The Key of Hearts

by Mia Rodriguez

  Chapter 25

  With his trip to Socorro only a day away, Xavier wandered into the formal dining room deep in thought and oblivious to what was afoot. As soon as he stepped in, Steve and Cherise greeted him with overstretched smiles.

  “Mom and dad are eating out today,” stated Asher.

  “I’ll eat in my room,” Xavier announced, starting to leave.

  “No,” blurted Cherise. “Stay with us.”

  “Yes, stay, Xavier,” insisted Steve. “We haven’t talked in a long time.”

  “Couz, you don’t want to be rude, do you?” asked Chad.

  “I just thought that you Its would want to talk without outsiders getting in the way.”

  “You could be one of us if you wanted to,” Cherise declared.

  “But I don’t want to,” proclaimed Xavier.

  “You’re too busy hanging out with losers,” retorted Asher.

  “Do you even know what a loser looks like?” snapped Xavier.

  “Oh, I know what a zero looks like,” Asher snapped back.

  “You do, Miss It girl?” Xavier returned with sarcasm.

  “What’s wrong with being popular? I really don’t—“

  “Let’s all calm down,” Steve expressed. “Asher, please let’s not get into any fights.”

  “But Steve—“

  “Let’s have a nice dinner. Xavier, I heard about what happened in the theatre. Are you and Selena okay?”

  “We’re fine,”

  “I’m so gad nothing happened to you, but Sebastian was hurt,” Steve commented, his face in concern.

  “How is he?” Xavier asked Cherise, trying to keep his voice from sounding overly curious and sitting down at the table. It had suddenly occurred to him that this might be a good opportunity to learn more about Sebastian.

  “I don’t know,” rushed Cherise.

  “What do you mean you don’t know?” asked Xavier, his eyebrows knit together.

  “Why should I know what’s going on with him?” blurted Cherise.

  “Aren’t you—“

  “We’re just friends.”

  Xavier eyed her with surprise. He had seen them locking lips the day of the accident. “Even just friends take care of each other, don’t they?”

  Cherise cleared her throat. “We’re not that good of friends.”

  While there was no love lost between him and Sebastian, especially if his suspicions turned out to be true, Xavier still couldn’t help the disgust in his dark eyes. How could she throw him away just like that when they had been inseparable? What did it mean? What did it say about Sebastian? About Cherise?

  “Sebastian’s still in the hospital,” stated Chad.

  “You went to see him?” asked Xavier.

  “Yeah, both Steve and I did. He’s doing great, but he did get pretty banged up.”

  “It’s a miracle that the catwalk hit him instead of you and Selena,” Steve commented.

  “Thankfully it didn’t hit you, Xavier. I’m so relieved that it got Sebastian instead of you,” Cherise gushed. Xavier eyed her with disgust.

  For the rest of dinner, Xavier ate the juicy brisket in stony silence. If he didn’t leave to his room, it was because Steve politely included him in their conversations, and also, he wanted to catch any reference to Sebastian. To his chagrin, Sebastian wasn’t mentioned at all.

  After dinner, Cherise asked to speak to Xavier privately. His first instinct was to turn her down flat but then he realized he couldn’t miss any opportunities to try to get any type of information about Sebastian.

  “What do you need to talk to me about?” he asked when everyone else had left the dining room.

  “I know that you think that Sebastian and I had something going but I want you to know that it was just casual.”

  “Casual?”

  “Yes. He’s really not my type.”

  “He’s not?” Xavier asked, trying to fish more about Sebastian.

  “No, not at all my type,” she commented, grimacing.

  “What’s wrong with the guy?” Xavier questioned bluntly.

  “He’s weird,” Cherise blurted.

  “What do you mean?”

  “He just is.”

  “People think that I’m weird,” stated Xavier.

  “No, you’re different. A good different. He’s weird,” Cherise insisted.

  “What’s the difference?”

  Cherise dropped her voice seductively and stared into his dark eyes. “You’re mysterious, interesting, and very, very good-looking.”

  “Stop it, Cherise,” Xavier demanded, annoyed.

  “I’m just telling the truth.”

  “Sebastian—“

  “I don’t want to talk about Sebastian anymore,” Cherise announced. “Let’s talk about you and me.”

  “There’s no you and me.”

  “There could be.”

  “No, there couldn’t,” informed Xavier.

  “Why not?”

  He let out an annoyed breath. “You know why not. I’m with Selena.”

  “Xavier, Selena just isn’t good enough for you. Can’t you see that?!” she declared, exasperated.

  “I’m the one not good enough for her,” he stated angrily. “It’s a miracle she’s with me.”

  “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

  Xavier’s fluid eyes wanted to shoot flames out. “Why would I say it if I didn’t mean it?”

  “Because you’re a nice guy. You're so wonderful.”

  “Stop it, Cherise,” he grumbled, standing up. “You need to be getting back to your friends and I need to call my girlfriend. Goodnight.”

  “Wait, Xavier,” she cried as she stood in front of him. “I need to show you something important.”

  “What?” he asked impatiently.

  “This,” she blurted as she abruptly swung her overbearing arms around him and threw her desperate lips on his. He immediately pushed her aside, not allowing even a second to go by with her mouth on his. Her fingers went to her lips, caressing them as she remembered his feel.

  “Are you crazy?” he snapped. “Why did you do that?”

  “Xavier, I love you.”

  “You can’t love me. You don’t know me.”

  “What do you mean I don’t know you? Of course I do.”

  “You think you do but—“

  “You need to understand how much I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you!”

  “Stop it, Cherise. This is totally crazy!”

  "It’s not. My love for you is pure and beautiful. We could be awesome together if you just let yourself love me.”

  “I love Selena,” he declared ferociously. “That’s the way it is. Accept it.”

  Cherise’s face contorted furiously. “No, you don’t love that fat pig. You can’t.”

  Xavier’s dark eyes burned fire. “What did you call Selena?” he snapped.

  “I . . . I . . .”

  “If you were a guy, I would’ve hit you!”

  “I didn’t mean to—“

  “Selena is much prettier and a much better person than you, okay?”

  Cherise’s face completely crumbled, and her eyes grew shiny. “You don’t mean that. You—“

  “I don’t say things I don’t mean! Don’t ever call Selena names, is that clear?”

  Cherise trembled at his sharp words. “I’m sorry.”

  “This conversation is over.”

  “But—“

  “Cherise, I’ve been calling you,” stated Asher, having stepped into the dining room from outside where she, Chad, and Steve were by the swimming pool. “What’s wrong with your cell?”

  “You’ve been calling me?” Cherise asked, pulling her cell phone out of her purse.

  “Yes, I didn’t want to interrupt you and Xavier, but me and the boys want to catch a movie and we wanted to see if both of you wanted to come with us.”

  “This is strange,” she said, exam
ining her phone. “It’s not working. It’s really hot, and there’s smoke coming out.”

  “Something must’ve shorted it out,” stated Asher.

  “I guess so.”

  “Bye,” Xavier mumbled as he started stepping away.

  “Don’t you want to come with us?” rushed Cherise.

  “No.”

  In his room, Xavier stared at his goldfish. It always calmed him to watch them patiently swim in the tank. He rigorously swiped the back of his hand over his lips as if trying to get rid of the disgusting kiss Cherise had forced on him. If she only knew how much he detested her for having invaded his space. Her closeness to him only served to let him see her ugliness in more detail,

  Xavier regretted with a passion that he had spent his valuable time with the Its and hadn’t been able to spend time with Selena that Friday night. The next evening he would be going to Socorro, so he wouldn’t see her until Sunday. It seemed like an impossible amount of time even though he had been with her at school earlier.

  When Selena had told him that her parents wanted a family night out that evening, he had been disappointed but he had understood. Xavier stared at the phone, anxious to dial it and hear Selena’s voice. He knew that the Spinozas were probably home by now since Mr. Spinoza had to work the next day. But Xavier turned the receiver over in his hand, trying to decide whether to tell Selena about his own evening. She tended to have jealous tendencies over Cherise which he couldn’t comprehend at all. In his book, it was like the Sistine Chapel being envious of a mass produced picture.

  No, I can’t tell her about tonight, thought Xavier. What for? I didn’t find anything important out about Sebastian, and Cherise’s stupid declaration of love will only upset her. He quickly dialed the phone and his lips formed their special smile when Selena answered on the first ring.

  “Hello,” she said, her tone vivacious.

  “Hey, beautiful.”

  “I just knew it was you, Xavier,” Selena chirped happily.

  “How was your family dinner?”

  “Great but I missed you.”

  “I missed you too.”

  “How was your evening?” Selena asked.

  Xavier nervously cleared his throat. “Okay.”

  “Just okay?”

  “You know I don’t like spending time with my family.”

  Selena’s light chuckle went through the phone. “Yes, I know.”

  “I had to have dinner with them, and I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.”

  “Xavier, it couldn’t have been that bad.”

  “It was and what's worse is that I can’t see you tomorrow either.”

  “Yes, that really stinks. You’ll be off to Socorro, and I’ll be here.”

  “Maybe I should cancel it.”

  “No, Xavier, you’ve got to go,” declared Selena.

  “But—“

  “You’ve got to,” she said with more firmness.

  Xavier let a deep breath out. “We’ve got to find the Key of Hearts.”

  “Yes.”

  “I really wish I didn’t have to go.”

  “But you do.”

  “Okay, I’ll go to Socorro,” he said with resignation.

  “Please, please be careful.”

  “I will.”

  “Come back to me, okay?" she murmured. "Come back to me in one piece.”