Chapter 17
And sure enough, as she suspected and believed, that person was Xavier.
Why did that man come so late at night and scream on her porch like a lunatic?!
Rachel quickly turned the key to open the door, before the surrounding community flocked to her house because they were disturbed by the man's crazy action.
The door opened, with an annoyed face Rachel said, "What are you doing at this time of night coming to my house—"
The woman froze for a moment as the handsome face landed on her shoulder.
"You …."
For the second time, Rachel was at a loss for words when she felt her shoulders start to get wet.
"Please, Rachel, let it be like this first. Just a moment," said Xavier softly.
Rachel reflexively closed as soon as she smelled the strong smell of alcohol because they were so close.
The woman sighed, not looking surprised at all by the state of Xavier who came to her drunk like this.
Xavier was already familiar with alcohol and other promiscuity long before he met Rachel twelve years ago.
"You're drunk?" Rachel softened. Seeing Abi this frail, it seems he can't bear it if he has to continue to be stubborn.
Xavier's shoulders shook, and even Rachel's pajamas were getting wet.
She didn't know why Xavier was crying. Rachel didn't even know why Xavier could arrive at her house in the middle of the night, and this chaotic condition.
"What's wrong with you?" asked Rachel again. "Are you fighting with your daddy?" guessed it.
Xavier's only weakness is his father. Xavier who isn't afraid of anything will only become weak when dealing with his father.
"Daddy died a long time ago, Rachel," said Xavier quietly. "My father died ten years ago."
Rachel's slender fingers lifted to rub Xavier's back, which was shaking even more violently. Xavier looks so fragile. The body, which was usually like a jungle lion, no longer showed its fangs nor its valor.
"Please, don't go," Xavier whispered increasingly softly. "Don't leave me, Rachel."
The man then pulled Rachel's body and hugged her tightly. So tight as if afraid that if he was careless a little, then Rachel would be released from his grip.
"I don't want to lose you."
.
.
(*)
Rachel sat pensively watching Xavier's handsome face, who was now fast asleep on the sofa in her living room.
She was really confused and didn't know where to take Xavier, especially when he was so drunk.
Inevitably she had to temporarily accommodate the man in her house while thinking about how to get Xavier to come home tonight so he wouldn't have to stay overnight at her place.
Seeing Xavier's face so calm reminded Rachel of their first meeting twelve years ago.
The situation is similar to the current one. Rachel, who came to her in a very drunken state, did silly things and ended up sleeping on the terrace of her house until morning, then in the morning he was chased away by a palm fiber broom by Rachel's mother, who was surprised to find a boy sleeping on the terrace of her house.
Remembering those memories, unconsciously a line of a smile appeared on Rachel's beautiful face.
Rachel looked at Xavier while resting her chin. "When you think about the past, it's really ridiculous," she muttered under her breath.
Rachel stared intently at Xavier's face, which is now even more handsome in the adult version. Admiring for just a moment, the face that has always been kept in memory so that it will not be forgotten even though we have not met for ten years.
Xavier now feels very much different. In the past, Xavier was nothing more than a juvenile delinquent with jeans ripped at the knees, a square flannel shirt, and a headband that had always been his trademark.
Now Xavier looks more handsome with a neater hairdo, making him look dignified and mature.
"A woman like Nathalie's really suits you better, X." Again, Rachel muttered subconsciously. "Who am I? I'm nothing If compared to your perfect fiancé."
Rachel straightened and exhaled while blowing the strands of hair that covered part of her face.
They were the perfect couple and from an equal family.
And Rachel was well aware that she, who in their eyes was nothing more than a pebble, could easily be removed if she decided to stay and go back to Xavier.
.
.
(*)(*)(*)
Xavier's sound sleep was disturbed when the noise disturbed his sense of hearing.
The man groaned softly, clutching his head which felt dizzy from the amount of alcohol he had drunk.
He pulled away and sat down. Slowly the beads of darkness that night combed throughout the room, realizing this wasn't his room and it made Xavier's consciousness return completely.
He was in Rachel's old house, to be precise asleep on the living room sofa for who knows how long.
A warm feeling spreads in Xavier's heart when he sees that there is nothing different from this house since ten years ago, both in terms of furniture and room arrangement. This makes him drag back into old memories, making him really miss his teenage years.
Xavier's chest heaved. There is a sense of emotion, but also pain when the memories of the past roll back.
Moved by the healing of Xavier's longing for a few unforgettable moments in this house, but at the same time, there is a stinging pain because the occupant of the memory is now no longer his.
The man moved to a nearby tv rack, then grabbed a photo frame with thick dusty glass hanging there.
His thumb subconsciously brushed the dust covering the glass so that the portrait could barely be seen.
Xavier's heart was stoned with thousands of sharp blades, and he felt pain when the wound in his heart grew open. Xavier looked up, his reddened eyes trying to hold back tears when he found the old photo was a portrait of Rachel's mother, himself, and Rachel during high school.
'it's a nice picture, X."
'Mom! That's ugly. I'm not handsome in this picture.'
'It's okay, you're still handsome, X. Anyway, I'll print it later, to display it at this home.'
Xavier laughed silently, remembering the flashes of his memories with Rachel's mother. A woman who even knows and understands how he is more than his own mother who is too busy with her sociality world.
It's still fresh in my memory, Rachel's mom always welcomes his arrival with a smile and a warm hug. Something that Xavier rarely gets at home.
"Don't do this! go away!"
Again, the scream reached Xavier's ears. The sound made him wake up and awake at this moment.
Xavier put any photo frames on the shelf, then rushed to Rachel's bedroom, which he believed to be the source of the screams.