CHAPTER 25

XAVIER'S POV

What could he possibly mean by 'Heaven's waiting'. It sounded like an invite to a club or something. I mean, I have served many creepy customers. But this man jumped the bar.

First, his presence itself was luring.

Second, he didn't even wait for his order and left a 100 dollar bill.

And, lastly, this weird note.

This was going to keep my mind occupied for quite a while. Maybe this is the short-lived heaven he was talking about; A little time away at paradise from the web of demons my mind was.

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful. Customers came, I faked my smile and served them.

The usual.

It was 8 in almost no time. I didn't want to leave. Parties weren't my thing.

But I promised Ophelia. I couldn't just bail on her.

The restaurant provided us all a staff restroom to take breaks between shifts and have some privacy. I quickly changed my outfit and stashed my work clothes away in my locker.

I walked out and saw the restaurant filling in.

"Bye Luca; I'm leaving."

I walked out of the restaurant after Luca smiled back. I looked around for Ophelia's car and saw her waiting in the parking lot. I quickly jogged towards her silver Camry.

The first thing that I noticed was the Lavender scent in the car. There was something about this scent that calmed me down. No matter how bad a panic attack or a nightmare was, one lit lavender candle and my nerves calmed down.

At least for some time.

The second thing that I noti-

"Took you long enough, mister."

Well, that's the second thing, now.

I finally looked at Ophelia and my heart stopped beating for a moment. Her brown eyes that looked like a doe's were filled with annoyance along with something else.

Probably disgust.

For me.

Her soft red lips kept moving in annoyance but all I could do was stare at them. She wore her hair down.

Again.

There was something about Ophelia that made me want to breathe. Made me want to not suffocate myself with all that choked me. She was this crack of light that I found in the darkness of my mind.

And I wasn't ready to let go of that. I wasn't sure if I ever could. Maybe, that's why they say, 'we need to let go of all that we treasure.'

Because they deserved so much better.

Ophelia didn't deserve to just be a crack of light. She was the whole damn sky that brought brightness to everyone.

And I didn't deserve a single ray of that light.

"You were the one who dragged me to this damn party. I didn't even want to come in the first place."

She tilted her head and probably pondered over what I said. I guess, she finally realized, I had a point.

Xavier - 1, Ophelia - 0.

She reached out for her phone to put on some music. It was a song that I'd never heard.

'When it hurts, but it hurts so good

Do you take it? Do you break it off?'

Love hurts, doesn't it? People talk about love as a savior; a messiah. But they never talk about the pain that comes along with it. A pain that ends up drowning you. But we are too high on love to realize that we are in pain.

I looked out at the sky and saw the stars scattered around. The night sky had always been a silent companion of mine.

I remember being a kid and lying on the freshly cut grass of our backyard next to Nicole. The calming silence that was shared between us as our silly dreams ran through our heads.

"You know, Nikky? I want to visit the stars. The always twinkle no matter the season. I want to ask them how they're always so happy."

Nicole got up and poked my cheek. I turned my neck to look at her. Her nose scrunched up, a face she always made when she wanted to share a thought or an opinion. She was the smart one. I remember, her coming home with medals and trophies from Math Olympiads and Science fairs.

"Daddy told me, that when we die, God gives us wings. We become angels and fly to the stars. Maybe, the stars are always happy because they're never alone."

Nicole and I were really close for the first ten years of my life. But with my dad resorting to alcohol and her growing up, we just drifted away.

Daily conversations became greetings and then, she couldn't even bear to look at my face. I was always the disappointment, I guess.

Ophelia tried to talk with me. To get a conversation going. But my hopeless replies probably scared her.

That's what I was; A sad monster.

A monster that drowned everyone around along with himself.

It took us almost an hour and a half to reach her friend's house. Her house, no scratch that. her mansion was located in a private area with this huge forest surrounding it. Her parents were probably loaded. I've heard the properties in this area were really expensive.

The moment we pulled up into her driveway, the smell of cheap booze hit my nostrils.

A warning would have been nice, wind.

I didn't really know, who to blame.

The second thing that I noticed was the loud music. I pitied my poor ears. A night up at the roof of my house would have been so much better.

It was only when Ophelia began to walk towards the entrance, I saw the number of people in the party. It was crowded. I mean the 'look away for a second and get lost' crowded.

I immediately grabbed Ophelia's hand. I didn't know why I did that. But I didn't really like how the guys drinking near the entrance wear ogling Ophelia.

She wasn't an object to be looked at, that way.

But what I didn't notice was the questioning look in Ophelia's eyes when I held her hand. I hope she doesn't make me talk about it.

"Hey, Lia! I can't believe you came! I thought you wouldn't because it was too late. But I'm so glad you could make it."

Wasn't Ophelia the girl that never missed out on any parties. If you ever needed ratings about these parties, Ophelia would be the right person to go to. So, why was her friend so surprised, when she came?

"Of course I would've come! When do I ever miss your parties?"

While her tongue confidently rolled out these words, her eyes wandered around with nervousness.

Was she scared about me finding out something she didn't want me to know?

"I mean you haven't come to my pa-"

Before Michelle could even complete her sentence, Ophelia bid her goodbye and dragged me to the kitchen.

Well, that was weird.

"What did your friend mean by that? Weren't you the girl that didn't miss any parties?"

Her eyes shot up at me. She opened her mouth, once and closed it. She did this twice. She kind of looked like a fish, though.

Probably thinking about an excuse.

She was definitely hiding something.

"I don't know what she meant, Xavier. She's probably drunk. Let's grab some beer.

Okay, there was certainly something going on in her head, that she didn't want me to know.

She poured us both a glass of beer and drank hers in one shot. What was it, that she didn't want me to find out. What was it that she was desperately trying to hide.

Everyone had secrets. Everyone tried to hide them in the fear of judgment. I knew Ophelia had hers, too.

And, I wanted to find out what she hid behind her sweet smile. I wanted to meet her demons.

The one's she tried to hide so bad.

Maybe, I could take her pain away before I ended mine.