A Secret Worth Telling

Chapter 13: Comfort

Rory's POV

I awake laying on a very warm and very comfortable bed surface, it smells amazing like freshly fallen rain and musky burning wood. I snuggle deeper into the warmth and inhale the enticing scent deep into my body. Then i fling my eyes open in alert my bed is never this soft nor does it remotely smell like that. I glance down at a heavy tattooed arm that is clutching onto my waist tightly and the other one is placed under my neck like a muscular cushion. 

I stare wide eyed at a sleeping Xavier he's breathing deeply his defined features looking relaxed and peaceful. Strands of his ebony hair fall down his forehead and the tips gently rest on the edges of his thick eyelashes. I try to ease myself free from his harsh grip as all the memories from last night flood back into my mind. After wriggling unsuccessfully trying to free myself he growls "Stay still bambino." 

his voice is slightly graveled from his sleep but it add's  a sexier affect wait what? I blush at my thoughts and he chuckles lightly before sitting up and stretching. I blush even deeper realising he's not wearing a shirt and his rock hard abs are on full display i stare in curiosity at the ink trailing up from the top of his rib cage and across his pecs and back down to the other top of his rib cage. "Take a picture it'll last longer" he says smirking and i roll my eyes leaning forward to read the vertical writing that runs along his left side. He smiles at me "My body is my journal and my tattoos are my story" he recites and i stare in interest and confusion "and it's true" he replies before leaving the room.

***

Hurt pulsates through my body as i hear the conversation taking place on the other side of the door. I glare down at the popcorn in my hand and stalk back towards my room slamming the door angrily. After last night I thought things for me and Xavier would be different i oped that maybe he might ask me out but no. I laugh bitterly at my own stupidity and clutch onto the crumpled picture in my hand. Not only had Xavier hurt me today but my mum had conveniently gone missing for the whole day along with Chase and Vince just like she did each year. 

Lola has avoided being around altogether and left early this morning after quickly changing it seems as though i'm the only one who wants to remember him in anyway and without any of them I have to go alone again. 

Tugging on my black knee high boots Xavier comes thundering down the stairs "where are you going?" he asks his eyebrows furrowing cutely as the cheery demeanor disappears as he eyes my state. "why are you dressed like that?" he asks gesturing to my black jeans and tight lacy black top. "I have somewhere to be" i announce and he glares at me questioningly before nodding slowly "OK well where are you going?" he asks but i shake my head quickly and his expression hardens "what you can't tell me" he growls and I nod slowly biting the inside of my cheek "but i can show you" i offer and he looks up at me nodding his head eagerly.

Gravestones line the old graveyard,some recently placed, where others, cracked and crumbling. Moss covers the engravings dedicated to the dead, trees leaning towards the stones, branches reaching out to each other.  Spiked, black fences surround the graveyard almost like it's a prison. The smell of aging stone fills the dry air, weeds covering the graves of the deceased, loved ones long since stopped visiting. Gravel paths weave through the maze of graves, allowing passers by to pay their respects to the people lined up in the earths embrace.

I lead him steadily over to the polished black stone in the far corner surrounded by wilting flowers in a glass vase and photo frames. I kneel down beside it and trace the gold lettering engraved into the marble 'Marc McKenzie beloved husband, son, uncle and father' . 

"Xavier this is my dad" i say and he he smiles before kneeling next to me on the messy grass in front of the grave "hello sir" he says politely and i smile slightly "he would've liked that you know he always said manners were one of the most important things" i admit and Xavier smiles at me softly before I begin to talk to my dad as I do every year. "You know it's my fault he died, that's why mum hates me so much" i admit the same familiar lump lodging itself into my throat. He frowns at me before i continue "he was coming to see me at some stupid piano concert" i say and he he nods encouragingly "but he never made it a drunk driver apparently" i murmur and he opens his mouth but i cut him off "I used to be real close to Lola you know" i say smiling through my tears at the memories.

Xavier goes wide eyed at my confession "but after he died I began to shut everyone out and she began to resent me for it that and the fact that she believed if he never went to see my concert then he'd still be alive" i say sobbing erratically and he hugs me tightly scooping me into his arms and carrying me from the graveyard giving me that instant comfort my body yearned for. "It was never and will never be your fault" he says his jaw clenching and i shake my head burrowing into his shirt. "You wanna know something?" he asks and i look up at his caring face "I'm glad your dad got in that car because otherwise i would never get to do this" he says before smashing his lips onto mine.