Page 32 of Framed

chapter thirteen

Scarlett

Iwaspacing.

My heart thudded in my chest, louder with every lap of my room I completed. The sound roared so loud in my ears, I was sure it’d jump out of my chest if given the opportunity.

I couldn’t see him. I knew that, but that didn’t stop the tiny part of my heart that ached to catch the slightest glimpse of him.

“You can’t go in there.” Winter’s smooth southern accent was as sharp as a whip. I couldn’t see her face but I was sure it looked as murderous as her tone. “I don’t care who you are. You need to leave.”

I balled my hands into fists, resisting the urge to storm out and sneak a peek. It was pathetic. After all of these years, years of unanswered calls and letters, and I still wanted to see him.

No.

I won’t.

“I don’t care what you think I can or cannot do. I need to see her.” My stomach muscles tightened at the determination in his tone.

“Let me rephrase. I don’t give a rat’s ass who yourdaddyis or how many rainbows administration thinks come out of y’all’s asses.” Her voice lowered, so low I almost missed it. Did she know who he was? She had to, from the way she was speaking. I didn’t know why I was so surprised. Xavier had to be a crowd favorite here. He was wherever he went. “You can’t go in there.”

“You can either move willingly or I will move you.” His voice was deadly calm, not phased in the slightest by her venomous words. “Your choice.”

An emotion I’d identified as anger fueled my steps. I closed the short distance to the door and swung it open.

Winter teetered for a second before regaining her balance. She must’ve been pressed up against my door like a literal shield. Surprisingly, I was grateful. Though we had only known each other for a short period of time, she stuck up for me in a way no one had in a while.

Some of the anger simmered as Winter and I locked eyes. It was a short but silent conversation and from the hesitancy in hers, I could tell she understood what I was trying to get across.

She nodded before returning her glare back to Xavier. “This one is slicker than pig snot on a radiator. I’ll be down the hall if you need me, Scarlett. I can call Kane.” She kept her glare leveled on him as she walked away and it wasn’t until she was out of sight that I saw him visibly relax.

If I wasn’t so out of whack, I could’ve found humor in the fact that the tiny redhead girl could make Xavier tense.

He was a big guy even when we were kids. My dad used to joke around and say he could’ve been drafted into the NFL in middle school. Xavier was the star quarterback and knew how to play the field like it was his own personal chess game. I always thought he would go pro. No one dared mess with Naomi or me whenever Xavier was around. Even times when he wasn’t, his name alone rendered a look of fear.

Naomi used to hate it though, said boys didn’t want to date her because of his “brooding shadow.”

So it was quite ironic for him to be frightened by a tiny redhead like Winter.

After all, the boy who stole my heart all that time ago was now the man I could never have. Call it poetic justice or call it my horrible ass fate. His dark hair was longer than I’d ever seen it and unkempt. Parted down the middle, the sides were curled around his ears and neck now.

As with everything Xavier, it was insanely handsome. A warm current flowed through the depths of my traitorous body at the sight of him.

His features were more jaded than before, hardened like life had also taken its toll on him over the years. Life was never easy for him. His dad was not a good man and many residents in town, like Mrs. Daphne, his next-door neighbor, suspected his father was abusing him.

But the Governor of Georgia wasn’t someone you could just bring allegations against without proof. Which, his father usually left little to none, striking Xavier in places no one could see. If the bruises ever showed, Xavier would blame it on football.

If I hadn’t witnessed it myself, I wouldn’t have believed the governor capable. I wanted to get him help but Xavier made me promise, swear to keep it secret and not to tell anyone. He told me that he was handling it.

It was hard to argue with him especially when he was serious. Xavier was normally always chipper, full of life, and had a boyish charm to him regardless of his circumstances. He was the one you could call to beat up the bullies or to change your tire. That’s why everyone loved him. That’s why I loved him. And that’s why it would be hard to prove what the governor was doing to him.

His father would argue: how could a boy so full as life hide years of abuse? The town would believe his father of course, not because of the lack of proof but because of his status. Because of his connections.

Then the light dimmed in Xavier, and he changed. His smiles turned into smirks. His loud boisterous laughs turned into a deep humorless chuckle and it was as if no one noticed he was no longer the boy he once was. At least, he wasn’t around me. I couldn’t speak to how he treated others, but if I had to take a guess? I’d say it must be a hundred times better than he treated me.

“Let’s skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point,” I said impatiently, hating how my body reacted to him even now. “What do you want?”

“Kane as in Kane Greyson?” Though his face was its usual impassive mask, I detected something in his voice. It was either anger or jealousy. I didn’t waste my time thinking too hard about the latter. Why would he be jealous when he was the one who abandoned me? He had no right.

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