Trigger

seven • mirrors

I give him a small smile and nod, sitting down on his unmade bed while he goes into the bathroom. Sighing, I run a hand through my hair, feeling relieved that he's actually coming down to eat. And he seems calm too. Usually, when I've seen him the last couple of days, his shoulders are stiffened and his jaw is clenched, like he's trying to contain himself. For the first time in what seems like way too long, I think he may have a chance at becoming the boy I met the first day I came to the cottage.

I wait for five minutes, listening to the way the sound of the electric toothbrush ended a couple of minutes ago. There's no more sound of shuffling, and the bathroom door is open, so I gently say, "Levi?"

No reply.

I hesitantly walk over to the doorway to see Levi with incredibly stiff shoulder, arms leaning against the counter and his eyes fixated on the mirror. His breathing is shallow and uneven, his grip on the edge of the counter top enough to turn his knuckles a deadly white.

I try once more. "Levi?"

His head drops. He gulps, his pale lips beginning to move as they mutter a word I can't seem to catch. I take a step forward, but Levi begins to shake his head, one of his hands still gripping onto the counter while the other one wraps around his middle, like he's going to be sick.

"Are you feeling unwell? Do you need me to get Katherine?"

Levi begins to shake his head even more, his muttering getting more and more intense, but I still can't catch what he's saying. "Levi?" I try again, begin to panic slightly. "Just talk to me."

Levi shakes his head once more. He finally lifts his head, his cold brown eyes meeting his own in the mirror. His jaw clenches dangerously, his knuckles crack from the force of the grip on the counter edge, his shoulder tense and his free hand snaps up to punch his reflection in the mirror.

I gasp, stepping back and throwing a hand over my mouth as the mirror shatters into thousands of pieces. It's like I was watching it in slow motion- the power of his fist against the mirror, the caving in of the glass and the cracks that spread like a wildfire before they completely scattered.

The sound of footsteps rushing up into the room is the next thing that registers for me. Soon, arms are grabbing my shoulders and pulling me back. My eyes snap to Levi, who looks just as shocked as I do, his eyes beginning to water as he looks at the mess around him. I want to reach out and hug, let him know that I know he's hurting and I know he didn't mean it, but Finn continues to pull me out, muttering, "Come on, Kinsley."

I manage to find my voice just in time. "Wait-"

"It's not safe," Finn murmurs to me, continuing to pull me out of the bathroom.

Levi's broken voice cracks as he pleads, "Wait- Don't go-"

Despite Levi's words, Finn manages to pull me out and back into the bedroom. "Wait, Finn, he asked for us not to go-"

In a heated whisper, Finn explains, "I know, I'll go take care of him. It's not safe to be near him right now, Kinsley. Go back outside, tell Katherine what happened."

Finn pushes me out into the hallway, scurrying back to look after Levi. I blink, trying to catch my breath and take in exactly what just happened. When it all kicks in, I find myself rushing downstairs and back outside, pulling Katherine aside to explain what just happened. I find myself tearing up, the intensity and danger of the situation just catching up to me. The more I explain, the more worry seeps into Katherine's features, and she ends up calling Jeffery over.

Finn comes out just as I'm ending my story. I turn to him, feeling panicked again. "Why aren't you with him?" I demand.

"It's better to leave him alone when he's like this, Kinsley."

"I should bandage his knuckles," Jeffery sighs heavily, looking conflicted.

Finn shakes his head, "He said he'd do it himself. He's staying in the guest room tonight and we agreed we'd clean up the mess tomorrow."

Katherine and Jeffery share a long, worried look. Eventually, though, they nod, Jeffery putting a hand on Finn's shoulder and muttering a thank you. I turn to notice my parents standing off to the side, eyeing us with concern, and run over to them, hugging them tightly.

I'm shaken up about it all.

Finn brings Levi up some dinner, though I doubt he'll eat it. I decide to skip out on dinner too and go back inside, feeling sick. I crawl into bed, unable to sleep for hours until I hear the gunshots that begin about an earlier than they usually do. The rhythmic bangs lull me to sleep, wondering what beast resides in Levi to make him look so damn haunted.

xxx

Ahh, so I finally finished Live in Color, which means this is now my main priority! Yay! If you enjoyed this chapter, please be sure to COMMENT AND VOTE because it'd mean the world to me! I love you all so so much! (: xoxo