chapter eleven
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IT HAD BEEN A LITTLE OVER a month since the art show and Levi and I were getting closer. I still wasn't able to hug him or have him wrap his arms around me but we were making so much progress with our emotional connection. Unfortunately for me, he kept failing to break the news about me to his family and Maxine but I had learnt to understand his situation a lot more. And with the holidays coming up, he planned to tell his parents and have me over soon after.
I had gotten out of my last class of the day, Lex by my side as he explained his most recent fight with his new boyfriend. He had met him two weeks prior but the way they were arguing was very problematic.
"Why do you even put up with this relationship, Lex?" I asked, truly curious.
"Peter and I have this connection that's just perfect. We literally don't even need to talk to get each other, you know." Lex explained as his eyes lit up with admiration for his new boyfriend. It was cute but once they began disagreeing, I wished they just broke it off. But I wasn't one to judge.
As we talked, my phone suddenly started vibrating and I pulled it from my bag to see two texts from Levi.
art show reviews published
pls come ovr :(
For weeks, Levi had been anticipating the release of the reviews but the texts didn't seem happy at all. Which was weird considering his remarkable talent and pieces.
"I need to go to Levi's dorm," I quickly said and turned to Lex. "I'll text you later but he needs me right now."
"Speaking of problematic relationships." Lex commented as I kissed his cheek briefly.
"Whatever," I mumbled and turned to make my way to Levi.
Levi looked terrible when I walked into his room. His hair was more than disheveled, eyes pink from all the tears and torso free from a shirt. He probably hadn't left his current position since he read the review and that made me upset. Hunched over his desk, he looked helpless and broken.
I walked over to him and began to rub circles on his back, something he did for me that always made me feel slightly better. "Hey," I whispered.
"Hey," his broken voice said and he sniffled. "I got a shit review." He was quick to let me know.
"I bet it's not that bad. And it's your first time." I tried to make him feel better. "Getting a spot on the show was a big deal on it's own. Don't beat yourself up too bad."
"You don't get it," he spoke and we stayed silent for a while. I continued to rub his back and he suddenly sat up and looked at me, pain evident in his whole face. "My dad made me come here to do business but art has always been my passion. So many things keep me on the edge and anxious but art makes me feel calm and relaxed. I want to do that for a living; not math and business shit. So I was given one chance to show him this was a great route for me but this review was enough to have him off the idea of supporting my art dreams."
I felt sad for him as he sighed heavily snd his words sank in. I had never seem him this vulnerable and a large part of me didn't know what to do but all of me knew I wanted to take all this pain away.
"I'm so sorry." I whispered and shocked myself.
Slowly, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug. It was hard to feel his warmth but my breathing was soon regular as I shut my eyes tightly and tried to remind myself Levi meant well. His muscles soon relaxed as he lazily wrapped his own arms around my waist and leaned his head on my shoulder, his breath on my neck. As hard as it was, I soon got used to the contact and briefly opened my eyes but that made it worse so they closed immediately after.
"Thanks for being here for me." He said and hugged me a little tighter, making me feel comfortable but so much more scared all at the same time.
"I'm glad I could be here for you."
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