"No! Screw that! You aren't ruining Christmas for her, do you understand me?" Xavier snarled.
"You aren't her father, Xavier. You don't have any say. . ."
"I have plenty of say, Mom. You can't take Christmas away from her." My eyes flickered back and forth between Xavier and Mrs. Morgan as I held a sleeping Lily in my arms. How was she even able to sleep when they were screaming? I bet Mae could probably even here them through the glass from where she sat in the middle of her bed.
"Xai, I'm sorry, baby. But we have to do it." We all slowly turned to look at Mae through the hospital window, she was holding her hair in her hands, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"We're cutting it now so she doesn't have to see it fall out again." Xavier had told me when we got here, explaining that she had gone through chemo when she was seven.
"Mom." Xavier's voice was strained, "Please don't do this right now." He tried one last time to plead with his mother. I laid my hand on Xavier's bicep, shaking my head. It was no use, his parents had already ordered the doctors to put Mae through chemo.
"I want to talk to her." I whispered before Mrs. Morgan could yell at her son again, "Can you take Lily?" I asked Xavier, holding her out in front of me. He took her from me, sighing when he saw how deep of a sleep she was in.
"I wish I could sleep like you." He said, kissing her forehead. I slipped passed him and pushed the door to Mae's room open. A nurse was sitting at the edge of her bed, preparing her scissors.
"Bea!" Mae gasped, "You came?" She started bouncing up and down to the dismay of the nurse. I smiled and joined her on the bed.
"Of course I came." I replied, pushing her bangs out of her eyes.
"They're cutting it. All of it." She whispered, dropping her head.
"You'll still be beautiful." I assured her, squeezing her hand, "You'll always be beautiful." I was about to go on but the nurse made a gesture for me to move. Mae stared at the scissors in terror as she reached up and grabbed her thick brown hair in her hands.
Her hazel eyes were glistening with tears, her lips quivering.
"Cut my hair too." I blurted before I could stop myself. The nurse frowned and stared at me.
"What?" She asked. I grabbed my long brown hair in my hands, showing her how much I wanted her to cut.
"A little above my shoulders." I said, giving the nurse a look that I hope she understood, "I'm tired of it being so long anyway." I waved my hand as if it didn't mean anything to me. Mae was shaking her head, gripping my hand.
If me cutting my hair would help the poor ten year old beside me, then so be it. I hated seeing her cry and have to go through this in the first place, I felt the need to help in any way I could.
"You don't have to do that, Bea. Your hair is so pretty! Don't cut it!" I smiled reassuringly at her.
"It's fine. It'll grow back. I want you to feel more comfortable." I leaned forward and whispered, "And to be completely honest, it's a hassle keeping my hair this long." A smile tugged at her lips as the nurse made her way around the bed and sat behind me, taking my hair in her hands.
"Are you sure about this, darling?" The woman asked. I nodded, still smiling at Mae. She was still shaking her head, her eyes filled with tears.
"Yes." Tears were starting to sting my eyes, "Yes, I'm sure. You can cut it."
As we drove back to my house from the hospital, I knew that Xavier was trying his hardest not to ask me about my hair. The nurse had actually done a pretty good job, and had said that she would donate what she could of my hair.
Mae had been laughing the whole time they cut her hair, saying that I looked like a beautiful pixie fairy.
"If you have something to say, you can say it." I finally said halfway home. A smile made it's way on to his face and he reached over to take my hand in his.
"You didn't have to do what you did today. Mae would have been fine, she would have gotten over it." He whispered.
"No, Xaiver. It's not fair. The poor girl has to go through hell, it was the least I could do." He nodded, lacing his fingers through mine.
"You're amazing." He said, sending me a sideways look, "And what you did for Mae means more to her then you'll ever know." He was smiling, but the distant look I had seen in his eyes a few weeks ago had appeared again.
"Plus, you look hot with short hair." I could feel warmth spread through my cheeks at the compliment. I would have thought I would be used to his flirting and compliments by now, but I wasn't. I still felt if my cheeks were on fire every time he said something.
"Xavier. Can I ask you something?" I asked, turning toward him. He smiled, nodding.
"Where did you get the money to pay for the necklace, for Mae's bracelet?" I was split down the middle. I wanted to know the answer, I wanted all of my suspicions to be put at rest and know the truth. But the other half of me never wanted to hear it. Because deep down I was pretty sure I knew exactly where he got the money.
"That doesn't matter, Bea. What matters is. . ."
"Where did you get the money, Xavier?" I repeated, worry creeping into my voice. He sighed, tearing his hand away from me and running it through his hair.
"I'll take you tonight, Beatrice. If you want to know so bad." I opened my mouth, my eyes growing wide.
"You don't sell drugs, right?" I blurted. His head whipped toward me, a laugh escaped his mouth before he could say anything.
"Sell drugs? What the hell? Bea, babe. Do you honestly think I would put my family in that kind of danger? That I would put you and Lily in that kind of danger?" I was too shocked to say a word.
"It's Christmas Eve, Xaiver. Where could you possibly work that would be open right now?" I asked. After a second of silence he turned slight to face me, smirking.
"You'll see in a few hours, now won't you?" He said, a suggestive tone in his voice. As I turned to look back out the window I couldn't help but wonder where the hell Xaiver worked and why he had kept it secret for so long.
*
When a man says to wear something nice, I don't think he realizes just how hard it to to deceiver what he meant. Were we going to a restaurant? Should I wear something casual or elegant? Or were we going out to a club or something?
He hadn't said anything about bringing Lily, but I was pretty sure he didn't want her anywhere near his job.
"Next time tell me what you mean by nice." I grumbled to myself as I stepped in front of the mirror. I had decided to just wear something in between a cocktail dress and a causal one. It was royal blue, stopping a little above my knee. I had slid into one of my jackets and walked toward the door, hearing my Aunt and mother talking down stairs.
". . . aren't you worried? That she may not be able to make it on her own?" Aunt April was whispering. I stopped behind the wall, listening to what she was saying.
"Of course I am. But she's a good girl, April. She has her head on straight. She took in the child when she didn't have to, she's careful around boys. She really is a great girl." My mom responded, anger clipping at the end of every word.
"A good girl? Isn't she running out with her boyfriend tonight? When she should be spending time with her family?" Aunt April snapped back. I could feel my lips starting to part, but my mom spoke up before I could even move.
"She has every right too! She sits in this house every day and raises that baby, April. A child that wasn't even hers in the first place! She took her in knowing very well that it meant she would have to push college away for a few years, and she did it anyway. How dare you talk about my daughter like that?" I coughed and walked by, not wanting the conversation to get any worse. I hurried out the door before my mom and Aunt could see me, greeted by Xaiver in front of his Mustang.
"Hey, Bea. You ready to go?" He asked. I couldn't help but start laughing when I saw that he was wearing an Ugly Christmas sweater.
"I feel so overdressed." I whispered as I stopped in front of him. He gave me a once over before shaking his head.
"You're not, trust me. I have another shirt in the car. I just got back from visiting Mae and she made me put this on." He gestured toward the sweater, laughing even more.
"You okay? You look a little flushed." He touched my cheek, his eyebrows drawing in worry.
"I'm fine," I lied, trying to forget about my Aunt's words, "Let's go. I want to be back before eleven so I can wrap your present." He started trying to get what I got him out of me as we climbed into the car, but I zoned out. After a second of staring off into space I shut my eyes, shaking my head to myself.
I wasn't going to let anyone ruin my happiness, ruin my first Christmas with Lily. Especially not the my Aunt who can barely keep herself from whoring around on her husband.
"Bea? You okay?" Xavier's voice broke through my thoughts. I grinned and turned to him, deciding to let myself have fun tonight.
"I'm great." I said, but for the first time in a while, I was actually telling the truth.
***AN***
*Edited*
I'm so sorry for the filler chapter guys. I hope you enjoyed it anyway!
Let me know what you thought!
~ChasingMadness24