Lost Cause
Skylar's POV
I could not believe Blake would be so rude! Levi hadn’t even been at school for a whole day before he was ripped apart by Blake’s less than enthusiastic attitude. This is the exact same reason why I didn’t bother telling him that Levi was one of my closest friends. He would have blown up at me because he didn’t like the kid. But what was I supposed to do? My best friend had football and baseball and left me all alone? Did he think I was going to sit around and do absolutely nothing while he was away? Pfft. He wasn’t the smartest if he thought that.
So naturally I started hanging out with other kids in the neighborhood. I still remember the first day I met Levi. He was so nice.
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I was on the swings with a girl named emma. We had just talked about which one of us could go higher. I was game, but not when I lost. You see, I was – am still a very competitive person. Once I lost the first time, I had to think of other ways to win. So I decided we’d jump off of the swings to see who could go farther. Well, I was an all too cocky little girl so I went first.
I landed ungracefully with a scream…..right on top of a boy. My eyes grew wide and I was pretty sure you could see into my soul. My green eyes bore into his dark brown ones as he stared right back. I quickly got up and dusted myself off. No sooner was I rambling off apologies, hoping not to get hit. But that’s what my dad taught me. Girls respect guys, or else there would be consequences. And I didn’t need any more of those.
He laughed. Flat out and in my face. I took a step back and scrunched my face up, trying to look scary and mean. All that did was make him laugh harder and start wheezing. This was not going where I would have liked it. So I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed. He then got the hint and stopped laughing. He still wore a smile on his face, which I couldn’t happen to think was cute. But after he laughed at me, there was no way we could be friends.
“My name’s Levi.” He said and stuck out his hand. I eyed it suspiciously and took it in my hand. They moved up and down and all I could think about was how stupid we must look. Who shook hands unless you spit in your palm and rubbed it together? That was one tight pact. But anyways, he stared at me while I smile crept on my face.
“Skylar, at your service. You can call me Sky though. Everyone else does.” I said with a smile, hoping we’d start to be friends.
Playing without Blake was boring, but now that Levi was here, maybe it wouldn’t have to be. They were like exact opposites. Blake had blue eyes and Levi’s were a dark chocolate color. They both had darker hair, but their personalities couldn’t have been any more different. And the only other thing that was different, was that Levi knew my secret. He was the only one that knew what my dad was doing. We had actually planned to run away, but it was cancelled due to a thunderstorm. I still wonder what would have happened if we ran away together…
After that incident though, we’d become very good friends. I’ve have him over to my house, and I’d go play at his sometimes. That’s why I was so sad when he left. He moved to Arizona and I was devastated. No one goes there anymore, so why did Levi have to go? I would keep asking that to Landon, but he just said that people come and go, and that I shouldn’t get attached. But it was already too late. I’d already been writing about how cute Levi was in my diary. So the only way I knew how to cope was to drink Arizona Iced Tea, hoping that just because it said Arizona, that I was still connected to Levi.
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And now, here I am, leading him away from what happened in the cafeteria earlier. I told him we were going to class, but I lied. I led him outside to the bleachers, where I’ve talked to many people. It was time to catch up. So when I saw the confused look on his face I couldn’t help but laugh. This was going to be a great semester.
“I cannot believe you’re back.” I said as soon as we sat down. He raised his eye brow in response and laughed. “I told you I’d come back for you, princess.”
Upon hearing that name, I blushed. I had forgotten that he used to call me that. Well, now I know why I had tensed up when Liam wanted to start calling me that. It was already in use.
“I know, and I’m glad you held to your promise. “ I said and laid my head in his lap, facing the sun. It was a beautiful day, and I felt like skipping to talk with him. My skin tingled as he gently started stroking my cheek and my hair. I sighed with content. “How was Arizona?”
He laughed and I felt his whole body shake. It was contagious as I started laughing too.
“It was terrible. I hated every minute of it. Did you know it can get up to 112 degrees? And they have things called scorpions! And they climb on the freaking walls. I had one in my bed once, and I refused to even go in my room a month after that. My mom was getting tired of me sleeping in her bed, so she paid for an exterminator.”
“Seriously? That’s awesome. Can you go back and bring me one? I’ve never had a pet before.” I said, while my eyes popped to life. I forgot how hot the sun was and instantly shielded them. Making weird expressions, which Levi laughed at.
“Absolutely not! Your dad would kill us both!” He said, but sucked in a breath when my body went rigid at the mention of my dad. He was already going to kill me for skipping, and when he saw what I am wearing? Yeah, I think these are lovely clothes to be buried in. Not. “So, uh, what has been happening while I’ve been gone? Anything new?”
“Oh yeah. My life has been wonderful. I spent like, 500 dollars on Arizona Iced Teas after you left me, and Landon had to stop me from spending more. Then I went back to the old routine. I sat at home and played dolls with Mia.” He interrupted me with a laugh. “No, what has happened recently. Although I am flattered you drank about 500 Arizona’s for me.” I smiled and felt my face getting hot, so I shift to my side. I started to absentmindedly pick at the hole in his jeans.
“Well let’s see. Everyone is dating someone, Blake and I are on bad terms right now, I basically hate him. And mydadsstartedhittingmeagain.” I said the last part fast and made sure not to look at his reaction. But although I couldn’t see it, I could feel it when his hand stopped moving over my face and he became eerily still. I was worried so I turned to him. “Levi?”
“He still hit’s you? What about telling someone? Why not let Landon or Blake know? What’s the harm in that?”
“You see, they already know. Blake and I got into a fight and I told Landon that I wanted to stay at my dad’s. So I went and he was fine at first. Until Blake came over later that night and we started yelling at each other. My dad made him leave, then I was left with the punishment.” I said with venom dripping into my words.
“Wait, what does Blake have to do with all of this?” He asked.
“Well we dated and—“
“YOU DATED BLAKE?” He said incredulously.
I nodded. “Yeah, and it was a big mistake. One I won’t be making again. He’s just changed too much since the incident with May. I don’t know, he’s just not the same. Always wanting sex and stuff. Cheating on me with Jackie.” I said as I snuggled in closer.
He wrapped his arm around me and lifted me into a sitting position. Moving hair out of my face, to see my eyes more clearly, then he just stared.
“He cheated on you?” He said through clenched teeth. “I’m going to kill him. I knew he was a douchebag, but this is ridiculous! You’re like his little sister, and he’s treating you like trash. You don’t deserve it.” And with that he got up and headed straight for the school.
I called after him but he didn’t turn around. I knew what he was going to do. It’s what he’s always done for me. He was planning on fighting for me.
So I ran in after him and grabbed his hand. That didn’t stop him so I started saying that he wasn’t worth it. That it had happened way too long ago. But nothing was getting through to him. I even tried to pull on his hand to get him to stop, but still, nothing.
We were headed into the cafeteria where the some people still lingered, and I hoped that Blake wasn’t there still. But as fate should have it, he was. And he noticed right away that something was wrong. He told Jackie something and got up to meet us in the middle of the room.
Blake pushed Levi a little. “What did you do to her? Why does she look scared?”
I opened my mouth to say that I wasn’t scared for me, I was just nervous about what Levi was about to do, but the words never came out, because Levi pushed Blake back and took a challenging step forward.
“Me? I was just having a little talk with her and, although I’m not happy she dated you, you obviously showed how much you cared about her by cheating on her. You know my motto for cheaters?” He said, his eyes ablaze. It was infuriating to watch them go on, like I wasn’t even there.
“Yeah, what’s the motto, big shot?” Blake said as he cocked his eyebrow and gave a wide smile.
“A guy who cheats on a girl deserves to be hit.” And before Blake could counter, Levi punched him on the right side of his face.
I watched in awe as Blake fell to the ground. His eyes suddenly sparked to life with rage. I had never seen him like this before, and I didn’t want to sit around and watch. So I tugged on Levi’s hand some more, which caused him to turn around.
His eyes softened once he saw the look on my face. He nodded slightly and was too consumed in me, that he didn’t notice that Blake had gotten up from the ground and was walking back over, with his fist raised.
Sidestepping Levi, I started to go in front of him to stop Blake, but my movements were too fast, and he had already thrown the punch. And soon as his fist hit my face, I was engulfed in memories. I had faced my dad so many times, but he didn’t ever punch my face. A slap once or twice maybe, but not a full blown punch. This was probably the worst thing anyone’s done to me.
I staggered back after the realization hit me. Luckily Levi caught me and started talking to me, but my eyes were on Blake. His eyes were still so full of rage. I don’t think I’ll ever get that picture out of my head. But the worst part of all was when he turned around and walked away like nothing had happened. That I wasn’t laying in Levi’s arms, holding my hand to the spot Blake hit me.
I couldn't believe it. After everything we've gone through he decided it was going to end with hitting a girl? Well then, he deserved to be with Jackie. I'm no longer going to fuss over anything he says. I'm going to break all contact with him, even if it means not talking to Landon. I'm going to officially start over.
There is still time to transfer into a new school, and I desperately wanted to. Never in a million years would I want to stick around. I want a fresh start, because my old life? Yeah, that was a lost cause.