Royalty

Fifty Nine

a/n: summary manip ^^ gossip girl update: i'm on s4 now and dorota is definitely my favorite character lol i think i like blair more than serena bc honestly serena has some poor judgment on a lot of things that just frustrate me haha anyways happy new year! :)

"He just wants money from me. That's all," Xander repeated for about the four hundredth time in the past three days. "He'll just tell me the same things he's said before, that I owe him everything for my mom leaving and that it's my fault."

Summer walked into the living area from the kitchen, handing Xander a glass of water. We were sitting in her place, just hanging out away from my apartment. It was the first time Isabella and Xander had come over here, so while Izzy was roaming around and admiring everything, Xander had filled Summer in on what had happened the other day. 

It's actually the first time he's really been out of the building since our little surprise guest. He's been too paranoid about running into his dad on the streets, so it took a lot of persuasion to get him over to Summer's place today. I'm not even sure how Isabella's little 'pep talk' convinced him to get out of the apartment because I overheard most of it and it fucking sucked.

But nevertheless, he stepped foot out of the building. It was a good thing, too, because I was starting to worry he was getting too pale. He needed some of that sunlight.

"This place is amazing!" Isabella appeared at the top of the stairs. She pointed back towards Summer's room and looked at us. "The closet is bigger than your bedroom, Harry!"

"I know, I know," I rolled my eyes. "Have you given yourself a tour of the whole place yet?"

"Almost. I still have the kitchen and the balcony to explore," she walked down the stairs and passed by us. "And is that old man downstairs always so friendly?"

"Yes, he is. 'That old man' has a name. It's Albert."

"Albert. What a cute name for an old man."

She disappeared behind one of the kitchen walls, leaving Summer and I laughing. Xander was still sitting on the couch, not having paid any attention to what we were just talking about. His brows were drawn together and he was scratching his bottom lip repeatedly, a nervous habit of his.

"What if he came here for something else?" He randomly spoke up, looking at the two of us. "What if he doesn't just want money?"

"Money is all he cares about," I frowned, looking at my friend. I hated to see him so distressed. "He's just coming to claim money that isn't his. If he just got out, money is what he needs. But you're not giving him a penny."

"I don't want to."

"Don't worry about it," I reassured him. Summer leaned her head on my shoulder, so I wrapped my arm around her body. "He's not going to do anything to hurt you. He's on probation or parole, or whatever it was he said. He can't do anything to violate his terms or he's sent back. So you're fine. And besides, if I have to fight him to keep him away from you, I will."

"Let's hope it doesn't come down to that," Summer slightly laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

Xander slowly nodded his head, "You're right. He can't do anything without being sent back. I just need to push it out of my mind."

"That's more like it," I smiled.

"But what if he loses his temper?"

"Xander! Stop worrying," I laughed. "Your dad won't do anything to be returned to incarceration. He hasn't even showed up in the past three days. Maybe he moved on."

"Maybe," he nodded.

He didn't look convinced at all, but he seemed to want to drop the subject. Thankfully Isabella had come back into the room. All she did was sit down on the couch next to Xander, and I could already see a smile starting to form on his lips.