CHARLENE'S POV"Don't you dare change clothes." I glared fiercely at him. He raised an eyebrow at me, his lips curling into a smirk. "Now, that doesn't sound like a very nice thing to say. You know that I can't hear you." I huffed, turning back and facing the wall. "Then you must be deaf and mute! And stupid, because it sounds exactly like something you'd do. Now go back to changing, okay?" He laughed softly as he gently pressed his chest to mine, causing me to squeal loudly as I tried to push him away. Then he grabbed me around the waist again and picked me up, carrying me over to the bed. "Put me down, Xavier! Put me down right now!"As soon as I landed on the mattress, he.jumped onto the bed and pinned me down, covering me with his body, grinning at me mischievously. "Nu-uh, Charlene." He shook his head and placed his knees on either side of my hips, preventing me from moving anywhere. I pouted, crossing my arms over my chest. "Okay then," I murmured, tilting my head slightly

CHARLENE'S POV"My head whipped around to follow her. What the h*ck was that about? Who was that girl, anyway?" I felt Xavier's hand drop gently onto my shoulder as he guided me to sit down on the couch again. He sat down beside me and reached out to grab my hand as I started rubbing my thumb over the back of it absentmindedly. "What was that about?" I frowned as I thought about it and then realized what that must have been about, even as he leaned down and planted a soft kiss on the back of my neck. I jerked my head back from him, glaring up at him. "Why did you do that?" I demanded angrily. His mouth twitched upwards slightly. "Because you've looked like you need it." I glared at him furiously. If he thought that.kissing me would make me calm down, then he had another thing coming! I was still seething when he stood up abruptly, startling me from my anger. After looking briefly around the room, apparently deciding that it looked a lot messier than it had earlier, he began cle

CHARLENE'S POVXavier's eyes softened and he reached over to hold my hand. The tears started forming immediately, and I let them flow without trying to wipe them away. I couldn't help it! This time it wasn't some stupid human emotion; it was something very personal, very private and very painful. Xavier pulled me into his side and stroked my hair for what felt like hours. But it couldn't have been more than five minutes. Finally, when my sobs became less frequent, he leaned back slightly. "Now, tell me, what happened to make you stop crying?" The tears came back faster and harder as I explained the situation. It turned into an epic tale of betrayal and heartache involving the one person I thought I could count on completely. I was sobbing again after my explanation. As I spoke, I noticed that Xavier wasn't saying anything. He just looked worried and confused. But he held my hand tightly throughout my story. By the end, my whole body hurt from the amount of sadness coursing through

CHARLENE'S POV"So…." His voice cut through my thoughts suddenly. "Any ideas?" My eyebrows shot up into my hairline, "Any ideas what?" He snorted as if I'd been particularly stupid. "About where to go. Do you know of anyplace else around here?" "Umm... No. There is a small community nearby though. If there's nothing else around, then we can probably try there." "Great!" He clapped his hands together in excitement and started walking in a random direction. I followed behind him. "That should get us out of town pretty fast." He mumbled darkly under his breath. My curiosity spiked. I decided to ask him about it later. For now, I just wanted to leave the topic as far away from me as possible. "How did you even manage to get attacked in the first place? Did you fight back?" He shook his head quickly. "No, no, I didn't do anything to provoke it. It just came out of nowhere." "Do you think someone did it intentionally?" His eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Who knows… but I guess I sho

CHARLENE'S POV "Where do you think you're going?" Xavier called from behind me, his hands folded behind his back, as he surveyed the village with an almost bored look in his eye. His eyes flicked down, searching for something. He sighed and turned away from me, starting to walk towards his hut. I ran after him. "Xavier, where are we going?" I asked, catching up with him and walking beside him. The ground felt cool against my bare feet. It helped soothe the burn from yesterday's incident. Maybe it would help today as well. My thoughts kept racing, and even the simple act of walking helped ground me. I took some deep breaths and closed my eyes. When the village fell silent around us, I opened one eye and watched him take another few steps forward. His stride was confident and unhurried, his pace slow and measured. If there was anything strange about this village, I couldn't tell what it was. It seemed normal enough. No sign of any recent fighting, no scorch marks on the cobblestone