History Hates Lovers • Cole Mackenzie

016: Welcome Back, Anne!

"Xavier, come on, I think Anne's here." Cole grabs his hand and drags Xavier to the front door and opens it, the both of them walking out.

Anne stood with her back to the door, staring at Gilbert's retreating figure. Smiles broke out on both boys, and Anne turned around to look at them. Cole released Xavier's hand and the both of them ran over to Anne.

"We've missed you so much!" Both boys say to Anne, as she says, "I've missed you guys so much!"

They all hug, laughing while doing so. Xavier releases the hug, staring at Cole's smiling face. The two of them were so happy, and now even more so since Anne got here.

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"And sometimes after school, I go to a gallery with my classmates-" Cole starts telling Anne, as he ties his shoe.

"Like-minded individuals! Are you listening to yourself?!" Anne exclaimed.

"Oh, I've been listening to him since he started school. Anne, he never shuts up." Xavier dragged out, in mock devastation.

"I could listen to him all day." Anne replied with a laugh.

"I thought that, too. Just you wait. Cole will talk your ear off for hours." Xavier rolled his eyes jokingly.

Cale gave him a glare and stuck his tongue out, continuing with his story. "And we just stare and stare at the paintings."

"Art school is your perfect habitat." She dreamily said.

"And Cole is such a wild animal for art." Xavier added.

"I wish you were there. Yesterday, we-"

"Aunt Jo! Rollings!" Anne cut Cole off, running over to the two.

"It's like she never left." Xavier said to Cole.

"Yeah..." Cole smiled.

"Still lacing your boots, I see." Aunt Josephine walked over to Cole and Xavier, Anne by her arm. "I've never met a soul who takes so long to get out of the house."

"He's even worse in the mornings." Xavier groaned, leaning his head on his boyfriends shoulder.

"I'm ancient and I run circles around him." Aunt Josephine added, making Anne laugh.

"You'd think you'd have learned some patience in your 100 years on the planet." Cole stood up.

Xavier covered his mouth in hopes of not laughing, but lost the battle. Laughs escaped from his mouth and he tried covering them with coughs.

"Oh! Do you hear how he treats me? And Xavier doesn't even stand up for me." Aunt Josephine turned to Anne.

"He's trying to render me obsolete." Rollings said.

"I can't get used to it." Cole replied.

"Oh, you will. I know I have." Xavier responded.

"It's because you grew up rich. I, on the other hand, did not." He shoved him.

"Well, in any case, you'll love it either way." Xavier kissed Cole.

"I am still here, you two." Rollings interrupted them with an awkward cough turned laughed.

"Sorry." They apologized, laughing to themselves.

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"Spooky." Cole said, refering to the orphanage.

"This place almost looks haunted." Xavier added.

"How long were you here?" Cole asked Anne.

"On and off from when my parents died. Poor as church mice and they loved me so, but... Fever took them when I was three months old." Anne started. "So from then until I was 13. I'd get placed out, but... Always ended up back here."

"That sounds... Really horrible. I couldn't even imagine." Xavier quietly said.

The three of them were quiet the rest of the way, until they made it to the front door. As Xavier looked around the outside of the building, it looked to be something out of nightmares. And he wasn't exactly wrong.

"Are you alright?" Cole broke the silence.

Anne ignored his question and grabbed the doorknob, turning it. The door slowly opened with her direction, and she walked in. The two boys followed her shortly after.

"Do you know who we must speak with?" Xavier asked, looking around the interior.

"Matron." Anne responded.

After a long silence, once again, Anne stopped infront of a door and stared into a room with many beds.

"Looks almost bearable in daylight." She said.

"Was it horrible here?" Cole asked.

"It's an orphanage. Worse than some, better than others, I'm sure." She responded.

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"I'll thank you to help me out with my pair. Their mother died, and I can't keep 'em." A man in the Matrons office said.

"How old?" She asked him.

"Four, five, six, something like that. Real mouthy, too. This place'll probably do them some good." He replied.

The two kids sat, crying. They looked really young, around the ages the man said. Xavier felt horrible, seeing children crying like this because of their parents made his heart sink. Without thinking anything through, he stood up and went to comfort them.

"Hey, hey, hey. It'll be okay, I promise." Xavier sat infront of them with a kind smile.

The kids, a boy and a girl, just stared at him with tear streaks down their faces. Xavier hated seeing children like this so he opened his bag that had a fews toys, he always carried a few just in case.

"I'll tell you what. I will let you both pick a toy each, if that'll make you feel better." Xavier showed them the inside of the bag and light smiles fell onto their faces.

They both picked a toy and thanked him. Xavier patted their heads and went to sit back down with Cole, feeling content now.

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"You've stopped shaking." Cole said to Anne.

"I didn't expect it to be so... Being there... Her. I-I didn't expect... Her." Anne was at a loss for words. "But I think it's good. To bring it into daylight, and realize nightmares aren't so scary without the protection of the dark."

Xavier stared at the redheaded girl. The girl who was strong, who never lets anything get to her. The girl who was so kind to him when they first met, who always stood up for herself and others. As he stared at her, he could see the pieces of her China doll face crumble and chip. Her strength was unimaginable, as she managed to keep herself together Xavier could never even begin to do.

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White girls like 'look at me, oh em gee, instagram selfie, pumpkin spice, Starbucks size, Ugg boots in 18 degrees'

*EDITED*