"Hi", he smiled at her.
He was about to speak again when he took in her bare face. The swelling was gone but the bruises were evident upon closer inspection. He suddenly felt his insides churn with anger wondering how painful it must have been for her and which monster laid thier dirty hands on her. She gasped when she realized he could see it all and closed the door in his face.
Xavier: "..."
"I'll be right with you", she shouted from the other end.
He soon heard the sound of the shower going off. He went back to the living room and sat down. Oliver watched this whole exchange. The two males embraced the awkward silence and stared at each other.
"How strong are you?" Oliver asked suddenly.
Xavier's brows shot up as he was not sure what exactly the young man was implying. And whatever response he gave, wouldn't it be considered bragging? Still, he didn't know how to answer that question. "Uh..."
"Do you like my sister?" He asked another question.
Xavier found no reason to hide his true feelings with the young one as he was curious to know what was his line of thought. "Yes."
"So you want her to be your girlfriend?"
Xavier looked at the boy. He was not the least bit embarrassed talking about such things. What happened to kids these days? In his time, he could not even utter the word girlfriend but seeing the seriousness on Oliver's face, he realized that times had changed.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"She can't date you", he said. Xavier felt defeated by this and quickly detected sadness in his tone.
"Why not?" Xavier was curious.
Unfortunately, Oliver knew to keep quiet as the bathroom door opened. Xavier knew the boy would not say anymore even if he pressed him to. He was too loyal to his sister it seemed.
As he had decided when he deleted that file, he would learn the truth from the horse's mouth. That meant patience on his part. Something he hardly ever exercised.
He looked to the bathroom door to see Lorraine step out looking beautiful in a simple dress. Her bruises had been covered up and the makeup perfectly enhanced her beauty.
She wore her hair down, with simple jewelry and matching ballet shoes. As she walked towards the boys, she could not help but grow nervous when Xavier stood up.
"Wow", he seemed to be thrown into a trance as he watched her.
That only made her more nervous as she wondered the millions of questions he had concerning the bruises he saw earlier.
"You look beautiful", he said without peeling his gaze off of her.
"Thank you. You don't look bad yourself", she said and awkwardly cleared her throat.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
"Where are we going?" Oliver asked before Lorraine could.
The young man found himself holding back an excited scream when they reached the amusement park. He had not had the chance to enjoy this luxury because of their situation. It was not safe until Lorraine said so. So before he could take a step forward, he looked at his sister. Lorraine looked at Xavier worriedly.
"It's okay, you can relax", he assured her.
Lorraine was worried but she did not want to be rude. And seeing the excitement on Oliver's face, she could not deny him.
"Go on", she said with a chuckle and he ran off immediately.
"Ready to have some fun?" Xavier asked with a wiggle of his brows.
"I should have worn trousers", she complained knowing the many rides that awaited them.
"No, you look perfect."
Lorraine felt her stomach flip and blush under his heated gaze. She looked down and walked ahead of him, not wanting him to see her blush. He smiled to himself as he followed her.
The three had fun at the park. They still had energy for a movie at a cinema in Albany after having dinner. By the time he had dropped them off, it was very late into the night. He walked them to the door before going back to his car.
As he drove home, he could not help but notice a certain car that had been on their tail since early after. Now, they were following him. He scoffed as he dialed for Skull's number.
"Master Xavier?"
"I'm coming home but someone is tailing me", he said this while looking at the tinted car through the rearview mirror.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"How do you want this to be dealt with?"
"Hmmm....."
While Xavier was dealing with his little stalker, Zach and Amy were fast asleep. They jumped on any opportunity to do so because Roserie was more of a night owl. They were barely getting any sleep. Zach worried about Amy who was yet to recover. As though the child was reading his mind, she started to cry.
"Oh", Amy groaned as she woke up.
"I've got her. Go to sleep", Zach said as he peeled the sheets away.
He didn't bother turning on the lights and walked to her crib. He picked her up and started rocking her as he walked around the room shushing her. As much as Amy wanted to sleep, she could not with Roserie crying like that.
She was about to force herself to get out of bed when her phone rung. She and Zach exchanged a look and he moved to the bathroom. Nobody outside their family and trust needed to know about Roserie's existence. Not yet at least.
"Pedro", Amy acknowledged in a clear voice.
"Just thought I would let you know, it's been confirmed; just as I told you."
"Okay."
"But... I thought I should warn you too. I'm not sure how credible this information is but it seems the King is personally overseeing this project. Are you sure about what you're about to do?"
Amy was shocked by this but did not show it as she continued in the same calm voice. "Just do your part and everything will be alright."
With that, she hang up. The King is here... It seems they would be meeting sooner than she thought.