The Secret of Xavier

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

       I was in the bathroom, getting ready for a date with Nova when I heard Xavier whine, "Dad?!" followed by the sound of him vomiting.

       I stopped what I was doing and hurried out of the bathroom, going to the living room where Xavier was. He was sitting by the couch, a pile of throw up beside him.

       "Hey, it's okay," I said softly since he was crying a bit. "Come on, let's go to the bathroom."

       Even though there was a bit of throw up on Xavier's shirt, I picked him up and brought him to the washroom.

       There was an empty bucket I kept under the bathroom sink just in case so I grabbed it and handed it to Xavier. I told him to use it just in case he felt sick again because I had to go clean up the mess in the living room.

       As much as I loved Xavier and loved being a dad, cleaning up throw up was one of the things I would never get used to. 

       Once it was all cleaned up, I went to my mom's office where she was typing away on her computer. "Hey," I said.

       "Hey," Mom said. "You heading out soon?"

       "Actually, I'm going to have to stay here," I said. "Xavier just got sick and you know how clingy he is to me when he's sick. It will be best for me to stay home so you don't have to watch him."

       "Are you sure?" Mom asked. "I'll be able to handle him being sick so you can go on your date."

       "Yeah, I'm sure," I said. "Nova will understand."

       I hope.

       I went back to the bathroom where Xavier was now just sitting down beside the bathtub, the bucket in his lap. When I walked inside, Xavier pointed at the bathtub. "Baf?"

       "Yeah, I'll get you in the bath," I said. I turned on the faucet in the bathtub, waiting for it to be the perfect temperature for Xavier. 

       Because I had to get a few things ready for Xavier first, I picked him up and the bucket before heading to the living room and setting him down on the couch so he didn't have to wait in the bathroom. He could just get comfortable here.

       "Wait here, okay?" I said. "I just have to grab some things."

       "'Kay," Xavier said in a quiet voice, lying down on the couch.

       I went upstairs to Xavier's room to get him a pair of pyjamas to change into after his bath. While I was grabbing one, I took my cell phone out of my pocket and called Nova. "Hey," she answered.

       "Hi," I said. "So bad news. I know I'm supposed to pick you up in a few minutes but I have to cancel."

       "Is everything okay?" Nova asked.

       "Sort of," I said. "Xavier just got sick and there's no way he would let me leave the house right now so I have to stay back to watch him. I'm sorry."

       "Hey, don't apologize," Nova said. "He's your son. He gets first priority."

       "You're not mad?" I asked.

       "No, of course not," Nova said. "I'll never be mad at you for putting Xavier first. You're a dad. It's what you have to do."

       I smiled softly. Nova really was the perfect girlfriend for me. I was so afraid she would get mad that I'm cancelling at the last minute but she wasn't.

       "You're the best," I said. "Seriously."

       "Well, I'm definitely not going to deny that," Nova said. "Do you want me to come over to help take care of him? I make a mean chicken soup that he might appreciate."

       "If you want to, that would be great," I said. "I would pick you up but I'm about to give Xavier a bath."

       "Don't worry about it, I'll walk over," Nova said. "I'll see you soon."

       "See you," I said. "And thanks."

       "It's no problem," Nova said.

       After we hung up, I headed back down with Xavier's pyjamas. He ended up getting sick again, this time in the bucket so it will be a lot easier to clean.

       I brought him and the bucket to the bathroom where the tub was still running and close to being the amount of water I always have for Xavier. 

       I placed the pyjamas on the bathroom counter before helping Xavier into the tub. I turned off the water and grabbed his toys from underneath the sink, putting them in the tub. Xavier immediately grabbed his rubber duck and started playing with it. 

       In the meantime, I emptied his sick bucket and cleaned it. Once I finished, I placed it beside the bathtub and crouched down beside it so I could keep an eye on Xavier.

       He wasn't as happy right now as he usually was when he was having a bath but I didn't blame him. I hated being sick.

       Xavier looked at me. "Bubbles?"

       "Sure," I said, grabbing the container of bubbles and pouring some into the bath before stirring it around for them to form.

       Xavier was a bit happier now that there were bubbles in the tub but I knew he wasn't going to want to be in here for too long. Soon enough, he was just going to want to lie down and snuggle, like he always wanted to do when he was sick.

       I was right. He was in there enough for me to clean him up before he wanted to get over. I took him out and wrapped the towel around him before unplugging the tub.

       By the time Xavier was dry, in his pyjamas, and lying on the couch, the doorbell rang so I got up to answer it. Sure enough, it was Nova who gave me a smile. "Hi," she said, holding up a cloth bag. "I made the soup at home and brought it here, and I also brought some snacks for us."

       "Thanks again," I said.

       "Hey, it's seriously not a problem," Nova said. "It's not like us not going out tonight means we're never going to go on a date ever again."

       I smiled at her and led her to the living room. Xavier's face immediately lit up when he saw Nova. "Hi!"

       Nova smiled at him and sat beside him. "Hi, Xavier. Are you sick?" Xavier nodded. "Well, I brought you some soup. Soup helps you feel a lot better. Do you want some?"

       "Yeah!" Xavier said.

       Nova pulled the thermos out of the cloth bag so I went to the kitchen to grab a spoon for Xavier. By the time I got back to the living room, Xavier was all snuggled up next to Nova. Just seeing that made me extremely happy. All I wanted from a partner was to have someone my son loved a whole lot.

       And Xavier clearly loved Nova. 

       And she loved him.

       I couldn't be happier with the two of them.

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sorryyyyyyy for the long wait for an update. i hate that this is one of the books that i don't struggle with ideas yet i just don't update :( 

i think to save me from this, i'm going to post on my wall once a month about requests you all want me to update so if there is a book like this that i forget to update, you'll be able to remind me.

also i feel like this book, unfortunately, might be coming to an end soon :( but fear not. we'll get to see, finally, tulip and xavier's blooming relationship <3 i'm still deciding if the book should be while they're dating or what leads up to them dating.

what would you like to see more? them already dating when the book starts or them only being friends? also would you like a dual POV (tulip and xavier's POV alternating) or just tulip's?