Page 67 of The Not So Super Hero
“Come on,” Chris said, patting Zane on the shoulder.“I’ll take you to your room.”
Natalia didn’t follow, heading down an opposing hall.Zane preferred that, since he was attempting to come up with an apology to give to Bailey.Did he really have to, though?Thinking about it was so exhausting and he had no fucking clue where to even begin.How the hell was he meant to know what to say?Zane had barely interacted with the rest of the human race for nearly his whole life.Now he was supposed to magically know how to apologize to someone?
What Chris took Zane through felt like a maze.The halls spanned onward and onward, twisting around corners and up or down stairs.Then they came upon living quarters.Unlike the earlier bunker, these halls were homier, even if the windows showing cityscapes, forests, and seas were fake.They must have been placed to make those staying feeling at ease, to believe they weren’t under tons of dirt.Even potted plants littered the hallways along with doors that were probably decorated, so it was easier for each individual to find their rooms.
Zane did his best to remember the route Chris took.He had no desire to get lost in that hellhole.After a few minutes, they arrived.Before Zane asked for the key to his room, Chris dropped a bombshell; “Oh, you’ll be rooming with Bailey.”
Zane shot a glare at Chris that could freeze a man to death.“What the hell did you say?”
“Like I said, you better apologize.”Chris smiled like the news was no big deal except it was a huge fucking deal.Why the hell were they rooming together?
“There are plenty of rooms here.Give me a different one,” Zane ordered, stepping back when Chris pulled out a key to hand to him.
“Everything is already set up for you two here.It’s a two-room apartment, if that makes you feel any better.”
“No.”
“You can sleep in the hall.”
“Sounds fine.”
Chris pinched the bridge of his nose.“Zane, go in there and apologize.Everything will be easier if you do.”Chris shoved the key into Zane’s chest.The man barely caught the card.Chris pivoted on his heel, snickering as he walked away.
Well, it seemed Zane was rooming with Bailey either way.There was the choice of remaining in the hall.He was a pretty stubborn guy, so he could easily sleep on the floor until Chris got him put into another room.If that happened, he wouldn’t have to work up the nerve to apologize nor come up with said apology, which was just a lot of work.Sleeping on uncomfortable cement wasn’t on his to do list either.
With a heavy sigh, Zane caved and pushed open the door to find the apartment he would share with Bailey for who knows how long.It was a hell of a lot nicer than his place, that was for sure.
The door opened into a living room that had an attached kitchen.Much like outside, there was a fake window to give them the belief that they were still in Ringgold, a view of skyscrapers and the city during the day.There was a TV mounted to the wall, as well as a red couch with a matching recliner.Every necessary rest in the kitchen, sparkling clean.
To Zane’s left was a closet that he looked in to find Bailey had already put his coat and shoes in there.To the right was a hallway with three doors, one on the left side of the hall, one on the right side, and one at the end of the hall.The door at the end was closed.Zane assumed that was Bailey’s.His assumption was proved correct when he found the door on the right leading to the bathroom, and the left to a room filled with his own belongings.
Everything he needed was in the room, his TV along with his movies and games, a bed, a dresser, and a closet.Honestly, the room was the size of his own apartment.It felt like too much.Sadly, there was unpacking to be done, but Zane wasn’t in the mood.Not that he ever would be, but that wasn’t the point.
There was a tension in the apartment that Zane knew he caused.If Bailey was there, then he likely heard Zane come in, but Bailey didn’t come out to greet him.If that didn’t say how angry he was, then Zane wasn’t sure what would, and it only made him want to apologize less.An angry Bailey was peculiar, and he had no idea how to handle it.
Letting out what felt like the hundredth sigh that day, he made his way down the hall to the closed door.He heard a TV.It only made Zane’s heart kick him even more, yet he couldn’t bring himself to do anything.Zane simply stood before Bailey’s door with a blank expression and an empty mind.He had no idea what to say or where to start.
Thinking over Bailey’s reaction yesterday, Zane couldn’t help but feel there was more to it.What he said hit something sore for Bailey.Zane worried that if he apologized, he wouldn’t even know what he was apologizing for and that could make it even worse.Not apologizing wouldn’t make it better, though.
Fuck, this is annoying, Zane thought with a groan.Shaking his head, he took a deep breath before lifting his fist to knock.There was no response, not that he expected there to be one.
“Bailey, I know you’re in there.I can hear the TV,” Zane said.The TV got louder.“Turning up the volume isn’t going to make me go away.We’re staying in the same apartment.”
That seemed to work because the TV turned off.It wasn’t a victory yet though, because there was no movement from within.
Zane scratched the back of his neck.He twisted his fingers into his hair, clasping it for a moment before releasing it with a long sigh.“Listen, what I said yesterday...I shouldn’t have said that and I’m sorry that I did.”
Zane heard Bailey move across the floor.A soft creek sounded from within the room by the door.Before Zane got the chance to come up with more pathetic excuses of apologies, Bailey asked a question of his own that stomped Zane a bit; “Do you even know what you’re apologizing for?”
That was a question Zane had asked himself earlier.He may have known what he was implying when he spoke the other day, but based on Bailey’s reaction, he took it as something else entirely.However, there was no way Zane could know why Bailey reacted the way he did.Whatever sore spot Zane had managed to hit, it wasn’t one he felt he knew about.
“Something tells me there’s no way that I could,” Zane replied.
“Do you know how many accidents are caused yearly by children whose mutations aren’t identified soon enough?”
Zane wasn’t sure if he was meant to answer that.He didn’t know the answer, anyway.He didn’t need to though, he knew what could happen to a child or those around them if their mutation manifested before they had the power to control it.It was one of the reasons people were so scared of mutants in the first place.They are unpredictable.
“Even if a child is identified as a mutant, it’s not always clear what their mutation is until it’s too late.Accidents happen and sometimes, lives are lost,” Bailey said.
