Rising From the Ashes

Xavier POV Continued

After we arrive home, Lexi heads to her room. She tries to act ok, but I can tell she's not. No one would be after what happened. I try to help her, but she shakes her head.

"I just want to be alone for awhile."

Her request kills me inside, but I don't let her see. Instead I nod my head, and let her walk to her room by herself. Instead I walk to my office, images of Lexi in that change room continue to haunt my thoughts.

I'm unnerved after what happened today. I continue to replay the day's events in my head. 

'How did he get past me? Past my team? Why did I let my guard down? Why did I think he wouldn’t try to find her? I should've known something was wrong. Even she could sense it. Why didn't I act sooner? Why didn't I just try to get her out of there, immediately after she told me something was wrong? Why was I membery enough to believe he wouldn't find a way to get to her.' All these questions are swimming in my head. So many 'why's' but never any answers. The only answer on my tongue is that I failed. I ultimately failed her. She hasn't even been here for 24hrs, and I already failed her. Maybe Ryker was wrong in trusting me with his sister. It seems that we have both failed in protecting her. 

Annoyed, I begin to pace my office, trying to calm myself down. I'm plagued with horror, wondering what would’ve happened if I didn’t get to her in time.

Seeing her body on the ground, lifeless, was too much to think about. Just the thought nearly brings me to my knees. What she went through, what almost happened to her. Worse of all, what has already happened to her. No one was there for her, when she needed it most. No one ever tried to help her. My legs fail me, as I collapse to the ground in a heap. Tears escaping from my eyes. 

When she told me everything she went through, I was horrified. Worst of all, I know she didn’t tell me everything. The majority of her existence has been memories of trauma and pain. She’s been abused far worse than many others. Yet, I can still see the strength in her from all those years ago. She doesn’t see it, but I can tell how much of a warrior she's. I always used to call her my Little Bear. Because I always knew that she was ferocious. She was a strong and independent little girl. She reminded me of a bear cub. Timid yet strong. I always wanted to be there for her. To protect her, because she was mine.

I’ve always been hers, and will always be hers. I've never been in an actual relationship, because I was always hoping one day she would come back to me. She did come back to me. Just not the way I had hoped. Seeing her unconscious in the car when Ryker brought her here was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. Seeing her lifeless body from the recent abuse, made me murderous. Mostly however, I was pissed. Pissed, because unbeknown to her, I had a new mission. I plan on killing all those that have harmed her, along with anyone that wishes to harm her. I plan on making them suffer worse than she ever had.

I'm pacing my office as Hunter and Derrick walk into my office. Hunter is my head of security at the mall.

"Sir?"

"Where is that sick f**k! I want to see him right now!"

"About that.."

I spin around to look at him.

"When we got to the change room, no one was there."

"What?!" I scream out.

"What the hell do you mean no one was there? I knocked the guy unconscious before we left."

"We are combing everywhere as we speak. But by the time we got there, the assailant had escaped."

"I want him found now!"

Hunter nods his head, and walks out of my office.

I walk quickly over to Derrick, grabbing him by his shirt, and holding him tight against the wall. 

"How did that imbecile manage to get past you?"

"We think they knew we would be following them. He had gone to his lawyer's office, and I had men follow him inside. When you called me to check in on him, I went into the office myself. Which is when I saw that our men had been shot. We think he must've escaped out of a tunnel from the underground parking lot."

I release my hold on him and walk to the bar at the far side of the office. Grabbing the bourbon, I pour myself a small glass, and down it in one swoop. Instantly calming my nerves. I pour another glass, before turning around to look at Derrick.

"I need him found immediately. This will not go unpunished. I want you to get another team together, and let me know once you've found him."

Derrick nods his head, then bows slightly before leaving my office.

I grab my phone and immediately call Damian.

"My office, now!" I yell, then hang up.

After a short while, Damian steps in.

"Sir?"

"I need you to tell me how it happened. How was that imbecile able to get past security? How was he able to get her alone? How did he get past our defences?" All of these questions have been burning in my mind from the moment I found Lexi half conscious in the change room.

"We are still looking into it, but it seems that Gary may not be exactly who we thought he was."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Gary puts on an act of being an imbecile, when really he is extremely smart."

"Get to the point."

"Gary is a hacker. He works for the police as a computer hacker. No one would've ever expected him to be able to..." The glass in my hand shatters to the ground, cutting Damian off. Furious by the past events, I squeezed the glass so tight, that it shattered in my grasp.

The door to my office swings open, and there stands Lexi. Looking at me with wild eyes. 

"What the hell happened?" She asks, as she walks over to me.

Before I've a chance to respond, she's at my side. She picks up a towel from the liquor cabinet, and wraps it around my hand.

"Damian, leave us." I say, as I continue to watch her.

Damian nods, then leaves my office. Leaving me alone with Lexi.

I look back at Lexi. Instinctively I run my good hand through her hair. Her eyes shift from my injured hand, to me.

"Why are you here? I thought you wanted to be alone."

"I thought I did too. I had a hot shower, but after getting changed, all I could think about was you."

"Me?" I ask. Not expecting her to say that.

Instead of replying, she grabs my hand from her head, and pulls me over to my office chair. Then pushes me to sit in it. She then walks out of the office, and comes back a short while later.

"What's all that?" I gesture to the items in her arms.

She doesn't say anything, instead just places everything in front of her on my desk. I look over the bottles of spices. She has Cayenne powder, Turmeric, and even Cinnamon. 

"What are you planning on doing with those?" I ask, as my eye shifts upwards to continue watching what she's doing.

I watch as she grabs the bottle of coconut oil, and places a large scoop in a bowl. She then mixes the powders in with it. Happy with her results, she picks up the bowl, and walks over to me. She straddles me in the chair, and grabs my injured hand. Removing the towel.

I watch her, as she methodically rubs her mixture over my bleeding hand. I watch in amazement how my hand slowly begins to stop bleeding. She then grabs the towel, and wraps it over my hand.

Just as she's about to get off my lap, I wrap my good arm around her waist. Preventing her from leaving. Her head turns around and looks me in the eye.

"What exactly did you just do?" 

A smile crosses over her face, as she continues to look up at me.

"I made homemade styptic powder. I made it to be more of a paste, so that it wouldn't hurt as much."

"How did you know how to do that?" I ask. 

Her smile instantly falls. I watch her as she seems to be remembering something painful.

"Craig and Gary would often beat me. They didn't like to take me to the hospital, so I looked for ways to treat myself without common medicine."

I pull her closer to me, as she confides in me.

I see tears pool in the side of her eyes. I wrap my arm around her, letting her face fall into the side of my neck. While it's comforting her, it soothes me as well. I enjoy having her this close to me. She makes me feel as though she's made for me. The way my skin feels when she touches me, is like looking at the sky on the fourth of July. Fireworks everywhere. Even when she's just in the same room as me. I feel my tension wash away, as an overwhelming sense of happiness washes over me.

I lean down, resting my head on hers. Every fibre in my body is demanding me to kiss her. But I don't want her to distance herself from me. She has been through hell and back. The last thing I want is for her to feel uncomfortable around me. That would kill me. So instead I distance myself.

I sit up, but I don't have the heart to let her go. I feel so happy that she feels comforted by my embrace. I don't want to ruin the moment, however at the same time, I can't stop seeing her in that change room. One question continues to plague my mind.

"Why?"

"Why what?" She asks, as she sits back to look at me.

"Why didn't you scream or try to yell for me? I was right outside the change room. I could've been there right away, before he had a chance..." I cut myself off. Not daring to finish my sentence.

She takes a moment to collect her thoughts, before responding to my question.

"I was going to. He covered his hand over my mouth, preventing me from screaming. Then he said that you told him where I was."

She pauses briefly before continuing. She looks into my eyes, watching me, before she begins to speak.

"I didn't want to believe him. But what he was saying made it seem true. I didn't know how he could find me, unless someone had told him."

I look away, towards the ground. Pain easily seen across my face. Just the idea that she thought I would ever hurt her, kills me inside. 

"My past hasn't proven to show me that I can trust anyone. I'm so used to people failing me, that it's what I've come to expect."

I look back at her, and see that she's no longer focused on me, but rather just saying what's on her mind. I reach up with my good hand, and caress her soft skin. My thumb softly stroking her chin. She seems to wake up from her trance, as she looks at me.

Her confession breaks me. She gave up because he made her believe that no one would ever help her.

I run my hand along the back of her head, pulling it gently into the crook of my neck.

"Please don't ever think I could ever do that to you. I never want to see you hurt. The last thing I would ever want is for him to be near you."

She looks up at me then nods. I can see from her face that she's trying to trust me, but a part of her is stopping her. Almost as if she's trying to protect herself. I wrap my arms around her tighter, in attempt to comfort her.

"I know you don't trust me.." I begin to say, but she cuts me off as she immediately sits back staring at me, as she places her palms flat against my chest.

"I.." she begins to speak, but I raise my hand, and gently set a finger against her lips. Preventing her from talking.

"It's ok. I understand. I just want you to know that you can trust me no matter what. I would much rather be hurt, then ever seeing you hurt again. I'm not expecting you to trust me right away. I will take whatever time you need, to be able to trust me. I'm not expecting it to be easy, and I don't care how long it takes. I just want you to know that I will forever be in your corner."

I don't wait for her to respond. I lean her head against my chest, and rest my head on hers. Time seems to stop as we continue to sit like that. I can feel her drifting off to sleep. I pick her up carefully, and carry her to her bedroom. I lay her gently in her bed, wrapping the blankets around her. I find myself smiling as I look at her. She's so beautiful, like a work of art. I caress the side of her head, feeling her hair glide beneath my palm. She's only been here one day, and she already has me wrapped around her finger. I smile as I realize, that I wouldn't have it any other way.