“I...I’m going to miss you.”

Silence.

“But Christmas isn’t that far away...so I guess I’ll see you then...”

Sigh.

“...bye, Mom.”

Clunk! The yellow jeep rolled away.

… … …

How long can one cry before their eyes refuse to relinquish any more tears? A day? A week? Eternity? It seemed like Alice had been crying for a very, very long time. She tried to hide it from Toby, but she could only avoid his gaze so much when they were spending a week together on the road. And he wasn’t one to conveniently ignore such matters, nor was he so dense as to not notice the perpetual redness in her eyes. But for the first couple of days, he did not bring up the muffled sobs he heard at night. He gave her space; he knew she needed time to grieve, much like he had.

She needed to grieve the childhood she once knew, the unconditional adoration she once received from a doting mother and father, and the normalcy forfeited by mutation. It would not be an easy road for her, and knowing what difficulties, what atrocities, she might face as she grew into her new life was torture for Toby. But he was not a parent. He was an older brother, and brothers let their sisters make a few mistakes. Some mistakes were vital for growth and maturation, and he could not stunt Alice’s growth. Things had gotten better for him, and things would get better for her. He had to cling onto that hope.

And if she needed him, he would be in the same city, ready to sprint over to her at a moment’s notice. A quick commute from his college dorm to her dorm at Xavier’s. He would be ready to protect her, to console her, to laugh with her, to simply share his company. He hoped she knew that.

She did.

On the third night of the trip, she gave in. The dam broke, the hurricane hit, and her insides imploded. She unleashed a violent emotional tempest on him, and he received it gracefully. He let her soak through his t-shirt with tears and gasps and general angst, and despite her shame, she clung to him. Much like she had during the earlier days of their childhood, before Toby was sent to New York. Before she had to choose between two of the most important people in her life, eventually crushing her father’s heart. Before she had discovered her own curse.

I’m sorry.

He shook his head. For what?

Ruining your shirt.

She smiled. He laughed.

The first half of the trip was...boring. Empty. They were surrounded by barren landscape and lonely farms, the radio barely picking up any signal at times. Simply, there was nothing to do! Well, except devour novels and sing along to No Direction songs when she caught them on the radio. Toby wasn’t a particular fan of the British boy band, but even he could not get between Alice and her N-D love. Especially her love of Larry Myles~

There was a quaint dairy farm the siblings had stopped at to stretch their legs and check out. The sign on the road had advertised organic dairy products (particularly milk and cheese) and some fresh-picked fruits, appealing to their quietly grumbling stomachs. After days of junk food, the thought of something natural and crisp gracing her tummy was wonderful. Alice eagerly tugged her brother along the fields to the stand sitting in front of a barn. An older man in his lower sixties greeted them with a warmly accented hello. He reminded her of her grandfather, whose honey-sweet smile was quite similar to his. The farmer pointed out his wares, bushels of apples, cheese wheels, jars of milk, and baskets of peaches and nectarines.

It was a farm-fresh godsend, though the teenager did have a bug fly out of one of her peaches. She didn’t eat much after that.

The further East they went, the closer they got to urban civilization.

The stop in Chicago was the most memorable for her. She had never been to the sprawling metropolis before, and though she was a city girl herself, the atmosphere was wholly different there than at home. So many busy people, busy streets, crunching leaves, delightful cupcake stores! She was in love. Except...it was also very cold in Chicago, at least compared to the balmy San Francisco weather she was used to. It was only October. How could it possibly be under fifty degrees? She shivered at the very thought. While the fallscape was beautiful, it was much too cold.

The siblings could not explore the city for long. The next morning, they moved on. They were getting very close to their destination, only thirteen hours separating them from New York City.

I wonder what it will be like...

“Okay, Alice. Just breathe. Don’t be nervous. We’re in a completely empty parking lot with no other cars around. Just change the gear to ‘drive’ and lightly press on the gas pedal. You’ll do fine.”

The teenager glanced blankly at her brother. She was not exuding as much nervousness as he seemed to imply. Sure, she was a little nervous, but she was mostly bouncing with excitement! She was getting the first driving lesson of her life! It was a little early, since she was only a freshman and not yet old enough to acquire a permit, but she had managed to convince Toby to let her try it out. He had put up plenty of resistance, of course, since the Jeep was his baby, and his baby sister had the potential to be a horribly reckless driver, as some teenagers were. But Alice was not one to concede easily, and eventually her puppy-dog-eyes assault worked, coupled with some well-timed moping and pouting.

“Toby. Calm down,” she said slowly, reaching for the gear shift. She watched as his expression morphed from tense to terrified, and couldn’t help but snicker a little. She put the car in “drive” and followed his instructions, gingerly tapping the gas pedal. The Jeep shot forward like a bullet, causing both driver and passenger to yell in surprise.

“Braaaake!” Toby yelled, pointing to said pedal and clutching his seat for dear life.

Screeech! Alice made the hardest brake an inexperienced teenager ever could, causing the siblings to jerk hard against their seatbelts (and be extra thankful they were wearing them). It took a few moments for her heart rate to slow and her hands to unclutch the steering wheel. Her brother never let go.

“Well...that wasn’t so bad,” she said with a half-grin, half-grimace. Inside, she was cringing.

“No more driving lessons until you’re eighteen."

“What?!”