Xavier's expression tightened and he looked away from her, just to make sure no one was around. The emptiness of the lobby was only a small relief as he turned back to her. "A very good friend," he said, eyes fixed on hers. "In fact, I know him inside-out."
There was a helpless shrug, because he didn't know how else to say it and get her out of there, before the emptiness changed. "He left two years ago..." He pressed his lips together, before gesturing to the stairs. "Could we talk more privately? There was something he wanted me to tell you. About that note he left he-" Fuck, why was it that people from his past kept making him so awkward? "He didn't mean to leave so abruptly. I swear, he said somewhere important to be."