“Did we just pay $20,000 for a $60,000 car?” Jacob questioned as if still in a dream.
“Yes… yes, you did!” Jessie replied for the thousandth time.
“Really?” Jacob questioned once more.
Jessie sighed and gestured to the back of the car they had just bought from Mike, and sure enough, Xavier and Tyler were in the car behind, working the steering wheel to keep the car steady.
It was a quick deal.
Apparently, Mike was desperate for some cash – Jessie knew the feeling.
Xavier was satisfied with the haul, even considering the hard work that would have to go into putting the cars on the market. Jacob was in a daydream, already forgetting the hard part was to come.
Jessie was simply satisfied she could make some money – a thousand dollars may not compare to what Xavier and Jacob stood to make, but she was satisfied nonetheless.
The more she contributes, the more she would get.
۞۞۞
XAVIER’S HOUSE
The gates opened automatically.
Jessie instantly grew suspicious because no camera had caught a glimpse of Xavier’s face, yet the gates knew to open anyway. Either the security was shitty, or Xavier had something on him that controlled the system.
‘I have to ask about that at some point…’ She decided.
The garage doors opened, and since the hummer nor the Bugatti was at home, Xavier had enough space for both new investments.
Jacob parked the less-desired Citroen first, and then Xavier hopped out of the Volkswagen Beetle and pushed the car into the garage.
Tyler, for his part, seemed less interested than his business partners. Still, the trio took an entire five minutes to admire their hard work.
Jessie once again reminded herself that, while she may be a lesbian, she would definitely not want to be considered one of the boys in her entire life.
Sure, she was a lesbian, but guys were still idiots.
Even Xavier, the smartest guy she knew, would smile dumbly at rusty cars for a full five minutes. Jacob was younger, so he could be excused for an unmatured brain.
Tyler … he was genuinely an idiot.
“When will we start working on them?” Tyler questioned.
“When we get the parts,” Xavier replied.
“That’s gonna be hard,” Jacob commented. “I can scrounge some things together from the barn, but I know you’ll want the custom-made bits…”
“Improvised parts will lower the value of the car by $10,000…” Xavier ran his hands through his hair in irritation. “We should aim for the custom parts first – they may be hard to find but the longer we keep this car, the more it’ll be worth.”
“Fine with me,” Jacob shrugged. “I don’t need that money anytime soon. If an emergency pops up, we can think about it then.”
Xavier nodded.
“I’ll try my best to find the parts but…” Tyler hesitated to continue.
“How much?” Xavier inquired, already sensing what was being asked. “And don’t push your luck too much.”
“Ten percent and I’ll pull out all the stops,” Tyler replied.
“Seven percent…”
“What?”
“Six percent…” Xavier voiced.
“And the price of the parts?” Tyler acquiesced.
“And the price of the parts…” Xavier agreed and ruffled through his pockets. “Here…” He gestured to Jessie.
Jessie stared at the wad of cash Xavier was directing toward her, and after a couple of seconds of hesitation, she took the money.
Xavier, Jacob, and Tyler all look at her strangely.
“What?” She bristled.
“Hahahahahahahaha…”
The boys all broke into a laugh.
“What?” Jessie yelled.
“Hahahahahahahaha…”
Jessie got tired of the laughing and reached for a metal bar, hoisting the object over her shoulder to knock the lights out of the closest person – Tyler.
“Wait! Wait… wait…” Tyler stopped laughing long enough to realize the threat. “We aren’t laughing because of you – well, we are but it’s more like laughing at ourselves…”
“In what way?” Jessie calmed down.
“The first time we made a thousand dollars – we had to split it,” Jacob explained, wiping tears from his eyes. “A thousand dollars between three people who desperately needed the money? We almost killed each other for that money…”
“For a thousand dollars?” Jessie was incredulous.
Xavier explained more clearer. “You have the same eyes as us from back then – someone who really needs money.”
“My sister needed money to apply for a scholarship,” Jacob explained, swatting his long black hair out of his face. “We didn’t have the money to start the application process, so I fought for the money.”
“My little sister wanted a pinata for her birthday party,” Tyler explained. “My mom didn’t have enough money to get the one she wanted, so I needed the money to get it for her – so, I fought for the money.”
“Angela and I were going through rough times,” Xavier explained, shrugging his shoulders. “I wasn’t gonna let anyone take anything else from me – so, I fought for the money.”
“And?” Jessie felt the corner of her eyes getting wet. “What does that have to do with me?”
“Why do you fight?” Xavier questioned, taking a couple of steps forward to tower over Jessie. “Why do you need the money?”
“I – I – I…”
Jessie stammered at first, but she quickly found her footing in an unexpected way – she burst into tears.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“I want to take Brittney out of this place!” She yelled.
The waterworks started…
Xavier, Tyler, and Jacob gave Jessie the space she needed for a couple of seconds.
Then, Xavier stepped forward and embraced his best friend.
“Why… why?” She questioned through hot tears. “Aren’t you going to say I am weak? Don’t you hate when people beg for help? I didn’t want you to look down on me?”
“He… me?” Xavier held mockery for himself in his voice. “Just by asking for help – you are two times the man I will ever be. A man always knows when to ask for help from his brothers.”
“I’m – I’m – I’m so sorry…” Jessie cried and cried.
Tyler and Jacob silently departed.
Xavier, without Jessie taking note due to her heightened emotional state, floated the duo up the stairs and into the living room.
For the next hour of crying, Jessie bared her soul to Xavier for the first time in a long time.
How she had been kicked out by her parents who couldn’t accept she was gay…
How Greg and Luis owned her parent’s debt, and they had her dealing drugs for them…
How they requested entrance into his club and she did – she was the person who put Blake in that position…
How someone had been sending her messages, telling her they knew about the fact that she used to sleep with Xavier for money – and that’s how their friendship started…
How she was scared because Brandon’s father, the man who molested Brittney, had been asking about her…
How she was embarrassed that she couldn’t handle it herself as Xavier would…
By the end of the confessions, Jessie was half-asleep, having cried all the tears her body could hold in water. Though Xavier had not moved an inch, his face was marred by expressionless rage.
It had almost missed him.
Most painful of all was the fact that he knew most of it, but he naively assumed that she could handle it – like his…
“Like my sister from my last life…” Xavier muttered, eyes becoming lost. “I assumed you could handle it since you remind me so much of her. The way she walked, the way she talked, and most of all, her likes in women.” He smiled.
“But you guys are not the same person,” He closed his eyes, steadying his mind. “I am sorry for assuming you were…”
“Mhmmmm…” Jessie was half-asleep, un-listening to whatever Xavier was whispering.
“Just answer this before you go to bed,” Xavier gently brushed his fingers through Jessie’s messy hair. “Greg and Luis Madison – where do those guys live?”
“By the park…” Jessie’s reply was weak and dream-like.
Xavier spent the next five minutes undressing Jessie, replacing her clothes with pieces of clothing left behind by Angela and past one-nighters, and then, he laid her in the guestroom bed.
His home had now become her home.
۞۞۞
CHARLIE’S HOUSE
So, you were telling me about a boy?
“Mom…” Bella curled around a pillow on her bed. “That just slipped.”
Come on. What’s his name?
Bella hesitated. “It’s not like there’s anything there,” She complained. “He already has someone.”
Are you gonna steal him away?
“Mom!” Bella was startled by the suggestion – she hadn’t even considered it… not that she believed she could if she wanted to. “Mom, he’s dating my friend, and she has been nothing but nice to me.”
Honey, there is no such thing as nice in love and war!
“Okay… okay,” Bella crinkled her nose. “Have you drunk too much coffee again? I can’t talk to you when you’re like this…”
Okay, okay… I’ll go and sleep it off.
“Bye…” Bella whispered into the phone.
---------------
Xavier listened as the conversation came to an end, and he finally return the gravitons surrounding him to normality.
THUD
His floating figure fell from the air, perfectly landing on Charlie’s roof – right next to Bella’s window.
---------------
A startled Bella heard the thud and immediately thought to call her father, but when she caught a glimpse of the silhouette outside, her heart thumped loudly in her chest.
Only one person was crazy enough to climb up to her window – she doubted that a serial killer would make that much effort when the lights were still on.
“Just in case…” Bella muttered, grabbing the pepper spray Charlie had given her the previous day.
“It’s fine… it’s me…” The voice said.
Bella relaxed, rushed to slide open the window, and stuck her upper body outside. No sooner had she done that, than The Eternal reached under her arms and pulled her onto the roof.
“OH MY GOD!” Bella bristled.
“Relax, it’s fine…” Xavier groaned, setting the worming Bella on the roof next to him. “It’s fine… it’s safe. I often use this method to deliver presents on Christmas night.”
Bella shivered from the cold. “So, you’re Santa Claus now?” She inquired. “But the twisted version that snatches teenage girls out of their rooms?”
“Only the ones that come to peek when they hear a noise,” Xavier justified, slipping out of his sweater, and sliding it over Bella’s head.
She was reluctant to take it, but The Eternal didn’t give her must choice.
“You could have just held me,” She complained.
“And if you slip, I’d be forced to fall with you?” Xavier joked. “Nope. I would like to live, thank you!”
Bella’s eyes widened, and she shifted in place. “I thought you said it was safe…”
“It is… calm down…” Xavier comforted, placing an arm around Bella’s shoulders. “Happy now…”
“Mhmm.” Was Bella’s only reply as she snuggled closer.
“So, why did you kidnap me?” Bella questioned.
Xavier displayed his pre-approved prop – a history text. “Pages 90 to 97, right?” He questioned. “Those were the pages Dr. Burrison asked us to read?”
“I am surprised you remember,” Bella was doubtful but accepted the excuse due to a lack of self-confidence.
There was no way Xavier came just to spend time with her… right?
The duo read the text in silence for a couple of minutes before sharing their insights, and soon, Bella noticed that Xavier's interpretation seemed strange as if he was searching for advice.
Not from the book, but from her.
“Come on!” Bella nudged The Eternal with her shoulder. “What’s the matter?”
“I almost didn’t notice until it was too late,” Xavier muttered.
To Bella, he looked weaker than she had ever seen him – he appeared vulnerable… he chose to be vulnerable with her… he could have gone anywhere else, but he came to her.
As much as Bella liked it, she soon realized that she didn’t like it – the feelings were complicated?
Did Xavier only come to her because he felt weak and saw her as weak? Why didn’t he go to Angela – his girlfriend?
These thoughts ran through Bella’s mind for a couple of seconds, stunning her into silence.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have come…” Xavier muttered.
“No… no, no!” Bella panicked, scouring her memory for the information relayed while she was in her daze. “Jessie will understand…”
“I blame myself for not seeing her weakness sooner.”
“That’s because you see the strength in everyone, and give them a chance to realize that strength for themselves,” Bella justified, almost as if Xavier was offending her by not giving himself more credit. “Jessie just needed a little push this time around, and next time, she will definitely handle it on her own.”
“Yeah… yeah,” Xavier was convinced. “You’re right.”
Bella chuckled. “That would be a first,” She joked.
“It’s getting late,” Xavier checked the time on his watch. “Charlie should be coming up to say goodnight. I have to go.”
Bella reluctantly gave up the warmth they had generated by sticking close together.
“I can’t make it back into my room on my own,” She blushed.
Xavier smirked and extended a hand as he stood on the bitter end of the roof. “If you trust me, come here and I’ll get you back inside, but—”
“But?” Bella had already started walking forward, demonstrating utmost trust.
“But…” Xavier continued, staring into Bella’s eyes challenging. “You have to come to me with your eyes closed.”
Bella hesitated for a couple of seconds before closing her eyes and walking forward, shivering with every step she took – and not because of the cold.
There was darkness, and all she knew was walking.
Seconds passed.
Suddenly, Bella felt a peck on her cheeks, and her eyes snapped open, but she was no longer on the roof – she was in the comfort of her bedroom, the window was shut, and there was no Xavier to be seen.
“Wow…” was all she could say to describe her rapidly beating heart.