The Red Star

Chapter 44

 Jay frowned as she  soared through the air. She couldn't believe Bucky just kicked her out of the jet. She was sure that if they were in a car he would have made her walk. She rolled her eyes. Yeah so he wanted to take care of her, but how was kicking her out of a jet supposed to keep her safe? Jay grunted angrily and said to herself,

"Why does he do that? I'm not a little girl."

"Well maybe if you tried to understand why he does what he does you might get it." a voice sounded.

Jay looked around her quickly to see who was talking when the voice spoke again,

"You should know by now that I'm in your head."

"Charles," Jay rolled her eyes and continued, "Why can't anyone understand why I am angry?"

"They do." Charles replied, "They are just able to control themselves."

"So you're saying I can't?!" Jay shouted.

There was a pause and then Charles added, "Yes."

 Jay rolled her eyes and said,

"I have self control! Why do you think I didn't turn that base into a crater?"

"Because Crys got to it first."

 Jay let out an angered grunt then made a sudden dive downward.

"What are you doing?" Charles asked. "You still have a couple of miles to go."

"I need to take a rest." she said.

"No. No rest. I want you to fly to the school as hard and fast as possible." Charles ordered.

"Why?" Jay asked harshly.

"Get your anger out. Maybe by the time you get back you'll have calmed down." Charles said.

"Fine." Jay replied.

 The next moment Jay shot forward, her wings beating quickly as the wind tried to push her back. The wind was definitely stronger than it had ever been before, but then again, she was flying faster than she had before. The wind almost hurt her face and her eyes squinted as she pushed herself to fly faster. Thoughts came to her mind such as when she saw Crys bloody and beaten, destroying the ground beneath her feet. The feeling of sorrow and dread almost overwhelmed her and her stomach turned. This emotion threw her mind back to the moment she came into her house after school. 

She had left her backpack in front of the door and had kicked her shoes off while saying,

"Mom? Dad?" 

She looked back at the trail she had made with her shoes, jacket and backpack and for a second she thought of picking it all up and taking it to her room like she normally did, but she turned back around and proceeded down the hall. The house was too quiet and something made Jay feel sick to her stomach. Tears began to burn her eyes as she poked her head into the living room to find no one there. 

"Mommy?" she sobbed, "Daddy?"

 She turned again to walk into the kitchen and froze. Her parents were on their knees , being held up and bloody. 

"Mommy! Daddy!" she screamed.

 But the next moment Jay opened her eyes. It was too much. But when her eyes focused she realized that she was about to run into the side of a mountain. Frantically she stopped herself and almost fell from the sky in the process.  She was breathing heavily and when she touched her face she found that she had been crying. She wiped her tears with her sleeve and then looked behind her. The clouds were heavy, like it was going to rain, but there was a blue crevice seeming to be a crack in the sky that went on as far as the eye could see.

"Whoa." Jay said. "I'd better get back." 

 She quickly darted forward and her cheeks felt cold as she flew and she shivered. She hated being cold. Not long afterwards she arrived above the school and she paused, her wings flapping in the chilly breeze.  It was quiet and terribly peaceful. She almost felt guilty going down there and disturbing the peace. Yet she felt a bit of peace herself and then thought back to the jet. She was angry for sure, but there was something about her anger that kept her from turning to Dove. Her anger was one of pain and fear rather than revenge, and maybe it was for that reason that she didn't turn. Either way, she wanted to go to bed, she was tired.

 She floated down to the balcony and landed softly. It was probably 8 or 9 o'clock and everyone was most likely heading to bed, it was a long day. She slipped in quietly and made her way to her room, her whole body aching. She flicked on the light and shut the door quietly, but instead of closing the door was stopped short. Confused, Jay opened the door again to find Bucky standing in the doorway, his hand on the door. She looked up at him, tired and guilty, then lowered her head,

"Listen," she began, "I'm sorry. I should have controlled myself."

 She looked up at him and there was a tired grin on his face.

"Whatever Charles did, I see it got through to you." he said with a soft chuckle.

"Yeah." Jay said, rubbing the back of her neck and turning away. "I guess."

 She felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned back around. To her surprise, his lips were on hers and he left  her a gentle kiss. He pulled away and then scooped her up in his arms.

"What are you doing?" Jay laughed.

"I'm putting you in your bed." he replied.

He set her down on the mattress and was about to pull away when she wrapped her arms around his neck and said,

"I'm sorry."

 Bucky held her tightly and shut his eyes saying,

"I forgive you."

 A sudden fear tugged on his heart as he spoke those words. That was the phrase which he prayed every day he would hear her say. Sometimes he even dreamed about her not saying it but only repeating the words "I hate you" and him replying, "Me too."

 Jay felt this fear radiate off of him and she pulled away.

"Bucky are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine." he answered.

 He kissed her lightly on the lips and said, 

"Sweet dreams, My Blue."

 He stood and touched her cheek lightly as he walked away, dread filling him even as he shut the door. Jay used her powers to shut off the light and she laid her head down on the pillow, trying to figure out why Bucky was so afraid, but her thoughts ended when she shut her eyes as her whole body shut down from exhaustion.