Paparazzi Girl

14. Stay With Me

Her tears were smearing off Xavier's shirt. One, two, three —

It didn't seem like he cared about her ruining his shirt. His breathing was calm, while she could feel the thumping against her neck. She tightened her arms around his neck as floods of memories of her mother and Mr. Robins created pictures in her mind. It was then she remembered she had to pay the electricity bill soon.

"Hey, it's okay," Xavier hushed her, rubbing circles on her back. His lips were so close to her neck.

It took her awhile to say something - anything. Her throats was sore and her eyes were bloodshot. "Things haven't been okay for a while, Xavier."

His stare was hard. He let out a sigh and hid his face into her hair, his lips dangerously close to her ear. There was something about the way he breathed around her neck, so close to her ear, that relaxed her almost instantly. She could almost bleed out the emotions coursing through her veins.

"I should take you home." He pulled back a bit to look at her.

It was hard to breathe again. Just the thought of going home and confronting her mother was almost unbearable. She couldn't see her after what happened. The guilt and the anger were hard to distinguish.

She shook her head nervously. He could never understand the agony she felt inside as her voice cracked as she spoke, "Please don't. I can't go home, please."

His face seemed to soften, watching as another tear fell to her cheek, flowing down to her chin. His silky fingertips cupped a bit of her cheek, causing her to almost become dizzy.

"Why not?"

She shifted uncomfortably and hauled herself out of his grasp. She avoided the question. Avoided looking at him. She took deep breaths and closed her eyes.

"I just can't go," she said, "Everything is so screwed up right now and I just don't want to do this."

Xavier just stood there, looking her over. He looked worried, and maybe he even was. An enormous lump rose to her throat, making it almost unachievable to swallow it down. He nodded and leaned against the fence they were next to. He was trying to understand.

"Where are you gonna stay?" He folded his arms. She didn't know what to say.

"You know what, Xavier, this is my problem. Not yours. I should really get going."

A hand yanked her to a stop, and didn't let her go until she turned around to face him. He seemed worried, almost exhausted. Maybe still sick?

"Maybe you could stay at my hotel," He suggested.

She looked away from the big brown eyes that were hypnotizing her to say yes. She needed to stay as far away from him as she could. This connection they had, she had to cut it off.

"I'm fine. I'll crash somewhere."

Without a single word, Xavier began to trot towards his hotel which was already visible from where they were.

There was only one problem.

He was lugging Stella with him. She immediately hooked the heels of her sandals against the grass.

"Let me go!" She screeched, struggling with her words as she fought against his grip.

Still, he said nothing. Instead, he turned around, grabbed her by the waist, threw her over his shoulder, and continued his quest towards his hotel. She screamed and tried her best to wiggle out of his grip, but man, did he have strong arms. She looked in front of her, seeing people walk by casually, although she could see some glances looking over because of what they were doing. They probably thought they were just crazy teenagers in love.