377 No Stop Button (1/2)

Xiu was about to speak when the door of the room was pushed open and Francesca walked in saying, ”Regi, look what I found in the lounge.” Xiu immediately sat up but froze the moment she saw what was in Francesca's hands. ”This baseball stick has my daughter, Xiu's name on it. It looks so cool.”

Darren also sat up and looked at it. Then his eyes shifted to the bandage on her hand. Right, he had one more thing to ask her. And somehow he felt like that baseball bat and the bandage around her hand has some kind of a connection but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.

”What is your mom doing here?” Xiu whispered to Darren while panicking inwardly. She neither wanted Francesca to see her as a weak girl who fell ill so easily nor did she want her to see her as a violent kind of person who ran around with a baseball bat to beat people. Fuck! What the hell was she saying?!

In short, she wanted Francesca to see her as a perfect girl for her son. But the way Xiu was constantly coming before her really didn't seem like it was gonna leave a good impression. At least, Xiu thought so.

”She came to see you as well,” answered Darren. He didn't know what his mother had been doing all this time but he knew she didn't come up just because she didn't want to disturb his time with Xiu. However, that baseball bat must have appeared so fascinating to her that she rushed up without thinking. Turning to his mom, he asked, ”Mama, where did you find it?”

”Oh, it was in the lounge. It had some blood on it, but I cleaned it. I came to ask though,” Francesca ran off to the side of the bed and leaned close to Xiu's face. ”Is it yours?” Xiu's lips curled downward as she meekly nodded her head in reply. She couldn't lie to her! ”Oh, then did you beat someone with it?” Xiu wanted to bury her head, no! She wanted to bury herself six feet under the ground! But she again just border her head up and down in reply. ”So, was it a bad person?” Xiu looked up at her as she elaborated, ”I mean the person whom you beat with it. Was he a bad person?”

Xiu thought about Xin Xiaosi and shook her head. He wasn't a bad person. He did something bad but that didn't mean he was a bad person. All humans do mistakes, he did one too. Big deal!

”Hmmm...” Francesca's humming made Xiu close her eyes losing all hope for her future. The dream of being Regan's wife suddenly seemed bleak. ”But then did he deserve the beating?” Xiu nodded her head again. Francesca also bobbed her head up and down in understanding before she rubbed Xiu's head making her feel weird. ”Then it's good. If he did something to deserve the beating than we're okay.”

Xiu couldn't help staring into her eyes. ”Child, why do you look so scared of me? Do I look that scary?”

”It's not that,” Xiu abruptly disagreed with her assumptions. ”You're actually very beautiful. Even more than the picture I saw.”

Darren was hugging Xiu from the side now while she was trying to push him away. ”Your mom is here. Behave yourself.”

”She doesn't mind,” replied Darren calmly while he placed his head on her shoulder.

”Regan!” Xiu was pleading with her eyes.