ATTENTION
~
January 16th, 2019
Los Angeles, California
Lilly and Vera's Apartment

Vera's P.O.V.

9:56 pm.

I unlocked my apartment door before picking up a few bags. I stepped aside for Xavier to step in before we all walked inside. I dropped the bags by the door before turning all the lights on.

Xavier began to look around the apartment. The open concept kitchen on the left side. The dining room and living room merged together on the right. Straight ahead was a hallway to our study and a guest bathroom before the staircase which leads to another three bedrooms upstairs; the two bedrooms occupied by Lilly and I which left the extra room for a guest.

The theme of our apartment was modern which was all white, a bit of color here and there but not as much as the white and black were. We decided to add a bit more homey feel to it by bringing our things from New York. I loved this apartment with all my heart.

I bit my lip as I tried to read Xavier's expression, but I failed. I couldn't tell what he was thinking as he walked slowly more into the apartment. I glanced at Lilly who had the same expression I had; a nervous one where we were biting our lips while we were fiddling our hands with something. She glanced at me and shrugged. I sighed before picking up the bags I brought in.

Lilly and I decided that we would go shopping for his essentials such as hygienic ones, clothes, etcetera. He suggested he wanted to go to a local store to get all his things. I felt terrible when he chose to go to a local retail store. I was thinking of going to a more expensive store, but that might overwhelm Xavier and that's the last thing I'd want to do.

"Come on, I'll show you your room and the bathroom," I said as I walked up to him. I waited for him to answer before walking up the staircase. He nodded.

I walked upstairs as I heard some clutter in the kitchen. Lilly must be washing the dishes we left earlier. Once I reached the top, I waited for Xavier. He met with a small loft before it led into a skinny hallway with three doors which were the bedrooms with their own en suite and walk-in closet. I walked into the first room on the left which was an empty guest room. I plopped the bags on the bed before facing him.

"You like?" I asked as he walked in, taking in all that I had to give him silently.

A bit too silently.

"So there's the en suite," I said as I pointed towards the bathroom door. "Next to it is your closet. You can put your stuff there." I added as I pointed to the door next to the bathroom one. "Your clothes are in this bag and all your hygienic stuff is in the other. If you want some extra towels, they're under the sink in the cabinet." I bit my lip as he stayed silent.

"If you need anything else, Lilly is downstairs and I'll be in my room," I said before giving a small smile before walking towards the door.

"Vera?" I heard Xavier call out. I turn around immediately as my heart dropped. "Y-yeah?" He gave a small smile which blossomed happiness within me. "Thank you." He hoarsely whispered. I threw a small grin before replying, "Anytime."

~
January 17th, 2019
Los Angeles, California
The Next Morning

Vera's P.O.V.

11:24 am.

I jogged downstairs before walking into the kitchen. I woke up about a few hours ago. I couldn't sleep because I was curious if Xavier slept through the night. I checked on him a few minutes ago and he was out cold. He took a shower last night to clean all the dirt off of him. He looked like a brand new person. I decided to get up and make some calls about my moving arrangements. I wanted to delay the process since I met Xavier. New York would have to wait.

I heard someone's footsteps descend the stairs. I grabbed an oatmeal box before getting all the ingredients I needed. I look up and meet Lilly's hazel eyes. "Good morning." She hoarsely replied before rubbing her eyes and sitting on the stool in front of the island where I was at. "Morning."

She placed her head in her hands as she groaned obnoxiously. I shushed her and pointed upstairs when she looked at me before saying, "What?"

"Xavier is sleeping," I muttered before grabbing a spoon to eat my breakfast. She scoffed. "He's knocked the hell out. I don't think he'll wake up if we were having an apocalypse or something."

I rolled my eyes at her rather exaggerated statement, but she was most likely right. "Can you grab me my yogurt?" She asked as she reached forwards clenching and unclenching her fists towards the fridge; something a baby would do when they would want something or someone. I squinted my eyes at her as I studied her actions. "Please, yogurt." She continued.

I cracked a laugh before she joined in with me. I shake my head as I head towards the fridge to grab her yogurt and a spoon from the drawer. I slid it towards her before leaning over the island. I bit my lip as I glanced towards the ceiling. Lilly and I had to talk about him now before he woke up.

"We have to ask him eventually what happened to him. We don't even know his age yet." I mumbled before taking another bite from my oatmeal. Lilly nodded. "How'd you even persuade him into staying here with us? It seemed like you talked to him when you both went to order your sandwiches."

She took a spoonful of yogurt before eating it. "Well, I sort of scared him." She shamefully admitted. My jaw dropped. "Lilly! What the hell!" I say as I hit her arm. She threw her hands up in surrender. "Listen, it was the only way." I rolled my eyes at her statement before crossing my arms. "What did you scare him with?"

"Well, the paparazzi. They would attack him if they found out where he would be and bombard him with questions about us." She nonchalantly said as she took another spoonful of yogurt. I took my empty bowl and placed it in the sink before shaking my head. "Hey, it worked at least. You should be thanking me." She added proudly as she flipped her straight light brown hair over her shoulder. I chuckle as I grabbed a towel paper and cleaned off where I was eating before throwing it away.

I heard footsteps from above me and a bit of some clutter. Xavier is awake.

"I should make him breakfast," I mumble to myself as I head towards the fridge and took out eggs, bacon, and bread. I walked over to the stove and turned it on and waited for it to heat up.

"And you say you can't make me breakfast," Lilly muttered before hastily shoving the yogurt in her mouth. I chuckle as I head towards where she was sitting. "I said I couldn't make it that one time. Don't assume next time." I teased shooting a wink her way.

I grabbed my phone to see new notifications. I had a couple of new messages from Aleksander.

Two new messages from Alek

Alek: Hey, loser!

Alek: I didn't know you left to go to California. Thanks for asking me if I wanted to come ):

I roll my eyes at his last message before my eyebrows were pushed together.

Me: Haha. How do you know I'm in Cali?

I place my phone down as Lilly hopped off her stool and hearing footsteps descend down the stairs. Lilly placed her spoon in the sink and throwing her empty carton of yogurt away. I glance up seeing sleeping Xavier walk out of the hallway.

"Good morning. I'm making you some eggs, bacon, and toasts." I say to him with a smile which catches his attention.

"Thank you, but I don't eat bacon." He mumbled as he walked up to the island and sat on the stool. My eyebrows shot up. "Oh, sorry. I didn't know." I say as I walked back to the stove where the frozen pack of bacon was. I picked it up and placed it back in the freezer.

"It's okay." He mumbled again before biting his lip nervously.

Lilly came out with her camera and her laptop before sitting next to Xavier. "How was your night?" She asked as she took a wire and connected her camera to her computer.

I walked back over the stove before grabbing an egg and cracking it open over the pan that was placed on the stove. I tossed a couple of bread into the toaster.

"It was good." He replied with his voice slightly higher than before.

It was quiet for a moment, the sound of the eggs sizzling on the stovetop filled the room. "Do you like it sunny side up or scrambled?" I asked Xavier over my shoulder.

"Scrambled, please." He shyly answered after he hesitated which made me smile softly. He was too innocent.

But I wonder who misused and took it to their advantage to have him not have a roof over his head anymore?

The thought made me shiver. People are too cruel to each other and it is sickening. It's disappointing to see where the world is heading; on a bad path.

I heard the toasts jump up from there toaster. I grabbed the pan with his cook eggs and placed it on a plate along with his toasts before placing his breakfast in front of him. I grabbed salt and pepper from the counter before sliding it across the island to Xavier.

"Bon Appétit. Do you want some orange juice with that?" I asked as I realized he had nothing to drink. He hesitantly nodded.

I walked to the cabinet to grab a glass and over to the fridge for the orange juice. As I was pouring his glass, he looked over at what Lilly was doing on her computer. "Woah, that's amazing." He mumbles before Lilly smiled at his comment. "Thanks. I took them all yesterday." She says as she points at her screen. I slid his glass over to him once I put the carton of orange juice back in the fridge.

His sparkling eyes were glued to her screen as she explained the pictures she took of her nature theme and the ones from yesterday. She caught a picture where Xavier and I were laughing at the café which made me lean over the counter to see her screen and smiled.

"Do you like photography, Xavier?" I asked as I placed my hand under my chin. He nodded immediately as the words left my mouth. "I used to take a photography class in school before I left." He mumbled moments later.

I pursed my lips as I was contemplating on asking a few questions. Before I could ask, my phone went off. I grabbed my phone and saw a new message from Aleksander.

Alek: You're serious, right? It's all over the news that you defended a kid from some big guy. I couldn't have the balls to do that LOL.

My phone went off again. He sent another message.

Alek: Here's the link if you haven't seen the headlines yet.
http://tmv.com/verabernacelli

I clicked on the link and TMV's website came up with a video of me standing up to the bulky guy. Xavier was blocked, but I was sure he was seen in the video as well. I clicked the video and it began to play.

"You don't know who you're messing with." In the video, it showed he was pretty close to me than I realized.

"And is that a threat? You don't scare me. In fact, you don't scare anyone here. All you're doing is causing a scene." I said confidently as I glared him down in the video. The footage made me look aggressive, but not to the point where it was terrible.

At least I hope it wasn't.

"Is that from yesterday?" I heard Lilly ask. I look up and pursed my lips as I nodded. I face my phone towards their direction for them to see.

"I'm not surprised that it was TMV who posted this," Lilly muttered as both of their eyes were glued to my screen.

Once I heard the video cut off, I go back to my conversation with Aleksander.

Me: Thanks. I didn't realize it would be up that fast.

A second later, I saw him typing.

Alek: Yup. TMV at its finest. How's the kid by the way? Do you know where he is?

Me: He's doing okay, I guess. I let him stay the night with me because he didn't have anywhere else to spend the night but he's still pretty sensitive with us right now ):

Alek: What's your plan?

I bit my lip as I glanced at Xavier who's eyes were glued back to Lilly's screen as she continued to explain her photography techniques.

Me: I'm not sure, but I'm sure as hell that I'm not letting him spend the night in the streets again. Something in me needs to help this boy, you know? It's something I need to drop all my things for. After seeing that man treat Xavier terribly, I couldn't handle to even think about how worse it is for others.

I sighed softly as I studied Xavier when I looked away from my phone for a moment. I was determined to start with him and help others. I can't sit around drinking the most expensive wine while having the thought of other people starving in the back of my mind.

Alek: You're such a good soul. I wish there were more people like you. This world needs people like you to save us from destruction.

For a fifteen-year-old, his words had an effect on me.

Alek: How old is he?

Me: Thank you :) And not sure. My friend and I didn't want to overwhelm him with many questions, but we're thinking to ask right now after he's done with breakfast.

Alek: Got it. Let me know how it goes!

I smiled. Aleksander is a great friend to have around despite his age. I may have underestimated him when I first met him.

"Xavier?" I call out. He whipped his head in my direction, his eyes filled with fear for a second before he relaxed. That reaction confused and scared the hell out of me. Why would he react like that?

"Y-yeah?" He replied hesitantly.

I bit my lip before asking, "Is it okay if I ask a few questions?" I mumble.

He blinked as his eyes filled with fear again. "If it's too personal, you don't have to answer, but Lilly and I would like to know the basics," I added immediately which caused him to relax again.

"Okay." He mumbled as he bit his lip nervously.

"How old are you?" I asked softly.

"I'm thirteen. I'm turning fourteen in a month." He mumbled.

My heart broke. He suffered so much at such a young age already. While I was dramatic about my daddy issues, he would've been going through hell. I bit my lip as I looked at Lilly, urging her to ask a question of her own. She cleared her through. "How long have you been—um, living without a home?" She asked hesitantly.

"I never had a home. I started to live on the streets a few weeks ago, though." He replied softly as he started to fiddle with his fingers. My body weakened as his statement. He never had a home.

I didn't realize my eyes tested up until I felt a drop land on my cheek. I quickly wiped it before sniffling. "If this question is too personal, you can answer it at another time, but what exactly happened that had you end up like this?" I asked carefully as I studied his actions.

His hands began to shake at my question. I quickly place my hand over his as Lilly placed her hand on his shoulder as we noticed his action. "Hey, it's okay. You don't have to answer that. I'm sorry." I said immediately.

He nodded. "Thank you for understanding." He mumbled. "No problem." I threw him a soft grin.

I glance back at my phone, seeing it was almost one o'clock and I had to get ready to meet my manager for my resignation.

"Lilly, are you staying home today?" I asked as I grabbed Xavier's empty glass and plate and placed it in the sink.

"Yeah." She mumbled as her eyes were glued to her laptop screen again.

I nodded. "Okay. I'll text you when I'm on my way home which will probably be around four o'clock."

"Where are you going?" I heard Xavier's timid voice ask.

"Going to go see my manager about my resignation," I say as I threw a smile. "In my opinion, she's a real bitch," I add with a giggle. Xavier chuckled as his hazel eyes filled with sparkle. "Not just her opinion. It's everyone in that damn office. She's just naturally rude." Lilly muttered as she rolled her eyes.

I laugh before I head upstairs. I pick an appropriate jumpsuit for me to wear as I meet my bitchager-manager. I grabbed my bag as I placed my computer with my chargers and headphones in there. I walk into my bathroom and apply light makeup to my bare canvas. I grab my brush and untangle my blonde roots. I grabbed my high heels and my bag filled with my necessities before walking out my bedroom door.

I walk back downstairs after I strapped on my heels and grabbing my jacket. I saw Lilly's computer in the same place as it was before but Lilly was nowhere to be found. My eyes caught Xavier in the living room hesitantly switching channels on our flat screen T.V.

"Hey, I'm on my way out. Let Lilly know I left, okay?" I say as I grabbed my phone from the counter.

He nodded. As I opened my apartment door, I head Xavier call out. "Vera?"

I turn my body before feeling a pair of arms around my waist. I heard him sniffle as I return the hug with a soft smile. "Thank you so much." I heard him mumble into my neck. I run my hands through his dark curly hair. "Anytime, Xavier. You can stay as long as you want." I say back as he pulled away from the hug. His eyes filled with happiness with my statement. "R-really? I don't want to bother you guys." He murmured as he fiddled with his fingers again.

I shook my head immediately. "Trust me, you're not a bother at all. Plus, I feel like it's going to be a lot more fun having you around." I say as I shoot a playful wink his way. He blushed and smiled. "I don't know how to act. No one has really cared for me as you guys do and I only met you two yesterday." He admitted which had me almost frown. Who treated this boy so terribly to the point where he hasn't experienced any type of affection?

I smile before grabbing the bag that I placed on the floor before Xavier hugged me. "Well, we want to help. No one should experience whatever you went through, especially at your age." I answered truthfully. He smiled as his eyes watered again.

I chuckle. "The tissue box is right there, by the way," I added as I pointed towards the coffee table in the living room. "Have a good day," I said before I locked my apartment door with a warm feeling blossoming within me as I walked down the hallway of my apartment complex.

• • •

heyyyy!

gosh, Xavier is so cute. i love him like he's my own child. you'll love him soon as soon as you guys know his background story ;)

i feel like homelessness is a big issue around the world and i want to bring awareness to that.

anyway, i hope you enjoyed this long chapter! i've been on a completing chapter type of roll right now so i'm inspired to write a lot!

also,

Don't forget to Vote, Comment, and Share!

- alli :)