His Heart Knew Before He Did novel Chapter 14

"Oh, you don't have to do that..." Before she even finished her sentence, Audrey shamelessly pulled up her payment QR code on her phone.

Once the money transferred, Audrey's foul mood evaporated.

"Coach Vance, why did you send five hundred? That's an extra hundred dollars!"

Xavier's voice was flat and indifferent. "The extra hundred is for the door."

"Oh my, Coach Vance, you think of everything!" Audrey was in high spirits now, all the fight completely drained from her. "Lydia, go tidy up the house. I'll go start dinner. Coach Vance, you have to stay and eat with us!"

Lydia squeezed her eyes shut, turning on her heel and walking out the door without a single word.

She completely ignored Audrey's shouts echoing behind her.

She walked all the way back to the motel before finally stopping and turning to face Xavier, who had followed her the entire way. "Stop following me. Go home. I'll pay you back the five hundred dollars as soon as I can."

"You look terrible." Xavier stepped closer. "Are you sick?"

"I'm just tired." Lydia pressed her dry lips together. "I'm going to go sleep for a bit."

Back in her motel room, her headache only worsened.

She swallowed two painkillers and buried herself under the covers.

But even with her eyes closed, sleep refused to come.

The past sliced through her memories like a razor blade, leaving them bloody and raw.

Back then, her uncle worked as a laborer on construction sites in the city and only came home on weekends.

Audrey had never liked her, treating her like a worthless burden.

Whenever Audrey was in a bad mood, Lydia became her punching bag.

The only time she got to experience a couple of peaceful, happy days was when her uncle came home for the weekend.

She had secretly confided in her uncle about some of the things that happened, but it never changed anything. It only sparked violent screaming matches between Audrey and Gerald.

Eventually, she got used to it.

Used to huddling in the corner, eating the scraps Fiona refused to touch.

Used to Audrey dunking her head under the freezing faucet whenever she made a mistake.

Used to the unprovoked beatings and verbal abuse, year after year...

The brutal winter wind tore at her clothes, making her shiver the moment she stepped outside.

But when she looked around, Xavier was nowhere to be found.

She scanned the street. He must have left.

Pulling her puffer jacket tighter around herself, she walked to the convenience store, bought three beers, and headed toward the town square.

There was a river called Stonebridge River right by the square. In the summer, all the locals loved to come here to swim and cool off.

When she was little, whenever she felt wronged, this was her favorite place to hide and cry.

Lydia sat on the stone steps by the river, staring blankly at the moon for a long time.

Just as she took her first swig of beer, a shadow suddenly fell over her.

Looking up, she saw Xavier standing beside her, lazily holding a six-pack of beer. His tall, lean frame looked like a lone pine tree silhouetted against the moonlight.

Xavier casually sat down next to her, cracked open a can, and took a sip, his eyes locking onto her with a relaxed, assessing gaze.

"Drinking without me, friend?"