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Chapter Seventeen ~ In Your Eyes
I wasn’t a fighter. Never was, and never will be. What led me to believe that I’d be able to beat up someone who was five times bigger than me? I had no idea.
I wasn’t particularly surprised by the fact that I was knocked on my ass in front of everyone in the mall. I guess I had it coming for me. But the worst thing was, everyone saw me. If they didn’t know me before, then they surely did now.
“Joe!” Melanie shrieked as she rushed to my side. She placed her hands at the sides of my face and forced me to look at her. When she saw my face, she sucked in a breath.
“Is it that bad?”
“Bad?” she questioned. “Oh no, you look perfect.”
I knew she was lying. She was a horrible liar. Instead of letting her help me up, I stood to my feet without her assistance.
Joe balled his hands into fists as he stared at me, flaring his nostrils. He didn’t make a move to attack me again, but he didn’t remove his eyes from mine.
“Let’s get you home,” Melanie suggested, hooking her arm through mine. She shot Joe a cold glare and ushered me in the opposite direction.
My hopes of walking home were ripped away when Melanie insisted that she accompanied me. I protested for hours but it didn’t change her mind one bit. I knew she would want to come inside and I couldn’t have that.
Considering that she would never give up until she reached her goal, I hoped for the best.
When we got to my house, I hesitated to open the door. Dad would probably have all his materials laid out in the foyer. I turned to face her. “Melanie,” I said softly. “Thanks for walking me home.”
She shot me a crooked smile. “You’re welcome.” She gestured towards the door. “Well, are you going to open it?”
I dug my hands into my pockets. “I don’t have my keys.”
A strange expression flickered over her face. “Just ring the doorbell.” She pushed past me and pushed the button.
I wanted to scream. This wasn’t going to end well. “My dad isn’t home,” I told her.
Melanie quirked a brow at me and glanced over her shoulder to see the mid-sized white sedan. “You sure?”
Before I had the chance to respond, the door opened and Dad stood on the other side of the threshold. He gave Melanie a dry look, and then turned to me. “Hello, son.”
“Hi.”
“Hey,” Melanie greeted. “I’m Melanie Bradshaw. I’m Damien’s friend. It’s very nice to finally meet you!” She held out her hand.
Dad stared blankly at her hand and looked at me. “It’s nice to meet one of my son’s friends.” He was mad and it was obvious.
Melanie withdrew her hand and shifted uncomfortably.
Suddenly, a hand popped out from behind Dad and I realized it was Gretchen. Her red lipstick was smeared and she had a serious case of bed hair.
“Mrs. Samuels?” Melanie inquired.
Gretchen eyes widened when she saw Melanie. Her words got caught in her throat and she just stood there with her mouth agape.
Dad sighed heavily. “Yes Gretchen, thanks for stopping by to discuss my son’s future. I really appreciate it and I’m truly sorry about that car accident you were involved in.” He kicked the door open wider and folded his arms across his chest. “Send my regards to the husband.”
My jaw fell open. I guess I really shouldn’t have been surprised. Dad was an excellent liar. He could lie effortlessly without having to think about it.
Gretchen’s forest green eyes widened even more than they already had. She finally got herself together and cleared her throat. “Yes, again, thanks for helping me out and giving me a ride.” She stepped onto the porch and tipped her head at Melanie. “Hello Melanie. Hello Damien. I look forward to seeing you on the trip tomorrow.”
Melanie stood still and nodded her head as Mrs. Samuels walked past us and onto the dirt path.
Dad watched her leave and sighed once more. He returned his pale eyes to me and they burned into mine. “Son, come inside.”
Doing as I was told, I stepped into the house. Dad didn’t even give me a chance to say goodbye. He slammed the door in Melanie’s face, pinched the bridge of his nose and turned to me. “Gretchen is walking home. If someone sees her, then they will most likely jump her. She’s rich, in case you have forgotten.”
I fiddled with my shopping bags and shrugged. “You shouldn’t have been sleeping with her in the first place.”
“So what? You can screw around with a rich guy, and I can’t?”
I could feel my cheeks turning red. “I’m not…screwing…around,” I muttered.
Despite everything, there was an amused edge to his voice. “What are you? Top or bottom?”
“Dad!”
“What?” he asked. “It’s true, isn’t it?”
I felt heat flush my cheeks. All of a sudden, everything was too hot and I longed for something to cool me down.
Dad shoved his hands into his pockets.“I trust that this is only part of the plan so I won’t pressure you about the subject.”
I was suddenly glad that Dad decided to stay out of my business. He wouldn’t understand, anyway.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “What happened to your face?”
I sighed, completely forgetting about what happened at the mall today. “This guy punched me,” I mumbled.
Dad smirked. “And you didn’t punch him back?”
I groaned internally. “Dad, this isn’t second grade. I’m not for the whole eye-for-an-eye thing. It was my fault and I got what I deserved.”
He studied me for a moment before responding. “Just get some sleep.” He pushed past me and plopped down on the sofa, propping his legs up on the coffee table.
I slowly shuffled to my bedroom and collapsed onto my bed. Tomorrow, I would be alone with Levi and that was the only highlight of my day.
* * * *
The next morning, Dad told me that Levi’s car was parked outside. I rubbed my face and stared at him with sleep still lingering in my eyes.
“Invite him in,” I demanded as I rolled out of bed.
Dad only nodded, which I knew meant he wasn’t going to invite him in.
“Do you want me to make you coffee or something?” I trudged towards my closet and tugged on the clothes Melanie picked out for me.
“No.” Dad leaned against the door frame and picked at his fingernails. “Call me as soon as you get there. I’ll talk to you then.” With those words, he exited my room.
I sighed and continued to get dressed. I was happy to be going on this trip. It meant that I’d get to be myself for a few days and more importantly, I would be with Levi.
When I was finished getting ready, I grabbed my suitcase and jogged down the stairs. Dad was nowhere to be seen, which led me to believe he already left to get ready for the big event.
I rushed to the front door and peeked out the window to see Levi standing against his all-black Land Rover. He tapped his fingers impatiently and glanced down at his watch.
Before walking outside, I checked myself out in the mirror in the narrow foyer. I adjusted the collar of the plaid button down shirt I was wearing, and smoothed out my denim jeans. My nose had already started to bruise but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it was yesterday.
I took a deep breath and walked outside. Levi’s eyes met mine almost instantly and I felt a sudden wave of anxiety rush over me.
“About time!” he called out, opening up the passenger door.
“I’m sorry! I was getting ready.”
Levi grinned cheekily as his hazel eyes dropped to my attire. “I can see that,” he commented. “You’re not wearing a sweater vest.”
I looked down to my clothes and frowned. “You don’t like it.”
Levi widened his eyes, sensing my disappointment. He slowly grabbed my suitcase and shoved it into the backseat. “No, I love it!” he reassured me. “But the sweater and khakis are more your style.”
I wanted to yell at Melanie for setting me up. “That’s what I wanted to wear, but Melanie said that you—”
He cut me off by placing a gentle kiss on my lips. “You look beautiful.”
I stood there, frozen. I still wasn’t accustomed to him kissing me yet.
He circled around the car and slid into the driver’s seat. He peered up at me from inside. “Are you going to get in? I’ve seen paint dry faster.”
Regaining my composure, I got into the car and closed the door behind me. The Land Rover smelled like a new car, but I knew it wasn’t. “What about your family?”
“Sam, Jax, and Crystal are riding with my mom and dad,” he explained. “I insisted that I be the one who drives you.”
“You’re sweet.” I looked out the window as he pulled onto the main road. “How long is the drive?”
“Several hours.”
“Hours?” I questioned, my eyes widening.
He nodded and gave me a small smile. “Yeah. Is there a problem?”
“No.” I brushed off the subject and continued to stare out the window.
“Are you having second thoughts?”
“No,” I said, glancing at him. I noticed that he was wearing a baseball cap and I knew it was because he didn’t want me to tease him about his hair.
Levi let loose and removed one hand from the steering wheel. “You know school is starting back up again.”
“Yeah.”
“And I’ll be leaving,” he added.
“Yeah.”
“And I won’t be back until next year.”
I didn’t know where he was going with this.
“Won’t you miss me?” He took a glance at me and pulled off his baseball cap. He ran a hand over his head and sighed. He missed his hair. I did too.
“Yeah,” I replied.
“I’ve been thinking. Would you like to come, too?”
“To school?”
“Yes.”
“With you?”
He laughed carelessly. “Did you know you ask a lot of questions?”
“Is that bad?”
“No,”—he continued to laugh—“it’s weird when you answer almost every question with another question.”
I pressed my lips together, unable to think of a response.
He grinned at me. “It’s okay if you don’t want to come. You have the brains and I can help by bribing the administrative office. So, it wouldn’t be any work on your part.”
I thought over the idea. I wanted to go. I really did. But Dad would never approve. After we rob him, they’ll be useless to us.
“Is it too forward?” he asked, filling the silence.
“Why would it be forward?”
“You’re doing it again,” he commented.
“Doing what?”
“The question thing.”
I couldn’t read the look on his face, but I knew I liked it. There was just something about him that made me feel safe. I knew it was stupid for me to think, because I wasn’t safe with him. “I guess I don’t really like questions.” That was entirely true. Questions made me nervous.
“Okay,” he breathed. “I won’t ask you anymore questions.”
I smiled at him and turned to face the window again, the silence consuming us.
After a few more minutes of awkward silence, Levi finally spoke up. “Now I know this is kind of a question, but if I were to listen to music, would you have a preference?”
I couldn’t help but laugh and Levi joined my laughter.
“I guess I like Peter Gabriel.”
Levi raised his thick brows in interest. “A purist, are you?” He grinned smugly and reached for his phone. He tossed it on my lap and returned his attention to the road. “You can pick out what you like.”
“Okay.” I looked down at the selection of songs on his phone. I scrolled down and picked a Peter Gabriel song.
In your eyes
The light the heat
In your eyes
I am complete
In your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
In your eyes
The resolution of all the fruitless searches
In your eyes
I glanced at Levi, who was lost in the song. His head swayed left to right and he really did look perfect. I never the thought the person I cared so much about would be the person I was supposed to be against.
Reaching over, I placed a hand on Levi’s. His eyes shot to mine and he smiled at me.
~*~*~
I'm usually against having lyrics in a chapter, but I thought it was so essential to the chapter and to the relationship that's building up between Damien and Levi. So question of the chapter is: how do you think this story will end? I really wanna know what you guys think so I can make it completely different. Ha ha, just kidding! I have an excellent ending in my mind and they say...great minds think alike! So tell me what you think! Dedication goes out to the comment that makes me smile the most so get those fingers typing!
~lara <3