XAVIER BANKS

XAVIER BANKS

“So, how's your love life going?” Derrick asked as he poured us both another shot.

“That love life you speak of doesn't exist, babe. He's so boring.” Kira replied on my behalf, nursing the glass of wine she had

been holding since we first got here.

It must be so difficult to be a medical doctor and know all the bad effects of alcohol on the body.

“What do you know?” I let out, downing the glass in a go. We were in a private room so I didn't have to bother about anyone

seeing me and posting my pictures all over social media.

Maybe being a celebrity was more difficult than being a doctor.

“I know you well enough to know that ever since Esther jilted you, you have not dated any other woman.” She replied, giggling.

“You should have seen how he cried when he found out that she left him for someone else who, in her words, was better than

my brother after taking all his money.” She narrated to Derrick as she struggled to hold in her laughter.

“Happens to the best of us, man but we have to move on. If I hadn't moved on from my last breakup, I probably wouldn't have met the love of my life.” Derrick responded, his eyes morphing into heart shapes as he kissed Kira on the lips.

“Don't kiss my sister in front of me, bro. That's just wrong.” I said, looking away from their public display of affection.

I heard them chuckling. “You can open your eyes now, dearest brother of mine.” Kira said, her tone mocking. “I sometimes wonder how you are able to act so bold on set.”

“That's why it's called acting.” I retorted.

“Did you come here mainly to torture and criticize me?”

“You don't have friends to do that to you so you should be grateful that I am helping you out.” She replied with a snicker.

“Okay, that was a low blow. Even for you, kira.” I grimaced, causing her to laugh.

“It's always fun to watch you two bicker.”

Derrick said, joining his fiancee in her loud laughter.

I shook my head as I watched them laugh, grateful for the company but also feeling out of place with them. The exchanged

glances, soft touches and hushed whispers they shared made my heart ache with longing.

I cleared my throat as my vision started to get blurry. Perhaps, it was time to call it quits and go home.

“Are you okay, Xavier? Maybe we should take you home now.” Kira suggested, downing the rest of her wine and setting down

her glass. “Assist me in lifting him, Derrick. He seems to be drunk.”

“I'm not drunk.” I drawled. “Just a bit tipsy.

Don't worry, I can get back home on myown.” I told them as I struggled to get

to my feet.

“There's no way I'm letting you go on your own, Xavier. Besides, you didn't come with your car, we drove you here.” Kira argued.

“Kira is right. If you can stay upright till we get to the car, I will shield you from all the prying eyes out there.” Derrick added

in support of Kira.

“Okay then, just get me home safely or Hewitt will have your heads for adding more to his troubles.”

I think the fact that I was drunk has been established. Kira held me by the arm while Derrick led the way out of the bar.

~•|~•|~•|

I woke up with a splitting headache, my eyes and limbs heavy. This was the second time I was waking up with such a

hangover within the span of a few days which was quite unusual as I didn't normally drink as much as I have been drinking

recently.

I crawled out of bed and to the bathroom for a quick shower. Derrick and Kira must have brought me back home and tucked

me into bed because I didn't remember anything that transpired immediately after we got into the car.

After the shower, I threw on a shirt and joggers and went to find something to eat before using painkillers. I had to go

grocery shopping soon because the only thing I had was the pastries I got from Sugar Cubes.

I opened my cabinet to check if I had any instant noodles left and was shocked to find it fully stocked. There was a note on

the refrigerator in Kira's scraggly handwriting most doctors were known to have.

I smiled as I picked up the paper and tried to decipher the note.

It read;

Dear Xavy,

Hey brother of mine, I know you are not busy at the moment but still you are too busy to go grocery shopping but because I

know it isn't easy to be a celebrity, I did this for you. You owe me big.

~Your lovely twin sister.

I threw the paper in the waste bin and opened the refrigerator. My pastries had been moved to the bottom layer and there

was another note on the paper bag.

It read;

"Junk food and sugary stuff like this aren't good for your health, beloved brother."

I shook my head and threw the paper in the waste bin as I did the other. No one was going to separate me from my comfort

food, not in these trying times at least.

After much deliberation, I decided to eat an apple since an apple a day keeps the doctor away and the last person I wanted to

see now was Kira. She was going to make fun of my drunken state last night when we next saw and have fun doing it.

I used the painkillers afterwards and went back to bed, hoping to get some sleep. I was already dozing off when my ringtone started blasting loudly, disrupting my sleep.

I groaned and still sleepy, reached for my phone. Hewitt's name flashed boldly on the screen, making me more alert.

“Hi, is anything the matter?” I croaked out. Maybe someone had managed to get past Derrick's defense and gotten a picture

of my wasted state.

“We have managed to gather reporters for the press conference. You have to get here as soon as you can if you are certain

you don't want to act in that movie.” He replied.

I shot out of bed, the sleep vanishing immediately as my throbbing headache took a backseat. I hurriedly put on my nearly

pressed gray suit which I had gotten especially for this event.

I didn't know what dad was planning but as long as the success of my career didn't rely on having to act out a poorly written

script to show that I supported my junior colleagues, I would happily take every other option.

After making sure I looked presentable enough, I made my way to the elevator, hoping this press conference cleared every

rumor out there.

~•|~•|~•|

The hall was filled to the brim with reporters armed with their cameras and microphones, waiting to squeeze my head with

their questions.

“Are you certain your dad was the one who released that news to the press?” Hewitt asked again after we had made up for

our argument the day before.

I nodded in reply.

“Why would he do that? Didn't the news also jeopardize his name?”

“I heard from a trusted source that he wanted to use the publicity he would get from being associated with me to bring his

new factory to the limelight and at the same time, tarnish my image. It's called killing two birds with a stone.” I told him as I

fixed my collar.

“Your dad is a very twisted man.” Hewitt commented.

“Yh, he even operates on the same principle as you. Any publicity is good publicity. You both are quite similar, Hewitt. Are you

certain there's nothing you are hiding from me?”

He chuckled. “Nothing can make me be in cohorts with your father.”

“I know, I'm just joking.” I replied, letting my blonde hair cover my face. “Let's get started before I lose the zeal.”

He nodded, getting to work immediately as he started paving way through the crowd for me to pass. I followed him, four bodyguards walking with me. Two of them stood at my front and the other two stayed at the back.

The camera started going off immediately I climbed you.