Chapter 40:

I wasn't paying attention in the slightest as we walked. I couldn't. Everything about this place seemed like it was closing in on me. Everywhere I looked was a stark reminder of every single bad thing that happened here. How all of the people pretended that I didn't even exist, every single quaint little house mocked me. Reminding me of the fire, and the fact that my own father hadn't even given a single fuck about me. The only reason he even came back was to make a buck off of selling me off to the highest fucking bidder.

The only thing keeping me from breaking apart in the middle of this godforsaken place was Xavier. He held my hand in what felt like a death grip, or maybe that was me gripping onto him like he was my only lifeline; either way, he was all but dragging me through the streets of the small city and back out towards the exit.

Someone called my name, snapping me out of my stupor enough that I didn't run straight into Xavier as he stopped in his tracks. It took me a moment to realize what was going on before I looked around his tall stature to see why we had stopped.

Two of the other foster girls who had been at the same house as me stood in the path in front of us. I remembered that they were both about my age, but neither of them had ever even so much as muttered a word to me, until now.

"Aria, hey, how have you been?" One of the girls, I think her name was Maria, twisted a strand of her long, dark hair around her finger as she batted her big brown eyes up at Xavier. Pink blotches covered her cheeks as her eyes greedily took him in. I smiled to myself, so that's why they decided to even utter my name.

"Yeah, it's been a while, Aria." Sabine chimed in, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder as she also eyed Xavier up and down. Unlike Maria, Sabine had actually muttered my name before, considering she had spread horrible rumors all over this whole village about me.

Xavier didn't pay them much mind, though; instead, he looked down at me, raising an eyebrow in question. He didn't know much about my life here, so it's not like I expected him to know that I didn't want anything to do with either of these two. Instead, I just gave him a slight smile. From this angle, they couldn't see our clasped hands, so I stepped out in front of him, purposely hiding them further from their view.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm doing great now," I told them with a smile that probably looked more like a manic grin, but who was really judging right now?

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" Sabine asked in a soft, breathy tone that was probably supposed to be enticing to Xavier. Although the raised eyebrow and slight shift backward from him told me otherwise.

Xavier wasn't stupid and could very clearly read the room, especially after that comment, and the fact that neither of them had actually even so much as looked at me, even though they were apparently talking to me. I couldn't help but to just smile as the girls decided it would be a good time to take a step towards us, instantly earning a glare from Xavier. The look on their faces turned from pure lust to fear in about a second flat as Bane straightened on Xavier's shoulders, also glaring daggers at the two of them, and I just grinned a little wider.

"Oh, of course, where are my manners. Sorry, I was trying to get over the fact that you actually spoke to me for the first time in fifteen fucking years. It's funny how you suddenly remember my name when I come back to the village with an attractive soldier on my heels." They both just glared at me before acting like they were about to bypass me and reach for Xavier.

He promptly stepped out of their reach, dropping my hand in the process, only to wrap his arm around my waist and pull me back against his chest. I felt his low tone rumble against my back as he spoke up then. "I highly suggest that you don't. First off, I'm not into petty bitches, and secondly, I already have everything that I need, and neither of you would ever be able to change that." I couldn't help but to smile at that as I looked up at him, but that was when he took it a step further, leaning down to press a kiss to the side of my neck. "And yes, I was talking about you, princess." He whispered to me, and I just smiled. It felt so nice to actually have someone choose me for once in my life.

I just watched as the other two girls turned tail and all but ran in the opposite direction. "I really didn't miss this place." I sighed as he pulled away from me, taking my hand once more as we started towards the exit once more. "I'm honestly surprised that I haven't been asked for money from my foster family yet. No one here cares about anything outside of their own gains, and it's seriously exhausting." I told him, and he just nodded.

Eventually, we made it back through the gates and out into the field where Bane and Nova shifted back into their larger forms. They moved further out into the clearing, curling together for a bit as they gave me and Xavier some space.

I couldn't help it. Now that we were out of there, there was no way that I could hold it back any longer. My mind reeled through everything that had just happened once more as I bowed my head, pressing my palms to my eyes as I tried to keep the tears at bay to no avail. Everything was just too much. I had always known that no one there had actually cared about me, but to see it so blatantly displayed like that was another thing entirely.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to Xavier. "I know you probably have questions." My voice hitched as I failed horribly to stop the rush of tears.

"Stop, Ari. You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. Nothing that happened in there was your fault." He whispered to me in a soft tone that had me looking up at him in a bit of surprise. His hand came up to gently cup my cheek as he brushed a tear away with his thumb before pulling me in against his chest. His hand shifted to cup the back of my head as his other arm wrapped around my waist, holding me there. I was stunned for just a moment before I wrapped my arms around his waist, leaning into him as I happily took his offer of comfort.

He just held me there for a long moment before scooping me up and sitting in the long, lush grass of the field. He cradled me on his lap, making me smile at the gentle gesture from him of all people. I was more than happy to take it, though, allowing his soothing touch to calm my ravaged nerves.