Doppelganger

Chapter 25

Alec stomped down the stairs of Joshua's house, heading for the only solace he could think of right now besides whiskey. Actually, this was better than whiskey since alcohol burned out of a transgenic's system too quickly for them to be properly affected by it. He needed a distraction. Grouchily, he flung himself down on the piano bench and lifted the lid from the keys. It needed more tuning, but he didn't care about doing that right now.

He was trying to convince himself that he didn't care about anything at all right now.

Up in the living room, Quip was telling Joshua goodbye. It was obvious that the big guy didn't want the kid to leave, but what could they do. She had said okay. So now Logan and Max were going to ship her off like a dangerous little package to the frozen north, where she could chase moose and ice fish or whatever the hell they thought she was going to do up there. Pretend she was a normal girl.

He descended on the piano key like a thunderstorm, the keys practically crying out at the abuse as he played a song that was angry and fast. Perfect.

This was actually a good thing. He was getting rid of a burden.

No more snot-nosed kid eating all the food in his apartment. No more sugar-addicted short stacks demanding more chocolate syrup. No more sitting on the couch and watching TV together or arguing over who got the last cereal bowl or finding extra blankets for her pillow fort in the pantry.

See, lots less to worry about. He would be better off on his own, anyways. He didn't have time to worry about some annoying kid all the time.

The music surged around him, wailing from the piano. Still, he noticed when Quip sat down beside him, her hands over her ears, a grimace on her face.

"That song sounds mad."

"It's supposed to," Alec said as he pulled his hands from the keys, letting the song stop abruptly. "Are you already done saying goodbye?"

"I don't like it."

"What, the song?"

Quip shrugged, her fingers gingerly touching the piano keys. "No. Yes. Goodbye. I don't like it. But I don't really like your song, either. It sucks."

"No one asked your opinion. But yeah, about goodbyes well, there's always the option of disappearing without saying anything," Alec said, "But that tends to make people really pissed off the next time they see you."

"I might not ever see Joshua again," Quip said quietly. She pressed a couple of the minor keys, making the piano whine. "Canada is really far away."

"Yeah." He pressed a couple more keys, turning the whine into a harmony for a melody. "It is."

Quip let her fingers walk across the piano, picking out notes that went along with the quieter song he had started. "Might not see you either."

What did she care? She was the one leaving, the one who had made the final decision. Alec shrugged. "It's what you wanted, right? To go off and live like a normal kid?" He pulled his hands back from the keys. "It's never going to be like that here."

"I'm never going to be normal, either." Quip spun on the seat, turning toward him. "We're weird people."

Alex tried to keep his stern expression, but a smirk snuck onto his face. "Hey, speak for yourself."

They were both quiet for a few moments. "You might like it," he finally said, saying exactly what Max would've told him to tell her. Something to make her agree with them that this was for the best, that she was doing the right thing. But who was it the right thing for? "They've gotta be nice people. Logan wouldn't pick out stupid idiots to take care of you."

"They'll probably be boring though. Like Logan."

Alec snorted. "Yeah, definitely."

Quip set her elbows on the piano keys, creating a noise of discord, and looked ahead, her normally bright and curious eyes dull. "Are you going to miss me?"

Alec's throat tightened, and he coughed. "What the hell kind of question is that, squirt?"

"Will you miss me? When I'm not here anymore?" Quip leaned forward and rested her forehead on the keys. She mumbled something into the piano, something he thought he understood but couldn't quite make out.

He reached over and plucked the back of her shirt, encouraging her silently to sit up. She looked at him with those big hazel-green eyes, and he sighed. The ceiling looked nice. Maybe if he stared at that long enough, she would let that question drop. Seriously, why did she have to ask something like that?

"'Cause I'll miss you."

Looking down, he saw tears forming in her eyes. She blinked and then reached up to touch the wetness on her cheeks, pulling her fingers away to stare at them. Roughly, she rubbed her palms against her eyes, but the tears weren't stopping.

"Oh, shit..." Alec reached over and snatched her up, sliding her across the piano bench and into his arms. He hugged her tight and rested his chin on her head, trying to make her feel better. "Yeah, kid. Yeah. Me too."

Quip sniffled for a minute and then stirred in his arms. "Y-you'll miss you, too? How narcissistic."

Alex pulled back and raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? We're having a nice moment, and you go and ruin it..." He gave a weak chuckle and ran his thumb under her eyes, wiping away the last of her tears. "Look. I want you to be honest with me. You can say whatever you want. Okay?"

She nodded. "Mhmm."

"Do you really want to go to Canada?"