Bound by Justice

-CHAPTER 29-

VALERIA

"How is he?" I ask Mr. Damon after he finishes examining Xaiden.

Xaiden had fainted after crying so much, and I called Mr. Damon while Mr. Dominic carried Xaiden to his room.

"He fainted because of lack of energy and sleep. He needs to rest and eat to regain some energy," Mr. Damon answers, packing his equipment.

"Is he going to be okay?" Mr. Dominic asks, his eyes focused on Xaiden.

"I wish I could do a deeper examination, but I don't specialize in the work of the mind. It's best to keep an eye on him for the next few days because I fear that he may end up hurting himself worse than this."

I nod, "Thank you, Mr. Damon."

He nods curtly, and leaves the room. Mr. Dominic runs a hand through his hair.

"I should have known that this would happen," He mumbles to himself. "I should have prevented this."

"Don't blame yourself. I also knew about his self blame, but I couldn't prevent this incident from happening." I reassure him, "I'm sure that Xaiden wouldn't want to see you blaming yourself like this. You have to be strong for him because blaming yourself will only bring him more pain."

He agrees, "You're right. If I try to go down that path, it's going to kill us both. Thank you Miss Valeria."

I think it's time to leave the formalities behind. I may not be close to him but as Xaiden's friend, I want to get along with the people he's close to.

"Can you simply call me Valeria? It's becoming annoying to hear people calling me Miss Valeria all the time as if I was some lady from an influential family," I try to lighten the atmosphere and he chuckles.

"I've been wanting to ask you to do the same. When I hear someone call Mister Dominic, it makes me feel like an old man and I don't even have a wrinkle on my face so I do not deserve that kind of title," He caresses his face to emphasize how young he looks.

"Xaiden is lucky to have you as his best friend," I say.

"Most of the time, I feel lucky that he's my best friend. There aren't a lot of people who can take my overdramatic persona. Even though he pushes me away most of the time, he's a good person and he never tried to take advantage of me like others did in the past." The smile that was on his face has now faded. "I'm happy that you are in his life."

"Why?" I turn to meet his eyes.

"I won't tell you. You'll have to discover it yourself," He leaves after saying that while I stand in the middle of the room feeling confused.

I shake off his words, and focus on Xaiden who still hasn't woken up. I sit down at his bedside, and hesitantly, I run my hand through his hair. Looking at his pale face, my heart starts aching again.

I have never seen him so vulnerable before. In my eyes, he has always been a strong man who, even though has had his fair share of painful memories, never let his past affect his present, but now, I see that it wasn't true. He does what is necessary for everyone's protection, but he doesn't show his own personal problems to others.

"Why do you suffer so much?" I whisper as I feel a tear roll down my cheek.

A few hours of sitting at his bedside, I stay feeling sleepy. The high emotions from the day are now crashing on me making me feel physically drained. I try to shake off the sleepiness, but my body doesn't listen to me, and I end up falling asleep.

Something beside me moves which wakes me up. Sleepily, I rub my eyes, and look down to find that Xaiden is waking up.

"Xai-Xaiden, can you hear me?"