I Thought You Died

Anticipation

Chapter: 15

THREE MONTHS LATER...

Xander's POV:

I opened the door of my hotel room with a sigh. The excitement building up in me was causing me to get tired faster than I usually did but I couldn’t help it. The fact that I was going to be with River in just a few more hours had fixed my anticipation at its highest point.

Just a few more hours...

I had missed River but these three months had been amazing. It felt good to pass on what I had learned, giving those kids the opportunity to pursue their dreams and passion.

My excitement didn’t last long when I saw the mess that I had made in the hotel room. The covers were sprawled across my bed along with my clothes. My suitcase was lying open, almost empty and my gadgets sat on the small, white table, uncharged. The only thing that wasn’t out of place was my guitar which was in its case, leaning against the wall.

Raindrops had started pounding against the window of my room by the time I had gathered the guts to start picking up my clothes. I started with the ones on my bed, picking them up and throwing them in the suitcase one by one. Then, I moved toward the dirty clothes which were piled up next to my guitar. Even though those clothes smelled bad, I picked up the pile and dropped it in the suitcase. It was then that I realized that the suitcase wouldn’t close. I groaned.

If River had been here, she would’ve been shaking her head at me like she always did. I grinned at the thought and then sighed. I took out all the clothes again and sat on the floor, crossing my legs. Taking a deep breath, I started folding my clothes. This will take a long time.

It felt like an eternity before I was done, though it had only been an hour. I put my gadgets in as well except for my phone which I needed to charge before the flight. I ran my gaze around the room to make sure I had packed everything. Once I did that though, I turned out the lights and collapsed on the bed.

I let my thoughts wander around my mind but most of them were about River. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Whenever I was free, my mind got flooded with thoughts of her. I wondered if she missed me as much as I missed her. I felt as if she was the only one who mattered now.

It wasn’t until we parted our ways that I realized how much I felt for her. Those feelings had gotten stronger in the past three months and I knew she was more than just a friend to me now but I couldn’t describe what I was feeling. I didn’t know what they meant or if she felt the same way.

Having these feelings for her was odd, considering how we hated each other when we met. We couldn’t take one minute without insulting each other.

When her father showed up though, her expression was something I could never forget. It was then that I felt something other than hate towards her. Softness. Her expression had shown that she didn’t want to go back to the life she had escaped after so long. When Alex brought her home, she let go of her past like she was never a part of it. She didn’t waste any time sulking about it. She moved on, accepting the fact that she didn’t live a normal childhood. And she was amazingly strong to do that.

Her emotional strength was something I couldn’t stop being surprised about. All that pain had just made her stronger. When I found out about the things my father and brother had done, I couldn’t stop hating them. It was hard for me to move on. I felt as if all of my trust had washed away. I wouldn’t have moved on at all if it wasn’t for River.

Deep in my thoughts, I fell asleep.

___*___*___

The sound of the alarm woke me up. I blinked wearily but my eyes shot open when I realized what day it was. I jumped up and raced to the bathroom to take a shower. It didn’t take me more than ten minutes to get ready. I put my phone in my back pocket and grabbed my bag and suitcase. Without even glancing behind, I left the room.