After Xavier fell asleep last night I left pain killers and a glass of water on the coffee table beside the sofa. I'd planned on driving all the way back home, but I must've fallen asleep before I could because I wake up heavily the next morning on the sofa opposite the one I put him on.
He's already sitting up on the edge on it, running a rough hand through his hair and groaning lightly, still only in his black briefs, but that doesn't seem to bother him.
"How much did I drink last night?" His voice is gruff and thick with sleep, giving it a rougher edge than usual. I meet his dark gaze, unable to look any lower to his bare skin and force myself to sit up too.
"Enough" I mutter quietly, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hands as he swallows the painkillers I left out for him. "How do you feel?"
"Like I've been hit by a bus" he breathes out heavily, rubbing the back of his head where I'm sure a headache must be forming. "I'm sorry for how I behaved last night, you didn't need to bring me back here."
"It's okay" I answer in a small voice, my body aches from the uncomfortable position I was sleeping in. "I'm sure this must be really difficult for you to deal with."
"That doesn't mean I should've punched Mason, or led you out to a bar in the middle of the night. You could've got seriously hurt."
"I'm fine" I swallow when he stretches, flexing each one of his muscles a few feet in front of me.
"Thank you for looking after me, I know I was a mess. I haven't been drunk in a while, I don't usually touch alcohol. I didn't say anything stupid did I?"
The I love you he whispered before he fell asleep would be a good place to star,t but they're just words and he was drunk. He has enough to deal with without me telling him that and making whatever's going on between us even more complicated than it already is.
"No, nothing bad" I answer instead. He seems relieved by this and nods, sighing when his phone vibrates from his jacket pocket that's folded across the cushion behind him.
"Noah" there's a different tone to his voice that I haven't heard before. "I've been trying to get ahold of you for days, where the hell have you been?"
Xavier glares into space as he talks to his older brother. I'm not sure whether I'm intruding or not, but he doesn't seem to mind so I just stay seated where I am.
"What do you really want this time?" Xavier sounds more like Noah's Father than younger brother. "Money?"
It's silent for a few minutes as Xavier listens. "So you're coming to visit me at some point then?"
"Great" Xavier mutters, he looks anything but pleased. "Oh no, I'm really looking forward to it."
Sarcasm laces heavily through each word he speaks before he hangs up, pressing down harshly on the screen with his thumb.
"So, does he do anything illegal?" I blurt out the question before I can stop myself and for the first time in a little while Xaviers lips lift in a smile at my question.
"Noah is - a free spirit, most of the time he's just drinking and partying in different countries or sleeping around with celebrities, he's not normally involved with the gang."
"Wow" Is all I can bring myself to say. "He sounds..."
"Like a pain in the ass" Xavier finishes my sentace before I can, throwing his phone back on the jacket. "Trust me, he is and he's going to be here in twenty minutes."
"Here?" I squeak and he nods, a blush taints my cheeks when he stands, still only wearing the Calvin Klein boxers. "I should go."
"You don't have to if you don't want to" his words surprise me. "He's harmless, he won't do anything" I nod, am I really ready to meet Xavier's older brother? "I'm just going to freshen up, there's food in the fridge if you're hungry."
*
For some reason I decide to stay a little longer, part of me is nervous to meet Noah but another side of me is extremely intrigued to see what he looks like and what he's like. He and Xavier obviously had a horrible childhood but he doesn't sound like he's been affected by it as much as his little brother has.
Xavier's just making his way back downstairs, changed and a little more cleaned up when the front door opens. The man who walks in looks so similar to Xavier, the brotherly resemblance is obvious. Noah has the same strong jawline and nose, actually, most of their features are nearly identical. The slight difference between the two would be that Noah is slightly taller than Xavier, plus is hair is a slightly darker shade and it's a little longer, his eyes are darker too. A smirk rest on his pink lips as he stares at the two of us, he looks like a charmer, it's clear to see why women would fall at his feet.
"I never thought I'd see the day my little brother would have a girl in his apartment" The smirk stays on Noah's lips as he walks towards me, wearing all black like Xavier does. "It's a pleasure to meet you" he takes my hand and brings my knuckles to his lips, kissing them softly. "How did my fugly brother manage to find someone as beautiful as you?"
"Charming Noah, really" Xavier pulls me back towards him quickly, sending a dry look towards his brother as he does so. "You get sleazier every time I see you."
"And you get more and more like an old women" Noah replies, the smug expression still on his face as he eyes his younger brother. "You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend."
Xavier glances down at me before looking up at him, the title sounds weird. Especially since we're not actually boyfriend and girlfriend. "Grace this is Noah, Noah this is Grace."
"Hi" I smile shyly at him, unsure of why Xavier didn't correct the girlfriend part. Noah returns my smile, hands dug deeply in his jean pockets as he leans against the bench.
"I heard about Sam, he was a decent guy."
"Thanks for making the effort to come to his funeral" Xavier answers as Noah groans dramatically, rolling his hard eyes like a young child.
"I was in Vegas" he complains. "I'm sorry I'm not as perfect and organised as you are with my time but man, have you not seen the girls over there? I'm telling you, they're - "
"You're such a selfish moron" Xavier's voice doesn't change although his words are harsh. "Would it have killed you to come home a day earlier?"
"I'm not the good guy here remember" he doesn't seem affected by Xavier's words. "Besides, I don't think Sam liked me that much anyway."
"Why not?" Xavier asks sarcastically, narrowing his bloodshot eyes. "You're such a nice guy."
"Oh haha funny boy" Noah helps himself to the fridge, pulling out the carton of juice and drinking it straight from the bottle. "Grace, has tough guy Xavier over here ever told you that he use to sleep with a stuffed teddy bear every night until he - "
"Okay" Xavier cuts him off before he can finish, he was right - the two of them are very different. "You didn't come here to share stories Noah."
I can't help but smile sideways at Xavier whose glaring at Noah, a slight pinkness to his cheeks.
Noah pulls an envelope out of his jacket pocket smugly, handing it to him. "Oh yeah, I got you this. You're welcome, it took me bloody ages to find the damn thing."
Xavier looks hard at Noah before taking the envelope from him and opening it, it looks like a letter with pages of writing on it but I can't be sure because I'm not standing close enough to Xavier to see properly.
His eyes skim over each line, hands tightening around the paper as he does so. He seems to reread it multiple times before he looks up at me, a different look sketched on his face. Then he looks back at Noah. What's going on?
"This is the man?" Xavier asks slowly and Noah nods. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, why? Do know him? Because that would've made my job ten fucking times easier than it was."
Xavier glares down at the piece of paper in his hands again and by this time I'm more than confused. He looks up at me again, although I have no idea why.
"Grant Jacobs?" Xavier looks at Noah who nods silently, my eyes widen at the name - growing to the size of tennis balls. "That's Grace's Dad."
"Are you fucking kidding me? After three weeks of hunting the asshole down he's right in front of you?" Noah looks at me, like he expects me to explain whatever they're talking about. He's only met by my blank and totally confused expression. What the hell is going on?
"She doesn't know anything" Xavier speaks before I can, catching Noah's attention. "About any of it."
"And you know that how?" Noah asks, at this point I'm beyond lost. "She could be spying for him."
Xavier glances at me again, my anxious gaze meets his much much more steady one and I can only wait for him to explain what on earth he's talking about. "Because I trust her, I know she doesn't know anything."
"Fantastic" Noah claps his hands together. "That makes me feel much better about this whole situation, as long as you trust her. We'll all be fine." Xavier glares at his sarcasm.
"Grace, do you know what your Dads business actually does?" Xavier questions as Noah lifts an awaiting eyebrow.
"He doesn't really talk about it with me" I answer quietly as Noah scoffs, earning yet another glare from Xavier.
"Funny that" Noah mutters under his breath and I look at Xavier again. Why do I feel like I don't want to know what he's about to say.
"Your Dad is - kind of like the CEO of one of the biggest drug dealing companies in the states." Xavier explains slowly, choosing his wording carefully as I shake my head. "I couldn't figure it out before but it all makes sense now."
"No" I shake my head again, this time it's my turn to scoff. "He can't be, he -" I can barely finish my sentence. Surely that can't be right. Not my Dad. I mean sure, we fight and he can be stubborn but I can't honestly believe he would be involved in anything illegal. He doesn't even like driving over the speed limit and my Mum would never be okay with something like that.
"This is like Romeo and Juliet all over again" Noah almost seems amused by the situation, a smug smile on his face. "What are you going to do now Xavy boy? The gang will have a fit when they find out about this one."
Xavier throws him a dark look but his smirk just widens. "Can one of you please explain what's happening?" I ask, the two boys both look at me with totally different expressions. "My Dad is not a drug dealer."
"Your precious boyfriend here made a promise to the gang that once they found out who the leaders of the company was, we could wipe them all out. Probably didn't plan on it being her Dad, did you Einstein?"
"You what?" I look at Xavier and then close my eyes for a moment, pressing my fingers to my forehead. This is too much, first Sam and now this? Surely this is some kind of cruel joke. My Dad is not involved with things like this. He can't be.
"They've drugged and killed hundreds of our members, nearly killed Xavier last year."
"Thank you Noah" Xavier warns. "I think she's heard enough from you for one day."
"This has to be some kind of mistake" I whisper, surely I would know if he was doing anything against the law. Even if I didn't, Oliver would, he and Dad are too close for him not to.
But then again, I've never actually seen any of Dads work before and I never really thought anything of it.
"This just gets better and better" Noah swallows another mouthful of juice as I step backwards. This can't be right.