Love Like Winter ❄️ Xavier Thorpe

Chapter 8: Rendezvous With A Monster

Soundtrack:

"i dont mind" by dottie da
"Iris" by Kim Dracula
"Just Kidding" by Waterparks
"Alone Again" by Reggie and the Full Effect

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I'm still shaking by the time we make it inside Xavier's shed. He makes sure to lock the door behind us and then silently sits down next to me.

"Are you okay?" I ask after a few moments.

He sighs. "Yeah. This just feels all too familiar."

I take his hands in mine and climb into his lap, laying my head against his chest. He wraps me in his arms and I feel that he was still trembling too. We stay like that for what feels like hours.

"I'm sorry our night got ruined," Xavier says while stroking my hair.

I pull back to look at him. "It didn't. I had a really great time with you at the festival."

He smiles. "I did too, until ... all of that. At least you still have your stuffed animals we won."

I glance over at the tiger and zebra I sat on one of Xavier's tables and smile. Teasing him while we were playing games earlier was the most fun I'd had in a long time. If it wasn't for the whole Bianca thing, something might've actually came of it. I think he felt that too.

"You really think Wednesday knows more than she's saying?" I ask.

He nods. "Definitely. Next time she does that weird running off shit, call me or text me and we'll follow her, together."

The image of Bianca's wounded body flashes back into my mind and I shudder. There really isn't any wild animal that could've done that. And where had she been the whole time she was missing? I shut my eyes and try to forget that part of the night ever happened.

The next morning, Xavier and I go and see Bianca in the hospital and find out that she's in an induced coma until some of her wounds heal.

"I wonder if somehow, deep down, I remembered that a siren had erased my memories. Maybe that's why I could never trust Bianca," Xavier says quietly.

I nod. "Do you think she was at the camp with us too?"

Xavier shrugs. "I still don't remember. I mean, her mother is crooked enough to actually erase kids' memories though if your mom paid her enough."

"Last time this happened, did the monster normally kidnap its victims before attacking them?" I ask curiously.

"That's the part I can't figure out. I'm wondering if maybe she escaped from wherever she was being kept and then the monster found her and attacked her for running," Xavier says, running his hand through his hair.

It is a really good theory, that sadly we wouldn't get answered until either Bianca wakes up, we catch Wednesday in her lies, or god forbid, someone else goes missing. "I'm going to try to stay close to Wednesday for the rest of the day. Maybe she'll just break and tell me what's going on."

He nods. "Okay, just please be careful and don't go chasing after her without me. It's too dangerous."

"I won't," I meet his eyes.

"You promise?" He stares into my eyes so deeply that I almost forget to breathe.

I swallow and nod. "I promise, Xavier."

"Good," he kisses my forehead and pulls me close to him. "I don't know what I would do if something happened to you."

He walks me back to my dorm and presses his lips against mine before we part ways. When I enter my dorm, Enid and Thing are giving each other manicures and Wednesday is typing away on her typewriter. Enid hope up when she sees me come in and shows me her silver painted nails.