Project X ✔ [O L D V E R S I O N]

+ chapter twenty-four +

"Wow," she mumbled, sleep making her eyelids heavy, "it did not go down that way."

Xander nodded, pulling the covers over them and whispered, "Go to sleep, mielle. You are tired."

~*~

Twelve days went by too quick. Exactly 288 hours – she counted – and though it sounded like a lot; it wasn't. Not for her. There were exactly 12 hours until Xander left Earth for good.

After Xander and the other Xrions had left, the women had gone into a state of melancholia. They could not speak to one another without breaking down in tears. Alexa didn't know if their surprise visit was worse than not seeing them, but she would take the bittersweet feeling over anything.

Luckily the doctor that checked Kai confirmed that she was healthy, her fever and lack of hunger were all common symptoms of the pregnancies. He was actually surprised that she wasn't craving metallic foods – like iron and such.

Before they left, they made sure that all the women were healthy and protected from harm. After a long and painful goodbye, Alexa began to receive calls from news channels trying to interview the "abducted women."

She turned them all down for safety issues, but after Jess confirmed that the Mafia would once again provide protection for them, she agreed to a press conference. And as she stood before them, she didn't know if she should have stayed home, watching sappy movies to try and overcome her sadness or stand in front of them and beg them to allow the Xrions to stay.

She chose the latter.

Her hands trembled against the podium, but she held the wooden edges tightly. The mahogany wood was smooth underneath her fingers and it was taking all of her not to dig her nails in it out of nervousness.

She was going to address the nation and hope with all her might that they'd have a change of heart. It was the final day that she had to request for the Xrions to stay; they'd be leaving the next day.

No matter how many times she tried to tell herself that the war should simply be avoided – and her heart shattered – she couldn't see any positive outcomes. Maybe she was blinded by love or she was simply stupid, but she truly saw the good that would occur if the Xrions stayed.

"Hello," She cleared her throat, trying not to sound like a wimp and searched for the strength inside of her – she knew she had some. "My name is Alexandra Dominick and I was one of the women that were sent to the Xrions, whom you all know as Aliens."

Alexa looked down at the massive crowd of press and bystanders and let out a shaky breath. She practised her speech about a hundred times in front of the mirror, but speaking to her reflection was nothing compared to what she was doing then.

It could have been a part of her imagination, but they all seemed to be waiting for the right moment to drag her from the makeshift stage and hang her for siding with the Xrions.

"I know that most of you will not believe me, but I experienced the Xrions' kindness first-hand. Yes, they might have taken your daughters, sisters, mothers or even wives – but they were not at fault. The meeting that they requested was to discuss a volunteering programme. President Goodhart was supposed to ask the women if they were willing to go and breed with them. However, it seemed to be a horrible thing to ask so he passed a law, trying to make the Xrions look like the bad guys."

"You're fücking crazy!" A man in the crowd shouted and Alexa held the urge to roll her eyes. She needed to seem as professional as she could or they'd find a way to turn it against her.

"The Xrions had three qualifications for these women. They had to have similar morals to their-"

"They have morals?!" Someone else interrupted, letting out an annoyed cackle.