novelxo Unhinged Desires: Chapter 8
After Shar left this morning, I decided to come to the library and study for a few hours. I’ve been looking at these pages for so long my eyes are beginning to cross, but I’m not ready to go home just yet. Maybe I’ll stop by Xavier’s or visit my parents.
I push to my feet and head over to the return trolley with an armful of textbooks. When I make it back to the table a few moments later, I freeze on the spot. My eyes shoot up to scan the interior of the library. I don’t see anyone looking at me or anything that seems suspicious. My gaze drops back to the single blue tulip sitting beside my laptop. I don’t have to wonder who left it there. I already know. It was him.
Whoever he is.
Quickly packing all of my things into my bag, I hoist it over my shoulder while the tulip continues to stare at me from its spot on the desk. I hope whoever the hell this guy is he sees me pivot on my heel and leave it right the fuck where it sits.
I scan my surroundings every five seconds on the way to my car. As soon as I get in, I lock the door. My hands are shaking as I stab at the ignition button before bringing the engine to life.
Twenty minutes later, I find myself pulling into Xavier’s garage. I probably should have gone to my parents, seeing as I don’t even know if he’s here. I hover my thumb over the keypad in the elevator that lets me up to the penthouse. As much as he likes to think otherwise, my brother is accustomed to the finer things in life, and one step inside his apartment shows just how much so. It’s luxury, the kind that could rival our childhood home, which is saying a lot.
“Xavier, you here?” I yell out loud enough for anyone in earshot to hear me. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve walked in while he’s otherwise occupied with a female “friend.” He always kicks them to the kerb for me, but I don’t want to be the type of sister who’s known to bust in and cockblock. I mean, we all have needs.
Thoughts of last night’s phone call filter through my mind…
“In here,” Xavier calls back.
I walk down the hall, finding my brother seated behind his desk in his home office. “It’s the weekend. You work too much,” I tell him.
“Says the girl who just spent hours in the library on a Saturday.” He smiles.
“How’d you know I was at the library?” I ask, throwing myself down on his sofa. Thank god his interior designer chose comfortable furniture. There is nothing worse than plopping down on what you think is a comfy cushion only to land with a thump because the damn thing is hard as a rock. This particular piece is black velvet. I run my hands over the fabric, enjoying the texture.
“You’re carrying that.” Xavier points to the large bookbag I dropped on the floor when I entered.
“Observant.” I laugh.
“I try to be. What’s wrong?” He stands from his desk and walks around the side before positioning himself on the matching sofa opposite me.
“Nothing’s wrong. Can’t I just drop in and visit my only sibling?”
“You can, always. But you look… tired. Have you not been sleeping?” he asks.
“Not much.” I try to shrug it off.
“Is it school? Do you need help?” My brother, Xavier Christianson, ever the fixer. However, the thing I love most about him is the fact he doesn’t judge. Well, not when it matters anyway. If I told him I needed help with school stuff right now, I know he’d drop everything to assist in any way he could.
“No, school’s fine. It’s just that exams are approaching, and it’s busier than usual,” I tell him.
“Is it a guy? Need me to make a few calls?” He raises an eyebrow with the question.
“I’m curious… what calls would they be, Xavier? If I said a guy was bothering me, I mean?” I mirror the gesture.
“I’m the best criminal defence lawyer in the state, Lucy. I know people,” he says.
“Right. Anyway, it’s not a guy. That’s the problem. There haven’t been any guys for months,” I groan.
“Good. Are you becoming one of those I’m woman, hear me roar, and I don’t need no man kind of chicks? Because I totally support that movement. For you,” he’s quick to add.
“Haha, no. I’ve just been busy.” I don’t know why I don’t tell him that I have some creeper sending me cryptic messages and leaving bloody blue tulips everywhere. I should. I’m sure he could find out who it was and get rid of them. But there’s something stopping me from uttering those words. I’m not sure what it is. I need to figure it out before I say anything. “I’m going to lie down in your guest room,” I tell my brother instead.
“Knock yourself out. I’ll be here.” He stands and waves a dismissive hand in the air.
“Thanks.” I pick up my bag and head to his guest room, pulling my phone out of my pocket as I go.
I haven’t looked at it since I arrived at the library. I always turn my text notifications off when I’m studying, otherwise I get nothing done. I turn on the sound, and a few seconds later, my phone begins pinging with a barrage of incoming texts.
But it’s his that I click on first.
UNKNOWN:
I will cut the ears off anyone who even tries to hear you come. That sound is mine, and I don’t share.
Jesus, this guy is insane. I’m not his. I don’t even know him. Maybe I need to get a new phone number. Ignoring that message, I move on to the next. It’s from Shar.
SHAR:
Happy studying, LuLu. You’re going to make these exams your bitch. And then we’re spending the holidays partying!!!
I smile as I type out a reply.
ME:
Pack a bag. We’re going away. Maybe Europe. Or Hawaii. You choose.
SHAR:
Or Melbourne??? I can’t afford to go overseas, Lucy.
I roll my eyes.
ME:
You don’t need to afford it. I have a jet. You just need your passport and your bag. And maybe a bikini or two.
SHAR:
I’ll think about it. I do still need a job. I have to work.
I really wish she’d let me help her. If anyone deserves the kind of help I can give, it’s Shardonnay. She’s been the most loyal, trusted friend I could ever have wished for. It sucks having the means to really make her life a little easier and not being allowed to.
ME:
Okay, but your birthday is coming up and a trip is my gift.
SHAR:
My birthday was two months ago.
ME:
Exactly, which means it’s coming up again.
SHAR:
You’re insane.
ME:
But you love me anyway.
SHAR:
I do.
ME:
Right back at ya. I’m at Xavier’s. I’m crashing in his guest room for a bit. Feel free to drop by. We can drink his expensive liquor.
It takes a while for Shar to respond to that last one. I know she has a thing for my brother. Much like he does for her. But neither of them will admit it and they avoid each other at all costs.
SHAR:
I can’t. Doing laundry. Another time.
I wasn’t expecting her to actually turn up here. I send her some love heart emojis before throwing my phone on the bedside table and sinking under the blankets. I let my eyes close. It’s easier to sleep knowing that my brother is just down the hall. I don’t feel like I have eyes on me, so I let myself drift off.
I WAKE WITH A START. The room is dark. There’s noise coming from the apartment. I get up and pad out to the living room. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I find Xavier with his mates, Nathan and Alistair. They’re also his business partners. All three of them are arguing over something in the living room. Each nursing a glass of amber liquid. I walk around and snatch Xavier’s before I down it. The burn’s a welcomed comfort as it glides along my throat and warms my chest.
“Pour me another,” Xavier grunts. “I was enjoying that.”
“I can see why. It’s good.” I walk over to his bar and pour him another glass of whiskey.
“When did you even become old enough to drink, Lucy?” Nathan asks me.
“Right around the time you three weren’t cool anymore,” I tell him, handing Xavier his glass.
“Huh, so you’re still not old enough then, because I’m still plenty cool,” Alistair says with a smirk.
“Did you sleep?” My brother is quick to interrupt our banter.
“I did. And now I’m going to get out of your hair.” I tell him.
“Where are you going?” he asks me.
“Probably Shar’s. Or home.”
“Want a lift?” Xavier looks me up and down like he’s going to suddenly find a reason he needs to be my chauffeur.
“I have a car, Xav. I’m fine. Thanks for letting me sleep. That bed is the best.”
“Why aren’t you sleeping, Lucy?” Alistair presses.
“Because I’m a uni student entering exam weeks. I know it was a really long time ago, but try to remember what those days were like. That’s if the dementia isn’t kicking in,” I reply.
I swear sometimes it’s like I have three brothers instead of one. Xavier’s friends have been around for as far back as I can remember. They all went to university together and then they built up their firm to what it is today. They’re only ten years older than me—it’s really not even that much—but I still like to tease them about it. Also, it helps to deflect the interrogation I felt coming my way. If they think I’m fine, they’ll stop trying to figure out what’s wrong with me.
Not that I’ve stopped trying to figure that one out for myself.
I decide to head home. I need to forget this stalker bullshit. It’s not like anyone can get into my apartment. They’d have to slip past the doorman and then have the biometrics to make it to my floor. At least that’s what I assumed until I enter my apartment and find a new vase of blue tulips sitting on the ground. In the middle of my foyer.
First of all, why leave them on the ground? And second, what the hell is this dude’s fascination with blue tulips? Third, and probably what should have been my first thought seeing as he was obviously inside my apartment, is he still here?
I grab the can of Mace from my bag, gripping it firmly in my palm as I slowly check every door and every cabinet. I don’t know why I pull out the cutlery drawer. It’s not like anyone can fit in there. There’s no one here. I sigh in relief, dropping on the edge of the bed with the Mace still clutched in my hand.
What the hell do I do?
I pick up my phone and dial the doorman.
“Miss Lucy, how are you?” he answers.
“Good. Um, Shawn, did you, um… let someone up into my apartment?” I ask him.
“No, Miss Lucy, I would never,” he assures me, and I believe him.
“Okay, thank you.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes, fine. Just checking,” I tell him before hanging up the phone. I leave the vase of flowers exactly where they are. They can rot right there in the middle of my foyer for all I care.