5.
Home again
༺♱༻
I get out of the car and Xavier follows. My dad waits for the rest of the guards to come. He has a pissed off expression on his face, almost like his guards or he lost to his friend. He hates losing. Especially to his friend. It’s almost like they hate each other. But when they aren’t competing about anything they’re like the best of friends. They laugh, hug, and joke with each other.
Me and Xavier go inside of the castle. I saw my mum was in the living room. She had that long pretty violet dress with the gold patterns on it. She looked stressed because her leg was shaking -it does that alot when she’s stressed about something-, she had each of her elbows on her knees so almost her whole body was shaking. When she looked at me she had a mix of expressions; worry, stress, and sadness. A tear rolled down her cheek and her mascara and eyeliner was all messed up. What happened?
Xavier pulled me out of my train of thoughts. He kept holding my hand as comfort. It worked a bit, but not much. He looked at me with his sapphire blue eyes and smiled widely. A small strand of his short brunette hair with a little faded yellow in the end of each end of the little curls fell down, barely reaching his eye. The only thing I could think of was to smile back at him. So I did but I think I looked a bit uncomfortable ‘cause when we were at the top of the stairs he hugged me a bit more tightly then he usually would. He patted me on the back, moving his hands up and down my back. He whispered into my ear.
“Shh, it’s okay. Everything's gonna be okay.” He whispered softly and gently. A tear rolled down my cheek as he held me tight. I started to cry as I sobbed into his chest. “Let’s get you to sleep”
Right after he said that my dad barged in the doorway, the door slamming against the wall. Xavier took my hand and we ran to my room. I sat on my bed with tears streaming directly down my face. Xavier stood by the door listening to my dad to see if he’d come check on me. He didn’t. Xavier walked over to me and sat next to me on the bed. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him. I wrapped my arms around him as well and balled my eyes out because of how scared I was. I was trembling and sobbing uncontrollably.
I could hear a loud bang coming from downstairs. It sounded like some glass, like a wine glass or a window breaking.
And again.
And then again, but this time it sounded like someone punching a wall or something. I think my dad did punch the wall because I could feel the walls vibrating with the floor as well. I clinged tighter onto Xavier and he put his right hand on the back of my head. He moved his left hand to my back and moved it up and down. His touch felt relaxing through my light maroon dress I had to put on.
I could hear yelling from downstairs. The first yell was more of a high-pitched scream. I think it was my mum.
“This is why I hate this marriage!” I heard her yelling. I opened my eyes immediately. Why? Xavier noticed and covered my ears. I leaned into his touch since it felt comforting.
“I knew you were bad news when I first met you, you witch!” A deep voice yelled back. Suddenly, there was another crash, louder than the ones before. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat echoing the chaos downstairs. Tears pricked my eyes as I clung to Xavier harder, seeking comfort in the warmth of his embrace. He tightened his hold on me, his presence my only safe place in the storm raging below.
“Shh, it’ll be okay,” He whispered, his breath feeling warm against my ear. But I wasn't sure. The shouting continued, veno- mous words slicing through the walls like knives.
“Let’s get out of here,” Xavier suggested, gently guiding me towards the window.
I nodded, swallowing my fear. Together, we climbed out, escaping the turmoil, if only for a moment. We made our way through the backyard, the chill of the night biting at our exposed skin. Xavier led me towards the shadowy forest behind our house, our steps quiet against the soft ground.
After what felt like hours, we finally arrived at the old cabin hidden deep in the
woods. Xavier pushed open the creaky wooden door, and we stepped inside. The cabin was small, but it felt like a sanctuary compared to the chaos at home. He lit a lantern, casting a warm, flickering glow around the single room.
“We’ll be safe here,” he assured me, pulling me into another comforting embrace. I nodded, feeling a sense of relief wash over me. For now, we had our peace. The exhaustion of the night finally caught up with us. Xavier found an old quilt and laid it down on the wooden floor. We settled under its frayed, yet comforting warmth.
“I’m here, always,” he whispered, his voice soothing the frayed edges of my nerves.
We lay there, the silence of the forest wrapping around like a protective shield. His steady heartbeat was like a lullaby under my ear, slowly easing me to sleep.
In the moment’s quiet I whispered, “Thank you, Xavier.”
He pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. “Sleep now." With his arms around me, I finally allowed sleep to claim me, the night’s terror replaced by dreams of escape and fragile hope.
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