Let Me Live

Chapter Thirty-Seven

"Are they good at doing laundry in case I spill something on my shirt?" Wren asks from the back.

Levi bites his lip, smiling. "I can attest to their greatness at doing laundry with the amount of blood they've had to get out of clothing for the last twenty years," he answers cryptically, still giving us no information on who this person we're visiting is.

Wren shrugs, settling back into her seat. "That works for me." The first genuine laugh of the night leaves my lips at my little sister.

Levi watches me patiently, waiting for my decision. I throw my hands up with a laugh. "Sure, let's go."

It takes us twenty-five minutes to reach the home. It's closer to campus. Levi's parents live in the next town over.

The home we park in front of is modest in size with a ton of character. The mailbox is a standard metal box but it's covered in stickers of all kinds. Superheroes, unicorns, and even ones of athletes overlap each other on this mailbox.

Wren walks closely behind me as we make our way up the footpath to the bright yellow front door. Levi holds my hand tightly. "Who's place is this?" I ask, eyeing the few cars parked in their long driveway.

Before we make it to the front door, it swings open. "Go Abby, girl. Run!" A voice yells as a fluffy lump darts out of the house onto the grass, proceeding to do her business.

Antonia, Nico's younger sister, stands at the front door, rubbing her arms and hopping from foot to foot from the wind chill. She notices us a second later. "Hi! You're late," she says with a cheery smile.

Late? Abby sprints back inside without a second glance once she's done. Poor baby. Levi flicks Antonia's forehead as he steps into the warm house. "Sup, Little Bevy."

Antonia glares at him, smacking his hand away. "Fish boy."

You know that feeling when you walk into a space and you immediately feel a sense of relief? Like this place is safe and even though you've never stepped foot in here before, your body just knows that you're comfortable. That's how I feel walking into this home.

It's an old house with creaking wood floors and pale yellow walls. Kniknaks cover every open surface from what I see as we walk in.

There are quite a few familiar faces sprawled around the living room. Beck sits on the couch, shoving a forkful of what looks like lasagna into his mouth, a complete one-eighty from what I'm used to seeing. Stoll and Nico toss a football back and forth in the living room. An older man sits at the dining room table with a few other men, all intently discussing something while filling their plates with the food decorating the table.

Jesus, that's a lot of food.

Nico perks up when he sees us enter. "Bestie! You made it!" He tosses the football at Beck's head, letting it drop to the couch before coming over. He's shirtless, as seems to be the staple with Nico. Is it weird that I've seen him shirtless more than my own boyfriend?

Levi rolls his eyes. "What am I, her chauffeur?"

Nico lightly smacks Levi's cheek with a grin. "You're my husband, babe, calm down." They both hug as if they haven't seen each other in forever and I grin. Nico then does a little jiggle toward me, arms wide open. He sways us for a few seconds before coming to a complete halt. "Who are you?" he asks with a grin, pushing me lightly to the side, showcasing Wren to the entire room.

Wren stares at him silently. I step in front of her with a smile. "Don't even think about it."

Nico's eyes stray to mine, a little mischievous gleam in them. "Who's gonna stop me from saying a simple hello to our new guest?" he asks calmly and I want to smack him so hard.