TW: Suggestive topics: Self harm, eating disorder. Take care of yourselves my voxies <33
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The last thing I remembered was frantically searching the bar for Melanie. With the audience that frequented here, horrible ideas of what might have happened to her flooded my head.
Wyatt's screaming caught Xavier and I's attention and we were running over to find out what happened.
Everything after that was a blur.
The only thing I was able to register was three men on their knees before Xavier and I, the sound of cracking bones music to my ears as rage flooded through my body.
I blinked trying to make sense of the situation before me. Looking around, I noticed that the once fully packed club was now deserted.
My eyes locked on Melanie who was clutching onto the back of a lady. She had bruised knuckles meaning she had defended herself against someone or some people.
Most likely the three kneeling before me.
The anger I was feeling surged through me even harder when I identified the lady as none other than my little sister, Olive.
The three men looked past me and at Xavier, terror evident in their gazes. I didn't blame them.
If there were people in the world Xavier cared about the most, it was Olive and the little girl he had quickly grown fond of.
Anyone who insulted one of them in Xavier's presence was the walking dead. But these three-
A dark chuckle left my lips as Xavier's voice resonated through the empty bar. "What the fuck did you just say about my girls?"
-they'd insulted both of them. By the time Xavier was done with them, they'd be begging for death.
"Papa Xava?"
Melanie's voice seemed to bring Xavier out of the trance he was in. He blinked a few times before kneeling on one knee and opening his arms.
Melanie's frown subsided when Olive gently placed her on the floor and she made her way towards Xavier.
Her arms wrapped around his neck the second she reached him. "Was so scary, papa" She mumbled.
"I know you were scared, stellina but-"
"Nuh uh" She brought her head away from his neck and looked him in the eyes. "Wasn't scared. The princess protected me"
She turned around and pointed directly in front of her, to Olive. Who was too busy examining her hands and trying to catch her breath.
"She punched the meanies and protected me. Tell him, princess" Melanie told Xavier, drawing Olive's attention.
Olive's eyes caught Melanie's, a smile appearing on her face for a quick second. It disappeared when her gaze landed on Xavier and I.
"Could someone tell me what the fuck just went on in my bar?"
All eyes moved to the dark haired guy that had been up on stage. All eyes except mine.
I was too busy staring at the man who stood next to him. Taking him in, in all his glory.
He wore a jacket with a simple black button up shirt, the first two buttons left undone and black pants.
My eyes followed the outline of his neck, rising to his jaw before reaching his ears - he'd gotten them pierced. And holy fuck they looked good on him.
Words caught in my throat when I noticed his neck - a tattoo.
Orsetto hated tattoos. At least that was what he had told me. A voice in my head reminded me that he wasn't my orsetto anymore, that I had fucked up so badly that he didn't trust me enough to even talk to me.
I was reminded that this was Miles. A grown man who was taking care of our little sister.
Due to the distance between us, I couldn't make out exactly what it was but it seemed to be some sort of bird.
Time seemed to slow as his eyes met mine. His face paled and the worry that was once in them turned to shock and panic.
The sound of footsteps made me turn back to Olive who was already exiting the bar through one of the backdoors, Miles following right behind her.
"I called Xamira and Diego. Xam's pissed we interrupted their double date with Kat and Jordan but they're on their way to take Melanie home" Derrick said, sweeping Melanie into his arms causing her to giggle.
"I've got these three" Wyatt said, dragging their unconscious bodies towards the front door of the bar. "Had to put them to sleep first but I can't wait till they wake up and we can finally play"
"I still have no idea what just happened" The dark haired guy said.
"I've got you man," Derrick replied.
A flash of crazy passed through Wyatt's eyes before he stopped, looking at the doors Miles and Olive had left through before turning to Xavier and I.
"Well? Go get them"
I was already moving before he finished talking, Xavier following behind. We left the bar through the same doors Olive and Miles went through.
A hallway greeted us the moment we stepped through them, a set of stairs at the very end, leading to both a higher and lower level and a door at the side opposite the stairs.
I saw Miles exiting through the door opposite the stairs and immediately went after him. Stepping out of the bar, I was greeted with the crisp chill of the air.
Of course it was raining.
I was barely able to make out Miles' silhouette taking a right at the fork ahead of us, despite the rain that had now drenched the both of us.
"Orsetto" I called desperately, running after him when he ignored me.
The right turn led out of the alley, revealing the entrance to the bar. A curse left my mouth when Miles entered a car parked in front of the bar and started the engine.
My legs shifted before my brain could register the movement and I was standing in front of the car.
"Orsetto, please" Tears clouded my vision as he locked eyes with me, his hand on the steering wheel.
He reversed, trying to turn but I shook my head and moved in front of the car again.
"I'm not going to stop until you let me talk," I told him, pushing my damp hair out of my face. "Might as well run me over"
I don't know why I added the last part.
I knew what kind of person Miles was and he would definitely have run me over without a second thought, especially after everything I put him through.
Luckily, he decided that I still deserved to live on the same earth as he did and turned off the car.
I watched him hit his head against the steering wheel a couple times, mumbling inaudible words.
Then all of a sudden, the left door of the car lifted up.
I stood in front of the car, unable to move, confusion seeping through every fiber of my being. Miles lifted his head from the steering and locked eyes with me, his expression unreadable.
Before I could get a word in, he was out of the car and stopped right in front of me. His hands crossed in front of his chest and his mouth in a thin line across his face.
My mouth opened, a series of pleas and apologies threatening to spew from it.
But they didn't.
I had a million and one things to tell him, to ask for, to beg for. But in that moment, nothing came to mind.
My mouth hung open as I gaped at Miles, unable to utter a sound, let alone form words. He noticed this and sighed.
"Don't tell me you almost had me run you over just so you could stare at me" A small smile formed on his lips. "I mean I know I'm good looking, but come on"
I blinked a few times, confused as to what was happening. "What?" The word tumbled out of me before I could stop it.
Why was he actually talking to me? And making jokes as well?
And smiling? At me?
Acting like nothing had happened?
"It's too early in the morning for this, Griffin-"
"No" My eyes never left his. "No, no, no"
"Are you okay?"
His hand stretched towards me in concern and he moved to get closer. I took a step back.
"No. Please, no" The words left my lips as a choked sob. "Don't do this, orsetto"
"Don't do what?" Anger quickly replaced his worry as he glared at me, his eyes brimming with tears. "Isn't this what you wanted? For me to talk to you?" His voice rose after each word.
"No" Tears clouded my vision.
"You don't want me to talk to you?" He asked. Surprise and an emotion similar to hurt swirled in his brown eyes.
"Fuck, I do. That's not-"
He scoffed, blinking back tears. "Make up your mind Griffin"
"This isn't what I meant" I screamed, letting the tears fall freely down my face.
I was tired.
Tired of hurting everyone I cared about.
Tired of losing the people that meant the world to me over and over and over again.
Tired of looking out for everyone but myself.
In that moment, I let myself break down for the first time, showing him just how vulnerable I was.
"I don't want you acting like this" I sobbed, unable to control the tears streaming down my face.
His face fell when he noticed the tears but maintained his composure. "Acting like what?"
"Like I didn't hurt you because trust me, I know I did" My words came out clear despite my uncontrollable sobbing.
"You should be mad at me, screaming, fucking hitting me. Anything and everything, except acting like we're okay because we're not."
"Don't act like nothing happened." I took in a shaky breath as I met his gaze.
My legs gave out, bringing me to my knees. "Don't act like me"
I was completely and utterly drenched from the rain, my ocd had begun to flare up and I was most likely going to get a cold but I didn't care.
I was unable to stop my tears as I remained on my knees before the love of my life. Despite the rain, he still looked effortlessly gorgeous.
The light from the moon radiated off his skin, encompassing him with an ethereal glow.
He was a work of art.
One that I'd never be able to create. Not even in my wildest dreams.
A masterpiece.
Worthy of all admiration. One that I would prove that I was worthy of gazing upon.
"Please" A breathless plea was all the word was.
His eyes softened and for a second, I thought about running into his arms and staying there. I wouldn't care if he fought me off, I'd actually welcome it - after all it was what I deserved.
Anything was better than him acting like everything was fine.
"I don't feel, orsetto. My emotions- I was never in tune with them from the start. Since as long as I can remember. I've never known how to communicate them"
My voice came out as a shaky sputtering mess of jumbled words but I continued, needing to finally get this out.
"Even when-" A sob racked through me as I clutched my chest with my right hand. "Even when Scarlett died. That night my parents came home and told me- the cancer-"
I was unable to continue.
Not because of the tears that wouldn't stop falling down my face, or because of the rain.
But because of the arms that I felt wrap around my shaking, shivering body.
Looking up, I was met with the only pair of hazel brown eyes that I'll ever love. Those beautiful eyes looked at me with such tenderness, such care that I was compelled to let go.
Every worry, every doubt, every uncertainty; I told everything through my tears.
A soft sigh left his lips when I buried my face into his shoulder. One of his hands wrapped protectively around the back of my head while the other one rubbed up and down my back.
"Feel, orsetto" I cried into his shoulder. "I wanted you to feel. That's what I meant"
He chuckled. "Yeah, I kinda figured that out already"
I tried to move, hurt that he was laughing at a time like this but his hand around my head only tightened.
His hand that was once on my back moved to my right hand, bringing it up to his chest. I was shocked to feel his heart beating rapidly under my palm.
"See that? I am feeling, baby" His voice was soft as his hand closed around mine.
I brought my head out of his shoulder and met his eyes, fresh tears threatening to fall, causing him to frown.
"Hey, hey enough of that"
Both his hands cupped my face. His attempt to brush away my tears were futile due to the pouring rain.
I covered my face with my hands as fresh tears slid down my face. "Why are you being so nice to me?" I mumbled. "I don't deserve it"
"I'm going to help you to your feet now, is that okay?" I nodded, my hands still covering my face while Miles chuckled lightly before pulling me up.
"You hurt me, yeah?" He started, gently taking my hands away from my face. I nodded, sniffling. "That means I get to decide what you deserve and what you don't"
His right hand cupped my face, brushing away the tears which were being washed away by the rain.
"The fact that you're an uncontrollable sobbing mess right now, despite the fact that you don't know how to express your emotions tells me everything I need to know"
He brought his lips to the side of my face, leaving a feathery kiss on my jaw, then my cheek, then the tip of my nose before placing one at the corner of my mouth, right next to my lips.
His eyes searched mine, silently asking if it was okay for him to continue. Instead of answering, I brought my mouth to his.
His lips were just as soft as I remembered. The kiss, even softer.
He was gentle as his lips worked against mine, his arms wrapping around my waist pulling me closer to him.
He pulled away after what seemed like an eternity to me, his arms still around my waist while he stared at me with the softest look that I had ever seen.
That broke me.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. About hurting you. About hurting Olive. About everything" I hiccuped as I talked, sniffling a bit as my gaze returned to the floor.
"I didn't mean to keep Nori from you but it wasn't in my place to tell you guys. It was Xavier's secret" My right hand clawing at my left arm interrupted my rambling. "I thought he should've told you first and-"
"Griffy" My eyes found him again at the mention of his nickname for me. "We should head inside, I can tell your ocd is flaring up"
He smiled, moving strands of my wet hair behind my ears before taking his hands away from my waist.
I watched him shrug off the damp jacket he was wearing, leaving him in just a black dress shirt. The next minute, the jacket was across my shoulders and Miles' hand returned to my waist.
I looked at him confused when he closed my hands around the fabric of his jacket. "Don't want you catching a cold, babe"
"But-" My voice was hoarse from crying so much and my eyelids had begun to feel heavy. To top it off, I could feel a massive migraine on the horizon. "We need to talk about what happened. I don't know if you're going to listen-"
"Shh" His voice was soothing and so impossibly soft my eyes fluttered involuntarily. "We can talk about that later. After we've got you warmed up and rested, okay? And I promise I'll listen to everything you have to say"
I struggled to keep my eyes open as we walked back through the front door of the bar.
"We're getting water everywhere" I mumbled, still tucked into Miles' side.
"I'll clean it up, don't worry about that" He replied, his hand massaging calming patterns in my hair.
I sighed, closing my eyes for a bit and when I opened them, we were in the living room of an apartment.
I looked around for Miles, slightly panicked but instantly calmed down when he walked in holding some clothes in his hands.
The dark haired guy from earlier walked in after him, his eyes fixed on me.
"So you're the hot as fuck blonde Miles is always talking about" He asked, taking a seat on one of the single seaters.
"Kai" Miles scolded, frowning at him.
His frown immediately disappeared the second his eyes met mine, a soft smile replacing it as he handed me the clothes he was holding.
"These are his," Miles pointed to Kai. "All my shit are too small for you, I hope you don't mind"
I shook my head, an embarrassed smile appearing on my face after I yawned.
"There's a guest room upstairs. It has a bathroom. You can nap there for a while before we talk" Miles told me.
I nodded and thanked both of them for having me over before making my way up the stairs.
"Down the hall, first door on your left" Kai called after me.
I entered the guest room, impressed by how clean and tidy everything was. I quickly got changed in the bathroom, hanging my wet clothes on the heated towel rack with the hopes that they would dry quickly.
I walked out of the bathroom, a towel on my head as I tried to dry my hair. I was met with Miles placing a tray of cookies, a bottle of aspirin and a bottle of water on the bedside drawer.
He noticed me and smiled softly, motioning to them. "I thought you'd be hungry and the aspirin is for the migraine," He explained.
I made my way over to him and took the aspirin tablet before grabbing a cookie. He watched as I scarfed down the cookie and took another. And another. And another.
"I'm guessing they're good?" He chuckled.
I nodded my head frantically, trying to swallow my fifth one. "Really good"
"Glad you like them" He smiled as he moved away from the bed and over to my door.
"Orsetto-" I called when he reached the door. He turned around quickly, waiting for me to continue. "Do you think- you could-" I paused, gathering myself. "-stay with me, please? Till I fall asleep?"
Miles' smile was big and bright as he walked over to the bed and slid into it, patting the spot next to him.
A smile equally as bright as his, found shelter on my face as I entered the bed after him.
"I love you, orsetto" I mumbled, cuddling into his chest as his hands stroked my hair.
My eyes had closed and I was already fast asleep so I wasn't sure if he had actually said the next words I heard or not.
"I love you, Griffy."
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"That is the dumbest shit I've heard in a while,"
"Kai," I warned him, walking into the living room.
Griffin had only slept for about twenty minutes before he woke up, insisting on explaining what had happened.
I was wearing just sweatpants. As expected, Griffin's eyes were fixed on the tattoo on my neck as I took a seat on the couch next to him.
His eyes widened when he realized what it was. "Is that?"
A smile played on my lips as my fingertips grazed the tattoo I had gotten the week after Olive and I found out about Nori.
I don't remember when I had gotten it or why, if I'm being honest. All I knew was that I was hurting and needed something to take my mind off the heartache.
What better way to do that than impulsive decision making?
I somehow stumbled into a tattoo parlor, wasted as fuck and blurted the first thing on my mind when they asked what I wanted.
"A griffin"
"Aren't you supposed to be mad at him right now?" Kai asked.
"I know you're only saying this cause you're jealous so I'll ignore you"
I smiled at him and he rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to Griffin whose face was flushed.
"Let me get this straight, Xavier made a promise to Nori's mother to protect her from her psycho father by marrying her. The night of said proposal, Nori got kidnapped by the reaper and Xavier received a letter saying he should meet the reaper to talk if he wanted her back"
"However, you claim that you knew nothing of the promise or the fact that Xavier had in fact gone to talk to the reaper, which ended in him gathering information on Olive as The Guest in order to get his fiancee back. He went through all this trouble for a fiancee that he didn't love but yet refused to tell Olive, the supposed love of his life, about any of this?"
Griffin nodded at Kai's summary of everything he had been saying for the past 20 minutes.
"You realize that doesn't make sense right? What exactly stopped Xavier from telling Via everything, she would've understood. And who exactly makes a random stranger they've never met before promise that he'll marry her daughter, just cause 'she's dying,'' He made air quotes around the last two words, rolling his eyes.
"She really did die though," I told him.
"Sure she was," Kai mumbled and shrugged when I glared at him. "Watch this all be some sort of fucked up scheme to have someone inside the most powerful mafia in the world"
Griffin looked surprised. "You know?"
"That you and your friend are in the mafia? Yeah. It's not everyday two guys radiating that much power walk into my bar."
"You could tell just by the way we walked into the bar?"
He took in the shocked expression on Griffin's face and chuckled. "You had guns on you"
"They were hidden."
"Clearly not well enough"
I returned my gaze to Griffin, a soft smile on my face as I watched his face heat up.
Adorable attractive asshole.
How dare he make me so soft and fucking emotional in just about three hours?
"I know the story sounds crazy and weird. But that's really what happened" He locked eyes with me and I could tell he was beginning to panic. "I swear orsetto, I'm not making this-"
"I know you're telling the truth." His face twisted in confusion as I continued. "Even so, I can't forgive you until Olive and Xavier talk things out. You understand that right?"
He nodded, a cute frown appearing on his face.
Fuck him for being so effortlessly cute.
Kai scoffed. "What are you acting like a child for? Quit frowning"
"Don't listen to him. He's only being hard on you because he's mad you hurt Olive and he feels threatened by you"
"Hey" Kai grumbled, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I do not feel threatened by-"
"The hot as fuck blonde you don't hate as much as you should because he makes me happy?" I smirked, interrupting him.
"I was going to say one of the assholes that hurt you and Via but that works too"
"Speaking of small fry-"
"Small fry?" Kai mumbled, a frown appearing on his face as he interrupted Griffin. "That's fucking adorable, why didn't I think of that?"
"Mhm, tell me again how you're not threatened by him" I chuckled before turning to Griffin. "You were saying?"
The sound of muffled crashes coming from upstairs grabbed all our attention.
"Is she okay? I'm guessing that the crash came from her room?"
"I think seeing you guys took quite a toll on her." Kai said. "She does that sometimes when everything gets too much. When she's like this, nobody can get to her."
"Not even Miles and he's tried several times. She knows when she needs Miles and I - after a while she stops thrashing around and comes out crying. It's her way of venting I guess"
"That doesn't seem like venting to me" Griffin mumbled. "What if she hurt herself?"
Before I could reply, another muffled crash was heard. Followed by another and another and before long, it was a full on rampage.
The sound of glass shattering against the wall, things being thrown around, the curtain ripping, amongst several other things I couldn't make out was all that we heard.
Olive was never this violent. She's always careful to only break things that could be replaced, and she insists on paying for everything herself.
Whenever it feels like thrashing isn't enough for her, she heads down to the fight club and finds an opponent.
From what we could hear upstairs, the whole room was being destroyed.
I was already halfway up the stairs when the front door opened.
"Miles, I did something stupid" Olive's voice rang through the living room.
I paused, stretching my head out to see her standing in the middle of the living room. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she stared from Griffin to Kai and back to Griffin again.
"Olive?" Her head followed my voice turning to me.
"Miles?" She turned back to Griffin. "And Griffin? I'm surprised you aren't trying to kill him right now"
"That's what I said," Kai smirked.
Another loud crash came from upstairs.
"If you're down here," Griffin started, jumping to his feet. "Who's upstairs?"
"Xavier" Olive answered. Griffin, Kai and I stared at each other confused. "We talked earlier, kinda... not really but he fell asleep so I tucked him in and went for a walk to clear my head"
"He fell asleep?" Griffin's voice leaked with disbelief. "Xavier actually fell asleep?"
"Yeah. Almost instantly"
"So why would he be making so much noise right now?" I mumbled.
"You don't think one of your rivals tracked you guys down or some shit like that right?" Kai questioned.
Griffin was already up the stairs, both his hands wrapped around his gun.
"You've got to be shitting me" Kai mumbled, rolling his eyes. "Fucking mafia dons and their fucking problems"
Olive moved to climb the stairs but Kai held her back.
"Let me go," She told him. "Xavier might be in trouble"
"That's exactly why I can't let you go, Via. You and Miles come first before anyone else" Kai told her.
Kai looked at me and nodded, telling me that he wasn't going to let her go anywhere close to the room.
Without looking back, I dashed up the remaining flight of stairs, joining Griffin to stand in front of the second guest room where all the crashes were coming from.
I reached for the nearest object; a baseball bat - thank you Kai and your irrational obsession with baseball - and nodded to Griffin.
He kicked the door open, his gun pointed in front of him as he entered. We expected to see Xavier fighting off some of Le Facheur's men but instead, we were met with a completely trashed.
Crumpled with garbage scattered across the floor. The curtains torn from their rings on the floor amongst the pieces of wood that were once a wardrobe.
The table was flipped, missing a leg. Paper was everywhere. The huge bed was turned over and the pillows were torn up.
In short, it was a fucking mess.
Xavier knelt in the corner of the room, his back to Griffin and I as he clawed through a pile. "Where is she?" His voice was desperate as he searched.
"Xavier" Griffin called out, returning his gun to the holster around his waist.
No response. Xavier was so fixated on whatever it was he was searching for that he didn't hear when Griffin called him. Or the two times I had called him either.
"Saverio" Griffin tried again, kneeling a few feet away from him.
Xavier's head slowly turned to the direction of Griffin's voice and that's when we both realized that he was crying.
"G-Griff?" His voice was small and hoarse.
His hands clutched his chest and I noticed how banged up they were. His knuckles had bruises and his right palm had a cut from which he bled.
"That's right. It's Griff" Griffin coaxed him, slowly reaching for him. "I need you to calm down, you're making a mess"
"I'm looking for her," Xavier choked out. "I- I can't find her. I woke up and she wasn't there. She's always there when I wake up"
"Who are you talking about?" I asked Xavier while Griffin cursed under his breath.
His eyes were red from the tears and his breaths came out in short uneven sputters. "Cocoa"
Xavier's eyes met mine for a brief second before he looked away, returning to the pile he was once searching.
"Cocoa?" I asked Griffin.
"The light brown teddy bear Olive had won him when she took him out for his birthday" He ran a hand through his hair, muttering something about how stupid he was for forgetting. "She's back in L.A"
"I can't sleep without her" He took in a shaky breath. "She was a gift from Olive, please help me find her"
"Xavier?" The three of us turned to the door where Olive was stepping into the room, her eyes wide as she took in its terrible state.
"Olive?" Griffin and I chorused.
"My bad" Kai's voice came from behind her, somewhere down the hall. "She's stronger than she looks, fuck. Miles, what do I do if someone punches my nipple?"
"Princess?" Xavier had stopped panicking and concentrated on my little sister.
"What's going on?" She noticed the bruises on his hands and immediately moved in front of him, taking his hands in hers. "Let's take care of these first, okay?"
Xavier visibly relaxed the second Olive's hands came in contact with his. Without saying anything, his hands wrapped around Olive, pulling her into a hug.
"Xavier-"
"I know," A tear slid down his cheek as he buried his head into her shoulder. "I just want you to hold me for a few minutes."
"Please" The word was nothing more than a whisper.
"Okay"
A soft smile spread across Olive's face as she wrapped a hand behind Xavier's head, running her fingers through his messy hair.
"She's got this under control," Griffin told me with a smile before leaving the room.
"You should hear him out," I told Olive.
"You're only saying that cause you miss Griffin" She replied. "And you feel you can't forgive him until I've forgiven Xavier"
Her eyes darted back to Xavier, a smile appearing on her face when she noticed that he had fallen asleep on her.
His hands were wrapped tightly around her like he was scared she'd disappear if he let go for even a second.
"That's true, but I'm also saying that because I know you miss him" I ruffled her hair, knowing that it annoyed her. "Just think about it, kay?"
"And later you can tell me all about what stupid thing you did" I smirked at her.
"I kissed him" She blurted out as I reached the room door.
"You what?"
"I know. It was stupid and-"
"I kissed Griffin too. I can't say shit" I laughed, leaving the room.
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"Princess?" Xavier mumbled, rubbing his eyes with his left hand.
"I'm still here. Try not to move for a second, okay?"
His eyes fluttered open and moved to me, watching me. I moved to clean the bruises he had on the back of his right hand when I noticed his new tattoo.
Or rather tattoos.
"Xavier Manuel Russo" The words were disbelieving breaths as I stared at his hand.
"I couldn't just let you go. I know I should've but I couldn't. Every lingering thought I had was of you. Everytime I closed my eyes, I'd see your face; your smile"
"You consumed my entire being. My heart, body, mind and soul. Every part of me ached for you, longed to be close to you. To see you again. I couldn't go anywhere without thinking of you. So I did the only reasonable thing I could think of"
"Tattooing 'OLIVE' on your knuckles is not my idea of reasonable"
My eyes darted back to his knuckles, examining the tattoos further. He had gotten a letter on each knuckle.
The 'O' was made of vines, thorns seen on the sides.
The 'L' was drawn with a crown on top of it.
The 'I' was simple, dotted with a heart.
The letter 'V' was outlined with plumerias - my favorite flowers.
The last tattoo, the E, was on his pinkie, depicted entirely by flames.
His awkward smile after I had spoken, the way some of his escaped hair fell into his face as he tilted his head, did things to me. Made me heart react in ways that it shouldn't have.
"It's mine" He paused, his eyes shining with pride as they met mine. "Did it myself. I wanted my writing to be perfect so I tattooed on my right"
I didn't know if it was the fact that he seemed so happy and proud of the tattoo of my name.
Or if it was the way he added unnecessary details about the whole process.
But I returned his smile. A small one which only made his smile grow even larger.
"God, you're hopeless" I mumbled, bringing my attention back to cleaning his bruised right hand.
"Hopelessly in love with you"
I accidentally pressed the cotton ball I had doused in rubbing alcohol harder against his skin causing him to wince in pain.
"Sorry" I shot him an apologetic smile. It disappeared as quickly as it came. "But you need to understand that you can't say that. Just because I'm talking to you, doesn't mean we're automatically okay"
I expected his face to fall, or to dull at least. But the opposite happened. His eyes softened, his lips, a soft smile across his face.
"I'm sorry. And I'm sorry you had to tell me. I'll do better"
I said nothing as I applied the bandaids to his bruised right hand after I had cleaned it. I noticed him staring at the band aids.
"These are the only ones I had," I explained. "I'm sorry if-"
"No, they're perfect" He said quickly, his fingers grazing over the hello kitty bandaids.
He looked around the room, confusion taking over his features. "Where are we?"
"My room. Miles and Griffin are cleaning it up right now but the guest room is still a mess and there's a lot of sharp stuff laying on the floor. I didn't want to risk either of us getting hurt"
"Can I see it?"
I nodded, leading him out of my room and to the one opposite. His eyes widened in shock as he took in the state of the room, guilt immediately replacing the shock.
Griffin and Miles were busied at the far end of the room, trying to gather all the fractures of the mirror.
Kai was surprisingly in there as well, picking up the splinters of wood that had broken off the wardrobe.
Kai noticed us at the door and cleared his throat loudly. Miles and Griffin turned to us and shared a smug look before heading out the door.
Kai stopped in front of Xavier and I. Eyes fixed on Xavier.
"So you're the jackass who broke her heart"
"Asshole" Xavier corrected him. "I'm the asshole who broke her heart"
"Excuse me?" Kai stood in front of Xavier confused.
"Asshole, dickhead, dumbass, whatever. Anything but jackass. Only one person calls me that"
My face flushed the moment the words left his mouth and Kai noticed. A smirk played on his lips as he stared at me, then at Xavier then back at me.
"I think you should hear him out" He made it so that only I heard him as he walked past us and out of the room.
Xavier's attention returned to the room in front of us. "I did all this?"
"Yeah" My voice was soft. "It was kinda scary"
He looked at his hands, wringing them. "I'm sorry I scared you"
"I wasn't scared of you" I clarified. "I was scared for you. I didn't want you getting hurt"
He lifted his head up, looking as confused as ever. I flashed him a small smile but it quickly disappeared when I noticed tears pooling in his eyes.
Those beautiful sapphire blue eyes that I thought about everyday.
Even after everything.
"Xavier-"
"I'm so sorry" His gaze was fixed on the floor, not daring to look up at me as he cried. "Cazzo, I know I've apologized so much today but- cazzo"
I remained leaning against the door of the torn up guest room, unable to move as I tried to register what was happening.
"I'm so sorry" He repeated. "For everything. I should've told you. Should've let you in"
I watched his tears roll down his cheeks, to the floor as he continued apologizing. He coughed, choking on his tears.
"Easy," I coaxed. "Try to calm down"
"I can't," He wailed, clutching his chest. "I hurt you when you did nothing but love me. You didn't deserve to be treated that way and I didn't deserve you" He paused. "I still don't"
"Xavier," I tried again.
"Yet I want to be with you"
His head rose and my heart clenched at the sight of his red, blotchy face. Tears trickled down his face the longer he stared at me.
"Call me selfish, say I'm only thinking about myself, it doesn't matter. I want to be with you, princess"
"And I want you to be with me. You're it for me; you're my person. I want to prove to you that I'm worthy enough to call myself your boyfriend. I want to be better, for you. Only for you. Please let me do that, baby"
"Xav" The nickname caught his attention. "Let's talk"
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𝑿𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒓
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"God you're so-" A sob cut her off and my heart broke into a billion pieces the second her teary eyes met mine.
"I know,"
"No, you don't" Her voice was loud, her fists coming down against my chest - hard - with every word.
"You should've told me. Should've let me in. Should've trusted me" Tears streaked down her face as she continued hitting me.
My hands grabbed her much smaller one, my thumbs running across her knuckles. "I know I should've, princess. I know I should've"
I had spent the past twenty minutes telling Olive everything that had happened. Everything that had led up to that awful Valentine's day.
About the promise I kept to Nori's mother.
About the night Nori was taken.
About the letter Le Facheur had left and how I had met with him in order to negotiate getting Nori back.
About how he had asked me to gather information on an 'Olivia Faye Laurent'. How he told me to get close enough to her that she would trust me and when the time was right, deliver her to him. Then and only then would he return Nori.
Little did we both know, that I would end up head over heels madly in love with said girl.
I told her that coming to CalTech was planned, our meeting however wasn't. Instead of becoming friends with her, I became the opposite.
A rival. And the student she tutored for a while - a lie I told her in order to get closer.
But before long, that rivalry bloomed into a magical flower. Its roots grew deep within my heart, the stems piercing through the very fabric of my very existence.
I cherished that flower with all my heart. And before I knew it, I stopped seeing her as just a breathtakingly beautiful girl who happened to be my rival and as something more.
As someone I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
Her voice was small as she asked her next question. "Why wasn't I enough, Xav?"
My hands wrapped around her, bringing her into my chest. My already broken heart disintegrated to dust when I felt my shirt dampen with her tears.
"You are enough, baby" Tears stained my cheek when she grabbed a fistful of my shirt. "Fuck, you're more than enough." I realized after our first tutoring session.
"I cut ties with the reaper, baby, you know I did. I stopped sending him information about you the second I realized what my feelings for you were. I'm so sorry it took me that long to realize"
We stayed like that for a while, neither of us moving or saying anything.
Letting our tears speak the words we couldn't.
Eventually, she calmed down. Her sobs turned into simple sniffles. Her grip on my shirt loosened.
And she brought her head out of my chest. Wiping away any evidence that she was crying.
Her brown eyes.
Those beautiful brown eyes that consumed my every thought.
Looked at me. With a softness that broke me. A softness that melted away whatever remaining barriers I had put up around myself - if there were any to begin with.
Her delicate fingers trailed the length of my face and I felt myself instinctively leaning into her touch.
"Xavier" I'd never get tired of hearing my name on her lips. "You don't look so good. Are you okay?"
A sad smile appeared on my face as I traced her hand on my cheek with my fingers. "Even after everything, you're still worried about me"
This woman. My woman. My very reason to live.
A pout took shape on her perfect lips and I wanted ever so desperately to kiss it away.
"Xav," Her voice was soft. Too fucking soft. I forgot how to think. How to fucking breathe. "You haven't been taking care of yourself have you?"
The question was an arrow through my heart.
She had been able to read me completely. Then again I wasn't surprised. How did I think I would be able to hide anything from her?
"I need to punish myself for everything I put you through" I placed a kiss on her palm noticing her confused expression. "The pain, suffering. I deserved all that and so much more. Not eating or sleeping and hurting myself seemed to be the right way to go"
Her gasp sounded through the room. The sound full of so much hurt and disbelief. Her eyes clouded over with fresh tears.
"How could you do that to yourself?" She screamed at me, silent tears streaming down her face. "How could you think those two things were equal? And you say you did it to punish yourself for what you did to me?"
She took in a shaky breath. "I'd never want you to do that to yourself, no matter how mad I am at you"
"I thought-"
"No, you clearly weren't thinking" She wasn't yelling but she wasn't exactly soft either.
Even though she was scolding me, I couldn't hold back the smile that emerged on my face. "You're right, I wasn't. I'm sorry, baby"
"Promise me you won't do that again" She told me. The tears were long gone. "I need to hear you say it"
I held out my pinkie to her. "I pinkie promise"
A small but noticeable smile appeared on her face as she locked her pinkie with mine. We both placed kisses on our thumbs and pressed them together. The promise was sealed.
Nothing in the world could compare to this beautiful girl sitting in front of me. And her smile- fuck her smile was something else.
Something unreal and breathtaking. I wanted her to smile forever. Or at most, whenever she was with me.
"Thank you for hearing me out, princess. I know I fucked up but I swear I'm going to spend every minute of the rest of my life proving-"
"Xavier" Her voice was soft. But not in a good way. "I know I heard you out and I understand why you did what you did, but that doesn't mean we're just automatically okay"
"But-"
"I need time, Xav"
Despite how much I wanted to prove her wrong, I knew she wasn't. And the fact that she had used her nickname for me, made it even harder for me to oppose her.
But she was right.
She did need time.
And I would give her as much time as she needed. If it meant that there was even a slight chance that I would prove to my girl that I was worthy of being hers.
I would do whatever it took.
"Okay, princess. Take as much time as you need" I took her hand in mine, brushing my lips across her knuckles. "I'll wait for as long as you need me too"
A whole lifetime if I have to.
Because I know we'd find each other in the next.
"We should probably head down before Griffin and Miles-"
"Griffin" His name left her lips as a gasp. "I didn't even ask about him. Did he punish himself the same way you did?"
I hesitated for a second. Debating how to answer the question.
But that second was all she needed.
She was out of her room and rushing down the stairs before I could give a proper response. And I followed after her immediately.
"Griffin Keanu Donato"
I walked into the living room and was met with Miles scolding Griffin who had his head down, facing the floor while Olive stared at them in shock.
Kai sat on the dining table, his fist to his mouth as he tried his hardest not to laugh.
"Orsetto-"
"What in the actual fuck made you think that was a good idea?"
"I wasn't thinking,"
"That's just the problem" Miles mumbled, cupping Griffin's face in his hands. "You need to stop. Doing that to yourself doesn't help me in any way. It makes me feel worse actually. I'm already worried enough about you as is, stop making me worry even more"
"It's not everyday I get to see Griffin Donato get scolded" All eyes turned to the door where a certain white haired man walked in through.
"You're the dude from the bar," Kai pointed out. "What did they call you again?"
"Il Demone Bianco" Wyatt shrugged. "The White Demon. I don't know who started it but I kinda like the sound of it you know? Makes me feel like some sort of villain in a story"
He turned to look at me. "Guessing from your flushed face and wide ass smile, you and Olive talked things out which means-"
He turned to Olive, a smile on his lips as he held open his arms. "I missed you, grumpy"
Olive smiled back as she walked into his waiting arms, engulfing him in a bear hug.
Miles chuckled, letting go of Griffin who sulked while Olive pulled away from Wyatt.
"I wasn't getting scolded" Griffin mumbled.
"And I'm Dizzle from Barbie" Kai scoffed.
"I prefer Bibble" Wyatt said, a smile on his face.
Kai stood surprised. "You watch Barbie?"
Wyatt looked at Kai. Kai looked at Wyatt. And slowly, smiles unanimously broke out on both their faces.
"I think we're going to be great friends" The two said.
Griffin scoffed. I rolled my eyes. Miles sighed. Olive laughed.
"What are you even doing here?" Griffin asked Wyatt.
"I was just getting to that." He held the door open. "If the two mafia dons could kindly join me outside"
Griffin and I shared a look before joining Wyatt outside, the door shutting behind us.
"What's this about?" I asked.
"I was just about to start talking but since someone was rude so he's going to have to apologize and then ask me nicely before I say anything" Wyatt huffed.
"Wyatt" Griffin warned.
Wyatt rolled his eyes. "You're no fun" He stopped talking, turning serious. "I interrogated those three from the bar. Asked them a few questions"
"Turns out they're working for one of the reaper's commanders. They were sent to the bar specifically because they knew Olive was going to be there"
A grunt came from Griffin while I ran a hand across my face. "So he know where she lives?"
"No, I smashed their comms before they could report back. But he does know that she's in Bordeaux."
"What I'm still confused about is why he's suddenly taken an interest in her again after seven months," Wyatt said.
"His plan to get me out of her life didn't work like he expected it to" I said. "He's more desperate than ever to get to her before I'm fully back in the picture - before she forgives me."
"And he doesn't know that we know he's out for her again. We're at an advantage. As long as he doesn't have her address, we can come up with some sort of counter" Griffin spoke up. "We'll protect her. And Miles. With the full force of our mafias"
"Their protection is our number one priority" I declared, the two men in front of me nodding.
"Guess that means we're staying in Bordeaux," Griffin said.
"I wish that was the case. My brothers located a commander base back in L.A. But it's one of the first class commanders. They need at least one of you for the raid, our men won't be enough." Wyatt mentioned.
"Xam and Diego are already on their way back with Mel. They'll be taking care of her while we're on our missions" Wyatt mentioned.
"How soon do we need to be there?" I asked.
"The raid is tomorrow night"
"You stay, I'll go-"
"No," I interrupted Griffin. "You stay with Olive and Miles, I'll head back to L.A."
"But-"
"Reconnect with your boyfriend, get to know your little sister better. Be there for them. You're the only one I can trust with this task" I told my best friend.
"I'll pretend I didn't just hear that" Wyatt rolled his eyes.
"I'll protect them with my life"
"I'd expect nothing less"
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𝑶𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆
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Wyatt held the door open and Xavier and Griffin walked out, Wyatt following after them before the door shut behind them.
"This is why you shouldn't fraternize with the Italian mafia" Kai muttered to himself. "But you two are already in too deep aren't you. Dating their leaders and everything?"
"I'll go make us something to eat" Miles announced, ignoring Kai's rambling before heading to the kitchen.
I took a seat on the living room couch and grabbed my phone which I had placed on one of the arms, while it charged.
As soon as I unlocked my phone, Griffin walked into the room, saying something about having some news to tell us.
A new text message popped up on my screen.
Unknown: The first act didn't end how I had anticipated. It is now time for the second and last act to begin. I hope you're ready, the fun has only just begun.
The minute I had finished reading the text, an explosion was heard.
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C.O.D.: Don't hide your elbows. I mean it's your fault they're ashy but still :)