Well, if he's already annoyed..."Make it up to them."
"I'm not taking chocolates there."
"It's your fault. You have to make it up to them."
He groaned. "I hate your rules."
"Go. Text me when you've fixed your mess."
"Fine! You're so fuzzy on the inside, I almost feel bad for introducing you to the gang."
"As you should."
"Meh. If I hadn't, we wouldn't have discovered a killer like you. Anyway, text you in a while." He cut the call.
Xavier closed his eyes, his friend's words hanging in the air. It was as if he'd punched him in the gut with them. Xavier didn't take pleasure in killing people. Being called a skilled killer wasn't a compliment. It was a reminder of the things he'd endured throughout his life.
And with that final pang, he ran toward the washroom. Taking his shirt off with one quick motion, he picked up the knife from the corner shelf. He looked at himself in the mirror, his chest heaving.
The older cuts tingled painfully as he placed the knife on his arm, hoping for it to heal the wounds inside.
He was right, he thought as blood dripped down his arm, pain was the only thing that numbed the pain.
Chapter 8
Giselle sat in her room, staring at the wall in front of her. She'd sent Xavier a message a few minutes ago that she was ready to see him the next day. His reply was, “I'll tell you everything.” And that was enough.
Love, she believed, came with its inevitable trials. And the reason why those trials hit so hard was because of the peace that also came with love. It had a way of making us lose ourselves in the waves of pure bliss, sure that together the two in love were strong enough to disappear whatever hurdles came their way. But hurdles were supposed to be conquered, not disappear.
And she was ready to overcome whatever obstacle came in their way of finding true happiness together.
As stupid as this decision made her, the trust she'd built in Xavier in the last two years was strong enough not to break easily. If she wasn't ready to be with him at his worst, and if their relationship was based on good moments only, how could she ever expect the love to last for life?
She shook her head. Stupid. She was being stupid. But for Giselle, her heart always won in the battle between the heart and the brain. She looked for the good, saw it, and zeroed in on it. If that made her stupid, then that's what she was.
She pulled her legs back and hugged them, resting her forehead on her knees. The lights were off, though she had no intention of sleeping. Abbott and Mrs. Whitman had knocked on her door several times today, but she'd made excuses. She'd tried reading the rom-com she'd brought with her, but nothing made her smile, so the book lay face-first on her side table.
Her throat closed in on her. She needed something to calm her racing thoughts. Now that she'd decided on giving Xavier a chance, why couldn't she relax her mind? Why did she still want to cry?
She chanted under her breath for something, anything, that could take her mind off the clutter inside her head and the mess her life was slowly turning into. Anything that could help her fall asleep...
Chris. Nobody had the power to calm her nerves the way he did. Nothing had the power to help her fall asleep except his voice.
Her phone vibrated before she could call her best friend. She took deep breaths to calm herself down before fishing the phone out of her pocket. A faint smile appeared on her lips and she answered.
"Chris!"
"Giselle—" He paused. "Are you okay? What's the matter?"
"What?" she said.
"Is something wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Then why were you crying?"
She smiled. "I was not."