Limerence | I

36. The Hidden Auxillary - Xavier

I examined the glistening diamond pendant between my thumb and finger. When I heard faint footsteps, I placed the necklace carefully in the small, rectangular, black box. "Is that for, Charli?" My mother's soft voice asked as she sat beside me at the dinner table.

"Yeah." I nodded my head slowly, thinking of how slowly time was passing by. Charli and I were spending Christmas with our families but we had plans to go out later in the evening. Every five minutes felt like five hours as I couldn't wait to see her beautiful eyes again. My mother ran her fingers through my hair and she smiled at me.

"You're nothing like your father." She stated. My father must have told her about our conversation. He told me that I was just like him and I prayed everyday that I wasn't. I couldn't think about doing half of the things he did without getting angry. He was a criminal -- something I would never be.

"What did you see in him?" I questioned quietly even though no one would hear me. All of my family members were gathered in the living room using their native tongue in conversation. Mom's timid smile faded away. There was a subtle shake of her head before she spoke.

"Money." She answered bluntly like she always did. I stood quiet, longing for her to continue. "I was young and stupid. He had money and I didn't want to struggle anymore. But I would take it all back if I could." She wiped away the single tear that rolled down her face. Something I always admired about her was her strength. I hadn't seen her cry in all of my 20 years and talking about my father is what did it.

Speaking of the devil, my father took the seat across from me. My mother glared at him before standing up. "Dinner should be ready in 10 minutes." Her voice was no longer shaky or quiet. She refused to let him see her vulnerable side. My stomach knotted up when she left me alone with him.

"I think you've been avoiding me, Xavier." The smirk on his face disgusted me. But he was right; I had been doing anything I could to avoid talking to him. Specifically because I didn't want to join in on his little game. There was nothing he could do to change my mind.

"You might as well forget about it because I'm not doing anything for you." I stuff the black box in my pocket, ready to walk away. But he cleared his throat, letting me know he wasn't finished. I groaned and sat back in my seat. I prepared myself to hear even more of his bullshit.

"I'm not asking you to do this to torture you. Things are gonna' start happening around here and I'm gonna' need your help... And you'll need mine." He said urgently, scanning the room to make sure no one was listening. All I could do was look at him as if he had two heads. What did he mean 'things are gonna' start happening'?

"What are you talking about?" I asked. As much as I wanted to get up and walk away, he had my attention. There was something about his demeanor that made me want to hear more. It wasn't often that he seemed worried. He stood up from his seat and motioned for me to follow behind him. I swallowed the lump in my throat and did as I was told. I followed him to the farthest room down the long hallway. He closed the door behind us and walked over to the only closet in the room. When he opened the sliding doors, I was shocked to see the largest collection of guns anyone could imagine. I'd lived in this apartment for 18 years and I never stumbled across the auxiliary in the closet.

"Pick one out." He ordered. I scoffed and all I could do was laugh humorlessly. Was he kidding? I'd never shot a gun in my life and now he was telling me to chose one as if I was in some kind of clothing store. I was more confused than I had ever been before. When he noticed my hesitation, he groaned in frustration. "Xavier, now is not the time to-" he was cut off by the sound of gun shots and bullets crashing through the glass windows. The both of us dropped to the ground. However, I heard a loud thud.

High pitched screams invaded my ears. My adrenaline level was rising. What the hell was going on? Obviously, it had something to do with my father's lifestyle choices. All I could think of was my mother. Was she safe or would I find her body lying on the kitchen floor?

It was almost a minute before the gun shots stopped ringing. The apartment fell silent. There were no more screams. I lifted my head to check on my father. All I found was blood gushing from the back of his head. The thick, dark red liquid forming a puddle around his limp body. It was clear that he was dead.

The first thing I did was hurry out of the room and back to the family and dining room. Everyone was gathered in the family room, my aunts and uncles with confused looks on their faces. The children with tears streaming down their cheeks. My mother, once again, was the strong one. She had a look of anger on her face. "Where's your father?" She asked. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Dead" I answered bluntly. I expected her to shed a tear or run to go see his bloody body but instead she just pursed her lips and took a deep breath. She didn't have time to worry about him. "Listen to me," she demanded. My ears were open. "You have to go get Charli and bring her back here." She said quietly. My eyebrows knitted inward.

"What does she have to do with this?"

"I don't have time to explain it to you." She took my hand and escorted to the back room, where my father was just killed. When she walked in, she paused. However, she quickly regained her composure and stepped directly over his body and into the closet. She scanned all of the black weapons until she found the one that appealed to her the most. She grabbed a .44 caliber magnum and handed it to me. "Five rounds. Use it if you need to."

So, how many of you hate Charli? Lol. I try to make realistic characters so I make them flawed. If they didn't have flaws or make bad decisions sometimes, they would be boring. But I try to make them as likable as possible at the same time. It's kind of difficult though lol. Antyway... I really want to know what you guys think of this chapter. The book is almost over. So, book 2 or... Also, read my prologue to "Hunnie | j.p"