Insanity Chapter 7

“Okay, it’s looks like their gone,” said Xavier as he lifted me up on his knee. “Are you alright?” he asked in a gentle tone.

For the past three years Xavier adopted not just the four of us, but six other kids as well. A few of them left, and the others who don’t live here live in another house owned by Xavier. He treats us all like his kids, but he’s always had a soft spot for me.

Not even Mal knows how nice he is to me when we’re alone. He treats me like a little princess. Being with him is the only time that I get to be me.

“I’m alright,” I said to him. “It’s my fault not Mal’s or the others. I convinced them to take me with them. Please forgive them.”

“I’m sorry baby doll, but if I don’t then they won’t learn a thing. Besides, you and I both know that it was your brother that wanted you to come along. He should take the blame as it is his responsibility”

“But-”

“No buts,” Xavier said as he put his fingers over my mouth. “He knew that he shouldn’t have taken you and did so regardless. He knows the rules. In fact I could punish him more if you want. Maybe make him dress up as a chicken and dance in the streets for money.”

“Pfft, don’t make him do that,” I said as I couldn’t hold myself back from laughing. Seeing Cal in a chicken costume would be hilarious. He’d be so embarrassed.

“There’s that smile I’ve been looking for,” he said to me with a smile. “I was wondering if it would ever show itself to me.” He gently bopped me in the nose, and I laughed once more.

“A pretty girl like you looks so much better with a smile across her face. It’s a shame to see such a sad face all the time.”

I covered his mouth with my hands to get him to stop talking. It was true I was in fact a girl, not a boy. When Mal and I were brought here three years ago, Xavier had me hide my gender to keep me safe.

There are no young girls in the slums besides me. The ones that were around disappeared without a trace. I knew several other girls when I first came here, but now their all gone.

Jessica is fine because she’s almost an adult and knows how to defend herself. People know not to mess with her. I wish I could say the same thing about myself. I didn’t want to keep hiding who I was, but it was the only way for me to stay safe.

“Shh! What if someone hears you?” I asked while looking around.

“It’s fine,” said Xavier with a chuckle. “No one heard us. I promise that the only three people that know that truth are you, me and Mal. There’s no need to worry about it. I’ve made sure to keep you safe for this long haven’t I?”

“I guess, but I’m still worried,” I said to him. “What if someone fonds out the truth? What will happen to me if that happens?”

“Don’t worry, I promise that it won’t,” he said, trying to reassure me. “Eventually you won’t have to hide who you are. Now I think that it’s time that you told me what happened and don’t think about leaving out any details.”

I told him what happened, including the run in with the imperial guard and the creepy man inside the apartment. I told him how Mal got shot trying to protect me, and then how we got back here.

“Well I guess that would explain the smell. You lot smell slightly better than usual. Though it is concerning that man was there. Gerald informed me that no one should have been there today. In fact the owner of that apartment should have been gone for quite some time. I’ll have to talk with Gerald about this?”

“Plus there’s that imperial guard who saw both you and your brother there. That’s going to be a problem. It’s easy to get you to listen to orders, but your brother was never one to listen. And when he does, it’s usually to make problems for me.”

“For now, it would be best to keep the three of them here for a while. I send you over to Gerald’s for a few days. He should be able to avoid suspicion. Though I don’t think that Mal will like that.”

“I’ll try,” I told him with a slight smile. Mal may not listen to me that much, but he does care about my safety as much as Xavier, so he might be okay with it. It was my fault that led to the failure of the job. This was the least that I could do in order to make up for it.

“You don’t have to,” said Xavier. “You know how he gets when he gets mad. There is no need for you to get yourself hurt because of me.”

“But-”

“It’s fine. There’s nothing to worry about. Keeping you lot out of the public eye for a while shouldn’t be that hard. I’ve dealt with many others that have made similar mistakes in the past.”

“Oh, and before I forget,” he said. “Did you get a good look at the imperial guard that saw you? Any distinctive features, any bit could help.”

“None,” I said to him, which was a lie, but I had to. She seemed like a nice person. I didn’t want her to get hurt for trying to help me. I know what happens to people that tick Xavier off. While he is kind to us, his children, he’s the exact opposite to others.

I know this because I once saw him kill a man that beat Malik up once. I woke up one night and went to get a glass of water, when I heard noise coming from outside. I carefully looked out the window to see that same man with a knife to his neck. It didn’t take very long after that for his neck to be split open.

I held in my breath, as well as my scream. Seeing another person die in front of me eventually made me face out in fear. The next morning when I woke up I was back in my bed. I tried to tell Xavier about what I saw, but he passed it off as a dream. Though I knew better than to believe that.

If he knew who she was then he would kill her like that man. I couldn’t let that happen. I didn’t want to have her blood on my hands.

“Fine, you don’t have to say if you don’t want to. I won’t force you,” he said as he held me in his arms as he stood up. “For now I believe that it’s time for you to get some rest.” Xavier walked me over to my room, and then laid me down in the bed.

“But I’m not tired,” I told him, trying to get up, but he wouldn’t let me.

“Don’t try to foo, me,” he said while putting the blanket over me. “After what you went through today that adrenaline rush is about to end. When it does you’ll be happy that you got a few hours extra of sleep. Don’t worry I promise that I’ll wake you up before dinner. Just relax for now. I’m sure that Mal and the others are doing the same thing.”

“Fine,” I said back to him reluctantly, as my eye lids began to feel heavy.

“Sleep tight,” he said as he closed to door behind him.

As my eyes fully closed I finally drifted off to sleep, to where the nightmares began.