Limerence | I

34. Christmas Eve

Mama hadn't answered any of Eli's calls since he got arrested almost a week ago. The phone would ring and as soon as she figured out it was him, she hung it up. Who could blame her? Who in their right mind murders their own brother and then tries to bribe the detective so you would get caught? Plus, he was probably just calling so Mama can say that she forgave him. But anyone who knows her, knows that she would never.

At night, I would hear her crying in her room. She was just starting to figure out how to cope with Derrick's passing but this was a whole new bomb dropped on her. She lost one of her babies at the hands of another. That would screw anyone up. And the situation wasn't any better being that it was Christmas Eve and our entire family was torn apart. I assumed that we would let the holiday pass by unnoticed.

I started to feel bad because I was so worried about Eli, Xavier, B.Dee, and Astrid that I nearly forgot about the only brother that I had left. Through everything that had happened, No one bothered to ask him how he felt. I knocked on his door and the 11 year old boy opened the door. He looked at me and moved aside for me to enter the room. I closed the door behind me. "What are you doing in here?" He asked me with an attitude. He had every right to be mad at me. It felt like I hadn't spoken to him in years.

"I wanted to check on you." I said truthfully. He scoffed and rolled his eyes dramatically. Drama was Allen's middle name. But I loved him for that. "I know, you must hate me."

"I don't hate you. I hate that you and Mama ignore me." He explained. I pursed my lips and swallowed the lump in my throat. I didn't want to cry because I didn't have the right to cry. If anyone should be crying, it's him.

"I'm sorry." I apologized. He sighed and forced a smile on his face but it quickly faded away.

"Nobody is here for Christmas." He said, his voice a little shaky. Christmas was always Allen's favorite holiday because the entire family would get together. But this time with Derrick and Eli gone, it would be different. To be honest, I wasn't even sure if we would celebrate it this year.

"I know." I said, pulling him into a hug. "But I think Mama would really appreciate having you this Christmas. She needs somebody right now. So what do you say, you go keep her some company and I'll be back tomorrow morning to spend Christmas with you?" I asked him. She smiled and nodded his head. I kissed his forehead before he left the room and walked down the hall toward Mama's. I sighed, feeling a little down myself. I wanted everything back to the way it used to be. But breaking down about it wasn't an option. Someone in the family needed to be strong, so it had to be me.

Moments later, I left the building. I was planning on visiting an old friend of mine that I went to high school with but my plan was interrupted. Xavier was leaning on his parked BMW just waiting. I rolled my eyes and tried to keep walking in the direction I was headed. He followed right beside me.

"Get in the car." He demanded. I chuckled humorlessly and kept walking. If he thought I was getting in the car, he had another thing coming. I was sick of him talking to me any kind of way he felt like it. "Charli, get in the car." He said, more aggressively with added bass. I wasn't planning on getting into the car but then I remembered what I told Mama. I told her I was going to end things with him. So, we had to have the conversation some time. I groaned and turned toward the car. Even though he was in jerk mode, he still opened the door for me. I glared at him as I climbed in and he glared back.

We drove nearly 45 minutes in silence. For the past week, I hadn't answered anyone's phone calls, including his. And he hasn't seen my in class either. I assumed that's why he was pissed off but then again, he always seemed to be mad now a days.