What the heart wants

34. The missing piece

I spent the whole night tossing and turning on my bed. There was a strange turmoil stirring inside my mind, making me restless. I opened my mobile phone and looked at the time, it was just 4am in the morning.

Jumping out of the bed, I stretched my legs and slipped inside a night robe. Securing a knot in front of my stomach, I walked out of my room. There was a balcony on the other end of the hallway. I tiptoed towards the balcony but gasped when I found someone already sitting there on a bench.

"Xavier?", I asked uncertainly.

He angled his face, his eyes still looked puffy from the fever but otherwise, his condition was better.

"What are you doing here?", I asked, settling on the empty space beside him.

"I couldn't sleep.", he muttered and I followed his gaze to the bright sky. The sky was clear, stars shone like snow-flakes in the night. I relished as the wind blowed through my messy hair.

"Don't worry. It happens to a lot of people a day before their wedding.", I teased, trying my best to hide the dejection in my voice.

He didn't respond, instead his eyes remained fixated on the moon. I felt like I was in some cliche movie where the hero and heroine were sitting on the ground, watching the sunrise.

Except I was not the heroine of his story.

My eyes trailed over his features, his tousled hair which were usually set back with gel, his deep eyes which lacked the arrogance they once contained, his lips were set in a thin line and his cheeks felt hollowed out. He definitely had lost weight.

He didn't look like a man who was going to marry the love of his life.

Curiosity peaked inside me. "Do you love Jessica?", I whispered and regretted it the next minute.

His eyes flicked to mine, a wave of different emotions swirling inside the blue orbs.

"Um.. I.. I am sorry, I shouldn't have asked.", I apologized the next moment, noticing the scowl on his face.

He nodded. "Yes, you shouldn't have.", saying, he turned his attention back to the sky. There was something wrong with the way he responded, something I couldn't comprehend.

"You didn't answer.", I spoke, even though the sane part of my mind was screaming at me to shut up.

His jaw clenched tightly and he stood up. Giving me a brief glare, he walked past me.

What just happened?

I stood up and rushed behind him. "Wait.", I half-yelled as he began to close the door of his room.

"Stop meddling in my affairs Hazel.", his voice was strained, I had no idea why he was acting so sour.

"That was not an answer to my question.", I said and his nose scrunched up.

"I am not bound to give you any answer.", his voice was impassive. With that, he shut the close on my face, leaving me standing there with mouth hung open.

There is something wrong, Xavier is hiding something. And I have to find out what.

...

I just managed to sleep for few hours when a loud bang on the door woke me up. Huffing, I let out a loud yawn and hopped towards the door. Before I could watch clearly with my half-asleep eyes, someone enveloped me in a giant hug.

"Oof.", I muttered some unladylike words under my breath and yanked myself away from the intruder.

Squinting my eyes, I found my brother staring at me with wide eyes.

"Alex.", I squealed and jumped at him for another hug. I felt like crying all of sudden, I was meeting my brother after a long time. Plus, my present emotional instability added more to the misery. In short, tears burst out of my eyes.

"Sis, are you crying?", he pulled apart and asked with concern.

"Umm.. No. It's.. I just..", I stammered awkwardly.

"My sister.. who didn't even cry when our mother left us for a new family, she is crying. I must say I am surprised.", he teased, earning a playful punch from me.

"Don't think so highly of yourself Cinderella. I just forgot how ugly you looked.", I teased, wiping the wetness with my hands.

"Where is Anna?", I asked, looking around in the hallway.

"She is in Xavier's room.", he responded.

Xavier. Right! I almost forgot what happened last night. I have to find out the reason behind his mood swings. Whatever the issue is, it won't stay hidden for long.

"Ok, go get dressed. You look like a homeless person. I'll be waiting downstairs.", he mocked me and exited the room, closing the door behind him.

...

After dressing up like a normal human being, I made my way towards the living room. Jessica and Anna were sitting silently on the couch while Alex was busy discussing something about politics with Nathaniel. Stefan was standing at the other corner of the room, barking some orders at someone on the phone.

"Heyyy.", I called Anna, putting a smile on my face. Her face lightened up and she stood up to hug me which I returned with equal fervor. We became good friends after she started going out with Alex. She was a good kid, smart and respectful, kind of like her brother.

"Hazel?", I heard Jessica's voice from the side. She had a puzzled expression on her face.

"Yeah?", I asked with unsure voice.

"Anna told me that you are her boyfriend's sister.", she said, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Yeah. Unfortunately.", I joked.

"Then why come you never told me that you and Xavier knew each other?"

Crap.

"Uh.. I.. We..", I stuttered, not knowing what to say.

"These two weren't close actually. They just spent few days together on a road trip.", Alex interrupted.

Double crap.

Suspicion etched on Jessica's face as she looked between Alex and me. I had no idea what to say, her reaction was reasonable, we always acted like we had never met before.

"We didn't like each other.", I heard Xavier's voice. He was standing near the door casually, his arms were crossed in front of his chest.

"That's why we didn't tell you. We didn't want our enmity to affect the preparations.", he said nonchalantly.

"Oh.", Jessica nodded in understanding.

Xavier and I exchanged a look, I tried to find a trace of emotion but they were blank, like unending pits of darkness.

Why did he never tell Jessica about us?

Damn it, what is going on in the stupid brain of his?

Give me a hint Xavier, any trace, any logic behind your actions, behind that kiss, behind the intensity of your gaze everytime you look at me. Otherwise I'd go crazy. Nothing makes sense, it feels like there is a piece of this puzzle missing.

But how will I find that missing piece?

My face lit up when an idea crossed my mind. "His room!", I thought in my mind.

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Predict the ending of this story. :)