Losing Home✔️

3. Nic?

His voice's smooth yet husky, and immensely alluring. Even with worry tinged in his words, it was strong, enticing and deep.

"Alex l-left me a-alone t-to answer her p-phone and Paisley and A-Ace helped me f-find y-you" Peyton sobbed out to who I assumed to be Xavier.

His head snapped to Alex, a cold deathly look morphed on his face and I had to take a step back from Alex who was only a foot away from me. The resentment and ferocity of detestation in his eyes scared me and it wasn't even directed at me. His jaw was ticking and the rest of the crowd took a few steps back as well. Alex, however, was burning holes into Peyton who had her head buried in Xavier's chest.

"You left her?" The amount of vehemence and hostility in his voice sent a shiver down my spine. He had only hissed his words out through gritted teeth. Obviously trying to not explode in front of Peyton.

"No, no. It's not like-" Alex had started to shuffle her way over to the pair before Xavier cut her off and ceased her movements to explain her negligence and idiocy.

"You. Left. Her." Each word was a bit out with a dark intensity and hate woven into each word.

Alex tries to explain herself, but again Xavier cuts her off before she could say anything. "Don't bother. Stay away from us." He seethes darkly.

Peyton had somehow wriggled out of Xavier's arms and over to Ace and me. Both Xavier and Alex watching her every move as she squirmed her way underneath my left arm and had wrapped an arm around Ace's neck.

I looked down at Peyton with her arm wrapped around the back of the leg, and I gave her a small reassuring smile at her. Glancing back up to the scene that was unfolding, it had frozen momentarily, Xavier's smouldering dark brown eyes set themselves on me after flickering to Peyton.

I looked up at him through my lashes with a sheepish smile etched on my face. I could feel Alex's burning stare on the side of my head however, I didn't turn my head enough to be able to see her.

It was Alex who broke the silence. "It's all her fault! She took her after she ran off! She Basically kidnapped her!" she practically whined like a child and pointed at me.

Xavier's head snapped back to Alex, a low growl erupting from his broad chest and speaking in a low, deadly tone. "She's Eight."

Xavier's hands were fisted by his side and Alex had shrunk a little in her step, avoiding eye contact with Xavier and opting to glare at me. Xavier's hand flew to his head, running through his tousled locks. His chest rising noticeably as he inhaled a large breath to what I assume is to calm him down, then blew it out again.

Alex made a move to speak, opening her mouth but immediately being cut off by Xavier, "Stop." She shut her mouth, visually resembling a fish.

An audience was still surrounding us until Xavier noticed and glared at everyone causing them all to scurry away and back to their own business.

"Nic, look at Paisley's doggy! He's so cute!" Peyton cooed as she petted Ace on the head and gave him kisses.

Nic?

Xavier strode towards Peyton, Ace and I, completely ignoring Alex's presence. His eyes were focused solely on Peyton wedged underneath my left arm.

"Yes, he is Princess, but we should get going." His voice had softened significantly now since he's talking to Peyton. It's soft, smooth and almost coaxing. A stark difference from the deathly tone he had only moments ago.

Peyton wrapped her arms around me and looked up into my eyes with a bright smile on her face before speaking in a soft tone. "Bye, Paisley. Bye Ace." She ran to Xavier's awaiting arms and nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck.

I whistled Ace over to leave since the sun was setting and my body was severely begging me to let it rest. Just as I was about to turn away from Xavier and Peyton, I caught Xavier's darkened orbs. He gave a small nod towards Peyton silently, thanking me, I simply give him a kind smile that once again was genuine.

He turned and walked away after one last long look my way. I was about to as well until Alex's violent glare bore into me, silently plotting my demise in the storm of her steely grey eyes. Ace took on his protective stance eyeing Alex's every movement and after a long moment of our stare down, she made her leave – quite angrily. The clicking of her stilettos resonated through the now mostly empty park.

I made my way back to our new house with Ace by my side with my thoughts consisting of the good-looking man I just met. The fact that he hadn't said much, to the amount of detestation he carried in his tone and the pure resentment in his eyes.

Why did Peyton call him Nic? Isn't his name Xavier? Maybe it's a nickname or an inside joke, or something. It doesn't matter anyway.

Walking through the front door, I opened the bi-fold glass door for Ace to get a drink of water and food in the backyard and then letting him back in. Trudging up to my room, completely bypassing my mom in the kitchen cooking dinner, I just yelled a simple "I'm back!" before shutting the door behind Ace and flopping onto my freshly made bed.

Getting comfortable in my bed and Ace settinghimself up at the foot of my bed, I let my head hit my pillow and I slip into asevere sleep-induced coma. My dreams filled with those smoldering earthy huedeyes.