stay, Inez ~ xavier thorpe

harvest festival

I've never really been into the whole carnival idea. Other than the occasional dunk tank and cotton candy, carnivals are just not my thing. This year's harvest festival was approaching quickly, one of the town's many attempts at raising money through childish scams and sugar coated popcorn.
It's been almost two weeks since I talked to Xavier. Although I would much rather be in my dorm room sulking, Principal Weems made it mandatory for all students to attend.
I was planning on attending with Xavier before we broke up. Now, I had nobody to go with. I wasn't ready to forgive Yoko yet, and I'm definitely not ready to forgive Xavier.
As I climb out of the bus, i am quickly brushed in the face with fumes of cotton candy and salty pretzels.
A wave of memories pass through me.

Spending weekends with my father, going on carnival rides and Ferris wheels. Seeing other children hold hands with their mothers.
I knew my father tried his best. But, on my ninth birthday, while searching for my birthday present in my fathers office, I found a stash of old pictures in father's desk. When I skimmed through the pictures, I saw a reoccurring character, who I immediately identified as my mother, due to the captions on each photo.
After staring at the photos for what seemed like eternity, I recognized the woman. She was Marilyn Black, the famous film star. All the pieces connected in my head, like a puzzle.
My mother had abandoned me and my father to pursue her acting career.
My father and I would struggle to pay the bills while she mingled with the rich.
After I finally put myself together and returned to my birthday party, I couldn't find myself to confront my dad. After all, she didn't just leave me, she left us.

When I finally snap out of my trance, I remember I'm standing in the middle of a parking lot, so I quickly move to a booth selling tickets.

"Ten tickets per person!" The man announces.

"Three tickets please." I say faking a smile.
When my tickets are handed to me, I begin my search for a booth that sparks my interest.

"Scam, scam, boring, impossible." I say to myself, rating the booths while I walk.

All of the sudden, I feel a slight tug on my wrist before I am dragged behind a booth. When I look up, I see none other than Xavier.

"Nez, whatever I did, I'm sorry."

"Oh, please." I say rolling my eyes.

"Please. I'm really sorry. I love you." He pleads.

He slowly walks forward, making me back up into the stall behind me.

"If you're thinking of coming any closer, don't." I say defensively.

"What happened between us? Can you not even tell me what I did?" Xavier begs.

I cover my face with my hair to hide the tears falling from my face.

"You know what you did. I caught you the other day, in the quad. You seriously couldn't find a better place to cheat on me? The quad is the most used spot in the whole school, Xavier. Even if I didn't catch you myself, I'm sure someone else would have." I say through my tears.

"Cheat on you?" Xavier says, acting confused.

"Did you have to do this? I thought I could trust you. You ruined everything." I begin to get angry.

"I don't think we can solve this Xavier. Did you really think we would be fine?"
Xavier falls silent next to me, proving me right.
I scoff, breaking eye contact and looking to my right.

"Time can heal, but this definitely wont." I say angrily.

While looking to the side, I see the sheriff's son holding Wednesday as she rests in his arms, passed out.