Chapter 14: Breaking Apart

For the next few days, the tiny apartment was completely silent. They never uttered a word to each other after that night. Roxas would watch Xion as she remained on the couch, unmoving and silent. The silence was unbearable.

"Xion?" Roxas broke. "Xion, can you please talk to me?"

Xion rolled over and sat up. "I'm sorry, Roxas."

Roxas fidgeted with his fingers, cracking them over and over. "Xion, please smile."

Xion pulled her legs up and held them to her chest. She buried her face in the gap between her legs and chest. She retreated further and further into herself, shutting everything back out again.

Without another word, Roxas walked out the door, leaving Xion to herself.

"Roxas?" Ven knocked on Roxas's door. "Roxas, you been in there all week. You have to come out." Ven banged his fist against the wooden door." Roxas!" he cried out. "You have to move on, Roxas."

Roxas sat at the edge of his small messy bed, the scar was still fresh in his heart. He held a small pistol that once belong to his parents in his hand. He heard Ven's empty words through the door. He pressed the gun against the bottom of his jaw. His hands shook.

Ven continued to bang against the door. "Roxas. Roxas!"

"That'll be $3.75."

Roxas pulled out his money as the old clerk watched. He handed the clerk the money and grabbed the bag that held a large carton of chocolate milk. The old clerk slammed the cash register closed and bid Roxas a good evening.

"You too," Roxas mumbled as he walked out of the small convenient store and into the warm night air. He tightened his grip on the plastic bag. I hope Xion likes this. Roxas made his way back to his small apartment a few blocks away.

A black car rolled up across the street from the apartments. They sat idle, watching the only lit window in the small complex. They sat and waited on the sideline, observing. Roxas walked on to his block. The black car with tinted windows sat at the other end of the block. His heart sunk.

"Xion!" He took off, afraid of what waited for him behind the closed door.

The tires screeched as the car speed off. Roxas crawled up the stairs, banging the carton against everything as he rushed up. He kicked the door open with one powerful kick.

Xion jumped up. "WHAT THE HELL!?" she screamed, her heart skipping a beat and pounding in her chest. "What's wrong?"

Roxas stared at the girl in front of him. She had been sleeping the entire time he was gone. The bag slipped from his fingers, slamming against the ground. "Xion?" His throat constricted and burned. "Xion," he cried out again.

Xion sat up, scared of what happened. "Roxas, what's wrong?"

"You have to leave," he said, leaning over. "You can't stay here anymore."

"Why?" She felt deeply confused and hurt. "Why not?"

Roxas remained hunched over. He hid the tears that welled up in his eyes. "I don't want you here anymore."

Kairi wrapped her arms around the small girl. "It's been a few weeks. Are you sure you're fine?" They stood at the station, waiting in the subway for the train. Kairi smoothed down Xion's freshly cut hair. It was back to her original length.

Xion held her school bag close to her. "Yeah, Kairi. Being with you and your loving family gave me new hope. I never thought that your family would welcome me with open arms."

Kairi ran her hands over Xion's new red blouse, smoothing out any wrinkles. "Well, that's what a family is supposed to be like. It doesn't matter if your blood or not, as long as there's love then there's a family. It's the bonds that connect people together."

Xion reflected on Kairi's truth. "I thought of it that way." The past memories of her and Vexen flashed through. Of course there were good times where they laughed and played with each other, but that was another lifetime ago. Xion moved on from it all. After weeks of crying over the loss Roxas, she slowly became her own person again. In her heart she still missed him, but her mind has moved on.

The train slowly pulled up to the station. Kairi gave Xion little peck on her forehead. "Have a good day at school." Kairi waved to Xion as she hopped on the train.

Xion turned to Kairi and enthusiastically waved farewell. She then hurried to find a seat as the brakes released, hissing into the early morning air. Kairi watched like a parent watching their child go to school for the first time as the train budged forward, slowly departing from the station. She watched as it left her behind.

Xion looked out the window as the train picked up speed. The scenery quickly flashed by as Xion traced the outlines of the rolling hills in the distance. The early morning sun rose up from behind the hills Xion trace with her eyes. Her journey to the school would take a good half hour, allowing her to enjoy the countryside.

Xion felt strange at school, like it wasn't the same school she's been going for the last few years. The hallways felt empty even though they were crowded with noisy strangers. Xion walked up to her locker. She hadn't opened it in forever. Xion put in her combination and pushed up the latch, swing it open. A neatly folded piece of paper fell out of her locker. Xion crouched down and picked it.

Meet me in the main hallway after school.

Xion examined the paper, trying to find any type of signature. Judging from the hand writing, it wasn't a note from Naminé. However she still felt wary about the meeting with the unknown person. The morning bell let out a high shrilling scream that sounded throughout the entire school, Xion slammed her locker shut and walked through the wave of people. In the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of spiky blond hair disappear within the crowd.

Xion stood in the middle of the empty hallway. She pulled out her phone and looked at the time. 3:52. She tapped her foot impatiently.

Riku appeared around the corner and walked toward Xion. His long silver hair bounced with every step he took. His teal eyes disconnected from the world by a black pair of sunglasses. "I see you got my note, Xion."

Xion tilted her head in confusion. "Riku?"

"I can tell you're confused," he said cooly. "Let me enlighten you." He faced away from Xion. "I heard that you and Roxas parted for a while now."

Xion put her hand on her hip. "Yeah, why does that matter?"

Riku took a step forward, beginning to walk around the tiny girl. "I wanted to warn you. I don't care if you heed this warning or not but you must know." He turned around to look at Xion. She felt his eyes stare into hers. "You must stay away from Roxas."

"I don't understand what you mean by that."

Riku turned his head away. "He isn't someone you should get involved with if you valued your life." Riku turned on his heel and began to walk away.

Xion clutched at her chest. "Riku, wait!"

He stopped.

"Please, tell me more." She stared into his back.

"Why don't you ask someone else?" And with that, he was gone.

Xion felt unsatisfied. He left her with even more questions. "Roxas, how can he be dangerous?" She kicked at the ground. "Who should I ask?" Xion pulled out her phone and opened her contacts. At the top of her list was Axel's untouched number. Xion stared at it for a moment before hitting the call button. She pressed her phone against her ear, hearing the ring as it connected. It continued to ring.

Then there was silence.

Xion held her breath, waiting.

"Yo!"