Main Bonus #58: Xander's Missing Phone - Part One (Patreon)

IMPORTANT: Please do not screenshot and post any part of this bonus scene to other sites or share with non-patrons. All of the Patreon content is exclusive to Patreon and for current patron's eyes only.  Thank you!! xoxo Krista & Becca

RESOURCES:  Check out this narrative timeline graphic to visually see when this bonus scene takes place.

READING ORDER: This is a multi-POV bonus scene, and we highly suggest reading them in this order:

1. Part One

2. Part Two

3. Part Three

MUSIC: We listened to "Vitamin T" by Kera while writing this bonus scene.

AFTER A BOXING SESSION WITH XANDER this morning, Farrow and I drove my brother back to my childhood house. Okay, really, Farrow drove, and if anyone asks, I would’ve driven ten times better than my husband.

No clue why Xander requested Farrow to be the one behind the wheel.

No clue at all.

It might, sort of, have something to do with my slight proclivity to speed. I take pride in the fact I’m not the Road Runner whenever Ripley is in the car. But if I contemplate everything too deeply for too long, guilt gnaws at the idea that I can more easily speed with my siblings in the car but not my son.

What does that mean about me?

That I love my son more?

That I’d be willing to risk their lives over his?

Alright, I am thinking about it now, and it contorts my face a bit while I throw empty Ziff bottles into Xander’s overflowing trash bin. His back is to me, so he’s not sensing my internal psychoanalysis gone bad.

His room isn’t a total mess, by the way, but like a reflex, I’ve been straightening up ever since he led me in here.

He’s searching through his bookshelf for a specific title to loan me. “Did it seem like there were more fans and paparazzi outside the gym today? When we left?”

Yeah, there were, and paparazzi were elbowing fans away just to reach my brother. I can usually tune paparazzi out, but they were pushing towards Xander way too much to ignore.

“Somewhat, yeah,” I tell my brother honestly. “They were more aggressive than usual too. It might’ve been because I was there with Farrow.” It’s not you, I want to tell him.

It’s me.

His life doesn’t have to change. He can keep boxing. I don’t have to be there if it makes it easier.

The fame I’ve accumulated marrying my bodyguard is astronomical, and now Farrow and I are raising our son in the public eye. Since coming home from the wedding in Capri, we’ve attracted more paparazzi, but my brother has his own brand of fame and his own swarm of cameramen and fans watching his every move.

Maybe nothing I could do would even change that.

“It’s probably because it’s a routine now,” Xander says, eyeing the bookshelf. “Me, going to the gym. They all know I’ll be there.” I can’t read his voice, and he’s still turned away from me.

My muscles tense, another empty Ziff bottle in my fist. “Are you scared of continuing the routine?”

“No. If anything, it’s easy to have this one. At least two guys are usually teaching me, plus my bodyguard, plus you are at the gym. So between Farrow, Banks, Thatcher, Donnelly, and you being there”—he takes a glance back at me—“I can basically hide easier in and out of Studio 9. It’d be harder without you guys.”

It’d be harder without us.

Here, I thought it’d be harder with me.

I nod, smiling. I’m glad that he feels safe enough to keep boxing at a public gym. It’s a big thing for him.

He rotates back to the bookcase. “It was insane shit today, though. I’m pretty sure I saw Donnelly push two different camera guys before they got in my face.”

“I’m pretty sure I saw that too.”

He smiles back at me. “Did your bat cape get tangled? Couldn’t make it to me?”

“Farrow stepped on it. He tripped me.” I trash another Ziff bottle.

Xander laughs. “He would never.”

I scrunch my face. “He’s probably a secret Slytherin.”

“Even if he was, no Slytherin would trip the Hufflepuff that he loves, man. It’s known.” Our dad and mom, he probably means.

“We sure he loves me?” I joke.

“He has your name tattooed on his body.” Xander crouches to search the bottom shelf. “And vice versa.”

I did do that, and it’s impossible to take back—because I love having Farrow’s name on my bicep. I love, even more, that it’s in his handwriting.

“In some type of fantasy world,” Xander continues, “you’d both probably be soul-bound. He dies, you die. You die, he dies.”

I stare off, not sure if I love any scenario where he’ll die after me or where he dies at all. Even the thought of Farrow leaving this world is absolutely crushing. “Is that a curse?”

“I think it’s more a curse if it’s a trope for two strangers to be attached.” He rises with a sigh, struggling to find the book.

“Need help?” I ask.

“No, I know it’s here.” He runs his finger slowly over the spines and takes a long pause. “Speaking of Farrow…is everything alright with him?”

“Yeah.” I frown. “Why do you ask?” Squatting down, I tie off the trash bag inside the aluminum bin. Right now, Farrow has been chatting in the kitchen with my mom. He has Ripley too.

“I don’t know. He seemed sort of…” Xander tapers off, trying to find the word, and then he glances over at me again. “Slow? Like, he was leaning against the ropes a lot.”

I’m sort of surprised Xander noticed that at the MMA gym. I’m not saying my brother is imperceptive, but I haven’t really known him to study Farrow that closely.

He holds my gaze. “And he put some weird shit in his water.”

“It was an electrolyte packet,” I explain with a smile, then I pull out the trash.

I’m not mentioning how I put the packet in a to-go baggie for Farrow this morning. Just in case he needed an extra pick-me-up after breakfast. When Farrow saw the bagel I toasted him and then the cup of applesauce I packed in the baggie, the most annoying smile emerged on his face.

Like I carved his name in all the tree trunks in Philly.

I would’ve tried to retract the food and to-go baggie if I wasn’t so concerned about how he felt.

Farrow looked from me to the bagel to the Ziploc baggie. Annoying Smile Activated. “You Google ‘what to eat after food poisoning’ for me?”

Yes.

“No,” I lied. “I’m a food poisoning expert. I know things. Things that you don’t know. Like the BRAT diet.”

A softer, gradual smile spread over his face. He bit into the bagel and kissed my jaw. He was moving slower this morning, even verbally when it came to one-upping me. I’m positive he knew what the BRAT diet is—he’s a doctor—and he didn’t remind me of that.

Farrow being sick is a rare occurrence, but I wasn’t shocked that he didn’t want to cancel on my brother. He’s as stubborn as I am, and I would’ve pushed through an appendicitis to be there. I doubt Farrow would’ve done that—which isn’t really a knock on him. It’s a knock on me and my inability to step back.

I know that.

I also know I’m getting better at setting limits and listening to them.

Anyway, I’m holding onto the fact that right before we left the gym, Farrow told me he’s feeling “almost back to a hundred-percent” which is the best news of the day.

“Was he hungover or something?” Xander asks me.

“Not hungover,” I say. “He got food poisoning yesterday when he went to lunch with Dad, Uncle Ryke, and Uncle Connor. Bad mushrooms on a burger.”

Xander contemplates this with a slow nod. “Yeah, that makes sense.” His shaggy hair is messy from being damp with sweat and hides some of his eyes.

“You didn’t want to ask him yourself while you were sparring?” I wonder, going into his bathroom for a quick sec to grab a new trash bag. When I return, he’s leaning on the bookcase and fully facing his room.

Xander raises his shoulders in a tight shrug. “He’s like…intimidating, sometimes. They all can be, you know?”

I don’t know.

By all, I’m guessing he means Security Force Omega, or maybe even just Farrow, Banks, and Thatcher—the ones who box with my brother.

He must see confusion cross my face because he rolls his eyes. “Right, you wouldn’t know. You’re not intimidated by anyone.” He doesn’t say it bitterly, more softly and like he should’ve remembered.

“I’m intimidated by a ton,” I say.

Xander starts smiling. “Yeah, like what?” He says it like I’m going to come up with a bucket load of nothing.

I tilt my stiff neck, thinking. Intimidation has met me. I know I’m not impervious to it, but I’m drawing a colossal blank right now. Only one memory cracks my brain-freeze.

“Teenagers with chainsaws,” I tell him.

Xander smiles into a near-laugh, and I would exaggerate anything a thousand times over again if I got to see my brother brighten that way. “No, you aren’t. I remember that October way back when.”

“Where those guys came out on the street with chainsaws?”

“In the neighborhood, yeah,” Xander nods. “And they didn’t scare you or intimidate you. I think it just pissed you off because they kept chasing Luna.”

That night, there was a moment I wasn’t sure if those guys removed the blades from the chainsaws. It did inject fear in me, but against good judgment, I didn’t ever shy back or away from them.

“I was a quarter intimidated,” I say.

Xander is still smiling. “You’re a freak of nature, you know that?”

I laugh. “And watch a fucking fire ant take me out.”

“Stop,” he groans, head lolling back into the bookcase. “You’re supposed to live forever.”

I know.

For my little brother, for my siblings, I’m supposed to be everlasting, and God, I want to be for them.

“You’re supposed to be too, Summers,” I tell him, but Xander down-casts his gaze, not as believing.

“It won’t be a fire ant, Moffy,” Xander says with certainty. “We all might have things that can take us out, but I know yours won’t be that.”

Soul-bound. For a flash of a second, I wonder if he thinks my greatest vulnerability is Farrow.

He dies, I die.

And I’m not even sure he’d be wrong.

I nod and unfurl the new trash bag. “Why does Farrow intimidate you anyway? He’s family—”

“Yeah, I know,” Xander cuts in fast. “He’s your husband. My brother-in-law. I guess it’s just harder the more you like people, the more you care about what they think. Plus, he’s like best friends with Donnelly, so…yeah.” He rotates back to the bookshelf and scans the spines.

I’m processing that while I fit the plastic trash bag around the rim of the bin.

Farrow is best friends with Donnelly.

And Donnelly is Xander’s bodyguard, who my brother has really started to like. Maybe as a friend. I bet he’s noticing things about Farrow a lot more because A. Farrow is now his brother-in-law, and B. Farrow is close to Donnelly, who Xander might feel the need to impress.

“There it is.” Xander pries a paperback off the shelf, the black spine worn and almost broken. We were talking about dwarves on the ride home, and he said the best dwarf is hands-down Gotrek Gurnisson from Warhammer fantasy series. I thought for sure he would’ve said Gimli from Lord of the Rings. One thing led to another and I asked to borrow his book.

Carrying the dirty trash bag, I come over to my brother, and he hands me the worn paperback.

“Trollslayer,” I read the title and smile at the fantasy cover art: a redheaded 80s punk rock looking dwarf. “He looks badass.”

“He is. Trust me.”

“No way I wouldn’t, Summers.” I touch the book lightly to the top of his head since my hands are full.

Xander smiles and then sniffs his pits. “God, I stink.”

“Besides taking a shower, what are you up to for the rest of the day?” I ask on my way to the door.

“Just hanging out in the neighborhood.” He peels his crewneck off his head and tosses the dirty tee aside. He’s still lean and thin, but the lines of his muscles are toned and more sculpted than before boxing.

You know he’s way fitter.

You’re obsessed with the photos where he’s wearing short sleeves and his biceps look cut. I’m honestly just happy my brother still goes out in public and hasn’t adopted a long-sleeve only policy. With the rise of his self-confidence through boxing, he’s found the will to keep on keeping on, and I couldn’t be prouder of my little brother.

“You just doing your own thing or are you hanging out with Kinney?” I wonder. “Ben?”

“Not Kinney, and definitely not Ben.” He shoots me a look. “He doesn’t ask me to hang out anymore, and even if he did, I would reject him.”

“Why?” My brows furrow. “I thought you liked Ben.”

“I hardly know him anymore. He doesn’t know me. We’re just…different people.”

I can’t see the future, but I honestly thought their rift would be mended faster than the crater Charlie and I blew between each other would be filled. Yet, I’m at a really good place with Charlie now, and my brother and Ben are at the same place as before. “If you don’t know Ben anymore, then how do you know he’s different from you?”

Xander groans, “I just know. Alright? Mom does the same thing where she hopes Ben and I will be best friends like before—and she’ll toss out feelers or whatever and gauge the temperature and status—and I appreciate the idea, I do, but I’m fine without him. I don’t need him like you all think I do.”

I nod a couple times. “I don’t need Charlie, but it’s nice not being at war with a cousin. I think that’s all Mom hopes for you too.”

Xander softens, less defensive. “Yeah, I get that.”

“And she probably likes the idea of you being BFFs again.”

Xander cracks a smile. “She did say we had the best friendship pairing.”

“Better than me and Janie?” I make a face. “No way.”

“I swear on Kinney’s combat boots.”

I start to laugh. Our little sister has warned us many times throughout our lives to never mess with her clothes. Not unless we’d like to be haunted in our sleep.

I’m still in the doorway. “So you’re just hanging out alone then?”

“No. I, uh…” Xander studies my face for half a beat. “I was going to hang out with Easton. I think he wanted to binge House of the Dragon. We both haven’t seen it in a while.” He gauges my reaction.

Easton Mulligan.

I feel protective of my brother, but I’m not a bulldozer here to run him over—or a brick wall barring him from people he wants to see.

And I’ve known he’s been getting closer to Easton. Just wish I knew Easton better than I do. He could be the damn Riddler for all I know. The most memorable encounter I’ve had with him was knocking on his door with Charlie and finding out Xander gave him his antidepressants.

“Sounds fun,” I say. “Team Black.” I make a House of the Dragon reference.

His brows jump in shock.

I give him a confused look. “Wait, have you switched to Team Green?”

“What? No.” He cringes. “I just thought…” He trails off. “I didn’t think you liked Easton.”

I gesture to him with the paperback in hand. “I don’t really know him. Doesn’t mean I don’t like him, Summers. But if he fucks with you—”

“He wouldn’t.” Xander is smiling more. “He’s cool.” He nods a lot, grinning, and it honest-to-God makes me grin back too. It’s nice seeing my brother happy with a friend who also makes him happy.

“Is he Team Green?” I wonder.

“Fuck no,” Xander smiles, and we laugh. When the sound fades, he grabs his half-empty water bottle off the shelf. “The more I reread the Song of Ice and Fire series, the more I feel like I should just be Team No One. Everyone makes shitty decisions. Then again, it’s just Monday morning quarterbacking or whatever the saying is.” He grimaces at himself and unscrews the lid. “I can’t believe I just used a football reference.”

“Me too.”

“Promise you won’t let me turn into a full-fledged jock?” He swigs his water, wiping his mouth with his elbow. “My soul can’t take it.”

“You think you’ll implode?”

“Disintegrate,” he corrects. “Highly doubt I’m made of dynamite. That’s more like you.”

I feign confusion. “Do I explode?”

He smiles. “Only to protect the ones you love.”

“Might not be the best reason.”

“It’s a good reason,” Xander contends like it’s fact.

If Farrow were here, he’d say, eh, debatable. Thinking about him causes another smile to rise, and no, I will not be sharing that fun fact with my husband.

“I promise you won’t become a meathead,” I tell my sixteen-year-old brother, “even if you do start loving football—”

“Never,” he says like it’s a plague on humanity.

I laugh again, and I like talking to my brother, so I don’t rush out that fast. “You wish one side in House of the Dragon was clearly good and the other evil?”

Xander thinks for a moment. “Sometimes. Yeah, it’s more complex only having morally gray characters and it’s fun to talk about, but I also like rooting for the good side and knowing when they win, the world will be a better place.” He nearly smiles in thought. “I get why Luna is obsessed with Star Wars.”

It’s also why I think he loves Lord of the Rings a ton.

I thank him for the book, but right as I go to leave, Xander pats his pockets and then swipes his hand over the bookshelves in a mounting panic. I linger in the doorway, watching his pace become more frantic as he darts to the bed and flings aside a pillow.

“What’d you lose?”

“My phone.” His voice pitches in fear.

“It has to be around here. Don’t worry.” I set the trash and paperback down, helping him hunt for the phone for a sec. No luck.

I take out my phone. “Is it on silent?”

He’s peeking beneath his bed. “Vibrate.”

We go quiet, listening as I call his phone.

I hear nothing.

It rings out.

Xander stands and rests his palms on his head, his face sheet white. “Moffy.”

“We’ll find it,” I assure. “You might’ve left it in the kitchen.”

“I didn’t go to the kitchen. We came right up here.” He stares faraway, eyes growing. “What if I left it at the gym? What if someone finds it and breaks in?”

“I’ll go look at the gym.” I shove my phone in my pocket and pick up the trash and paperback. “Just keep searching your room. I’ll be back.” I go to leave, opening the door again.

Xander tries to relax, but dread concaves his chest. “I have pictures stored.”

I go rigid, stopping in the doorway. “What kind of pictures?”

“Not dick pics.” He pinches his eyes. “Just selfies. Like with my shirt off.” He mutters under his breath, “So fucking dumb.”

“I’m going to get it. You might even find it before I do.” Concern shoots in my bloodstream. “Summers.”

Xander is breathing strangely.

“Summers.”

“Yeahyeah.” He drops his hand, his eyes reddened, but he nods and swallows hard. His Adam’s apple bobs. “I’m good. I’ll just keep looking here. You go.”

I tell him I’ll let him know when I’ve found it. I wait a beat before I leave him.

“Thanks, Moffy,” he breathes. “Tell Farrow I said thanks too. I know it’s out of the way.”

“It’s not that out of the way.”

“You have to go to the gym, then come back here, then go back home. It’s out of the way,” he refutes. “I just…thank you.”

“It’s what big brothers do.”

Xander tries to smile, but it’s lost. “Farrow’s going to drive?”

“I was—”

“I think you should let Farrow,” Xander cuts me off. “Go. Go.”

I hightail it out of his room, but his suggestion blares against my brain with each footfall.

You should let Farrow.

Maybe this is my brother’s way of telling me his phone isn’t worth a car crash or me dying. It’s not worth my life, and whether he knows it or not, he did lift some weight off my shoulders, unburdening me.

Skipping stairs on my way down, my hands are still full. Trash. Paperback.

Help my brother.

Find his phone.

Looks like Farrow and I are going back to Studio 9, and I’m hoping the mayhem from this morning totally left with my brother.

Thanks so much for reading this month's bonus scene! We hope the wait was worth it on this one. You get a really big update on where Xander is at during this time and his feelings on Ben. We love these kinds of bonuses that give you refreshers into what's happening with side characters. Plus, we LOVED writing the brother relationship with Xander and Moffy.

Maximoff and Farrow will be back in Part 2! The saga continues tomorrow...

xoxo Krista & Becca

“Xander's Missing Phone - Part One," Copyright © 2023 by K.B. Ritchie