I was on my side, lazily scrolling through my Instagram feed.
There was a soft knock at my door.
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to head to bed," dad said, after sticking his head around the door. "Goodnight."
"Night, dad. Love you."
"Love you, too."
The door closed softly behind him.
About ten minutes later, my door opened again. This had become a nightly occurrence. Xavier would wait until my dad had gone to bed, before sneaking into my room.
"Hey babe," he whispered, crawling into my bed.
"Hey," I laughed, as he pushed his head into the crook of my neck.
Giving him a quick squeeze, I let him go. Sliding my phone under my pillow, I stared up at him, although I could only make out the outline of his face.
"How was your walk today?" he asked.
Xavier and I hadn't had a chance to talk much today. When he got back home, dad and I were out, so he decided to go to the gym. When he got back, we had dinner, our showers, etc. We didn't get a chance to catch up. Until now.
"Good, until we had a run in with your evil brother," I sighed.
"Ugh," he groaned. "He was at the beach?"
"Yeah, and you'll never guess who with."
"Not Jacob?" he asked in horror.
"Oh, good guess, but no. Even worse."
"Not Megan..." he trailed off.
"Ding ding ding."
"Gross."
"My exact thoughts too!"
"He probably did that to piss you off."
"Probably."
"Did Michael meet them?"
"Unfortunately. But he was really cool and told Megan to back off and stop bullying me."
"Did he really?" he asked in surprise. "Points for Michael."
"I know!" I grinned. "The rest of the walk was really nice. How was your day?"
"She knew who I was today," Xavier exclaimed in excitement. "Still not how she used to be, but a lot better than what she has been."
"Aw, that's great."
"Yeah," he agreed. "It was nice."
Pushing off my elbow, I pressed my lips to his cheek. "Hey Xavier?"
"Hmm?"
"I have a question I've been wanting to ask you."
"Oh jeeze."
"It's not bad," I assured him.
"Okay."
"I was just wondering, how did you get those scars on your chest?"
I held my breath. This was something I had wanted to know for months now.
He was silent for so long, I actually thought he had either fallen asleep, or was choosing to ignore me. I bit my lip, feeling awkward. Maybe I shouldn't have asked. Maybe I don't want to know.
"You know how I told you Chase and I used to go get deliveries?" he eventually asked, his voice considerably quieter than it had been.
"Yeah."
"And how I told you I figured out what was going on?"
"Uh huh."
"Well, after I picked up one delivery, I opened it. It was cocaine. So I went and ordered myself some food and put it in the bag it came in, and threw it out."
"Your step dad would have been so mad at you," I whispered.
"Oh, he was. But it wasn't him that did the scars. The guys I got it from, had been watching me. Chase and I had split up, because it was a busy time. He was getting a delivery from someone else. The guys wanted to know if I was reliable. I obviously wasn't."
"What did they do to you?"
"Bashed me. Spat on me. Pulled a knife on me." He whispered, his voice beginning to shake.
Swallowing, I reached out, gripping his hand in mine.
"That's when I began to realise how fucked up everything was. And that I needed to get out."
I didn't reply.
"But when I got home, the guys had already told Andrew. He beat me even more."
"That's horrible."
"He was so angry at me." he growled, his voice rough. "So angry."
Wrapping my arms around him, I pulled him to me. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."
"I am so lucky I have you now," he whispered into my skin. "God, I am so lucky."
Tears brimmed at my eyes as I held onto him.
It was at the moment, I realised, I loved him.
***
"Have you heard?" Brooklyn asked me, materialising by my side.
"Heard what?"
"Derek's holding a party for his 18th," she grinned.
"Whoopee."
She rolled her eyes. "You know you're coming, right?"
"Sure."
"Faith, it's not like it's going to be a dinner with his family. It's going to be a big party, like all the other ones."
"In that case," I turned, grinning. "I'll go."
She shook her head at me. "You are incredible."
"I know, I hear that often."
Rolling her eyes at me, she shoved me playfully. "So, whatcha gunna' wear?"
"You just told me about it so I have no idea," I laughed. "You're obviously going to wear something good, considering it's basically your party?"
"I need your help."
"How about I come over before the party and we can get ready together?"
"Sounds like a plan."
"Hey Chook."
"Oh my God!" I squealed, running to Alex. "You've finally returned! Look how tan you are!"
He spun around and battered his eyelashes at me. "I look hot, I know."
"Hey Alex," Brooklyn grinned, giving him a hug.
"Now girl, you have some news for me," he said, peering down at me.
"Yep," I said, popping the 'p'. "Xavier and I-"
"Oh, yes, you two are dating, that's fabulous. Now where is this brother I've heard so much about?"
I rolled my eyes at him. Typical.
"Over there," I said, pointing. He was standing there, talking to a group of girls. I made a face. "But trust me, he's an ass."
Alex nodded in approval. "Trust me, bad boys are my type."
Brooklyn and I just looked at each other and made vomiting gestures.
"Hey Alex, hey Brooklyn," Olivia said as she passed.
We just glared at each other. Okay, she is the immature one to go on about this, so I wasn't bothering to speak to her either. Frankly, she annoys me anyway.
"Hi Chook, how are ya'?" Alex grinned, waving. He turned. "And what the hell was that about?"
"She's soft."
"So you went all Faith-angry at her and now she's offended?" he guessed.
"Yeah, pretty much," Brooklyn agreed.
"You have a way to upset people, don't you hun?" he laughed.
"It's a gift, what can I say?"
"Now, are you going to introduce me to the hunk over there, or shall I just do it myself?" Alex asked, glancing over at Chase.
"I'd rather stick a pin in my eye than go over there," I admitted.
"Yeah, no thanks," Brooklyn agreed.
"Ugh, fine." He sighed. "I'm better at flying solo anyway. Wish me luck, girls."
We remained silent as he sauntered over to Chase.
God help us all.
***
"You look so sexy," Xavier murmured in my ear.
I grinned, leaning back into him as his arms tightened around me.
I decided on a simple outfit for the party tonight. I had my Dr Martens, my high-waisted black jeans and a white, V-neck shirt tucked into my pants.
We were all at Brooklyn's house, getting ready. By 'we', I mean myself, Xavier, Derek (unfortunately, but it is his party so I guess I can control myself for one night), Alex, Alex's date (whose name I can't think of right now), Adam (apparently one of Xavier and Derek's friends) and Olivia (I'm making an unpleasant face right now).
I had initially come over early to help Brooklyn get ready. I basically just told her what to wear and then got drunk. I was trying to keep up with Xavier and clearly, he can withstand more alcohol than me. A lot more.
Turning, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his.
"Ew, get a room," Alex cried, shielding his eyes.
Ignoring him, I kissed Xavier a little longer, before we breathlessly stepped apart. He smirked down at me.
"I have a present for you."
"A present?" I giggled. "Is it in your pants?"
"Faith," he laughed, glancing around to see if anyone heard me.
"What?"
"Come here," he said, tugging me.
I stumbled after him and fell awkwardly onto Brooklyn's bed. He sat beside me.
"I was meant to give it to you before you got drunk, but that happened a lot quicker than I thought it would."
"I'm a lightweight, look at the size of me," I laughed, waving my hand over my body.
"I should have figured."
Slowly, he withdrew a long, black box from his jacket pocket. I blinked, trying to focus.
"What is it?"
"Open it and find out," he suggested in a duh tone.
Placing my can on the ground, I excitedly pried it from Xavier's hands. I slid the box lid off and a gasp left my lips.
A dazzling, white, jewel encrusted watch stared up at me.
"Oh my God," I whispered, ignoring my increasing lightheadedness.
"Do you like it?" he murmured.
"I love it! What's the occasion?"
"I just wanted to spoil my Princess," he shrugged.
"Aw, I love you!" I blurted, before hugging him.
I then froze.
Aw shit.
Did I really just say that?
I pulled back and he stared at me for a moment. Grinning, I totally ignored the fact that I just dropped the 'L' bomb.
"Help me put it on!" I said in a rush, throwing the box at him.
"Okay, calm down," he laughed, before slowly wrapping it around my slender wrist.
My heart beat was slamming inside my chest.
I am such an idiot.