The Birds And The Bees (The Baby Project #1) (REWRITING)

C.14~ Love Is A Dangerous Drug

"T. . .talk to us?"

I finally blurted, finding my mouth had grown dry. Xavier was looking over the note again, his eyes roaming the torn piece of paper.

"Yeah. She said that it's important and wants us to meet her at Mickey's tonight." I recognized the restaurant name. It was a family owned cafe a few miles from here.

"Xavier. . ." I started to say, but he lifted his head and cut me off before I could go on.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't want to meet her." I confessed. He shut his eyes again, hiding any emotion that was threatening to slip into them.

"You aren't curious? You don't want to know who Lily's real mom is?" He asked in a quiet breath. I shook my head, staring down at the dark ground.

"No." I growled, "She left Lily, Xavier. She didn't want her. Why the hell should I let her see the child she didn't even want?" I hissed, looking at Xavier through my lashes.

"Maybe she has a reason, maybe she didn't want to and-"

"Don't defend her! No mother leaves there newborn child on a doorstep! That's inhumane! Why should I let her see my baby?" My hand made it's way up to my mouth, completely covering it.

Had I just said that out loud?

"Look, Bea. I can see where you're coming from. It was wrong, but maybe we should give her a chance to explain." I shook my head, starting to stalk toward the house.

"No, Xavier. I'm not letting her see my baby. We can go, me and you, but Lily isn't. She can't have her back, she can't be in her life." Then I jogged up the driveway and into his house before I could see his expression or hear his response.

**

"And you two are raising the baby together, correct?" I nodded at Mr. Morgan, forcing a smile on to my face.

I had been distant all night, my eyes occasionally finding their way to where the letter was peaking out of Lily's baby bag. Xavier's dad had tried to make small talk with me all night, but I had either just blown him off or gave him one word answers.

"Yes. Xavier's been an angel. He's been helping me with her, he's a great guy." I replied, sending Xavier a smile. He was sitting at the other end of the table, his eyes on the clock across the room beside the cabinets. Lily was beside him, still in her stroller sleeping.

"Mom." Xavier said suddenly, standing up so quickly that both of his knees slammed against the table, sending the sound of the dishes smacking against the table through the kitchen. Everyone turned to face him, their eyes widening a fraction.

"Yes, sweetie?" His mom responded.

"Bea and I have somewhere to be. Do you think you could watch Lily for a while?" I dropped my fork, wincing when it echoed. I gave Xavier a what-are-you-doing look, my eyebrows raised.

"Um. . . sure, honey. Where are you going? You knew your father. . ."

"It's important, Mom." Xavier cut her off, nodding in my direction. I stood up slowly, my mouth still hanging open.

What the hell is he doing?

"Okay. Well, hurry back please." He nodded and slid between his mom's chair and the wall, gesturing for me to join him. I followed him out of the house and grabbed on to his shirt sleeve once we were on the porch and away from his family.

"What are you doing?" I whispered. He shrugged, digging in his pocket for his keys.

"We're going to go talk to her. I want to know why she left Lily with us. I want to know who she is." He responded, ripping his arm from my grip and taking my hand in his own.

Despite my anger and confusion, I felt myself nodding and let him drag me down his driveway and back toward the car.

"Come on." He muttered, opening the passengers side and pushing me gently into it. I glared at his back as he walked around the side of the car.

"Xavier, I don't want to do this." I said once he was in the driver's seat. He reached over and patted my leg, giving me a crooked smile.

"It'll be okay, Bea. You'll thank me for it later." I wanted to snap at him, but decided to just keep my mouth shut and let him drive.

"I think your dad was just starting to like me too." I muttered as we drove away from the house. He snickered, then coughed, trying to cover it up.

"He likes you. He probably thinks you're good for me too. It seems everyone does." I laid my head against the seat and turned my body to face him.

"We're nothing alike, Xavier. You see the worst in everything, everyone. I see the best, even in people like Norah. I'm naive and inexperienced, and I bet you've had sex and made out with girls hundreds of times." My voice was barely above a whisper. He was gripping the steering wheel tightly again.

"Bea, look. You think of me as this person, this label that everyone seemed to throw on me. I'm not just that, I'm not just a label." He said, "I have feelings, I can think for myself. I feel pain and love, anger and agony. It's all there." I stayed quiet, not knowing what else to say.

"We're a lot alike, Bea. Way more than you could even begin to think. You have the same darkness in your eyes as I do, the same hesitant approach to people and life. I don't know what happen to you, but it must have been horrible." He said, only making the warmth spread through my cheeks again.

Nobody had ever really cared enough to ask what had happened to Brice and me, or maybe they had and I had just refused to listen to what they were saying. Not even our parents now knew what happened to us as children, and knowing that Xavier could see that made my heart kick start.

"I don't want to talk right now. Can we please just stop talking about

it?". He reached over and took my hand, nodding.

"Of course. But I need to know something, Bea. I want to know if you trust me." I shut my eyes as I turned my head in the other direction.

"Of course I trust you, Xavier. I wouldn't let you anywhere near Lily if I didn't." I replied. He didn't say anything in response, but didn't let go of my hand either. By the time we pulled up to the cafe, I had cleared my mind of our previous conversation and turned to nod at him.

As we climbed out of the car, I could feel my hands starting to sweat. I was terrified to see who Lily's mom was.

Sure, I had gone over it a few times in my head. If we were to ever meet her, how I'd react. What I'd do about it. If I knew her well or she was just someone that had seen me around school or something.

As we walked through the front doors to the cafe, Xavier wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me against him.

"It's okay." He whispered in my ear. Just as I was about to respond a

familiar voice cut me off.

"Xavier. Beatrice." The voice greeted us at the door. It wasn't a girls voice.

No, the person standing up from the booth in front of us was Brett.

He was holding a birth certificate in his hands. And even from this far, I could see Lily's name scribbled across it.

***AN***

Another cliffhanger?? I'm sorry guys. I promise I'll post at least one more chapter tonight

Let me know what you thought!

~ChasingMadness24