Crimson, Clover & Honey

{ 18 }

Days passed and I did not see Xavier.

Samuel had made the final decision to try and let Xavier recover, with no repercussions to Kallum, for what they had done. The idea made me slightly more furious with the situation I had been put in. Although, everything for Samuel was centered around the impending doom of his wife. Anything that could disturb Yvonne's chances of surviving such a delivery was a horrid idea and I understood.

I spent my time mostly confined to my room for the entire night. Yvonne occasionally joined as my company. We ate snacks and played some card games. One night she told me about her family.

She was an only child from a single mother. She ran away from home when she was my age and was living on the streets for awhile, eventually got an apartment, went to school. She worked two jobs and got through a two year program for a job at the portland hospital. She caught Samuel stealing blood from the hospital, "and the rest was history" she cut shortly.

I couldn't understand how that could turn romantic but I didn't judge.

I shared with her about my brother and his baby, which was months away from being born.

She asked me if I missed Florida and I told her I wasn't sure.

I asked her if she thought Xavier would ever talk to me again and she just told me he was healing and needed time.

He mostly hid himself in his room, only speaking with Samuel or Jeremy. Theo had come across the same idea as I before, that Naomi was the one who saved Xavier from the cellar. He had left that night, calling Samuel regularly to ward off any worry. I did not know myself if he had been able to reach her but it seemed that Kallum's cult was getting into some serious trouble and of course, Theo was worried.

It did eventually dawn on me that he should simply own up to being in love with her, but maybe the well kept secret had just gone too far to be aired so easily. With Xavier prowling on Halloween night, did he not catch glimpse of Theo oggling a drunken Naomi? Or was that maybe passed off as playing the part? Not to mention, how did he get himself onto Kallum's warded grounds? My confusion with Theo only grew the longer he was away. Things werent adding up, someone was lying to me somewhere.

I have had a lot of time to myself, so many questions have presented themselves to me. I wondered if only I, since once being blood mated or at least a potential candidate to be, was able to see their glowing eyes. I recalled the rejection of Theo's appearance at the Halloween party. Could no one else see it but me?

My things had now been moved into their mother's room, as she had given a letter to them stating her leave. No real goodbye was given and that alarmed me but that seemed usual from her, by how they reacted to it.

I did not have many clothes, only a handful of recycling items, but I was making it work. A revisit to my house for clothes was needed but also potentially dangerous-so, not worth it.
Instead, Samuel offered to have me taken out shopping out near Portland.

Apparently they had not shopped for the baby yet and it was due any day, at least by Yvonne's body standards. I didn't think Yvonne's appearance was public appropriate, as she increasingly looked more skeleton like by day. So it would most likely just be two of us.

I was getting myself ready for the treck, having just showered. My black jeans and yellow floral sweater were layed out on the bed, an outfit now repeated constantly. I braided my hair on both sides, hoping to keep my damp hair at bay in the cold as we went outside. I pulled on my boots then raced myself downstairs to see Xavier waiting for me by the door.

I paused for a moment, looking around the room. Was he the one to bring me out today?

Xavier stood with his back to me, looking out the side window of the door. It was mid afternoon, we would reach outter Portland at dinner time, only giving us a few mere hours to shop. But vampires run in the night, so that was the challenge we faced.