Returning Home.

Chapter 24

The afternoon went slow but the boys really enjoyed spending time with Xavier. They had taken to him pretty well and he seemed to have taken to them as he would get involved in anything that they dragged him into.

After 3 vigorous rounds of playing Uno. "Alright boys, time to get ready for bed." I said as we came to the end of our game.

"Aww Mum, just one more turn?" Both boys sang out as I began to tidy it up. Bed time is always a battle of wits, especially when they both join forces to try and convince me that they are big enough to stay up later.

"Come on boys, I am sure that it is way past your bed time?" Xavier chimed in to assist me in my cause. He scooped up all the bowls we had spread around the loung room.

Both boys probably realised that they were going to be fighting a loosing battle as Will grabbed his brother and signalled to head up stairs "Ok mum, Good night Xavier." Will said as Bas also chimed in "Good night" as he made is way to follow his brother.

"I'll do the dishes." Xavier said as he took his armload towards the kitchen. I picked up the cards and placed then all in the packet before I decided to follow the boys up to see how they are going.

As I pass Wills room, I remember about the envelope that he shoved in his bag, so I went in and found his bag to see if I could take a quick peak. I didn't want to break his trust and all but it was the first time that he had ever kept anything from me.

It didn't take me long to find it and from what it looked like on the outside, I would have said that it was possibly an invitation to something. I quickly flipped it over and was about to open it when I heard him coming down the hall from the bathroom.

Acting like I was tidying up some mess, I slipped the envelope back in his bag as he walked in.
"Mum, my room is not that bad, you don't have to always tidy it up?" He said as he made his way over to his bed.

"I know buddy, it's a habit of mine." I laughed, realising that he hadn't noticed what I had been doing.

Getting under his sheets he asks "Mum, why do people not like Xaviers club?" I move to shuffle him over and sit down next to him.

"Why would you ask that?" I reply to him. I million thoughts run through my head as to what has happened for him to bring this up.

He seems to be thinking about his words, it's something that he has always done since he could first talk. He looks up and responds "At school, a lot of people talk about how they don't like the club and how they do bad things to people in the town?"

"Oh baby, I think that some people tend to judge things that they don't really understand but that is why we make our own decisions on how we feel about things." I respond

"Well I like Uncle Slater & Aunty Carrie who are nice to us and love us and I like Tyler as he is like a big brother to us." Looking shyly, he continues "I really like Xavier, he has been really fun."

Thinking about his words I say "Well there you go buddy, you have your answer there don't you."

"Your right mum, you know that I love you right?" He responds as he digs himself down into his blankets.

Leaning forward and giving him a kiss on the forehead I say "Me too buddy, I love you too."  I tuck in the sides of his bed and stand to head out of his room and over to Sebastien's to start the game of 'How many things can I get away with before I have to go to sleep.'

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After getting the boys to finally go to bed, I headed back down the stairs to the kitchen where I saw the door to the garage open.

Xavier was once again standing in front of the boards, staring at lol the information. He must had head me coming because he says "I never knew that they cared."

Stopping in the doorway, I lean into it and reply "What do you mean?"

"Well, I just didn't realise that everyone had put so much thought into what had happened to my dad." Xavier says. His facial features change to where he looks on the brink of getting emotional.

"I have missed my dad everyday." He says "When he died it was like a piece of us all died with him. You know, my mum didn't come out of her room for a week. It took Mae and Kitty nearly 2 weeks of trying to coax her out and in the end, Knuckles just barged in there and dragged her out and into her garden."

Moving towards me, he is chuckling "You should had seen it, Carrie tried to keep it under wraps but it was an over grown mess. It was like she snapped out of it and just began to start working in the garden, trying to fix up the mess. We just let her go and then when she came back inside for afternoon tea, she just spoke like it was a normal day. It was like the shock of it all was over and she was back to normal."

He moves so that he is standing right in front of me, lifting his hand up and grasping my chin. His thumb lightly traces my bottom lip as he stares at me with hooded eyes.

"The day you left, I broke down and cried. I felt like I'd been torn in half. I know that I was never good to you Lia but I still held out a sliver of hope that I was going to make things right with you." He leans in and places a peck on my lips.

I breath in his scent as he leans back and I watch as his eyes move across my face. "I don't think I was the best person to anyone after that, I was just so angry and the only thing that I thought I had to protect was my family - my club but the day that I heard that you were back in town, I felt that I had a second chance. Just let me show you Lia that I can be better, that I will do better."

"Xavier, a lot happened and was so long ago. Let's just take each day as it comes." Is all I can muster at the moment.

I just can't think of anything to ease his mind right now as I still don't know how I feel about this all. As much as I let myself be taken in by him and feel myself starting to really accept him in a physical way, something just keeps holding me back.

Xavier scoops his arms around my waist and pulls me in closer to him "I'll take whatever you can give me Lia." He leans down and captures my lips with his for a short but heated kiss that is over way too early as I find myself gulping for air as he pulls away from me.

"Can I stay here tonight Lia?" Xavier asks me as if he is scared I'll say no. "Yes Xavier, I would really like it if you did." I respond as I take his hand and pull him out of the garage and towards the stairs.