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▎ BEAUTIFUL CRIME ▎
»»————-　act one. a hero's journey
CHAPTER EIGHT━━ house of memories

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♯ ❝I DIDN'T KNOW EITHER ! ❞ 
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GUILT SETTLES IN HER STOMACHE AS MAGGIE SITS DOWN IN ONE OF THE COZY CHAIRS BY THE WINDOW IN HER ROOM, the sun still lightly peaking through as her rattles nerves finally fade away and the realisation of her actions settle in. She knows Charles means well, the man had been nothing but kind and understanding, but something is still holding her back from completely trusting him. She can't put her finger on it, and maybe it is just not even real to begin with, but as she looks at her own reflection that is mirrored in the glass she is quick to focus her eyes elsewhere, not ready to face her dishevelled appearance after her outburst.

Instead Maggie's attention is placed on the vast landscape spread out in front of her, she can see Charles still standing by the lake, like he expects her to return any moment. It is only after he turns around that she feels like she can breath again when he disappears from view and she lets her thoughts return to the memory he brought up from the darkest corner of her subconscious.

"Maggie, sweetheart?" Her mother's voice is soft as she enters her bedroom, a steaming cup of tea in her hand, the other holding a bowl with strawberries—her favourite snack. "I think you could use a little pick me up."

It had only been a couple of days since the accident, and the brunette girl had not left the security of her bedroom ever since. She was still tugged into the window seat, a knitted blanket thrown over her legs as she stared outside her window—and into the outside world.

"You need to eat something sweetie." Lauren kindly whispers, crouching down next to her daughter as she holds the bowl out for her to take.

Maggie blinks away the tears as she hears the laughter of the other kids outside, just barely out of view, but it still hurts the same.

"It's going to be okay." Lauren encourages, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder before kissing the crown of her head. "I promise."

Maggie only hums, but she does not take her eyes off of the window where see has a perfect view of the lake, the place that used to hold so much comfort, joy and happiness. It is only when the door of her room closes with a soft creak that she averts her eyes again to the bowl of fruit.

She picks it up, the corner of her mouth slight lifting as she turns to look back outside, the sun slowly setting and the sky turning into a mixture of honey gold and orange hues. For a moment everything is alright and she feels hopeful again, her mother's promise engraving itself in her heart.

Shattering, followed by surprised shouts bring her back to reality and Maggie sits up startled as she hears her father's voice shout out, the bowl of strawberries falling from her fingers and clattering on the floor as she rushes out of her bedroom and down the stairs.

"What's happening?" Maggie calls out in fright when she sees her father and mother standing in the hallway, both frowning at the broken glass that used to be a window next to the door.

"Nothing sweetheart." Jacob assures his daughter, but the words sound strained and dishonest. "Just go back upstairs alright."

Maggie blinks, eyes flickering from her father's slightly angered face to her mother's saddened expression before she notices the brick that is laying on the floor amongst the pieces of glass. Before either of her parents can stop her, the brunette girl moves to pick it up in confusion.

"Sweetheart. . ."

Tears are welling up in her eyes as she looks at the piece of paper attached to the heavy brick, the ache in her heart returning.

Freak.

It is such a small word, so simple but she has to try her hardest not to let the tears roll down her cheeks as she drops the brick on the ground and run back up the stairs, the calling of her parents behind her going ignored, the tears that she tried to hold back, rolling down her cheeks.

She does not know how long she had sat down on the ground with her back pressed against the door, but the sun had long since disappeared and only the dark night was left when she heard the hushed shouts coming from downstairs.

She swallowed, wiping away the tears that still stuck to her skin before she silently opened the door and sneaked down the hallway and sat down next to the bannister of the stairway where she could see her parents through the gaps of the pillars.

"Lauren we can't stay here." Jacob stated angrily, "It's not safe for her, you've seen, hell you've heard what they are saying about our little girl. I'm frightened for her."

"We can't just uproot her, take her away in the middle of the night. She is scared enough already! What will she think if we sneak her out of town just like that."

"She will understand."

"No she will not! she will only think they are right! That she doesn't belong here. I will not let these people try to make my daughter seem like some sort of monster because they're afraid."

"I will not put her life in jeopardy." Jacob shook his head angrily, before his gaze softened at his wife's tearful expression. "I know you don't want to leave like this, but if we stay here it will only hurt her more. I don't want our little girl to grow up around people who are afraid of her."

Lauren sighed, rubbing her hand against the side of her face, "Just promise me we'll only do this once. Not ever again, even if people find out about her powers, I will not have her be on the run like some sort of criminal!"

"I promise." Jacob kissed his wife's forehead before turning to look at the stairs where Maggie quickly hid away from sight. "Just grab everything we need, I'll get Maggie."

Maggie blinked away the memories, a fresh set of tears in her eyes as she thought back to that night, the promises that were made that night had been the first of many they could not keep. And instead, she had made a promise to herself—to protect herself and her family at all cost, even if it was by leaving them and hiding everything that made her who she was.

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STILL NOT READY TO FACE THE OTHER MUTANTS IN THE HOUSEHOLD, MAGGIE IS GLAD WHEN THE SUN DISAPPEARS FROM THE SKY AND THE LIGHT BLUE SKY IS SWALLOWED BY THE darkness of the night instead. She had heard Hank knock on her door, a gentle invitation to dinner on his lips, but Maggie could not muster herself to leave the comforts of her room. And as the hours tick by, and the voices downstairs grow fewer until silence is all that's left, Maggie thoughts trail back to the lake, to Charles words and the memories he brought back.

A certain fire ignites in her heart again as she thinks about his words, trust yourself. Her eyes flicker back to her window, the darkness that has fallen over the ground makes it hard to see, but she can see the stars glistering in the reflection of the water and she finds it an oddly therapeutic sight.

Your powers are a miracle, it is Erik's words that echo in her head next, the way he spoke to her, so confident and unshakable. The way he said it would make anyone believe it, but for some reason, Maggie can't see her powers as a gift, all they have caused were chaos and pain, and she knows she should not be happy for her suffering—for her parents suffering. She knows so much at least.

Her powers sound like that of which she is painted to be by the people that witnessed what her powers had done—a villain, a no-good girl, and she can still hear the venom dripping from the people she once considered friends as they acted out on their fears.

Her right hand is clenched tightly in a fist by her side, the sheer force turning the pink skin around her knuckles white, and the nails digging in her palm are only a reminder of the anger that she holds. The sudden realisation as to what she is doing hits her, and she relaxes her hand again as it falls limply next to her body as she lets go of the anger that is radiating from her very being.

Her mother's words are bouncing off in her head instead this time, you know who you really are, whatever everyone else thinks doesn't matter.

Maggie knows, deep down, still the little kid with sweet daydreams and hopeful eyes. A hero, someone to look up to. A good person.

Her heart swells for a single second, but then reality sets in again, the waves of passion and security falling like a curtain that blocks out the light. Maybe—she thinks, but the world is not just black and white.

In a hurried manner, the brunette pushes herself up from the chair she had been sitting in, grabbing her cardigan that hangs on a hook on the door before walking outside her room. She tries to be a silent as possible as she creeps down the corridor passing the rooms of the other mutants fast asleep at this time, the hardwood floors creaking softly under the pressure of her feet. A rather loud sound echoes around the house when she steps onto the stairs, and she freezes momentarily, looking over her shoulder at the door closest to the stairs. There is no light coming from underneath the door, and there is no noise coming from the room. She breaths out in relief, tense shoulders slouching as she turns back to descend down the stairs.

Pushing open the front door, the cold night air rushes passed her, goose bumps littering her skin and she pulls the woollen material of her cardigan closer against her body in an effort to protect her from the cold.

Hurrying down the gravel path, the same on she travelled earlier that day, she approaches the lake in a more collected manner than she had approached Charles. There are no nerves coursing through her body, no one to watch her expectedly, no pressure.

Just her, and the water and the cold evening air. Her eyes travel around the scenery, before landing on the tall tree on the other side of the lake, the one Charles had spoken so fondly about and with careful steps she walks around the lake to approach it. Standing next to the large oak, Maggie feels even smaller when she looks up through the branches and the leaves to peak at the stars. A sense of hope fills her, a newfound moment of clarity as she watches how they manage to light up the dark night.

Her eyes avert back to the lake and she crouches down next to the water, right hand cautiously reaching out for the water. She holds her breath when her hand makes contact, the hairs on her arm rising and she closes her eyes, the feeling of the water enveloping all her senses, and it is like the water is crawling up her arm, encasing her whole body like armour. She feels whole at that moment, completely in tune with her own body and she gently lifts her hand up, feeling the water follow her every move.

Maggie blinks, eyes opening up to look at her hand where the water is swirling around her fingers and she smile almost hesitatingly—it is not something new for her, the feeling of water moving with a simple wave of her finger, but she does not resent it as much as she always has.

Charles request comes back to her and she slowly lets the water she had been holding up return back to the lake. She dusts of her hands of off her jeans and stands back to her full height. Her heart is beating rapidly in her chest and she pushes a loose strand of her back behind her ear nervously before lifting her arm in the air again.

She breaths in, long and deeply through her nose, letting her instincts take over, letting completely loose for the first time in so long.

And she breaths out, all her energy focusing on turning water into ice, but then a branch snaps, the sound echoing around the clearing like a bullet that soars through the air. She whirls around without thinking, her instincts completely taking over as she thrusts her arms forward, water flying through the air at an incredible speed, but to her surprise the liquid turns into ice as is soars through the air, creating a sharp icicle that is aiming right at the origin of the noise.

Maggie's eyes widen when she sees who stands behind her, but she is already frozen, in shock until her arms abruptly moves to the left, and the icicle follows her movement before it imbeds itself in the tall oak tree.

She blinks, eyes falling on the metal bracelet on her wrist before the flicker back at the man across from her who has his own arm outstretched.

"I am so sorry!" She rushes forward, "I don't know what I was thinking."

Erik only nods, arm falling back beside him before he looks to the side to see the ice shard stuck in the tree.

"Charles is gonna bloody murder me." Maggie whispers harshly as she looks at the shard of ice that created a decently sized hole in the bark of the tree.

"I didn't know you could do that." Erik instead inquired, eyes focused on her now, grey eyes boring into brown.

"I didn't know either." She breaths out before realisation struck and a large smile spreads on her face and she is jumping up and down in excitement. "Oh my god! I did it! I actually turned water into ice!" She throws her arms around his neck, bring him into a tight hug.

Clearly surprised by the woman's sudden action, Erik stumbles back a step before regaining his balance and winding his own arms around the brunette.

Comprehending what she is doing, Maggie quickly releases her hold on the man and she takes a step back, sheepishly tucking a piece of brown hair. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay." Erik nods, a small smirk growing on his face as he looks back at the icicle in the tree. "Truly magnificent."

She does not argue this time.

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