*.*.*.*.*.*

I stand still, my back pressed against the cold pillar exactly as Xavier left me. Wide-eyed and shallow-breathed, I strain my ears to hear the interaction taking place out of my sight.

"So," says a thick voice, interrupting the uneven sounds of multiple feet scraping across the ground. "Did you bring the payment?"

"What payment?" I hear Xavier voice the question on my mind.

Silence follows, and my curiosity escalates. I want to see what's going on. I want to see the look on Xavier's face.

"Your old man said you'll be the one paying us," says a second voice, one that hadn't spoken earlier.

I turn around slowly, making sure to stay behind the pillar, and a few moments later, I'm facing the graffiti stained pillar, my palms pressed against the cold concrete.

"He took the money from me to give you," Xavier's voice answers.

Trying to keep myself hidden and safe, I tilt my head a couple of fractions to the side, peeking out from behind the pillar to see a group of men standing in the middle of the otherwise deserted warehouse. Now that I can actually witness the exchange, I see Xavier facing a row of three men standing side by side. They're all older than Xavier, one black and the other two white. The man in the middle is dressed in black leather, his bare arms covered in tattoos and a short stubble on his round face. The other two men are dressed in black hoodies, and look a lot like comical goons.

"Well, maybe we should go ask your ma for it then," the first man says, and his friends snicker at his words.

"Leave her out of this," Xavier says, and for the first time since I've known him, I hear anger in his tone.

The older guys laugh mockingly.

"Then you better pay me, boy," says the guy in the middle, and I realize him to be the leader of the group. He's been the one speaking all this time.

"I don't have money," Xavier says, and even though only one side of his face is visible to me, I see it grow paler than before.

"Well, you better find a way then, kid," the man shoots, his voice lowering as he takes a threatening step forward.

"I will," Xavier answers. "Just give me a couple of days."

"Or ... we could see what you have on you now and you can pay us the rest later," says the leather-clad guy.

He tilts his head towards his friends who instantly lunge forward and grab Xavier's arms. A sharp breath leaves Xavier's lips at the same time as I gasp. Slapping my hand over my mouth, I duck behind the pillar again, my heart beating wildly in my chest.

Xavier's in trouble.

I don't know what to do, but as Xavier said, I stay hidden. I have no choice, until it hits me. What if I call 911?

Just as the thought hits me, my phone vibrates between my back pocket and the pillar. While I'm glad I had it on vibrate and not ring, I freeze, realizing how loud the vibration is in the quiet warehouse space.

"There's someone there," says one of the men in the hoodies.

My heart sinks; they know I'm here.

"Over there."

"Find him," orders the leader.

Oh, shit!

I stand still and hold my breath, preparing to run. Adrenaline pumps through my veins.

"What's the matter? The big, bad, gang leader afraid of getting caught?"

My eyes widen so much I'm afraid my eyeballs will fall out. The challenging tone in Xavier's voice is new, something I have never heard and would never expect to hear. For the first time since I have known him, I sense confidence in his voice, like he knows exactly what he's doing.

"What did you say?" the leather-clad guy hisses, clearly distracted from me.

"Nothing," says Xavier, and I peek out from behind the pillar again to see him staring the big man full in the face, his arms still in the hooded guys' grip.

"Search him," the man commands his friends.

The guys hold Xavier by the arms, rumbling through his pockets and under his black jacket. What surprises me is the calm on Xavier's face. He looks like the big guys before him can do nothing to hurt him. If I was one of the guys, I'd be greatly offended by it, to be honest.

"Nothing, boss," says one of the men holding Xavier as he straightens up.

The boss man looks into Xavier's face, stepping closer and flaring his nostrils.

"Where you hiding the cash, boy?" he asks Xavier.

"I told you I don't have any," he answers evenly.

"I don't fucking believe you," the man spits.

"I don't fucking care."

My heart sinks as the words leave Xavier's lips, and something inside me screams that he just made a big mistake.

The man's hand curls into a fist, his eyes narrowing. Suddenly, he punches Xavier in the face. The faint thump of bone against flesh echoes in the silence, and I bite my lip and press my hand over my mouth to keep myself from screaming. Xavier's head jerks backwards, his arms still locked in place by the two strong men holding him.

Another punch follows, hitting Xavier right on the nose and making him groan in pain. I see something red spurt out from his nose, and my eyes begin to sting. I watch in horror and helplessness as the man grabs Xavier by the hair and knees him in the stomach.

The men holding Xavier let go, and he falls with a loud thump to the ground, clutching his stomach and grimacing in pain as blood pours out of his apparently broken nose.

"You better have my money by tomorrow," the man in the leather jacket warns Xavier, bending over him. "Or I'll break down your door and get it from your ma. You got that, kid?"

Xavier doesn't answer, arms wrapped around his torso as he writhes in pain on the ground at their feet.

"Come on, boys," the leader straightens up. "Let's get out of here."

He turns away, but not before landing a sharp kick at Xavier's stomach. Xavier cries out weakly, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth as he tries to roll away from them. The man snickers coldly before beckoning for his friends to follow.

I look out from my place behind the pillar, frozen in fear and pain. My hand is pressed firmly over my mouth, and I don't know when tears started to stream down my face. Paralyzed by shock, I stand and watch as the three men walk out of the abandoned warehouse, their footsteps fading away. Silence falls over the place, broken only by Xavier's uneven, shallow breathing.

Sensation returning to my body, I jump out of my hiding spot and nearly run towards Xavier still lying on the ground where the men had left him. I fall to my knees beside him, reaching out a trembling hand.

"Xavier --" I breathe.

"What are you still doing here?" he demands, his voice throaty but angry.

"I --"

"You have to get out of here," he says, turning onto his front and getting onto his hands and knees. "You have to go."

"No, we have to get you to the hospital," I say, sobbing.

Xavier shakes his head quickly, his face bloody and looking like he's in a lot of pain.

"But --"

"I said get out of here!" he snaps at me, turning an angry gaze towards me.

I pull back, not understanding why he's suddenly so angry at me. I know that I shouldn't have come here unannounced, probably not have stayed when he said I should leave. I also understand I'm entirely to blame for his state since he was obviously trying to distract those people from me so they won't hear or see me. But his anger still hurts.

"Didn't you hear me?" he growls, making me wince and jump back. "I said go! Go, and don't even look back. Got that?"

I stare at him.

"Now. GO!" he yells at me.

I jump to my feet and without waiting for him to speak again, obey. I run at full speed, out of the warehouse and onto the road. I run all the way from his neighborhood to my house. I run through the door and up the stairs to my room, tears rolling down my cheeks. I run until my ribs hurt and my breath comes ragged.

I run and don't look back.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Evening turns to night, and I spend all this time in bed. I've thought about calling 911 but what do I even say? I don't even know what those men looked like. Besides, who knows what Xavier would have to face if I do.

At seven, dad comes to my room, asking me to come down for dinner.

"I'm not hungry, dad," I mumble without getting out from under my comforter.

"Are you feeling okay?" dad asks softly, and I feel his hand on my head. "Do you want to talk?"

"Just tired," I lie. "I want to sleep."

Dad hesitates a while before sighing. "Okay. Just know that I'm here if you want to talk about anything."

"I know, dad. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetie."

Guilt fills me as dad leaves my room and softly closes the door behind me, but I still make no effort to move. The truth is that I've been crying for hours and I don't want him to see my puffy eyes and raw nose. I know how sensitive dad is towards me, and seeing me like this would no doubt worry him.

My thoughts return to Xavier, and the scene at the warehouse begins to replay in front of my eyes. The video of his interaction with those men has been playing on repeat in my head ever since I got back home, and I have been unable to shake away the gory images and the disturbing encounter from my memory.

I lay awake till past eleven, unable to fall asleep even though my eyes sting and my eyelids are heavy. My mind is fully alert, listening to the obnoxious ticking sound of the clock on my wall. Why is it that we're unable to sleep when we want to sleep the most?

It's some time before midnight that I finally begin to doze off. My eyes droop and mind fades into darkness. But just when I think I can sleep now, a light knocking somewhere in the distance reaches me. I ignore it, thinking that it's just something in my unconscious dreams, but when the knocking sounds again, I jerk awake.

I jump out of my bed, putting on my slippers and making my way out of the room. Out of the warm comfort of my bed, it's actually quite cold. I make my way down the stairs in my silent house, half afraid that it might be some stalker. For some reason, the image of the warehouse flashes before my eyes. What if it's those guys that beat up Xavier. But then again ... what if it's Xavier?

Glancing towards my dad's room, I pull open the door to the house, only to be greeted by a gust of chilly wind that bites my skin through my thin nightshirt. It only takes a moment for me to become immune to it when I see the person standing before me.

With a sharp sigh of relief, I throw my arms around him, not even considering how clearly insane this appears. Xavier freezes in my arms, obviously shocked by my bizarre behavior. Of course, he must be wondering why I'm hugging him. Even I'm wondering why I'm hugging him.

I suddenly let go, blushing in embarrassment at what I just did.

"Hey?" I greet, swallowing and struggling to overcome the humiliation.

He clears his throat, clearly struck speechless.

I hear a door open behind me and spin around to see my dad coming out of his room. He's dressed in his pajamas, looking so much younger than he is.

"It's past curfew, Haley," he reminds me with a soft smile.

"I'm sorry, sir, it's my fault," Xavier speaks before me, making both dad and I look towards him. "I just ... she didn't know I was coming. I'll just be a minute but if you don't like it, I can come back tomorrow."

I look at dad and see his face fall. "Of course not, Xavier. Come inside. It's cold out," he says, proving to be the kind-hearted man I know he is.

"Thank you, sir," Xavier says.

Dad smiles at Xavier and I before making his way towards the kitchen.

"I ..." Xavier begins uncertainly. "I came to apologize for how harsh I was with you today."

"Wha --? Uh, no, it was ... I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have come like that, I just ... you forgot your phone." I fish in the pockets of my trousers and am shocked to find the phone still there. Can't believe I was going to sleep with it in my pocket.

I hold the phone out to Xavier who takes it.

"Lucky you had it," he mumbles to himself. "I wouldn't have it anymore otherwise."

His gaze returns to me and I'm unable to look away from his nose, which is still red even though the blood has been wiped away.

"Aren't you going to see a doctor?" I ask, wrapping my arms around myself as a shiver runs through my body.

"I'll live," Xavier replies softly.

We continue to stand there in silence, neither of us knowing what to say next. I can't find it in me to meet his gaze, this being the first time that Xavier has kept his eyes on me this long.

"Guess I'll see you on Monday then?" he breaks the silence.

"Um ... yeah." I nod.

A few brief moments pass, and I finally meet his gaze. The strange look in his eyes makes me feel strangely uncomfortable, maybe because it's so complex I can't tell what he's thinking. I'm almost about to ask him what's on his mind when he speaks.

"Good night, Haley," he says, his voice soft.

My lips part in surprise, as I wasn't expecting him to say what he just said. Not 'goodnight', that's nothing. But Xavier said my name. He finally said it, and I have to say, hearing it from his lips makes me love my name even more. The way he says it -- a gentle breath, a whisper on the wind -- I can't help but want him to say it again.

He doesn't though, turning away and beginning to walk away too soon as always. I watch him, maintaining our usual routine, and he doesn't look back, like his usual routine. That is ... until he reaches the gate.

My heart nearly stops when I see him stop and turn half-way around, glancing at me over his shoulder. It lasts only a brief moment, a quick heartbeat, and he's on his way again. But as I stand there in the freezing wind even after he has disappeared from my sight, the warmth that spreads inside me is enough to battle any cold.

Maybe Xavier isn't as cold as they all say he is.

*.*.*.*.*.*