Most People Say Thank You, But I Would Die for You

Chapter 10

The last thing Xavier remembered talking to his father was probably a year ago.  It had been a very awkward conversation over dinner.  Very little had been spoken and they had all been negative towards him and especially Bianca.  So what was his father expecting him to say when he finally walked inside?

Mr. Thorpe was standing in the entry way while Xavier stood awkwardly by the staircase.  He stuffed his hands in his jean pockets and tried to act as casual as he possibly could.  But he really wanted to just walk away.  He was bitter towards his father, but he didn't hate him.  So it wasn't like he never wanted to see him.  On the contrary, that was all he wanted as a child.  But the man before him felt more like a stranger as the years passed.  Without Xavier's mother, there had been no link between them anymore.

"Hey..." He spoke at last.  It was far better than the silence.

His father nodded.  He motioned for Xavier to follow and they sat down in the living room.  "What have you been up to lately?" Mr. Thorpe inquired.

Xavier shrugged.  "Painting.  Recovering from the attack at Nevermore."

The man nodded.  "I heard about that.  Not much was mentioned other than the fact you had been uninjured."

"I have a concussion, actually," Xavier corrected.  "Mild, but technically not unscathed." Of course he could mention the ghost that was in the process of trying to posses him, but could he expect his father to take that seriously?

"Oh, right.  I suppose there was a report mentioning that," Mr. Thorpe said.  "Did it mention a prison cell as well?"

"Yes.  A misunderstanding.  I was proven innocent within hours."

"That's all that matters then," his father proclaimed.

For some reason, Xavier felt even more inclined to leave the conversation.  Was that all he was worried about?  Was there no "are you ok?", or "I can't believe they would accuse my son of such crimes?", or something?  Of course not.

"Have you been going to your therapy?  There hasn't been any updates from your therapist lately."

"No.  She died.  I haven't gone to my new one yet.  You know.  Physically recovering..."

He nodded.  "Oh.  What a shame..."

Xavier clenched his fists, but said nothing.  Silence fell over them again.  This time, he preferred it.  The more his father spoke, the more he resent he started feel towards him.  And it he wanted a relationship with his father, he wasn't about to let the man give him anymore reason to dislike him at the second.  Not if he could help it.

He supposed that he should mention that Morticia and Wednesday was currently staying with them, but he wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to bring that up.  Not to mention that he wasn't sure what reaction his father would have.  Last time he had a visitor over (which happened to be Bianca), he sent her home because his father assumed they would be up to no good, and was determined that Bianca had ill intentions with her siren song.  Something Xavier regretted letting his father convince him of.

But it was never on her agenda to spell him, and both their intentions had been pure and friendly.  Nothing more.  Him and Bianca had wanted to spend their summer in peace, and since his father was away, he let Bianca stay with him to let her avoid her mother.  The freedom was very short lived.

"You still dating that siren?" He asked suddenly, almost as if he had been reading Xavier's mind.

"No."

"So you finally took my advice?"

"No."

His father didn't exactly seemed pleased with his answer, which he expected.

Xavier supposed that it was a lie.  After all, he did treat her unfairly the whole time because he was scared that his father had been right.  That she was casting her spell on him, but he was starting to see better now.  Although he regretted how he treated Bianca, they had both decided they were better off as friends after everything that had happened.  His father had wanted him to cut her off completely, but he wasn't.  So he supposed he was only lying half way.

From then on, they remained in a surface level conversation with multiple breaks of silence.  Xavier was eventually saved by the maid that interrupted.  "Lunch is ready to be served," she offered.

The conversation was then moved to the dinner table.  But when they came to the dining room, Morticia was already seated at the table.  And Wednesday was as well with a book in her hand.  Xavier noticed it was book on the supernatural.  She was probably doing research on how to fix his evil pilgrim speaking in his head situation.

His father paused upon seeing them.  Morticia passed him an innocent smile.  "Oh, good afternoon, Thorpe."

Mr. Thorpe looked at Xavier a moment, his expression conveying exactly what he wanted to say.  A question of why they were there and why he wasn't informed or even asked permission for their stay.  Xavier didn't answer and silently sat by Wednesday.

"Any luck?" He whispered.

She pressed her lips tightly together.  "No.  You?"

Xavier's father sat down at the head of the table, his expression turned sour.  That seemed to be enough to answer Wednesday's question because she snapped her book shut and set it on the table at a safe distance.

"So," Mr. Thorpe began, "I believe I wasn't expecting company."

"Well-" Morticia wasn't able to say anything before Xavier cut in.

"It's a project.  Wednesday and I are working on it.  It's just easier to work with her in person."

"Couldn't communicate with her online?"

"Yes, my Wednesday isn't much of a tech person," Morticia explained.

Xavier was grateful she had his back.  He supposed that they should have come up with an excuse before hand, but he had been to focused on all the events.  So he supposed that he didn't exactly have a lot of time to prepare for his father's arrival.

"What is this project?"

"Research," Wednesday retorted.

"On?"

Xavier shrugged.  "The supernatural?  It's Nevermore."

His father decided to say nothing of it.  Which meant he would probably demand that Xavier send him home later when they wouldn't be around to hear.  But he doubted he'd be able to convince either of them to leave.  Not that he believed he would be even attempt to.  It wasn't a hang out session.  It was a matter of life and death that wasn't just his own.

Wednesday's life was endangered too, and there was no way he wanted her to deal with that by herself.  Sure, she had her parents, Thing, her brother and friends.  But he just had the uneasy feeling when he wasn't close enough to help her.  Even if she could handle herself far better than he could himself.