Mr Gardner's face was stoic, void of all emotion. I waited for him to say something, anything. I began picking at my fingers nervously. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything.
Mr. Gardner placed his hand over mine, stopping my fidgeting. I looked up at him, he had a sympathetic look on his face.
' For the record Alex, I won't pass any judgement. Whatever you tell me will stay between us.' He removed his hand from mine, leaning back into the couch. He rested his arm on the back of the couch. His hand was mere inches from me.
' Thanks Mr. Gardner.'
He put his hand up, ' Alexandra please, call me Xavier.'
I nodded, making a mental note to try and remember that. I took out my phone and opened my picture folder. I typed the password in on the private folder I'd hidden. There was only one picture, but it was one of the pictures I swore to Maddie I'd deleted. I opened up the picture and stared at it. Tears began to well up in my eyes at the sight of it. It was a picture of Derek and I from last summer. He had both arms wrapped around me as he kissed my temple. I was laughing in the picture, I was genuienly happy at the time.
I turned my phone towards Xavier. He took it from my hand and studied the image.
' This is your ex?' He asked, handing my phone back to me.
I nodded, ' That's the only picture of us I kept.'
' Why did you keep this one?'
I shrugged, ' Because this isn't the same person that's in the jail cell back in California.'
' So he changed then.'
I snorted, ' That's an understatement Xavier. He changed in a very bad way.'
' Well, tell me what happened.'
I sighed heavily. ' Well, he was very possessive of me. I never really thought anything of it at first. I thought it was just him wanting to protect me, you know?'
Xavier nodded, waiting for me to continue.
' The last month of our relationship, things started to escalate. He didn't want me out of his sight. Then a few bodies were discovered in the ocean. I didn't realize it until later, one of them was a guy that had grabbed me at the bonfire a week or two prior. But at the time, I thought nothing of it. They were ruled as accidents at first anyway.' I trailed off, remembering it all was hard.
' So, what does that have to do with him being in jail?' He asked, confused.
I sighed, ' He was the one that killed them.'
There was a long, drawn out silence. I chewed my lip nervously as I waited for him to say something. I looked up at him to find him staring back at me. I flinched slightly as he moved his hand towards me. His thumb pulled at my bottom lip gently, freeing it from my teeth. His hand didn't leave my face right away. His thumb ran down the side of my face, stopping at my chin. I could feel my heart starting to pound rapidly inside my chest. What is he doing? He took a deep breath then quickly retracted his hand.
'I'm sorry you had to go through that Alex. Is that why.. Is that why you broke it off with him?' He flinched slightly when he said it. I guess he wasn't sure what he could ask without upsetting me.
I chuckled slightly, ' No, ah.. It was a little before he was convicted actually.' I rubbed the back of my neck, did I really want to talk about this? ' My best friend from when I was a little kid had a gig at the festival on the beach that summer. After his band finished playing he ran up and hugged me. It was a normal thing with us. Derek didn't like it, but he tried to keep his cool. When my friend kissed me on the cheek, he lost it.' A staggered breath escaped my lungs. 'He started hitting him, over and over. He beat him within an inch of his life. There was so much blood.. I tried to pull them apart, but I just ended up getting hurt. And that's what finally made him stop. Once he'd realized he hit me, he stopped hitting Andrew.' I didn't realize I was crying, but at that point I didn't care.
' Then what happened?' Xavier said quietly.
' I didn't know what to do, I just let him hold me. That night after we went back to his cabin. I snuck out, went back to my friends cabin and grabbed all my stuff. I left him a note, saying I was sorry but I needed to leave. I was gone before morning.' I wiped at my eyes, trying to calm myself a bit.
We sat in silence, neither of us daring to break it. But I knew there was more I had to say.
'Honestly, I felt bad for it. The next day I was thinking about going back. But, my grandma called out to me. The beach I was at was on the news. Derek was being arrest for multiple murders. All the people that died, that were deemed accidents, he'd drowned them. He'd murdered 2 men in broad daylight outside his cabin because he thought they took me from him. He was screaming at the cameras. The last thing he said before he got into the police car still haunts me to this day.' I looked down at my feet.
Xavier placed his hand over mind, ' What did he say?'
' I'll find you Alex, no matter where you go. I'll find you.' I sighed heavily, 'No one will take you from me, you're mine Alexandra.'
~*~
Thankfully Mr. Gardner got a call that needed his immediate attention. I thanked him for listening to me ramble on for countless hours. He smiled, assuring me it was a pleasure. I gathered up my books and left the library. It was closing in on 6pm when I finally made it home.
I threw my bag on the floor by the front door, making my way to the kitchen. I wasn't really hungry, but I knew I had to eat. I was starting to lose weight again, and not in a healthy way.
I opened up my laptop and turned on some music. I was boiling some water to make Mac and cheese when I heard a ping. I opened up my email to see a message from Xavier.
To: Alexandra Mills
Fr: Xavier Gardner
Good evening Alexandra,
I hope you are doing well. I just wanted to make sure you made it home safely. I hope our talk today has helped ease your mind, even if only a little. Just know my door is always open should you need it. Have a good evening. See you on Monday.
Regards,
X
I smiled, slightly giddy over the short email. I poured some macaroni noodles in the boiling water then typed my reply.
To: Xavier Gardner
Fr: Alexandra Mills
Hello,
I made it home safe and sound. Thanks for listening to me ramble on like the maniac I am.
Alex
I hit send then went back to making dinner. I hummed to myself as I stirred the pot. Just as I was sitting down I noticed a missed message on my phone. I picked it up and saw it was from Adrian.
Want to go dancing with me?
-I don't know. I was going to stay in
Don't make me go by myself xx
-fine, give me an hour.
Wear something sexy ;)
-So, jeans and a tshirt?
No Alex, SEXY
I rolled my eyes, tossing my phone to the side. He text me where to meet him later. Thankfully it was the same bar so I could easily find my way there. He asked to go dancing, not drinking, so hopefully I'd be able to avoid it. So much for staying in.
I went to my closet and looked through my clothes. I didn't really like showing alot of skin. So I opted for a pair of high waisted jeans and a white crop top.
I rolled my eyes as I looked in the mirror, why did I agree to this. Maybe I should just text him and cancel. I sighed, Adrian really seemed to like me. But something about those texts from last night made me feel uneasy. I didn't want to text Maddie for her opinion. She'll just saying I'm overreacting like always.
I called a cab and then went downstairs to wait for it. The short 10 minute drive went by much faster this time. I paid the cab driver once I arrived and got out. I was about to go stand in line when I heard someone calling my name.
"ALEX! OVER HERE!"
I turned and saw Adrian near the front of the line waving at me. I walked over to him and joined him in the line.
"I'm so glad you came. You look great!" He looked me up and down, grinning.
I instantly wrapped my arms around myself, feeling self conscious. I smiled weakly at him, not knowing how to respond. I had a really bad feeling that I just couldn't shake.
We waited in the line for about 10 minutes before we were ushered inside. The girl at the door stamped our hands, the stamp was a different color this time. I don't know why I felt the need to take note of it, but I did.
Inside the club was loud and humid like it had been the night before. I took a deep breath trying to steady myself.
"I'm going to grab us some drinks. I'll be right back." Adrian said heading for the bar.
"No, wai-" I sighed, he was already gone.
I walked over to the booths on the side of the club and took a seat. I looked around at all the people on the dance floor. They were laughing and having fun. I can't remember being that carefree anymore.
"Here you go." Adrian said handing me a glass containing a cloudy dark red liquid.
I raised an eyebrow, eyeing the glass. " What is it?"
Adrian put his glass down, sliding into the booth across from me. " Blackberry Lemonade Whiskey. It's good."
I eyed his glass as I lifted mine. Trying to tell if it had the same cloudy look. I couldn't tell the way his hand was covering the glass. I'm overreacting again I told myself. I took a sip of the drink, the cloudiness seemed to have disappeared. Maybe the drink just hadn't settled.
"So, what happened to you the other night?" He asked, a more serious look on his face.
" I honestly don't know Adrian. I must have left with Maddie. I made it home so that's all that matters, right?" I chuckled, trying to brush the subject off.
"Yeah." He smiled, downing his drink.
I finished mine off just as he stood up and offered me his hand. I took it and followed him to the dance floor. We danced to a couple of songs before he disappeared back to the bar. I told him I didn't want another drink but he brought me one anyway. I rolled my eyes when I saw him coming back with 2 glasses.
"Adrian." I huffed.
"Last one, I swear!" He chuckled.
I took the drink, it looked the same as the first one. But it didn't seem as cloudy. Maybe I was right about the drink not settling.
We finished off our drinks and danced for another 6 or 7 songs. I was starting to feel dizzy at this point. I stopped dancing and walked over to a booth to sit down.
"You okay Alex?" Adrian asked.
I shook my head. "I feel really lightheaded. I think I'm going to go home."
Adrian laughed. I looked up at him, my vision was starting to blur. I could barely see him as he got up and wrapped his arms around me.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of you."
I tried to push him away but all my strength was gone. My vision faded completely and then there was nothing but darkness.
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Hello readers! I'm so sorry about the late update. I know there's no excuse really other then procrastination lol. Anyway, what do you think so far? I hope you'll keep reading even with my slow updates. Don't forget to like, rate and/or comment I'd love to hear from you!