Me Without You (11 page)

"I am not a witch, I swear," Jonah had
told him. "And I can prove it to you. Let’s go to Church together.
See if something strange will happen to me."

Jonah had been in a playful mood. She
had pretended to hesitate at the last step by the
entrance.

"Brace yourself," Jonah said with
mocked seriousness. "If I burn, don't call 911. The burning won't
kill me. But the humiliation will put me to death. So, here goes!"
She dramatically entered the building. By mere coincidence, there
was a wind blowing in their direction which blew Jonah's hair to
her face, which made Xavier laughed out loud.

"Now, that's strange!" he had told
her.

Jonah had pouted like a child and told
Xavier, "So, I am not that strong yet like the rest of the
family!"

But now she is
strong
… Xavier realized.
Strongest among the rest of them all. Aunt Gilda
could be right—Jonah's the new greatest healer.

Xavier had felt something back in the
Church when Jonah touched him. It was a strange and warm sensation
all over his body. However, it could also be the effect of seeing
her again. Whatever the reason was, there was something in her
touch…it was healing him and making him feel good.

But now that I have found my
voice, she won’t listen. I can’t blame her. I am to blame. It’s all
me.
Xavier pondered, miffed by what just
happened.

For such a long time he had not spoken,
his family had thought he had a speech problem as a child. They
even considered the possibility that he was autistic. But when they
realized nothing was wrong with him, aside from the reality that he
just wanted to be silent, they never bothered with him at
all.

As an adult, he was the loner and often
times his teachers complained never hearing his voice at all. Jonah
was the only one who made him speak. She showed him the beauty of
the words to speak what was inside his heart.

She even made him sing…

When Xavier and Jonah were in the
church where she tried to prove she wasn't a witch at all, at the
back of his mind, it was also a perfect excuse to make out inside
the church because it was the very last place people would find
couples making out.

It was when Dean had discovered them in
the balcony.

"Man! Don’t you have any other place
else—" Dean reprimanded, looking embarrassed for the two of
them.

"Come on, Dean," Jonah said on the
verge of laughing out loud. "It was one innocent kiss."

"Innocent, huh?" Dean assessed Jonah
and Xavier's faces.

Xavier must have looked so guilty then
that Dean looked more uncomfortable by the minute.

"Dean, please!" Jonah said, by that
time she was already laughing out loud, ignoring the half-frozen
expression on Xavier's face.

"Why don’t you come down and give me a
hand at the altar," Dean quickly added and left in
haste.

That fateful day was also the day when
Xavier discovered, he would rather use his voice to sing than to
speak. He initially did it for Jonah because she was pesteringly
insistent. And yes, he wanted to show off. But he never realized
that music had first loved him, only waiting to be revealed. It was
a great surprise for himself and his family that he will eventually
fall in love with singing.

And yet, Jonah was not surprised at
all. It was as if she knew him more than he knew himself. Their
senior year was almost coming to a close when they started seeing
each other. And in a blink of an eye, Xavier had to discover he was
terribly sick. That was when he got confused and he refused to be
with anybody again. He even stayed away from Jonah for reasons he
couldn’t understand. He had suddenly ceased to feel anything, not
even the fear about the inevitability of death because of his
illness or the reality of leaving Jonah behind.

She made me sing…And yet, I
left her anyway…and without a word
. Xavier
mused.
If only I hadn’t been such a
coward…if only I wasn’t blinded by my own incomprehensible
feelings.

"If only—" Xavier said out loud which
earned him a curious look from Lucas.

Xavier looked towards Jonah's car,
which was gaining speed and missing their turn to their home
address. There were two other cars separating between their
cars.

"We're losing them," Xavier
announced.

"Sir Xavier, why don't we just proceed
to their house? Why do we have to chase them?" Lucas asked
cautiously.

"Because now— I think, they will hide
her from me," Xavier answered.

Just then a
Phantom Black Rolls Royce
dangerously
cut right in front of
them.
Lucas had to put on the brakes in a
flash or they would have
kissed the luxury
car's bumper.

The other car started to glide at a
slower pace. Lucas put on some speed and attempted to pass through,
but the other vehicle would take almost the whole lane. When Lucas
swerved to the right, the other car would also veer to the right,
intentionally blocking the way. This prevented Lucas from
overtaking it.

Then, the other car halted abruptly and
Lucas' had to follow suit, cutting off his engine in the middle of
the road. By the time, the black car started again, Jonah's car had
gained a lot of distance and was disappearing from view.

"Reckless!" Lucas squawked
angrily.

When the two vehicles were almost
bumper-to-bumper close, Xavier noted that the black car was very
familiar. He had seen Rebecca Blood being driven by it. Although,
the car was slightly tinted, an outline of a woman who was exactly
the form of Jonah's mother with her long black hair materialized
from the backseat of the car, as if by queer
coincidence.

But it can't be…she's
dead!
But if she was what they say she
was…then, anything was possible.
Xavier
told himself quietly. He was feeling unnerved by the whole
thing.

As Xavier tried to take a closer look
at the other car, it sped off and left them far behind.

"Isn't that Jonah's mom's car?" Xavier
asked.

"Who, Sir Xavier?" Lucas
asked.

"It's Rebecca Blood's car! Can you see
who's driving it?" Xavier asked.

"I know the Blood driver, Damian. Met
the fellow once or twice. But I don't think it's him, Sir Xavier.
Although, I can't be so sure—" Lucas declared.

"Never mind, Lucas!" Xavier said. "Can
you see Jonah's car?"

"I'm sorry, we've lost them, Sir
Xavier!" Lucas said.

"Let's go home!" Xavier said.
Disappointed, he put on his disposable facemask as the older man
was veering the car back to the Lively's mansion.

"It's happening. Now, that they've seen
me going after her, they'd do anything to take her away from me,"
Xavier said more to himself than to Lucas who was listening to him
intently. "It's all my fault anyway!"

They were almost nearing the mansion
when Xavier got out his phone and dialed Hugh's number. If he did
see the ghost of Rebecca Blood, it was possible there was some kind
of a connection to the new greatest healer— who could be Jonah. And
Xavier was planning to tell Hugh about what just
transpired.

Just as the phone rang, Xavier changed
his mind about telling Hugh and hanged up. He felt nobody must know
about Jonah and what just happened between the two of them. He may
be imagining things and Jonah may be put in danger because his mind
was too creative.

No, you don't want Hugh
anywhere near her…
Xavier heard his own
voice telling him off.
Admit it, you like
it that you know something about her which Hugh may never find out.
It makes you feel better. It's enough! They've been sharing a lot
together without you lately. This is your turn.

"Stop!" Xavier called out."Stop the
car, Lucas!"

"Are you okay, Sir Xavier?" Lucas asked
curiously, peering through the rearview mirror, slowly gliding the
car to a stop.

"Yes, Lucas, thank you for asking. I am
fine," Xavier answered. "I think I want to walk the rest of the way
home. Get some fresh air."

Lucas looked at him hesitantly. Then,
his eyes darted towards the road ahead. Although, they were within
the family’s homestead, there was still quite a mile stretched away
before they reached it. The driver looked back at Xavier and said,
"I don’t think that’s a good idea, Sir Xavier!"

Xavier avoided the man’s eyes in the
mirror and obstinately kept his chin up, "I need it," he said. "The
walk. The air. The space."

Of course, he knew he won’t be able to
reach the house in one piece. And Lucas will likely be reprimanded
for allowing him to do it. Xavier realized.

He stepped out of the car and took off
his mask. He took in a lungful of air. But instead of feeling
alright, he was feeling nauseous. His chest tightened. And all he
wanted to do was cry. But he just couldn’t.

The sick and his jealous
heart
…he thought to himself pitifully. He
didn't have the right anymore.

"You left her, remember?" Xavier
mumbled. "Now, she's got Hugh!"

Lucas got out of the car as well and
went to stand next to Xavier. The old man pounded softly on
Xavier's back, his face registering worry.

"Sir Xavier! We need to take you home,
now!" Lucas said urgently.

"No, I will be fine!" Xavier said. He
bent over and stretched out his hands to his knees which relaxed
him a bit. Then, he pulled himself up to his full height and took
in another long breath. "I am fine, now!" Looking at the driver
cautiously, he added, "I hope my mother wouldn’t have to know about
any of this and the trip to the Church earlier, the chase, Jonah.
Anyway, I just—"

"As long as you are feeling fine,
sir—then, there’s no need to say anything to the Madam," Lucas
responded slightly tipping his hat.

"I am fine," Xavier stressed out again
as he got back in the car. Aside from the reality that he was
terribly sick and death could only be looming in the horizon, his
heart was quickly dying. "I am just fine." In his thoughts, Xavier
decided he needed to get back with Jonah to make his statement
real.

I will die in her arms even
if everybody won’t allow it… Even if she, herself won’t hear of
it…
Xavier thought and filled his lungs
with air before he put the mask on. A lone heartbeat seemed to jump
right out of his chest. For a moment, he felt good again. It almost
felt like Jonah was touching him all over again.

She is my
cure
. Xavier thought.
And I'll do anything to get her back
…

It occurred to Xavier no matter how it
hurt him to think about Hugh's connection with Jonah, he didn't
have a choice. Hugh was the closest thing he has of getting closer
to Jonah once again. He knew that Hugh communicated with
her.

And the habak…
it was the perfect excuse to go after
Jonah.

Xavier dialed Hugh's phone
again.

"Hello!" Xavier heard Hugh's voice on
the other end of the line. He sounded worried. "X, talk to me. Is
something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong! I am here. Where
are you? We need to talk," Xavier answered.

Chapter 12

The Hunters

Xavier was still in the foyer and the
menthol scent he learned to loath so much had drifted through his
nostrils and his surroundings. His heartbeats skipped a bit,
feeling nervous all of a sudden. Instead of pulling off his mask
when he was at home, he kept it in place for his own sake while he
was around Gilda.

Although, Xavier would rather want a
detour towards the safety of his room, he took hurried steps
towards the room where the scent was leading him. He stopped just
right outside the door of the den which was slightly ajar, took in
a deep breath and listened to the voices coming from the inside of
the room.

"Rebecca Blood is dead," a
man's voice said. Xavier has heard the voice before but he couldn't
quite remember where. "The
Andalusian
Hunters are now thirsty for
the next one, Gilda. We must do something before they get to the
new one."

"I am working on it, Father," Gilda
said. "It is only a matter of time before I find the new
one."

"Good. Good. Good. Oh, I am afraid that
there will be a massacre to get to the new one. And if we don't
find the new one before they do, we will have to suffer for their
crimes again," The voice said. "I don't want it to happen in my
diocese."

"It will not, I promise you, Father—"
Gilda said.

"Send a word to me as soon as you heard
something from the new one," the male voice said.

"I will, Fr. Ulysses," Gilda
answered.

Fr. Ulysses?
Xavier had just seen the priest awhile ago at the
Church.
What's in it for him with the
healers?