even been hired to write a few jingles for commer-”
“Not that. I mean, what is your POWER? Can you fly or something cool like other X’ers?” The teenager didn’t try to cover his annoyance at her stupidity. Colleen flushed with embarrassment at suddenly being put on the spot with such a personal question. She waited a moment for his parents to scold him.
But they didn’t.
All eyes were on her as she sat in awkward silence. She glanced from John’s face to his mother’s, and then to his father and finally to Simon. Simon looked at her almost pleadingly and then nervously glanced at his father.
“Uh, that’s a very private matter for an X, John. Most of us consider it rude to be asked that by someone we don’t know very well.” She tried to sound friendly while she said it. She had really meant “consider it rude to be asked that by normals” but didn’t think that would be good to say that at this table.
John furrowed his brow and scowled at her for a moment, then he almost spat out his reply to her. “When the X registration starts none of you will be able to keep it secret. I’ll be able to look you up on the website and see your powers, your picture, where you live, everything. You won’t be able to hide or pretend you are normal anymore.”
Colleen was taken aback. “There’s no way that a registry will ever happen.” she tried to reply calmly. She glanced at Simon expecting him to back her up, but he was staring at the plate in front of him like it was a crystal ball.
Simon’s father was staring right at her. Hate and fear radiated from him.
“It will happen,” Mr. Guthrie said coldly “and I dislike X’ers who try to keep secrets. If you aren’t a danger to us than why hide what you can do, young lady?”
“I ain’t no threat to ya, sir.” she replied with a touch of annoyance, then honestly added, “I’d never hurt anyone on purpose.” Her Irish brogue always got heavier when she was upset… and she was starting to get angry. Their blatant bigotry reminded her of so many episodes from her own past. The fact that Simon had to grow up steeped in it made her furious. It explained so much. He was wonderful and he worshipped them! How DARE they treat him like this?
“It is impossible to tell if you mean to hurt humans or not. Some of your kind could level a city block and we’d never know if it was murder or a mistake.” Mr. Guthrie was raising his voice now and leaning towards her.
Colleen felt Peter Guthrie’s hate flowing into her. It was the discordant song of a sharply tuned violin. She felt her powers absorb it and add it to her own anger. Her anger was deep. It wasn’t a single squealing tone of fear-base hatred, it was an orchestra of pain and rage that had built up through a lifetime of suffering. Rage at having been targeted again and again for being different. Pain at never knowing if people loved her for herself or because she WANTED them to love her. Rage at seeing young X kids who were homeless and victimized because their families rejected them. Pain at the embarrassment of never being able to keep her own emotions private. Rage at repeatedly seeing her kind abused and killed for simply existing. All of this started to flow out from her and, unknown to the normals in the room, into them.
She was vaguely aware that she had stood up and started shouting at Mr. Guthrie. He was standing and shouting back at her across the table. John had joined in to support his father and Ms. Guthrie was crying and trying to get everyone to stop shouting at their guest. The symphony of fear, anger and hate was reaching its crescendo.
Suddenly, a blast of different emotions hit Colleen. A sharp static jolt of panic, regret, and grief, like feedback from an amp cutting through the music of a good set. It made her flinch. She looked up at Simon who was sitting silently, watching her and his father shout. His fear and pain was overwhelming and brought her to her senses. She was suddenly very ashamed. All she wanted to do was make him happy but she had ruined everything.
Colleen took a deep breath and closed her eyes to block out the shouting. She focused for a moment on her love for Simon, building a peaceful little melody in her heart which slowly quieted the anger. She let that melody flow from her now and could feel it override the anger of everyone else in the room. Against their nature, everyone calmed and began to feel more content. John and Mrs. Guthrie sat back down, suddenly surprised at how emotional the previous moments had been, and looked at her.
“Yes, of course. You’re right.” she forced herself to say what Mr. Guthrie wanted to hear. “I ain’t never thought of.. the X problem... that way before.” She hated herself for it. She felt sick paying lip service to this man who stood for everything she despised, but it was what Simon wanted. She’d do anything for him.
John nodded in smug approval at her apparent enlightenment and Mrs. Guthrie sighed in relief, but Peter Guthrie’s eyes narrowed. Her retreat had been desperate and clumsy, and his mood shift was too sudden for his logical mind to accept. He knew something was wrong.
“So you manipulate emotions. That explains why my son would develop feelings for someone like... you.” His quiet tone was far more menacing than the shouting had been.
He now squared his tall shoulders like one preparing for a fight. Colleen knew that look well. She instinctively stepped away from the table to put more space between her and Mr. Guthrie.
“I would never do that to Simon,” she said, trying to diffuse the situation. “He’s a wonderful man an’ we love each other very much. I’m sorry things got outta hand bu-”
“You are no longer welcome in this house.”
Colleen blinked. She’d been expecting something, but not that. Mr. Guthrie was back in control of his facade, even after the emotional cacophony they’d just experienced. She wasn’t in any physical danger, but her heart sank.
“Mr. Guthrie, I’m so sorry about what happened. I was just very nervous an’ wanted to impress ya all so much-”
He cut her off. “You tricked my gullible son into caring for you. When we were less impressed, you tried to force us to be happy with you as well. You are a charlatan and are not welcome in this family.”
Colleen desperately looked to Simon to help defuse the situation. Surely his father would listen when Simon told him how in love they were? This would all calm down just like the countless shouting matches in her own family.
But Simon wouldn’t look at her. He was staring at his plate again and resembled a stone statue more than his usual electric self.
“Simon, tell yer Da how much we love each other! I did not make ya care for me!” She held up her hand with the claddagh ring as she spoke, almost like it was evidence in a court case.
Mr. Guthrie did not look impressed. “It seems my son has come to his senses about you. Please get your bag and get out of my house.”
Colleen was completely dumbfounded. Her acushla, her Sparky, was just sitting there pretending like she didn’t exist. She felt like the world was caving in around her.
“Fine ya son-of-a-bitch. I’m a-goin’! Ya won’t have ta worry about me darkenin’ your fancy door again!” She was shouting again in an effort to hold off the tears. She would not give Peter Guthrie the pleasure of seeing her cry. Grabbing her suitcase, she stormed over to the front door and opened it.
She paused for a moment at the open door and gave Simon another pleading look. Quietly she asked, “Acushla… Simon…. let’s go home?”
Simon’s eyes closed as she spoke, but he still didn’t move. Peter Guthrie’s face looked triumphant.
Colleen walked out into the cold London night, slamming the door behind her. She got to the end of the block before she realized that she had no idea where to go.
Bloody brilliant, Colleen! You blew your one chance at happiness. Met the love of your life’s family and attacked them with your bloody powers. One of them is just a kid for God’s sake! Well fucking done! No wonder Simon couldn’t even look at ya. You betrayed him, ya idiot. You couldn’t even keep it together for one night!
She kept replaying the night in her head as she walked aimlessly. They were horrible people, but all she had to do was stay quiet for once! Just keep control of her emotions for ONCE! The pain on Simon’s face as she walked out tore at her heart. The loss and guilt were overwhelming all her senses.
She had ruined everything.
Piece of cake! After growin’ up with Da, there’s nothin’ I ain’t ready for! A family of rule-followin’ fuzzes won’t be so hard. I just have to remember to keep my elbows off the table.
She was trying to be confident, but something about Simon’s mood put her on edge. He was happy and excited, but there was something else mixed with those feelings. A discordant tone in his emotions that reminded her of a guitar with its strings tuned too tightly. She could almost hear his emotions get tighter as they got closer to his parents’ house.
He’s ashamed of me and trying to hide it. He is worried that his family will be disappointed that he ended up with some down-and-out trash from Limerick.
She straightened the skirt of the blue sundress she was wearing to keep it from wrinkling as they sat in the cab. It had cost her much more than she should have spent, but she desperately wanted to make a good impression. It was modest, but fit her well and matched her eyes perfectly. She felt a little like a princess in it, which embarrassed and pleased her in equal measure, but Simon hadn’t seemed to notice the dress at all.
Colleen reached over and took Simon’s hand. The silver claddagh ring with the red stone he had given her shone brilliantly in the afternoon sun as their fingers intertwined automatically, but Simon continued to stare solemnly out his window without looking over at her.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Please, I’ll do anythin’! Just let me make him proud tonight!
As if in answer to her prayer, the taxi stopped in front of a brick townhouse with a gray door and white trim. It wasn’t ostentatious, but everything about it was orderly and well kept.
Simon quickly got out of the car and walked around to open her door. He held out his hand to help her out of the cab before grabbing her shabby suitcase and his own matching luggage set. They made their way to the door and Simon knocked in an almost official way.
A tall man in a suit opened the door and gave them a studied look. His demeanor was so indifferent that Colleen assumed for a moment that they must have walked up to the wrong house, but then his hand shot out to Simon, who quickly took it up and shook it as if he were greeting a superior officer.
“It’s good to have you back in London, my boy.” the man said without sparing the slighted glance in Colleen’s direction. “I have set up some meetings for you this week. We shouldn’t waste any time on getting you connected in the department.”
“Of course, Father. I’ll start preparing after dinner tonight. I am ready to get started!” Simon replied with a strangely formal enthusiasm. Then added, almost as an afterthought, “May I introduce you to Miss Colleen O’Conner?”
Only then did Peter Guthrie’s eyes seem to focus on her as an individual, rather than as an accessory hanging on his son’s arm. There was something cold in his eyes that chilled her, but she forced herself to smile and put out her hand to imitate the greeting Simon had given his father.
“Oh, yes. That girl you mentioned. I didn’t realize you’d planned on continuing that relationship after your graduation from university.” He shook her hand once and looked questioningly at Simon.
Colleen blinked as their skin touched. If Simon was a sharply tuned guitar, his father was a violin with strings so tight they were about to break. Everything about his classically impressive appearance belied how volatile feelings were inside. He was not happy to see her and was in fact angry with his son for bringing her here.
“I’m sure I mentioned to Mother that Colleen was coming with me. She said that it would not be a problem. Colleen will have plenty to do and will not impact my performance at these meetings…” Simon’s voice faded as he followed his father into the house with his bags.
Colleen stared at the open doorway for a moment, then she took a deep breath, picked up her suitcase, and followed them.
……..
“So what do you do?” John asked. The plucky thirteen-year-old boy smirked across the formal dining table as he spoke. His hair was brown, but in every other way Simon’s little brother resembled him. Colleen smiled. As a general rule, she liked kids.
“Well, I’m trying to be a musician,” she replied proudly. “I have a few songs out and have even been hired to write a few jingles for commer-”
“Not that. I mean, what is your POWER? Can you fly or something cool like other X’ers?” The teenager didn’t try to cover his annoyance at her stupidity. Colleen flushed with embarrassment at suddenly being put on the spot with such a personal question. She waited a moment for his parents to scold him.
But they didn’t.
All eyes were on her as she sat in awkward silence. She glanced from John’s face to his mother’s, and then to his father and finally to Simon. Simon looked at her almost pleadingly and then nervously glanced at his father.
“Uh, that’s a very private matter for an X, John. Most of us consider it rude to be asked that by someone we don’t know very well.” She tried to sound friendly while she said it. She had really meant “consider it rude to be asked that by normals” but didn’t think that would be good to say that at this table.
John furrowed his brow and scowled at her for a moment, then he almost spat out his reply to her. “When the X registration starts none of you will be able to keep it secret. I’ll be able to look you up on the website and see your powers, your picture, where you live, everything. You won’t be able to hide or pretend you are normal anymore.”
Colleen was taken aback. “There’s no way that a registry will ever happen.” she tried to reply calmly. She glanced at Simon expecting him to back her up, but he was staring at the plate in front of him like it was a crystal ball.
Simon’s father was staring right at her. Hate and fear radiated from him.
“It will happen,” Mr. Guthrie said coldly “and I dislike X’ers who try to keep secrets. If you aren’t a danger to us than why hide what you can do, young lady?”
“I ain’t no threat to ya, sir.” she replied with a touch of annoyance, then honestly added, “I’d never hurt anyone on purpose.” Her Irish brogue always got heavier when she was upset… and she was starting to get angry. Their blatant bigotry reminded her of so many episodes from her own past. The fact that Simon had to grow up steeped in it made her furious. It explained so much. He was wonderful and he worshipped them! How DARE they treat him like this?
“It is impossible to tell if you mean to hurt humans or not. Some of your kind could level a city block and we’d never know if it was murder or a mistake.” Mr. Guthrie was raising his voice now and leaning towards her.
Colleen felt Peter Guthrie’s hate flowing into her. It was the discordant song of a sharply tuned violin. She felt her powers absorb it and add it to her own anger. Her anger was deep. It wasn’t a single squealing tone of fear-base hatred, it was an orchestra of pain and rage that had built up through a lifetime of suffering. Rage at having been targeted again and again for being different. Pain at never knowing if people loved her for herself or because she WANTED them to love her. Rage at seeing young X kids who were homeless and victimized because their families rejected them. Pain at the embarrassment of never being able to keep her own emotions private. Rage at repeatedly seeing her kind abused and killed for simply existing. All of this started to flow out from her and, unknown to the normals in the room, into them.
She was vaguely aware that she had stood up and started shouting at Mr. Guthrie. He was standing and shouting back at her across the table. John had joined in to support his father and Ms. Guthrie was crying and trying to get everyone to stop shouting at their guest. The symphony of fear, anger and hate was reaching its crescendo.
Suddenly, a blast of different emotions hit Colleen. A sharp static jolt of panic, regret, and grief, like feedback from an amp cutting through the music of a good set. It made her flinch. She looked up at Simon who was sitting silently, watching her and his father shout. His fear and pain was overwhelming and brought her to her senses. She was suddenly very ashamed. All she wanted to do was make him happy but she had ruined everything.
Colleen took a deep breath and closed her eyes to block out the shouting. She focused for a moment on her love for Simon, building a peaceful little melody in her heart which slowly quieted the anger. She let that melody flow from her now and could feel it override the anger of everyone else in the room. Against their nature, everyone calmed and began to feel more content. John and Mrs. Guthrie sat back down, suddenly surprised at how emotional the previous moments had been, and looked at her.
“Yes, of course. You’re right.” she forced herself to say what Mr. Guthrie wanted to hear. “I ain’t never thought of.. the X problem... that way before.” She hated herself for it. She felt sick paying lip service to this man who stood for everything she despised, but it was what Simon wanted. She’d do anything for him.
John nodded in smug approval at her apparent enlightenment and Mrs. Guthrie sighed in relief, but Peter Guthrie’s eyes narrowed. Her retreat had been desperate and clumsy, and his mood shift was too sudden for his logical mind to accept. He knew something was wrong.
“So you manipulate emotions. That explains why my son would develop feelings for someone like... you.” His quiet tone was far more menacing than the shouting had been.
He now squared his tall shoulders like one preparing for a fight. Colleen knew that look well. She instinctively stepped away from the table to put more space between her and Mr. Guthrie.
“I would never do that to Simon,” she said, trying to diffuse the situation. “He’s a wonderful man an’ we love each other very much. I’m sorry things got outta hand bu-”
“You are no longer welcome in this house.”
Colleen blinked. She’d been expecting something, but not that. Mr. Guthrie was back in control of his facade, even after the emotional cacophony they’d just experienced. She wasn’t in any physical danger, but her heart sank.
“Mr. Guthrie, I’m so sorry about what happened. I was just very nervous an’ wanted to impress ya all so much-”
He cut her off. “You tricked my gullible son into caring for you. When we were less impressed, you tried to force us to be happy with you as well. You are a charlatan and are not welcome in this family.”
Colleen desperately looked to Simon to help defuse the situation. Surely his father would listen when Simon told him how in love they were? This would all calm down just like the countless shouting matches in her own family.
But Simon wouldn’t look at her. He was staring at his plate again and resembled a stone statue more than his usual electric self.
“Simon, tell yer Da how much we love each other! I did not make ya care for me!” She held up her hand with the claddagh ring as she spoke, almost like it was evidence in a court case.
Mr. Guthrie did not look impressed. “It seems my son has come to his senses about you. Please get your bag and get out of my house.”
Colleen was completely dumbfounded. Her acushla, her Sparky, was just sitting there pretending like she didn’t exist. She felt like the world was caving in around her.
“Fine ya son-of-a-bitch. I’m a-goin’! Ya won’t have ta worry about me darkenin’ your fancy door again!” She was shouting again in an effort to hold off the tears. She would not give Peter Guthrie the pleasure of seeing her cry. Grabbing her suitcase, she stormed over to the front door and opened it.
She paused for a moment at the open door and gave Simon another pleading look. Quietly she asked, “Acushla… Simon…. let’s go home?”
Simon’s eyes closed as she spoke, but he still didn’t move. Peter Guthrie’s face looked triumphant.
Colleen walked out into the cold London night, slamming the door behind her. She got to the end of the block before she realized that she had no idea where to go.
Bloody brilliant, Colleen! You blew your one chance at happiness. Met the love of your life’s family and attacked them with your bloody powers. One of them is just a kid for God’s sake! Well fucking done! No wonder Simon couldn’t even look at ya. You betrayed him, ya idiot. You couldn’t even keep it together for one night!
She kept replaying the night in her head as she walked aimlessly. They were horrible people, but all she had to do was stay quiet for once! Just keep control of her emotions for ONCE! The pain on Simon’s face as she walked out tore at her heart. The loss and guilt were overwhelming all her senses.
She had ruined everything.