Chapter 3 XADEN
Chapter 3
XADEN
Hands clasped over my face as I stayed under the running shower. The water rolled down my back, splashing, hard against my skin.
Something tugged at my chest, painful, tight, suffocating.
It’s Sloane.
The Sloane.
My Sloane.
What is she doing here? Why is she here? What happened?
My mind ran through all the possible scenarios that could have made her move in here but one thing I knew for sure was that she didn't move in here because of me… we haven’t spoken in five years, after I left her like that, when I turned my back and didn’t look twice.
My fingers ran through my hair, my head was throbbing, and my fist was clenched.
I can’t believe I get to see her again.
She looked so beautiful. Radiant and breathtaking.
Her eyes look brighter than when she was eighteen. The way her long hair fell down her waist… God, she was breathtaking.
“Xaden! Come down, I made dinner.” My mum’s voice yanked me out of my thoughts. I turned off the water and strode into my bedroom. I slid on my joggers and a white top, my usual, and fell right on the bed.
I couldn’t concentrate; I couldn’t bring myself to even think about work, which I had been thinking about for the last five years.
Knock!
Knock!
“Xaden, aren’t you coming down?” My mother’s voice came again, this time she was standing outside my bedroom door.
There is only one reason I haven’t moved out of this house and that is because of my mum. I can’t afford for her to have an episode and I won’t be here, I can’t afford to leave her in this house all alone.
She is just getting better, she is just beginning to see reasons to live again, I can’t abandon her and leave.
She’s never pestered me for dinner like this though.
I dragged my body off the bed, put on my glasses, and walked up to the door, “Yes mum.” I answered, opening the door to see my very short mother, looking up at me, smelling like roasted chicken.
“Dinner is ready, since Sloane is here, we should all eat together, don’t you think?” She rasped, her eyes wet, giving me this look she knew so well I wouldn’t turn down.
But is eating together with Sloane and Jasper at the same table a good idea?
“Mum, I don’t know… I don’t think it’s a good idea, I can just stay here.” I said to her, my hands found the back of my neck, itching it nervously.
Do I want to see Sloane again? Hell yes. Maybe this is an excuse to share a table with her.
But… But…. There was something in the way she looked at me earlier when I walked in. Her eyes held a little bit of anger and annoyance, a little of pain and hatred.
What if the sight of me irks her?
I deserve whatever feeling she has towards me though.
I was a jerk who abandoned her after stealing her first kiss on her birthday after all.
“Come on, it’s been a while since we all sat in the same room and eat a good food. You used to like, Sloane, don’t you want to at least share a meal with her?”
Those were the words my mother used to lure me downstairs or maybe, I just needed an excuse to sit in the same space with her and breathe in the same air as her.
Silence.
The air was thick, still, tensed.
I couldn’t look at her. I could smell that cologne, floral, flowing from her and it was like she was sucking the light out of me. I put on a good front, holding back my nervousness and shyness.
My palms were sweaty and I really wanted to see her face.
I miss seeing her smile.
I miss her so much.
“I have an announcement to make.” Jasper’s deep voice cut through the silence, making me almost choke on air, and my fist tightened around the fork in my hands.
Maybe because I knew what he was about to say and the thought of hearing those words from him is ripping every part of me apart.
I stayed calm, looking unbothered.
“Sloane will be staying with us till she graduates so I hope everyone takes good care of my sugar plum.” He muffled, sounding so proud of the nickname.
I guess he still can’t call her peach.
Just because you are allergic to peaches does not mean you have to deprive the name from someone, especially when it’s in honor of her late father.
Ah… why am I bothered, Sloane doesn’t seem to care.
I took a bite of my chicken, pretending to ignore him as he continued.
I want to go to my room already but I also want to see her face before Jasper says that word that is about to run down his mouth.
“Xaden, this one is for you.” He blurted.
This is the first time he has spoken to me in five years. This is the first time he chose to acknowledge me, the first time he has not raised his voice at me since his father died five years ago.
My fist tightened around the fork, as I gently lifted my head until my eyes locked on him.
“I’ll only say this once.” He grunted. The look on his eyes was different from the one he showed everyone. It’s the look only me and everyone sitting around this table know. It was dark and dead.
I didn’t blink, I didn’t flinch. I swallowed the chicken in my mouth as I listened.
“Sloane is off limits. You are not allowed to sit with her, talk to her, laugh with her, or even dine with her. She is mine so stay as far away as possible from her, do you understand, brother?” He grunted, his voice was dark, a warning that came with a threat.