* * * * *
When Xerxes friend had asked him to come to this party as her escort for the evening he had been ready with at least 10 different plausible excuses.
Three of them involving a bribed doctors call, and two having to do with a convincing prior family arrangement for an estranged uncle 'Hubert's' untimely burial, it wasn't until the name "Angelo" was mentioned that he stopped running through his mental list of 'most convincing excuses' to use with her.
"Xerx! You have to come! It's the biggest party this season! All of the important families are going to be there!" A whining voice came from the other line. Xerxes had to hold the cellphone away from his ear with two fingers as he tried not to cringe at Ceils incessant wailing.
"I'm sorry Ceil, I cant, my Uncle Hubert-" Xerxes had started before there was a noise in the background coming from the other line.
'Ceil, have you seen my phone i need to call- HEY!' Xerxes could just faintly hear the voice of Twila in the background over the cell as she discovered her missing cellphone had been with Ceil the all along.
'You bitch! Give that to me! Who are you calling!? Xerxes!?!' Twi was screaming at her older sister. Xerxes could hear the distinct sound of shuffling something that sounded an awful lot like Ceil shrieking "YOU BITCH!" and then a loud door slam echoing clearly through the receiver as the muffled voice of Ceil saying something along the lines of 'Call me' drifted though what must have been a closed door.
"Xer?" Twila's voice came in suddenly, calm now that Ceil was banished from the room.
"Hey Twi." Xerxes said, relieved at Ceil's absence. Twi was no shallow Ceil but she was vain in her own way. Still Twi was smart about it and that's what made her a person to be weary of in Xerxes mind.
"Sorry about Ceil, cant say I blame her really. I was just about to do the same thing actually. You in?" From the other line Xerxes could here Twila munching on a piece of gum, probably that cinnamon crap that tasted like liquid spice.
"I was just telling Ceil that i ca-" Xerxes started to say again.
"Angelo's back." And just like that the world stopped turning and Xerxes held his breath his attention completley turned to the matter at hand all excuses falling away from the forefront of his mind.
"Xerx we both know you shouldn't go to this party." Twi said with little conviction.
"Then why are you inviting me? You of all people should know-"
"I know only what I heard. Everyone knows how tightly under wraps this is. Even I can't dig up any useful info." Twila strained the word I giving Xerxes a clear picture as to how much this was kept under strict lock and key. If Twila couldnt find a crumb to latch onto you best believe that no one else had a clue as well.
"You were in America, I heard whispers from some sources but I have a moth eaten quilt here. Fill in the blanks Xerxes, cause from the sounds of this it's gonna be your funeral." Twi sighed over the line. Something sounding similar to a 'Pop!' caused the image of Twi blowing an artificially red cinnamon bubble through her lips making Xerxes cringe as he remembered that horrible flavor.
"Is she-"
"Of course she is. Resources say that Angelo and her have taken up a permanent residence back here. No more sudden trips to America right Xerxes?" Twi laughed. It was a broken kind of laugh however, not that Xerxes noticed, wrapped up in his own thoughts, preoccupied with thoughts not about her.
Twila had been in love with Xerxes once upon a time, it was always difficult seeing the ones you love, love somebody else. Twila was never sure if she would ever get used to watching Xerxes do just that right in front of her. Taking no notice of the silent pain she suffered all by herself.
Once upon a time she and Xerxes had had something. But that was only after her, when Xerxes had come to Twila, his childhood friend, a weak and broken man sobbing for some little girl Twila had never heard of.
Their relationship from then on had been nothing but physical comfort to Xerxes, but to Twi it had evolved into something more before she even knew it. Just as she was starting to turn Xerxes head, just as she was about to confess her feelings for him, he left.
Like a leaf caught in the rushing current of a waterfall her world fell apart and he was gone, without so much as a word to her. But he had never given her any hope that their physical relationship could evolve into something more than like what she wanted it to be in the first place, and 5 years later that still remained the case between them. Only now there was no contact what-so-ever, even physically, this was their first phone call since Xerxes had left out of the blue for the States.
Twila hadn't realized how much she had missed his voice until them. She loved how it reminded her of snow with a thin layer of frost on top. It was soft and calm but had a rumbling masculine edge to it while managing to sound soothing but completely alluring. If she had thought she was over him, maybe in her mind she had been, but as he said his next words, Twila felt her heart beat pick up just a little more and she felt happy. Happy that Xerxes was going to a stupid party with her.
"I'll go." Xerxes said.
"I know." Twi stated just as simply before hanging up.
Later after Xerxes gotten all of the details in a text from Twi he had rushed to get himself presentable decked out in the best formal wear he owned, clean shaven, and fresh from a hot shower, before realizing to late he had hours of time to kill before the Gala even started. So like what any normal person in shock would do when they were anticipating something momentous about to happen to them, something life changing, Xerxes sat on the edge of his bed and stared off into nothing as the sun began to set behind him and the clock sped itself around hand over hand chasing the elusive future.
All to soon 9:30pm rolled around and a knock on Xerxes door signaled Twila's arrival to his humble abode. It was time. Time to see her again.
"Esmeralda." He breathed with a whispered sigh.
The name that haunted him hung in the air for a moment, like a wet blanket on his shoulders with its solid weight, before his chest heaved and he inhaled loudly not realizing he had been unconsciously holding his breath all this time. Only she could fix him. Only she could cure this pain.
"Emerald." He whispered again, his hand clawing at his chest where he could faintly feel the soft thud of his own heartbeat. 'What have I done?' He questioned himself allowing a moment of self pity to overcome him. He had lost her, that's what he had done.
With a sharp intake of breath Xerxes launched himself to his feet and out the door. No one would ever be able to tell, from the proud way he stood to how easily he strutted out of the front door and on towards the awaiting night but the slight tremors running down his spine as his fingers shook just enough that he had to shove them into his pockets, proved that he was terrified of what was to come.
What if I can't fix this? Xerxes wondered to himself. Dark thoughts flooded his head and Xerxes knew he had to get his jewel back. His Emerald.
"I'm coming." Xerxes said aloud.
There was a new gleam in his eyes and his shoulders were suddenly set with a new purpose forming in mind, his hands now defiantly freed from the constricting confines of his pockets because they were no longer shaking. But as Twila watched Xerxes reach her as she stood casually lounging on the side of her shinny chauffeured Town Car, a little tear slipped down her check unnoticed by him as he held the car door open for her like the perfect gentlemen.
She would never admit to anyone ever, that in that moment when Xerxes had looked at her from somewhere deep within his stormy thoughts she was terrified. Completely and terribly so. Gone was the man she had fallen in love with. In his place his replacement stood proud and cold like a monument of stone. Unreachable. He was becoming unreachable to her.
Quickly before she could think of any reasons as to why she would regret this later, she placed a ghost of a kiss on Xerxes cheek. It lingered no more then a heartbeat before Twila slid herself into the car. The kiss had felt like a goodbye. A quite goodbye to the man she had loved as she watched something new and cruel replace him. She would never know how much she was right when she had bid farewell to that sweet man she had loved so long ago with nothing but a peck on his check as she immortalized the moment with a single tear.
And so the couple remained silent the whole way there to the Gala. Each lost in their own thoughts as heavy dark clouds descended from above over the sleekly polished roof of the Town Car. Far off in the distance, miles and miles away, a deep rumble of Earth shattering thunder crashed through the sky like a warning siren as it pierced the screaming silence.
* * * * *
WHO'S IN LOVE WITH TWILA!?
*Raises hand*
I AM!!!
XD