Pandora by Storm Chase

Author:Storm Chase [Chase, Storm]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-05-11T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Xavier might say he was blind to emotion but after she broke down, he bundled her into bed and just lay there holding her until she cried herself to sleep.

Admitting that her parents really didn’t care for her and discovering that Richard was a thief with a penchant for taking sneaky sex videos really rocked Pandora. Added to the other horrific events she’d witnessed in last few days she truly felt her world had fallen apart.

She felt numb, as if something had died inside her. The toxic relationship book had made her depressed; looking at her life in the light of what she’d discovered was like surgery without anaesthetic.

Pandora cried, slept, woke up, cried again and went back to sleep. Forty-eight hours later she finally got out of bed, tottered to the bathroom, caught sight of herself in the mirror and almost fainted. Her hair was a tangled mess and her skin looked grey where it wasn’t blotchy.

Disgusted with herself, she took a hot shower, washed her hair until it squeaked and then ruthlessly scrubbed herself with the loofah. Finally clean and dressed again, she realised how kind Xavier had been. Vaguely she remembered him lying next to her for hours, just holding her.

She waited until the setting sun shooed out the guns and went to find him. Predictably he was sitting at his computer. Seeing her, he smiled and stood up to give her a hug.

“You’re all right again,” he said. “I was getting worried about you, Panda.”

“I’m sorry to have been such a drag,” Pandora said muffled into his shoulder. “I feel like I’ve been in a daze. You’ve been so good to me, Xav. Thanks.”

“That’s all right,” he said to her gently. “You’ve got a lot to think about. Just take it easy, okay?” He looked at her carefully. “Your eyes are focussed again,” he said. “Good. You’re definitely back.”

“Is it okay if we talk?” Pandora asked him.

“Sure. Give me ten minutes to finish this.”

“I’ll get you a beer.”

Ten minutes later, nose to nose on the squashy sofa, Pandora looked for the right words. Xavier just sat and waited.

“I feel like I’ve died in some way,” Pandora said eventually. “I’ve thought about what you’ve told me and I accept that what you said is true. This is a new life. A new beginning. I don’t like it but I have to accept it. I’m looking at myself in a new way too. I don’t like who I was. I don’t want to be that Pandora anymore.”

Xavier stirred and looked uncomfortable. “I like you as you are, Panda. Why do you want to change?”

“I’m a coward. I never tell people what I really feel or want because I worry they won’t like it. That stops now,” Pandora said firmly.

Xavier smiled at her. “You tell me what you think. You’ve lectured me quite a few times.”

“Only after I’ve had a few drinks. From now on I won’t be needing any Dutch courage.”

“That sounds all right.”

“And I’m not trusting anyone anymore, ever,” Pandora said defiantly.

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