"My son! My son! Xavier! Oh Xavier! My son!" Victoria felt immense pain in her chest as she cried. It felt like something was tightly clasping a strong hand on her heart.
"He's going to be okay", Henry tried to comfort her. His eyes were bloodshot red from fighting back tears.
"My son! My baby! Henry my baby!" She started hitting her chest as she sobbed.
"Keep it together Victoria. Xavier will pull through. He's a Frost! He's strong! He'll be okay!" He restrained her hands and pulled her into an embrace, burying her face in his chest as she cried her heart out.
Her wails echoed through the waiting room where they sat. Henry may have sounded strong but internally, he was a whole different case. His heart broke for his wife and for his son who was currently undergoing surgery.
He indulged himself in self blame. Because he was away, the father and son had grown distant and now look. Something he never imagined had happened to his son. If only he had been there.... if only.....
Zach stood a few feet away from his parents on a call. "Two hours!" He barked furiously and ended the call.
He wanted answers by the end of Xavier's operation. He sounded fine when he called him earlier telling him he was coming over. He was finally going to get Henry to tell Xavier the truth but that happened. He needed to know who hurt his brother. It wasn't suicide, Zach ruled out. A shot in the head was more likely if he was than the chest injury Xavier sustained. Something or someone happened.
Two hours later, the doctor came out from the operation. Henry and Victoria sprung to their feet and Zach joined them to meet him.
"How's our son?" Henry asked.
"Please tell me he's okay", Victoria pleaded with a tear stained face in anxiousness.
"For now, he's out of danger. The bullet hit dangerously close to his heart's vena cava...."
Zach felt his phone vibrate from his hand. He moved a few feet away from them to attend to the call.
"George", he acknowledged.
"I've just sent you a video file containing a security footage from Xavier's place", he answered.
"Thank you."
He ended the call and downloaded the file immediately. There in the video, he saw Xavier open the door for a woman he recognized to be Irene, Xavier's girlfriend. This was the woman Xavier bragged to be the love of his life. But Zach could tell that the atmosphere between the two wasn't all that merry in that moment.
The two moved to the livingroom and sat down to talk. As it was a soundless video, he forwarded the scene to a few minutes later. Now they were standing and arguing. Xavier's face was red from anger as he screamed a her and she screamed back with tears rolling down her face. Suddenly Irene pulled out a gun and pointed it to her temple.
Xavier marched over to her side and took hold of her hand along with the gun and pointed it to the middle of his chest. Zach could now read Xavier's lips screaming:
'Shoot me! Shoot me!'
When did things get so bad between the two? And why? Zach continued to watch as the crying Irene pulled the gun away with Xavier's hand still intact but he overpowered her and pressed it back to his chest. She pulled it back and in that moment, Xavier's chest jerked a little and he stumbled backwards before he fell. His shirt was soon soaked in blood.
Irene was momentarily shocked before she bolted out of the room leaving him to his demise. Zach's expression darkened at this point; he had never felt so angry in his life than in that moment. There lay his brother helplessly, his life ebbing away... And where the hell was security??? He stopped the video and locked his phone before joining his parents.
"... the ICU and we'll observe him until he's completely out of danger."
"Can we see him?" She asked. She would only feel relieved if she saw him herself.
"Yes, but two of you at a time", the doctor said.
Henry and Victoria looked at each other then at Zach. Henry was about to suggest that the mother and son go in first when Zach spoke up.
"I have something to take care of, I'll see him when I get back."
From the coldness in his tone and the murderous aura he emitted, they knew he was going out to get justice for his brother. Victoria sniffled as she wiped her tears.
"Then see him first before you go, we'll go in after you", Victoria suggested.
So that's what he did. He had been adorned in protective clothes from the hospital covering his head, hands and body when visiting Xavier. He clenched his fist when he felt his eyes sting from watching his brother lying on the bed, supported by machines, looking vulnerable. This wasn't the vibrant Xavier that he knew. His steps were heavy as he moved to his side.
He leaned down to whisper beside his ear. "I'll get to the bottom of this. I promise."
A tear slid down his nose and fell on the pillow beside Xavier's ear. Zach patted Xavier's arm before standing up to leave. As soon as he stepped out, his parents replaced him and rushed to his side while Zach went on to get justice for his brother, and that he did.
But the damage had been done. Later on, when Xavier came to and gained a little strength, his parents walked in on him trying to jump out of the window of his room. He had been moved to one of the V.I.P rooms of the hospital which occupied the top most floor.
"Xavier!" Victoria shrieked in fear at the same time the bodyguards swamped in to restrain him.
"Let go! Let go! Let me die!" He groaned as he struggled in their hold.
Victoria shrunk into Henry's embrace scared by his sudden actions and she sobbed. "My son! What's happening to my son? Henry?"
"Let me die! I don't want to live! I don't want to live anymore! Let go!" He screamed at the two men on his sides but they didn't budge.
Pak! Xavier's face swung to the side when Henry suddenly came up to him and landed a hard punch on his face.
"Get hold of yourself! Look at your mother! Look at what you're doing to her!" He screamed in his face. "You fool! How dare you? You're doing this because of a woman who doesn't deserve you but look at what you're doing to the woman who loves you more than life itself? The woman who considers you a blessing and you want to what?"
Henry's chest heaved up and down from an adrenaline rush out of being angry with his son. Xavier had quieted down and stopped struggling at this point. Seeing that his words were getting through him, Henry continued in a more calm tone.
"You don't have the slightest idea of how much your mother has been crying because of you. She even has nightmares afraid that something else will happen to you. All these years you've been a great support system to her, but now you want to take that away from her? Then who's going to pick up from that while I'm not around?"
Victoria's sobs were now soft but they still got to Xavier. And that broke his heart. He took in everything his father said, until realization dawned on him.
"What did you just say?" He began with a low tone before slowly looking up at his father. "You're leaving?"
He looked between his parents and one looked guilty and the other shocked by the news. Xavier's anger began to boil.
"Are you going back to that woman?"
"Xavier-" Victoria tried to interrupt to explain only for Xavier to snap at Henry.
"You stand there shamelessly preaching to me about what's right and wrong but this is what you plan on doing?"
Before Henry knew it, a fist came flying in his face.....
Present time....
"You made me hate you..."
"If it could drive your focus on looking after your mother and not having suicidal thoughts", Henry concluded for him.
The two fell silent, as Xavier let the truth sink in. So what would there relationship be like now that he knows the truth? Xavier looked at his father and saw the love reflected in his eyes, he had always looked at him like that while he returned it with hate. Guilt overwhelmed him.
"I... I need. ."
"Sure", Henry patted him on the shoulder. Xavier nodded and left his side.
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