Write Me A Letter

24 | touch

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR | T O U C H

        BRIE WATCHED XANDER AS HIS EYES swept over the dark and empty living room before releasing a sigh of relief. He looked at her from over his shoulder and pressed a finger to his lips. "We gotta keep it low. Dad's a light sleeper."

She nodded, pursing her lips as she took in the little visuals the moonlight could offer her. The Liu's home was massive, and although Wes's was far more extravagant and and larger, Xander's home was still a visual treat with Bamboo floors and expensive hardwood furniture.

She kinda missed heading here when her dignity still allowed her to do so. It felt like ages ago when it was just probably around four months. Brie almost laughed at the irony of it all—here she was with Xander Liu of all people, truly one for the books.

They tiptoed their way to the polished, wooden staircase, and Brie had to hold her breath whenever she'd take a step in hopes that it'd lessen the pain that shot her body every time she moved. Ah, fuck. She hissed when she stepped the wrong way. She'd probably be sore until next week.

"You okay?" Xander whispered to her, grabbing her by the hand.

His skin was warm against her freezing hand and the instinct to pull away came over Brie, but he kept her hand in place. "Come on, we're almost there," he said, tugging her closer.

She winced when Xander turned on the light in his room. He let her sit on his bed and promptly shut door close with a soft click. Then, he turned to her and placed his hands on his hips. "I think I have a first-aid kid in my bathroom. Let me just grab it."

"Xander."

He whipped back. "Yeah?"

Her lips pursed as words struggled to make their way out of her lips. Brie's eyes traveled everywhere but on him, falling on the sky-blue carpet under his bed. With a sigh, she let her socked feet curl over its soft fibers. Three deep breaths, it took that much before she came up with a coherent sentence. "Thank you. I don't know what else to say."

The sound of his soft laugh made her look up. Xander had a small teasing smile on his face and his eyes that looked smaller when he laughed were crinkled at the corners, making him look like a cute little kid. It gave Brie flashbacks on why she fell in love with this boy—dangerous snippets that needed to be buried deep down under. "Well, you can tell me if you'd like some sushi for a midnight snack because I've got some hidden in the fridge downstairs."

All she could respond with was a shy nod.

-

"Ow!"

"I'm so sorry!" Brie winced. Panicked, Xander softly blew on her shut left eye. It was swollen and felt sore. "Does it feel better now?" he asked after another blow. "My mom always did that to my wounds when I was younger."

She smiled at the memory of a short and petite woman who had the brightest hazel eyes she had ever seen. "She cooks the best Kung Pao Chicken."

Xander nodded. He had a grin as he tried to apply cream onto her cheek. It felt cold at first, then it morphed into a dull tingling sensation. "Yeah, you always were the last one to finish. And then, we'd all drive back to your treehouse to order pizza or burgers. No wonder I gained so much weight."

"I miss that."

Their eyes met. "I miss it too."

Brie sat there, transfixed and overwhelmed with everything she wanted to say. It all hit her chest at once like a thunderbolt. She wasn't sure what happened to her self-control, but she didn't mean to sound nostalgic nor did she expect him to respond that way. She felt like an overflowing broken cup that desperately needed a new placeholder to hold all the emotions in. "Xander—"

His phone rang. They both blinked; she, shaking her head at another moment of weakness, while him, smiling apologetically at her and picking up his phone. He walked over to his window, pulling back his curtain to squint outside.

Brie's eyes fell to her lap, taking deep breaths. Her fingers traced the checkered pattern on Xander's blue pajamas that he loaned her as she listened to his phone call. It was Troy.

"Is everything alright?" she asked after he dropped the call with a grunt.

"Yeah. He's downstairs. He wants to check up on you so I told him to go up. He brought Paula's Vespa."

Oh. She completely forgot about the Vespa.

"There he is."

Troy's curly red hair poked into the room. "Hey," he said, obviously tipsy as grinned at Xander. His green eyes fell to her, and his face immediately softened. "Fuck, Brie. You look like shit."

She snorted. "Thanks, Troy. It makes me feel better."

Rolling his eyes, he dropped the key into her palm and plopped down on the bed next to her, draping his arm over his eyes. His lanky frame looked so small in Xander's queen-sized bed. "It was such a mess over there," he said after awhile, peaking at both of them from under his arm. He frowned at Xander. "Your girlfriend was a crying mess."

Brie knew they all flinched at the same time.

"She'll get over it." Xander sat in his swivel chair. His leg bopped up and down. "She does this all the time."

"Yeah, well she should stop doing it. It's annoying."

Brie glanced at Troy. She always thought of him as the most quiet one in the group, rarely joining in on the mess, but when he spoke, Brie always felt like his words weighed heavier. They all fell silent after that, and soon enough the room was filled with the sound of Troy's snoring.

She stole a glance at Xander who was furiously tapping at his phone, his brows knitted together and his jaw hard. He must be texting his girlfriend. The reality that Brie was here with him made bile rise up her throat. Just like that, she felt so small—she wanted to get rid of his clothes that were on her skin.

She wanted to crawl away out of his room and run and run into the night. Maybe she could wake Troy up and crash at his place. She... she...

What's wrong with me? She shut her eyes and gripped on the sheets as the answer came flashing through her mind. Xander wasn't cheating on his girlfriend—they weren't doing anything wrong. But her conscience was already tainted and weakened by the fact that even though she wasn't doing anything wrong, her heart was still yearning for a mistake.