Love Like Winter ❄️ Xavier Thorpe

Chapter 6: The Past Can Really Hurt

Soundtrack:

"letdown" by nothing,nowhere
"Lead Me Out of the Dark" by Crown the Empire
"a thousand years" by Christina Perri
"Remember Every Scar" by Escape the Fate

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He tells me about what happened with Tyler and his friends destroying one of his murals and beating the shit out of himt two years ago.

"That's awful!" I say while still trying to keep my voice down.

"That's not even the worst part though, actually," he takes a breath before continuing, "When the monster attacks started last year, Wednesday decided she was going to do basically whatever it took to solve the mystery and figure out who the monster really was. She didn't care if she put her friends in danger, which she did multiple times, or who she hurt in the process. I tried to be there for her as a friend and I guess I thought she might've liked me as more than that at one point."

I feel a small twinge in my heart. I know it was in the past, but it's still obvious to me that he really did care about her.

"I caught her in the woods by my studio and for some dumb reason, I assumed she wanted to ask me to the Rave'N dance. The only reason she ended up asking me was to cover her own ass for snooping around my studio. I'd basically backed her into a corner and she felt that manipulating me and lying was the best way out," he shakes his head and scoffs. "I found her literally coming out of my studio a few days later and accused her of only asking me to the dance for the very reason I said and she couldn't argue. I don't know if I was more pissed off or hurt, and I wish I could say it ended there, but it didn't."

The waitress brings over our food and coffees and I assume Xavier will just continue with his story, but instead he drops the subject and starts eating. The food is delicious, as is the coffee. I'd had a particular love of diners back home and so a breakfast date at a diner or coffee shop was always up my alley. I can't help but keep glancing up at Xavier, trying to read him. I didn't realize how badly he'd been hurt by Wednesday.

The sheriff walks past our table again with a coffee in his hand. "You doing okay?"

Xavier nods. "Just trying to survive. That's hard enough some days."

"Trust me, I know the feeling," the sheriff says before noticing me. "Who's your friend? I expected to see the other one you're always with, the Addams girl."

Another twinge in my heart. Xavier must see the pain on my face because he takes my hand in his and squeezes it reassuringly. "This is Annamaria Meadows, she's technically Wednesday's cousin."

"Ah, I see. Well, it's nice to meet you, Miss Meadows," the sheriff says before heading back out the door.

I let out a shaky breath and try to steady the anxiety inside of me. It's a good thing I've eaten most of my food before that point, because my appetite basically vanished. Xavier pays for our meals at the counter and then we leave the coffee shop. He reaches for my hand at the same instant I decide to tuck my hair behind my ear. I need a moment before I break down from the overwhelming knowledge.

We walk side by side, while I fidget with my hands, unknowingly picking at the skin around my nails until it starts bleeding. I don't even realize until I look down and see the blood on my hand.

"Shit," I say, bringing my hand up. "I'm bleeding."

Xavier stops and pulls me over to a water fountain, turning it on and running the water over my hand. The blood comes off and leaves the side of my thumb red and raw, but it seems to stop bleeding. Wordlessly, he takes my other hand and leads me to a bench. I sit down beside him and see the concern on his face.