I watched as another minute ticked away on the clock. I've been sitting here on my bed for about an hour now, waiting. Since Xavier informed me of the plan for today, I had been pondering what would happen since I woke up.
A knock brought me from my thoughts as I made no move to get up. One thing I've learned is that they'll open the door themselves. They don't really do privacy here despite my yearn for it.
Her blonde hair was brushed up into a loose bun, clothed in a relaxed style. The smile on her face was loving as she gazed at me, hands clasped in front of her. "Good morning, dear."
I simply nodded as a hello in response, a little cautious of her as she crept towards my bed. Nothing about her stance screamed danger but it was almost as if my body was programmed to be on high alert at all times.
My form was rigid and unmoving as she lowered her frame onto the mattress, like her son did mere hours ago. She seemed to notice my posture but said nothing, something I was grateful for.
"So. Today we need to do some errands. First, we need to get you some breakfast because from the looks of it you haven't eaten in weeks. Then we will go shopping since you have no clothes with you. How does the mall sound?"
The mention of the mall had me tense as my chest seized with fear, gulping at the idea. I had been once before when buying alcohol for my parents; the usual store I went to had closed early for the day and I had no choice but to look elsewhere. So many people, so many men surrounded me the second I walked through the doors. I went into a panic attack and had to be helped out of the store which only made it worse as a man had contact with my skin.
She noticed my apprehension and softly rested her hand on top of mine. I tried not to flinch considering she seemed nice so far and I didn't want to do anything to ruin that. Until they showed their true colours, I would try to maintain their current ways towards me.
"Hey, it's okay dear. We'll just find you something to borrow." Standing up, the lady brushed over her pants with her hands. Throwing me a warm smile she stated, "Now let's head down for breakfast. I made pancakes!"
The excitement in her voice caused me to smile as I slowly got off the bed. She was quick to the door but waited for me once she got there.
"Don't worry, I've kicked everyone out of the house for today. It'll just be me, you and my ma- husband for breakfast but I believe Xavier is somewhere in the house as well."
I didn't react to her words and she didn't seem to mind. As she opened the door I couldn't help but let out a gasp. This place seemed huge! Just in this hallway alone there had to be almost seven rooms and as she led me to the kitchen, there was many, many more hallways to see, branching off left and right.
I decided to voice my curiosity as we began descending a large staircase. "How many people live here?"
A smile lit up her face as she turned to talk. The surprise was evident in her eyes confirming she didn't expect me to say anything. "A lot, dear. We have close to 200 in here."
My eyes became saucers as she let out a chuckle.
"I know it takes some time to get used to, but don't worry you will."
She turned back around as I began to ponder what she said. How long did they want me here? More importantly what do they want me for?
She motioned for me to sit on the bar stool at the counter as we entered the kitchen. My short frame struggled to get on it as I heard a deep chuckle from behind me.
I turned at the sound that frightened me to see a strong built man, probably in his fifties standing only a few feet away. His face looked tired but nevertheless a smile took over his features as he spotted me.
I began to press myself against the counter, looking to hide. My first response would always be to get away from men or anyone who posed a threat. And for me, that unfortunately included everyone. Despite the smile on his face he still brought me fear. Roger always had a smile on his and look where that got me.
"Relax, dear. That's just my husband."
The man continued to gaze at me, curiosity masking his features. My back pressed against the cold surface of the countertop and I was glad as it provided some support.
Xavier's mother simply glanced at the man with a look that said 'I'll tell you later'. He obliged and made his way towards her placing a kiss on her forehead.
She blushed beet red obviously flustered that he was doing this in front of me as she tried to pry off his arms from her body. "This is Carter. You don't have to worry, he isn't going to harm you in any way. And forgive me, my name is Andrea."
I relaxed as none of them made a move towards me, relieved by the added space being created between us. Maybe I should trust them. I don't want to do anything that will cause them to turn into my parents.
I nodded as I slowly eased myself into the stool. "My name's Anna."
Carter cleared his throat as Andrea finally escaped his hold, heading back to the meal she was preparing.
"Well Anna, you can believe Andrea. I'm not going to touch you in any way."
He sat at the opposite end of the counter which I was grateful for. He must've picked up that I don't like to be in the close vicinity of men.
I gave him a small smile as I began to play with my hands. Silence filled the kitchen as we waited for the food to be ready. It smelt delicious and I couldn't control my mouth watering.
Andrea could sense the awkwardness around us so she began to fill it. "Anna, dear. There is one thing I've left out for us to do today. We need to talk to Xavier about how you got here and what happened to you."
The smile quickly vanished as I absorbed her words. I wanted to say no, that I simply wouldn't but I knew it wasn't possible. I can only hope that they'll let me off the hook by telling them how I got here.
I nodded, not wanting to draw out the matter.
"Now eat up dear." My gaze widened as I took in the plate in front of me. "You look starving and you've got a long day ahead of you." She explained.
How was I supposed to eat all of this? There was four pancakes, an egg and some bacon stacked high.
I muttered a 'thank you' as I gulped. Well this would be interesting.
***************************************
I was standing in the bathroom as I examined my appearance in the mirror. Andrea had found some clothing for me to wear but it was a tight fit. I felt uncomfortable as the crop top clung to my chest and the skinny jeans hit low on my waist, leaving nothing to imagination.
Deciding that staring at myself wasn't going to change anything, I opened the door to see Andrea. Her eyes widened as she took in my appearance and began muttering. "Oh my. It's a good thing I kicked everyone out. The boys would've flocked to you."
I became red as she spoke, blushing at her words. "Well they are just going to have to do for now. Don't worry we'll find you something better later on." She spoke before she escorted me out of the room.
My heart pounded as she led me to Xavier's office. Earlier on she informed me that's where we would go to meet him. I was nervous, evident by my clammy hands that wouldn't stop shaking and my baited breath. I was sure he wasn't going to hurt me but you never know. People can change in a minute.
We stopped outside a door that looked identical to all of the others. Andrea knocked and I heard a deep voice call for us to come in.
As I entered the room, I spotted Xavier who sat behind a large wooden desk. His head was buried in what looked to be paperwork, though I had no idea what he did for a living so I wasn't sure.
He lifted his head to see who had knocked only for his eyes to darken as he took me in, pinning me to my spot. He abruptly stood as anger radiated off his figure, his chair scraping roughly against the hardwood floor. "What is she wearing?!" He growled out.
His mother said nothing as I flinched and averted my gaze, shocked by his sudden outburst. "We couldn't find anything else for her to wear."
He began to walk towards me with that fuming look apparent in his eyes. This was nothing like the Xavier that helped me last night.
Fear grappled with me as I began to back up, my breath shortening. My back hit the wall as he continued stalking towards me but unwilling to stay where I was, I began to inch towards the corner. The panic I became accustomed to began to pulse through my veins as I tried to speed up my movements.
"Xavier stop, you're scaring her!" Andrea began to yell as she took in the scene playing out in front of her.
Xavier seemed so lost in the anger consuming him that neither my trembling form or his mother's yelling could be acknowledged by him.
He now stood but a foot away as my fear doubled. He had raised his hands so quickly that I couldn't control myself, or the fear that so quickly came creeping back in. The tears tumbled down my cheeks as I fell into a fetal position on the floor, not caring if I would injure myself with my actions. I covered my head as sobs wracked my body. I trusted them. I trusted them not to turn out like my parents and now here we are.
The room became deadly silent as my sobs knocked Xavier out of his reverie. "Please. Please don't hurt me. Don't touch me. I can't do it anymore." My voice was desperate, further proved by the cracks of my voice as I hiccupped my way through my sentences.
All anger was turned into guilt as he looked down at my trembling form. He opened his mouth to speak but didn't get a chance to as Andrea roughly grabbed his arm and dragged him to the other side of the room.
"What the hell were you doing? You know she's scared of you!"
"I wasn't trying to scare her I was trying to give her my shirt. My wol- I don't want anyone else to see her like that." He just barely seemed to correct himself there, making me wonder what I wasn't supposed to know, however I quickly forgot as I tried to reign in my anxiety.
Andrea placed her head in her hands as she sighed. I took in the arguing pair confused as to why they stopped. Weren't they going to abuse me? My voice croaked as I whispered out, "You're not gonna hurt me?"
My body had began to calm with the newfound space between Xavier and I. The panic attack that almost consumed me started to disappear as I remained in my curled position, tears still flowing down my face.
Xavier had a heartbroken look displayed on his features as Andrea crept over to me, slowly but surely.
"Honey, I need you to remember one thing and one thing only. We will never hurt you. Especially not Xavier. Okay? I know he's big and broody with a bad temper right now but he won't ever do anything you wouldn't like."
I was unsure as to why Xavier wouldn't want to when he just looked ready to kill, but I calmed myself nonetheless.
Andrea was now crouched in front of me. She reached out slowly and as her hands rubbed the tears from my face, I let her. I don't know what it was about this woman but I felt safe with her. It's like she's the mother I never had. I know that's silly considering I've only known her for a few days but she's shown me more love in these past couple days than my mother ever did in all of my years.
She stood after she wiped all the tears away. She offered me a hand with a soft smile but I simply shook my head no. I felt safe down here. My barely clothed body was shielded away and I felt as if I could breathe down here.
She seemed to understand as she dropped her hand back down to her side, the smile still remaining. "I'm going to go grab you a glass of water, okay?" She briskly walked out of the room after giving her son a glance.
Xavier was now situated back at his desk with a look of distress on his features, head in his hands.
"I'm sorry, Anna. I didn't realize what I was doing, I really was just trying to give you my shirt I mean look at how you're dressed, every male would've been interested and I didn't want that so I just wanted to cover you up, please don't hate me I won't be able to live with myself if you d-."
I couldn't help it as I let out a soft chuckle, abruptly halting his rambling as he nearly pulled his hair out from his head. My eyes remained on the floor as the fear was still faintly present. Even though he scared me all to hell less than five minutes ago, he now looked like a lost puppy while trying to apologize. It was extremely funny to see the big, moody man in front of me ramble on with a puppy dog face.
I glanced up when nothing came of my chuckle. Shock rippled through me at the fact that I wasn't receiving a punishment for laughing at him. My chuckle seemed to have him speechless as surprise glimmered in his eyes and he simply stared at me from his position, causing my eyes to widen in return.
I didn't get a chance to say or do anything as Andrea returned, a glass of water in hand. I gave her a nod in thanks as she handed it to me, chugging the cool liquid back.
She took a seat in a chair opposite of Xavier's as she focused her gaze on me, the concern evident. "Would you like to talk about how you got here now or should we just wait until tomorrow?"
I examined their faces as I thought. I was exhausted from not only the panic attack but the new surroundings, new people. A nap would be nice.
They both seemed to pick up on my apprehension as they nodded in understanding. "It's okay honey. We can pick up on it tomorrow."
I gave them a grateful smile as I moved to follow Andrea out of the room. I adjusted the top as I got up in hopes of getting more coverage. We got as far as the door before Xavier called out my name.
"Anna, wait." He stood from his chair and began to walk towards me. This time at a much slower and calmer pace, which I was thankful for.
I blushed a deep crimson as he swiftly pulled his shirt over his head. Oh my god. Those abs. Those arms. This man is a h-.
I was quickly brought from my daze as he outstretched his hand, the shirt along with it. Thank god he didn't notice my ogling.
I was hesitant to take it but took it nonetheless. He would get angry if I didn't and I would feel a lot more comfortable.
My hand accidentally bumped against his causing sparks to run through me. I jumped and looked down as he simply smiled at my reaction.
With that, I slipped the shirt over my head, his scent consuming my senses. With one last glance at him and those damn abs I turned and walked out of the room his gaze burning on my back.
<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>
I'm sorry if it's bad I don't even know right now?! Please tell me your thoughts I know this is probably a horrible update.
My day has just been too long. How was yours? Anyway I need to do thousands of things for school so I hope this was at least a mediocre chapter and that you won't murder me otherwise.
Have a good night!
A/N: I MADE SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO THIS CHAPTER. THEY ARE NOT HUGE CHANGES SO FEEL FREE TO GO BACK AND READ IF YOU WANT TO
Xx kerfuffled_