Xavier

6

I rolled out of my bed bright and early Saturday morning still thinking of last night. Xavier really did live up to the hype. He was as nice of a guy as they said on Rate My Professor. I doubt it was in the context of him giving them a ride but still.

I threw my curly hair into a messy bun and proceeded to cleaning up my room. On Saturday's Nadia and I typically did all of our household stuff. Since she's hungover it looks like I'll be doing it all on my own.

After cleaning my bedroom and bathroom I went out into the living room to clean in there. I got done doing everything at around noon.

Nadia still hadn't gotten up. I furrowed my eyebrows and made my way to her room to check on her. "Nadia? You good in here?" I asked lowly as I pushed her door open. 

"Mhm, my heads hurting. I'll probably be out later." She grumbled from under her blankets. "Okay, I'm going to the market."

"Don't forget to get cheese."

I headed back to my room to grab a hoodie and my bag before I made my way out of the door. I liked to shop alone anyway, after a good ten minutes Nadia is usually complaining about wanting to go home.

My first stop was Target. I had a list prepared of things I wanted but as soon as I walked in the door I started picking up stuff that wasn't in the plan.

I made my way to the feminine hygiene section to restock on pads nodding my head lightly to the music in my AirPods. I hope that Jhené Aiko never stops making music.

I moved my cart to the side and stepped closer to the shelf of organic pads to grab a bunch. I got a few packs of the super and regular sized, but when it came to the overnight ones I was presented with a challenge.

There were two packs left and they were pushed pretty far back on the top shelf. I wouldn't describe myself as tall but I also didn't think I'm short since I'm standing at 5'5. I'm pretty sure that's average for a woman.

I stepped up onto the bottom shelf after looking up and down the aisle and tried to reach but admittedly I don't have the longest arms. I let out a huff of annoyance as I stepped down still looking upward at what I wanted. Suddenly, A long arm reached over me and grabbed the pads before gesturing them to me.

My mouth opened slightly from shock as I turned to thank them. I was surprised to see Professor Nixon standing there. "Nice to see you again, Genesis." He said. "I-it's nice to see you too. Thank you, I really appreciate it. " I said while looking at his forehead.

I didn't wanna look him in the eye cause this is embarrassing. "No problem." He replied with a small laugh.

I took the pads from his hands and turned to put them in my cart. "Could I ask you for a little assistance in return?" He asked as he put his hands into his pockets.

"Of course."

"So my sister just got her period and she said it's really bad. She's complaining about the types of pads she has with her, so I wanted to get her some good ones. What do you recommend?" He asked almost shyly.

I bit my lip lightly to fight my smile. That's adorable. "Well you can get her this brand, it's organic and it has this cooling sensation that usually helps me with cramps too. It's probably heavy since it just started so you should get the super pads." I explained.

"You are a life saver." He smiled. "Should I get anything else?"

"Well this brand is also organic and it doesn't have that cooling sensation. Get the really thick ones though." I advised.

"Perfect."

I watched him nearly clearly all of the pads I suggested that they had available from the shelves. "And she'd benefit from these feminine wipes too." I said finally.

I nearly laughed as he took every box of individually wrapped wipes and every pack of wipes they had. "You are a really good brother." I smiled.

"My sister probably wouldn't say that. She'll probably call me something offensive in Polish when I get these to her actually."

I actually let out a soft laugh at that. "She seems hilarious."

"Oh she is! You've probably seen her around campus. Maybe you two will get to meet."

"I hope we do. As much as I'd like to continue talking, I do have to go." I told him sadly.

"Ah yes. Thank you again for your help. I'll see you in class on Monday."

"See ya Monday, Professor."

I started to walk away and realized I didn't have my cart. I awkwardly turned back around while he watched me with an amused expression. "Just forgot this." I mumbled.

I grabbed the cart and rolled it in the direction I was going before. When I got a good distance away I could've swore I heard him laughing softly. "Idiot, how do you forget your cart?" I scolded myself.

:::

When Sunday morning rolled around, I laid in my bed for over two hours just staring up at the ceiling. My Sunday's were like my spa days. With what I planned to do today I'd really need it afterward.

I let out a deep breath and finally pulled myself out of bed. I quickly handled my morning routine before putting on a pair of baggy sweatpants and a sweat shirt.

I pulled my bonnet off and fixed my hair before putting on shoes. "I'll be back in like an hour or two." I told Nadia as I stepped into the living room.

She looked over at me from her space on the couch and nodded. "Do you want me to come with you?"

I shook my head no and she nodded. "Okay, well be safe and let me know when you get where you're going."

Even though she knew where I was going she avoided saying the name. It's the first Sunday of the month and for me that means visiting my ex's grave. It's a routine that we had both gotten used to so we never had to say exactly what it was, we both just knew. She still wasn't comfortable with saying cemetery around me, so luckily she already knew the routine.

I left shortly after and made it to the cemetery in about 45 minutes. Parking was scarce so there must be a funeral today. After driving around for a few more minutes I finally parked. Walking over to his grave took about seven minutes since I had to go up and then down a hill.

I came upon the familiar area with a somber smile. His headstone looked like it was freshly cleaned. His mother must've visited recently. I sat down under the tree that loomed over the few graves in this area and faced his headstone.

'Here lie Quincy Hardwick Beloved Brother and Son'

It hurt to be here, but nothing like the first few times. I could breath easier while I was here as opposed to when I first visited. "No matter how many times I come, I never know the right way to start talking." I sighed with a brief laugh.

"I guess I'll just start with, I still miss you. More than anything in the world and I wish you were still here." My small smile faded and tears welled in my eyes.

"You know, I still wear your hoodie. There's a hole in it near the hood and it's so faded. But I still wear it anyway. Sometimes it feels like it's the only thing that keeps me going. At least I have that of you." I shared.

"Nadia tries to be nice about it but she hates that I always wear it." I smiled. "God you don't even understand how much I miss hearing you bicker with her."

Nadia and Quincy had a strictly hate relationship. Or at least that whats they tried to act like. They were actually pretty good friends when they weren't arguing about silly stuff. "I remember that one time you guys were arguing over which way to go to get to the beach and you got us lost for three hours just trying to prove her wrong." I laughed.

Wasn't one of his finest moments but he bought us dinner and dessert to make up for it. God, Nadia didn't let him live that down for months.

I sat there for about an hour longer, part of that time was in silence and the other part of it crying. It's crazy how much I still missed him and yet he'd never know.