Page 19 of The Loathing

“Yeah?”

“We will be alright, won’t we? Dad won’t let anything bad happen, will he?”

And she looks through me for a moment, a ghost of a smile creeping onto her lips.

“Your father will never let anything bad happen; remember… fall in love with someone that would happily sacrifice themself to save you.”

I nod, palming a stray tear away when I hear my bedroom door creek open.

“Why are both my girls crying?” My father swoops in, scooping me and my mother up in one big embrace, holding onto us tight. “No tears, there is no reason for any tears,” his lips press against the top of my head, then they move to my mother’s. “I will fix this, I always fix everything.” His voice wobbles slightly and it makes my chest ache heavily.

I just hope we all walk out of this.

“Where are the boys?” whispering, I hadn’t seen Xander and Ezekiel since Monday night.

“Getting ready,” is all my father says and I roll my lips, swallowing the burning bile that is crawling up my throat.

I feel like my brothers are getting armoured up for war, then it dawns on me.

That’s exactly what they’re doing.

They’re getting ready for war.

CHAPTER EIGHT

TITUS

Lugging my suitcase out of the attic, I throw it onto my bed and place my hands on my hips. I have no idea what to pack, I have no idea what the weather is like in England. Here, spring is warm but not sticky hot like the summer here.

I tried searching for it on the internet, but each area of England has different weather.

Slipping my phone out of my suit pocket I open up messages and click on Xavier’s name.

Titus

Hey, dipshit. I am packing my suitcase, what’s the weather like?

It stays on read for a while which instantly annoys me. I sigh, slipping my sleeve up and seeing the time. It’s ten a.m. here, so Xavier should be up and getting on with his day. I had so much to do before I left on Sunday, I had two days to get my work tied up, get Arizona settled at Keaton’s along with Jeff and pack my bags. Oh, and I needed my hair cut.

My phone beeps and vibrates, and I see his response.

Xavier

It’s raining cats and dogs : - )

And I swear I have never wanted to strangle and choke a man as much as Xavier. He makes my blood boil, no, he makes it boil past boiling point.

Huffing, I reach into my closet and grab jackets, jeans, shirts and suit pants. Throwing them into the open suitcase, I tug open the dresser drawer and throw handfuls of t-shirts and long-sleeved jersey tops. I’ll have to get my shirts dry cleaned once over in England.

The closer the trip was getting, the more anxious I was getting about leaving. I didn’t want to leave Arizona; I had never left her before. The thought weighs heavy in my chest and I find my hand rubbing over my heart to try and alleviate some of the ache.

Storming back to the closet, I crouch down and grab my shoes. Sneakers, boots and wingtips. That’s it, I’m not taking loads with me. I’ll do laundry and use what I have, worst comes to worst I’ll have to go shopping.

“You okay dad?” I hear Arizona’s soft voice float through the room and any stress or pent-up frustration I was feeling was now slowly leaving my body. She was my calm.

“Yeah, I think I’ve overpacked,” I place my hands on my hips and turn to face her, “What do you think?” I smirk, watching as she looks around me and to my overflowing suitcase.

“Maybe a little,” she holds her hand up, holding her thumb and index finger apart causing a small gap.

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