AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What did I say about thanking me?” Xavier scolds me, but he’s smiling. I nod, swallowing a grin. “Let me put a shirt on. Then I’ll drive you home,” he says before taking the stairs two at a time toward his bedroom.
I wander around the living room while he’s gone. To think Principal Emery and my nightmare of a PE teacher live here. A large picture hangs above the L-shaped couch. Principal Emery has her arm wrapped around her son’s shoulders, kissing him on the cheek. Little Xavier is smiling wide.
I notice he’s not wearing his silver chain.
It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him without it.
“Creeping on my family photos, Harper?” Xavier’s breath tickles my cheek, and I jump.
When the hell did he come in?
“What? No, I just…” I ramble, adding to the distance between us. I can’t stand being this close to him. “Fine, I was creeping.”
He laughs.
“Can’t blame you. I’d do the same thing.”
“You two seemed close,” I point out, and Xavier’s eyes dart to the framed picture on the wall.
“We were.” A twinge of pain melts through his voice.
“I almost didn’t recognize you without that chain you wear around your neck,” I admit.
“I was seven then. Finn’s mom hadn’t made it yet.”
“Oh… she made jewelry?” I question.
“Yep. Made Finn and I matching chains when we were eight.”
That was a decade ago.
“Ten years, huh? You must really like it.”
“I could never bring myself to take it off after she… after the accident,” he rephrases.
Nora Richards’s tragic death crosses my mind, and I feel awful for twisting the knife into a wound that will never heal.
“Anyway, you ready to go?” Xav dangles the keys to his truck.
“You bet.” I nod.
Xav gestures for me to lead the way, which I do without a second thought. I’m halfway to the front door when my heart slams the brakes. I stop dead in my tracks, the maddening voice in my head daring me to take one more chance.
One last chance.
It’s been bothering me since this morning. The way he says something, then does the opposite. His cryptic confession in the book, his convenient fight with Axel the day after he bullied me in the cafeteria. Don’t even get me started on his hero moment last night and how nice he was this morning.
It just doesn’t seem right. I might make a fool of myself, he might laugh in my face, but I have to try. My pulse throbbing in my throat, I make a beeline for him. I stop a little too close, but he doesn’t back away, or warn me to keep my distance.
Instead… he moves closer.
I don’t think he meant to do it. In fact, I don’t even think he’s awarethat he did it, but his responsiveness sets my heart on fire. I clutch his face with both hands, crane my neck to let our eyes meet, and deep dive into his Caribbean Sea colored gaze in search for an answer.
A weak link.
Any sign of the boy I fell in love with.
“What are you doing?” he says bluntly.
