Forgetting the Past ((An X-Men roleplay - Toad needed.))

[rapingtheclown]

Forgetting the Past ((An X-Men Roleplay))

It is well known that, for a few years of his life, Mortimer Toynbee, also known as Toad, was obsessed with Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a, Scarlet Witch. But, Wanda, who would never return Mortimer's affections, was married to Vision.

Mortimer tried many times to kidnap her, always failing, and was finally repulsed at the sight of her pregnent with Vision's child.

But now, for Mortimer Toynbee, it is time to forget his past, and move on.

In a dark alley, on a cold, rainy night, there sat a young woman, face pale from weakness. She hadn't eaten in... well, God knows how long, she couldn't even remember by this time.

She seemed normal enough, on the outside. But on the inside, she felt as if a demon were inside her.

A few weeks ago, she had killed an innocent boy. She didn't mean to of course.. it all just... happened.

She had reached out to grab him - he was trying to run out in the street - her arm had turned to smoke - the smoke had passed through the boy's body - he collapses, his heart torn out by this mysterious woman who was now made entirely of smoke - she was chased - beaten - and now she lay in this alley, still bruised from weeks of starvation, running, and beatings.

Name; Gabrielle Morcego
Mutant Name; Raven (she demands to be called this, she doesn't see herself as a human, therefore she doesn't go by her real name anymore)
Age; 18
Hair; Snow-white, shoulder-length
Skin; Pale
Eyes; Grey-brown
Height; 6'5
Weight; 140 lbs
Body type; Lanky
Mutant powers; She can turn all of her body (or some of it) into a dense black smoke that is able to penetrate the body, and kill somebody.
Appearance; http://www.animegalleries.net/albums/userpics/17107/game_496.jpg

((Yes, if anyone's seen my Zelda thread, I'm using her again. -_- Smurf off.))

She leaned her head back against the wall, her eyes wide and staring; glassy. She looked drugged. She probably was. She couldn't remember if today's mob had gotten her with tranquilizers this time or not. She wasn't seeing any butterflies though. That must be a good sign.

Out of her pale, cracked lips, a deep, trembling sigh escaped. She licked them again - they were raw already, it wouldn't help, only agitate them more.

If only she could move - but she couldn't. She felt like she was bound to the alley, bound to the shadows that she had to hide in, or else she would die. Die by the hands of those that were...

normal.

She shivered. From cold. From fear. From repulsion.

Help me. I need help. Help. Help. HELP. Her mind started in, her brain started pounding, she screamed, but no one could hear.

She slumped against a garbage bag. Exhausted. Her breath came in small wheezing gasps now. She felt like she was about to die.

Oh, how she hoped she was. She didn't care if it was quick and painless or not, she just wanted to die.

Because no one cared. No one would help her anyway, even if she was able to move, crawl out of this alleyway - even if she was able to talk, scream for help.

They'd just prolong her death, snicker, prod, poke, dissect... horrible images filled her mind, her brain began to pound harder, and she couldn't stop it.

Finally, she gave into the pain, letting blackness surround her. It was good... she felt submerged in a place where there was no pain, no hate. A smile crossed her lips, though she did not know it.

She was too dead to the world to care.

"Raven"'s eyes were wide and staring; glassy. She looked drugged. She probably was.

 

[rapingtheclown]

((Oh, come on, I'm not -that- crazy am I? o.o))

 

[poohlive]

She looked familiar. Not the kind of familiar that you get when you meet up with a childhood friend or an old college buddy, but nontheless familiar. It was a resemblence, like looking at a child, and seeing her mother. She was there, but harder to see, familiar but hardly recognizable. A familiar stranger.

Yes, as he climbed down the wall, cocking his head at her, yes he saw it. The familiar stranger, the girl with the similiar story and the different face. They all had one, didn't they? Girls in trouble. Their stories were all the same, little details strwed here and there.

But all the same.

A noise made him turn, watching one, then two, and finally a group come down the alley. They were mad and roaring, filled with twice over pain and hate. Nothing could deter them now, they had gotten a taste for blood, and wanted more.

"Poor thing," He sighed, turning to go. He felt empathy, yes, but not enough. She was a stranger to him, nothing more than that. Let the wolves take their pick of her. If she could not use her powers to save herself, then what good was she?

"Help..."

From her crackled lips, barely a whisper. To him? Probably not, just to any friendly ear that could hear. She had screamed it earlier, which brought his attention, but like a run down machine, now it was just a whisper, soon it would be nothing more than a thought echoing in her mind.

And once the villagers were finished with her, it wouldn't even be that.

But, once again, he stopped. A moment of weakness on his part. Heartstrings being tugged from this tiny girl, begging for her life. She didn't need him though. She needed real help. She needed guidance and support, people to help her understand herself and seize the deep down potential inside, or whatever bullshit Professor X crammed down those young kids throats.

The crowd, closer now, he could smell them. A cacophany of odors, some pleasent, some distasteful. They would close in on the girl any second.

You still have time, a cold voice whispered inside his head. Yes, he did, not a lot, but enough. Enough to save her. For one night, at least.

In a flash his tongue came out. Long, sleek and wet, like a lightning bolt, seizing around her waist, picking her up as gently as a cloud rolling by on a summer day. He pulled her closer, putting her in his arms, and leaping into the night.

The villagers chasing their monster just looked at the empty alley with confusion and sadness.

Not today.

Several hours later, he had put her on a bed. A small motel, something he got for her, to rest and recover. He sat on a chair on the opposite side of the room, eyeing her. They had drugged her, he knew that much, beaten her up pretty badly, but no real damage done, at least not physically.

How she was upstairs, that was a different matter altogether.

He wanted to leave, let her think up whatever she wanted about some hero, or maybe a demon who made his last act of kindness, but part of him wanted to stay. He had protected her once, and for some insane reason it felt good to do so. He wanted to protect her again.

So, he waited, uncomfortably in the seedy little motel for a girl to wake up.

Wake up and show him the world.

 

[rapingtheclown]

She thought she had been killed. She thought that the little jarring she had felt, that bumpy ride, had been her going down, down into the depths of hell. That's where she belonged, wasn't it?

Though her eyes were closed, all her other senses were trembling, awaiting something to clue her into her surroundings, but nothing, nothing at all. A bump, and she felt herself slowly falling - and landing on something soft.

Hell wasn't supposed to be soft... was it?

With a slight groan - oh, how she just wanted to keep her eyes shut so she didn't have to witness her own death - her grey orbs were slowly revealed. She couldn't see much. Nothing but blurs as of yet.

But there was something... a blur, right in front of her bed, sitting and shifting in an ugly old chair.

She slowly sat up, like a zombie awakening from a however many years nap, and rubbed her eyes. The room came into focus, finally, and she saw the man sitting in the chair.

Most people would of been repulsed or disgusted, most likely, by his looks.

Raven wasn't most people.

"Did... did you save me...?"

There was no answer, just a slight nod. That's all she needed. Her face went from grateful to frightened.

"You need to get out of here! I... I don't want to kill someone else!" Immediately, she began to back up, until she was pressed against the headboard of the bed. She didn't want him to go. He had saved her and that.. that must make him a friend. Raven hadn't had a friend in a long time.

She hid her face in her knees, her shoulders quivering, with either fear or sadness. Possibly both. "I didn't mean to kill him, really, I didn't... It was an accident, I wanted to save him...! But I couldn't do that, because I'm a freak, I'm a reject, I'm... I'm..." She became quiet, and peered back up at him, her grateful - and yet sad - eyes taking him in.

She had never seen such a beautiful person in her life.

 

[poohlive]

"You're a mutant," he finished the thought for her. A true thought, and a true description, as true as any other. The excuses, the regrets, they were all part of being a mutant as well. He remembered, everyone remembered their "becoming." It was never nice and easy, never a cute little story that was told to kids to help them go to sleep.

Mutants were born from heartache and misery, and lived each day after that as such.

"It's ok. You won't kill anyone. At least... not now. I'm the only one here. We can be safe, we can be careful."

Fear and confusion read over her, but he also saw other things too. Hope? Maybe. Acceptance, even a form of bond between the two. He supposed that was possible, she didn't look like she'd met many of her own kind. He would be the first.

Her teacher.... for lack of a better word.

Did he want that job? The door was still to his right, waiting for him to open it up and leave. He could do that at any time, he owed her nothing, and she owed him less. But still...

The confusion playing at her eyes was all too familiar, and again it pulled at the heartstrings. Just a confused kid that needs to learn a few things.

"I'm Toad," He said, still sitting in his chair, never moving, his eyes burning into her, "I am a mutant too. One who's able to control the power given to me."

 

[rapingtheclown]

She started giggling. A nervous giggle. She couldn't stop for a minute, but finally, she ran out of breath, and slowly calmed down. "You.. you can call me Raven. It's nice to meet you, Toad."

Her body relaxed, her feelings coming into check. Fear floated away on the breeze of confusion, confusion gave way to gratitude again. "You saved my life... Thank you."

There was a moment of silence, as she tried to put all the pieces of this together. She had been chased into an alley... she had given up... and basically blacked out. She couldn't remember much.

"You didn't have to," she added as an afterthought, her tones curious. "You.. don't look like the sort to save someone without a good reason." She moved to the edge of the bed, so she could see him better. She must need glasses, her eyes were going wacky on her.

"And how do you control your powers? I.. I know I can't." Nervously, the young woman peered at her hands, clutching them into fists, and unclenching them. "I wish I could... I don't want to kill anyone again..."

 

[poohlive]

Toad shook his head, "Answer me this, how do you move your hand?"

He showed her his hand, squeezing it closed, then open, raising it and lowering it before her eyes.

"It's like a muscle. You control like you do anything else. All I need to do think about it, and it works. Of course, you've used your hand all your life. You know how it works, and what it can do. You have no idea how to use your powers, or what they really do."

Then again, neither did Toad. He sighed, perhaps Professor X was the best place for her to go. He knew all about this, knowing powers, limits, when to stretch a person, when to let go.

Then again, he didn't think she would take well to Xavier. Like himself, she would hate everything he stood for, trying to accept those humans who hurt her as friends, trying to help them.

Although... in the end, it was her decision to make.

"What... is your power? What can you do?"

 

[rapingtheclown]

She nodded quietly, hanging on to his every word. But before she answered him, she stood slowly, walking closer to him, and took his hands in hers. Gently, she stroked the webbing between his fingers.

"I get it.. I should have guessed when you told me your name... Right then..." She let go of his hand and slowly fell back onto the bed. "I... I don't know how to explain what I do... it's like... shadows or smoke... I mean... my body, or at least, my hand, it's the only thing I've seen turn, can turn into shadows and smoke. I... I think." Another nervous giggle left her pale lips, as one of her hands pressed against her forehead. "I just... I wish I knew what to do now..."

She leaned back, her palms resting against the bed - at least, that's what she thought would happen, but instead, both of her arms sank into the bed, up to her elbows. "Shit!" she grumbled, and wriggled a bit. "Why the fu..." Her whole body dissapeared... well, it looked like it actually crumbled into shadows. The shadow moved on the bed for a minute, then went off the side, and before she hit the ground, her body had returned.

"Ouch..." She struggled up and rubbed the back of her head. "I... I don't get it... I didn't mean for it to happen, I was just angry.."

 

[poohlive]

"That's why you have to control it, Raven. If you ever get scared, or confused, or angry, this power lashes out in weird directions, uncontrolled. If you can't get a grip on it, more innocent people will die."

God, he did sound like Xavier, without even trying. He supposed he would have to, for awhile, to get her up to par. X knew all about training the young ones, it would do best to start with some of his teachings, before Toad could add a few of his own.

Yes, that would do just fine.

"First let's see how much you can do. I want you to lay on the bed, calm and relaxed. Just breathe... concentrate on the shadows around you. Look at them, feel them, move them, if you think you can. But, remember, calm and relxed. Always breathe."

Let's see what happens.

 

[rapingtheclown]

Raven nodded quietly, and did as he said, standing up and placing herself back on the bed, closing her fearful eyes. After a moment of deep breathing, and relaxing thoughts, her shoulders relaxed, her fists came unclenched; she was the image of calm.

As soon as the calmness overtook her though, the room became starkly bright - there were no shadows anywhere.

Well, nowhere except on the bed, roiling over Raven. Her body tightened up, but only for a minute, then the shadows calmed as she did, caressing her body like tentacles from a large but gentle sea creature. She slowly sat up, the shadows licking at her neck like flames, and with a slight wave of her hand, sent them, scampering, back to their rightful places.

For a moment, she sat there, her eyes still closed. Then she collapsed backwards onto the bed, sweat beading her forehead. "Oooh.. my head... Is that... supposed to... happen...?" She winced slightly as a sharp pain shot through her head.

 

[poohlive]

"Honestly, I don't know," Toad had moved over to the bed, beside her, looking at the rest of the room, as the absence of light right itself in a slowing wary motion. It was indeed a different power than he had seen, something foreign, a new type perhaps. He knew of people who could turn to smoke, or other like things, but this...

To control shadows at a very whim.

If she wanted to, if she really wanted to, she could block out the sun. Put it under one big shadow, destroy the world with a simple thought.

Toad looked at her, unafraid, his hand going to her forehead, feeling it lightly.

"It is always different, the power. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it doesn't. Mine used to... but I got used to it, and it went away. You are using a muscle you never have before, perhaps it is just getting used to you as well. What does it feel like?"

 

[rapingtheclown]

She shifted slightly under his hand, her face turning slightly green, as if she was about to be sick. "It... right in the middle. Right in the middle of my head, my brain, it's just pounding..."

The young woman began to squirm in discomfort. "It's... it hurts so bad.." She closed her eyes once more, as tears of pain slid from underneath her lids and slid down her cheeks, wetting the sheets under her. "It's like... a sledgehammer..."

She suddenly stood shakily, brushing his hand off hurridely, and rushed towards the bathroom, slamming the door. There was the sound of gagging, a few moments of silence, and the toilet being flushed. After a moment, she came out, shaking and sweating, and stumbled to the bed, flopping on it and grinning at Toad weakly.

"Uuhm... sorry..." She paused. "I havn't even had anything to eat for weeks... and still, my stomach finds something to push up..." Then, another pause, this one tight with tension. Raven's eyes found Toad's own. "You... you won't leave me alone like this, will you? You'll stay with me for a bit?" She finally voiced the one thing that had been eating at her mind since she found out he was her savior, her angel in disguise; her voice was high-pitched, full of sadness, worry. "You're the only friend I have."

 

[poohlive]

Toad wrapped his arms around her, hugging her hard, hard enough to make her feel that he wouldn't leave. He was here to stay.

"I'll be with you as long as you need me. For people like us, friends are in short supply. We need to grab hold whenever we can."

Getting up, he got her a glass of water, and also ordered them a pizza. Something to fill her stomache up, she looked very pale, and not just cause of her ordeal. He hoped to get some blood in those cheeks.

"We'll figure out the pain thing, we'll figure out what you can do, what you can't do. We'll figure everything out. It won't be too hard, not as hard as you think. Once you get it started, it gets easier after that. Trust me."

He said them as if trusting him was not an ordeal for her. She knew nothing of him, just a friendly stranger. If she only knew...

He let that thought wander, looking back at her.

"What do you need?" He purposely left it open for her, to answer any way she chose.

 

[rapingtheclown]

Something inside Raven clicked into place when Toad hugged her. Something that made her feel warm all over, and warm all inside.

She took the glass of water thankfully, gulping most of it down. And when he asked her if she needed anything, she flushed. No one had ever been so kind to her before. It almost made her tear up and cry, but she was able to control herself.

Raven shifted slightly so she was leaning against Toad, and smiled at him. A genuine smile; a soft smile. "No. I'm fine... but, perhaps I'll take a nap after the pizza... would you like to take a nap with me?"

Then, another question. "And, is your real name Toad?" Her eyebrows furrowed. "It isn't, right?"

 

[poohlive]

"Toad's what I am. It's my only name. The only real name that suits me. The only one that matters. People used to call me something else, when I was human, when I wasn't a threat to them."

He sat beside her, his hands fumbling together, unsure where to go or what to do. They had a clumsy mind of their own, and Toad could feel it. He could also feel her too, beside him, her own eyes on him.

"Mortimer," He said it, as if speaking to a ghost in the room, uttering the name of someone who, in his mind, had been long dead.

 

[rapingtheclown]

She didn't speak, she only raised her hand, put it on Toad's - Mortimer's - shoulder. Finally, she leaned close to him, her lips near his ear. "I was... Gabriella..." Her voice was a flurry of emotions, but mostly wistfulness and anger.

She slowly embraced him, hugging him tightly, her cheek against his, and one hand moved his fumbling fingers apart. This hand found one of his own, and closed about it, squeezing it comfortingly. "I'm here for you. Just as you are for me. I'll be here for you as long as I am able... Mortimer." The moment was cut short as a knock came on the door. Raven shifted, her arms falling from about Toad's torso, but her hand hesitant to let go of him. Finally, she did, standing, and dissapearing down the small hallway leading to the door. There was a moment of muttering, then Raven came back, holding the pizza box in one hand, and a wad of cash in the other. She immediately stuffed this into her pants pocket. "I grabbed $300 before I was chased out of my house," Raven explained, then set the box down on the bed.

"How many pieces you want? I don't want to eat the whole thing myself."

 

[poohlive]

"Eat as much as you want," he said, moving back to the bed, resting on it now. Her thoughts of a nap earlier did seem like a good idea. It had been a long day, and this, while he liked sharing the beginnings of her power with Raven, it was also tiring.

Grabbing a slice of his own, "I'm glad you have a little money. Something to start with. We might be needing it before long. I think it would be best to get out of the city, at least while there are people out there with pitchforks trying to hurt you."

Toad didn't mean for it to be sad or warning in any way, but rather just their next course of action. Food, sleep, in the morning they'd go to another city, somewhere to start new. He could train her, she could learn, they could...

He didn't know how to finish that sentence. He suposed in the end, it would finish itself.

"So, eat up, we'll get some rest, and worry about tomorrow when it comes, all right?"

 

[rapingtheclown]

"Alright... if you want another piece.. you may have to... tranquilize me or something." She giggled lightly, then grabbed three pieces and began to eat like a wolf.

She really /hadn't/ eaten for a while.

She began choking all of a sudden, grabbed the water off the bedside drawer, drank it down, and after a moment of deep breathing, she was once more chowing down.

After a few more pieces, she had /somehow/ fallen, basically, ontop of Toad, deeply asleep. She was as beautiful when she was asleep as when she was awake. Her shirt rode up her stomach slightly; she shifted and began scratching at the flat, creamy-skinned area, grumbled something, rolled onto her side.

It didn't look like she was waking up soon.

 

[poohlive]

His hand fell down to her face, pulling back the few strands of hair that had fallen out of place. She seemed so sweet, so innocent, incapable of such power she had shown him only a few minutes ago.

Toad felt another twinge of guilt, his thoughts betraying him, how he would use her... if he could, turn her to something like him, something capable of so much pain and misery.

Maybe she wanted that though, maybe she wanted to pay all those humans back.

But one look at that innocent face, those lovely features, and he didn't know. He was as unsure as ever.

Soon, the thoughts swirled around in his head long enough to make him tired. Easing her to the side, he curled up beside her and fell into a light sleep.

His arm around her, protecting.

 

[rapingtheclown]

"She's a monster. Do you understand that? She's no use to anyone, if she can, she will find a way to strike us again, kill more. It could be me. It could be you. We have to kill her, there's no other way."

"But.. she was so kind when... before..."

"A benign face can hold such monstrous feelings."

Raven was strapped to a cold metal table. She was shivering, tears filling her eyes, and she kept trying to explain that she had never meant anything, that she could even control her powers slightly now.

"We must do it /now/! Before she uses her powers to get out and kill us all!"

The gun was pointed at her head. The man holding it pulled the trigger and...

Raven woke with a loud scream, a few hours later. Light was filtering through the dirty window in the motel room; it must have been early morning. Her chest was heaving, sweat ran down her face, her whole body was cold and hot. She slowly sank back down, trying to calm down, her arms wrapped about herself. "Morty.. Toad...?" she grumbled, finally taking the time to look about for him. She hoped she hadn't woken him up with her scream.

 

[poohlive]

He was only half-awake, refusing to open his eyes or accept reality as it swam towards him. He felt her shake, scream, could hear her shallow breathing, scared. She called out to him, and he shifted his position.

"Shhh," He said, holding her, hugging her letting her know he was right here, "It's ok. Just a bad dream. I have them all the time. Go back to sleep."

Toad moved up, finding her lips, he kissed her, "It's ok Wanda. Go back to sleep."

 

[rapingtheclown]

She was confused for a moment, her body tensing up. When she heard him call her... Wanda, was it?... she froze. Though she didn't know why, she felt a pang of jealousy in her heart. She didn't know what to do about the kiss though.

Finally, she just pulled away, and pushed herself slowly, hesitantly off the bed. She paused, peering at him, then took the wad of cash out of her pocket, threw it onto the bed, and hurried out. The jealousy in her heart was building up, and she didn't want to be around him now. She felt she'd burst into tears if she saw him.

Are you that naive? He doesn't love you, you dunce, you just met him, and you... how could you love him?! her mind screamed at her. She grit her teeth at these thoughts, wiped the hot wetness that was beginning to form in the corner of her eyes. Why did she feel this way? She couldn't understand it and it was making her head pound again. She reached one hand up to her forehead, stumbled into an alley.

Raven had nowhere else to go, now. She didn't even have money. She wrapped her arms around herself, thinking, her eyes flashing. Finally, she took a deep breath, concentrated, and felt herself melt into shadows. The shadows crawled up the brick wall that ended the alley, flowed down the other side, and began to hurridely crawl away. She had to get out of here now. She was confused, and didn't know why yet, but she didn't want to be near that motel.

Another pang found it's way into her heart as she hurried along at quite an alarming rate. Were all those words... was he being nice to me just to use me for his sick little fantasies? And who the fuck is this Wanda?! Oh, well. It didn't matter now.

All that mattered was getting out with someone noticing her.

 

[poohlive]

"I don't know... she has," He described her, as best he could from last night. It wouldn't be hard to miss her, she hadn't changed into anyhting, which meant she left with the clothes she still had on. He was holding a slip of twenties like some child, fumbling through with his awkward fingers.

The receptionist gave a vague shake of the head, before pausing a moment and then pointing toward one of the alleways.

What in the world? She had just left?

When Toad woke up, he felt almost positive someone had taken her. Someone broke into the room and stolen her up right under his nose, but...

But the door was fine, no sign of a struggle, and now the receptionist just said she walked into some blind alley.

He followed it, jumping up high to catch one of the rooftops, trying to see if he could find her.

He shouted her name, once, twice. No one. How long had she left, ten minutes? Half an hour? What in the hell was going on? Her words rang in his ears, he could depend on her, she wouldn't leave him, they would be friends.

But... but...

"RAVEN!!!!"

He sighed, looking out at the empty street below.

 

[rapingtheclown]

Raven could hear the bastard calling her name. She had to stay a shadow for as long as possible. But no, there was the end of the alley, she had to change back into a human to get past everyone walking on the sidewalks.

No one would be able to explain a moving shadow, and she couldn't just adhere to someone's shadow. It would look like extra weight was on the person. It would just be wierd, and someone would find out... and...

But if she changed, he might find her. Which is something she didn't want right now. Why, why, why did she have to feel this way? Was she really so obsessed with him?

Slowly, her body became corpereal, she was once more a young woman, looking a bit flushed but still ungodly beautiful.

He had been her only friend and... and...

But why should she get so angry, it was only a mistake and...

Another pang of jealousy. She gripped her chest, looked out into the street. She would have to risk it. She hurridedly entered the moving crowd of people, slowing a bit. Her body was shivering; men were staring lecherously at her and she was scared.

She'd just have to deal with it. Swiping some hair from her forehead, she began to hurry down the sidewalk, looking for someplace, anyplace. Even another alley would be fine, no one had seemed to recognize her yet. Once she found an alley that didn't run straight into a dead end, she went down it. But there was something behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, grimaced. Men. Three. Large, and powerful looking.

She slipped into some shadows. Literally. Sliding up onto a roof, she immediately took human form again, grinning down at the men who stared around stupidly. "Idiots."

She turned, and her eyes fell on him, only a few rooftops away. She would have backed up, but she wasn't stupid. That would of just caused her to fall into the three men, who were still standing there stupidly.

Instead, she just glared at him fiercely.

 

[poohlive]

She wasn't too far away, glaring at him. A fierceness in her eyes he'd never seen before. Anger couldn't describe that, at least not to someone whose lived with anger all their lives.

In a flash he had jumped to her, dozens of feet crossed in a single arc, landing with sorrowful curious eyes, wondering just what she was doing here.

"What are you doing? I thought..." But, it felt wrong chastizing her for this, or even complaining about everything she had told him. He felt he was in the wrong somehow, the way she looked at her, the way he could feel heat coming from her body.

"I thought we had a plan, together. If you wanted to leave, you could have done so, just tell me... and take your money. It is yours."

He still had a wadful of cash in his hand, some bills escaping and getting caught in the wind around them.