Levi showed me around his house. He had a bunch of bedrooms, a spacious living room, a study that looked absolutely gorgeous, two lovely bathrooms... It was just huge. How was he able to afford this place? Do private investigators really earn this much money?
"Are you really not going to tell me?" I asked him at the end of his tour.
"Tell you what?"
"Why you decided to let me stay here."
"I'm starting to regret agreeing to become your friend."
Oh, right! I forgot that happened.
"So you were just trying to help a friend out?" I asked.
He shrugged. But he didn't say anything. I smiled at him.
"Whatever your reason, I appreciate your help," I said.
Again, nothing. He just looked at me. There was a hint of sadness in his eyes, but it only lasted for a moment before he walked away. At times like this I couldn't see what went through Levi's head. I knew that he could see right through me sometimes, but I had to do a lot of effort to figure out what he was thinking.
I went to my new room that he showed to me just a minute before and opened the door. I couldn't believe I would actually be staying in this room now. It looked like a suite at a hotel.
"Wow," I whistled.
During the tour Levi had placed my pink suitcase outside my room so that I could remember where my room was. I never thought I would say this, but I was completely captivated by the bed. The big double bed had five fluffy pillows on it and was surrounded by white silky drapes dropping from a canopy. The bedding was completely white, but the dark wood made the whiteness even more majestic. The windows were covered by long, white curtains. The walls were covered with intricately designed rouge pink wallpapers. There was a beautiful white dresser a few meters away from the door decorated with a vase with fresh flowers.
My phone vibrated for the millionth time that night. I took it out of my pocket to look at. It was Coraline, freaking out about why I wasn't texting her back. Tina sent me two messages, sounding way calmer than Cora did. The way she believed in Levi really had me wondering what their true relationship was. Levi said that he didn't consider Tina his friend, but Tina clearly trusted him quite a lot.
I sent Coraline a text telling her to give me a call. As soon as I sent her the text, she called.
"Wow, you're quick," I noted.
"Why weren't you answering my texts, Scarlett? I was worried sick about you!"
"Sorry Coraline. Everything was happening too fast. But don't worry, I'm fine. Still mind-blown, but fine."
"Tina told me that was Levi's house?"
"Yeah," I told her, "Has she been to his house before?"
"She said she's been there once," Coraline said, "She didn't say what for. But anyway, why are you at his house?"
"It seems... I'm living here now."
"What?!?"
She started freaking out again, lecturing me about moving on with Levi too quickly. I felt offended that she was assuming this without listening to my explanation first.
"I'll be working here, Coraline," I said annoyed.
She was quiet for a moment. "What do you mean?"
"Honestly Coraline... I don't feel like telling you anymore. Good night."
I hung up on her. I texted Tina telling her that we would talk tomorrow at school because I wasn't in the mood to talk to her right now. This was the first time I felt hurt by Coraline's words. She judged me without knowing anything.
It was getting late. I could choose between working on my lesson plans for tomorrow or unpacking my suitcase. I chose the latter first. I expected the dresser to be empty, but surprisingly it had a few clothes in it. Whose clothes were they? I took one of the purple shirts out and held it up. It was a simple sleeveless top with the word 'Buzzed' written on it. It didn't look like it was my size. Honestly, it looked like it used to belong to a child.
The next day, Thursday, I woke up early in the morning, excited to prepare breakfast. I took a warm shower in the bathroom right next to my bedroom. I was singing in the shower and everything. Despite having been with Colt the day before, somehow I was determined to not let that bring my mood down. Besides, I had Levi with me. Nothing could go wrong.
I got out of the bathroom and closed the door. My hair was still wet, draping down my shoulders. I turned and saw Levi walking in my direction with his head down. He didn't realize I was standing there. But my hope was short-lived when he lifted his head and our eyes met. It wouldn't have been a problem per se if I was actually wearing clothes. But I just came out of the bathroom, and all I had on was a towel wrapped around my body.
Levi stopped walking immediately. He dropped the book he was holding out of shock. Neither of us said a word. I rushed to my bedroom and closed the door behind me. I wasn't sure if that was the most embarrassing moment of my life, or if waking up beside him still took the cake. I buried my face between my hands for the longest time and groaned.
Five minutes later I was finally dressed. I went over to the kitchen. Although I was now dressed, I was still hoping I wouldn't get to see Levi right away. I still needed a moment to process what had just happened.
When I saw the fridge, I gasped. Imagine this... The mansion was huge, filled with lavish furniture all over. Basically each bedroom had its own bathroom. The kitchen was spacious, shiny... and mostly empty. The cupboards were filled with instant noodle cups, energy drinks and soda. The fridge only had four eggs in it (yes, I counted them), oatmeal and a carton of milk. Nothing else. I'm not kidding.
I took out all of the ingredients and made something simple out of it. Since there was no orange juice, I poured Levi and I a glass of milk.
Moments later Levi came downstairs. He yawned. I couldn't bring myself to look at him. My face was still hot at the thought of what happened only minutes ago.
"Uhm... I'm going to pick some stuff up at the grocery store later," I said, placing his plate on the kitchen table.
"Cool," he said.
"How do you stay in shape by eating only instant noodles? Soda's not good for you either."
"It's easy to prepare."
"It's not good for you," I insisted.
He was quiet for a few seconds. Then he gave me a curious look. "Why aren't you looking at me?" he asked amused.
I turned my back for him and pretended to look inside the kitchen cupboards again. "Uhh... You don't have a lot of condiments either. I should buy those too."
"Scarlett." I didn't respond. "Scarlett! What's wrong with you?"
I sighed and finally turned to look at him.
"Is it because I saw you half-naked?" he asked me, trying to hold back a smile.
"Just pretend you didn't see anything," I said, frowning.
He smirked. "And what if I don't want to?" he asked.
I groaned. "Please, I'm dying here."
"What does it matter anyway? I've seen you in nothing but a bra and panties before. At least I couldn't see much with that towel in the way." Levi winked at me and started having his breakfast.
He was the worst.
I took one step on school grounds and I was immediately bombarded by an apologetic Coraline Thompson. She was apologizing to me, but she wasn't even sure what it was for.
"Next time I would rather you not make crazy assumptions about me before hearing it from my mouth," I told her, "It was hurtful."
"Oh, sorry! I was just so worried! I guess I misspoke."
"No, you misjudged," I said, feeling disappointed at her.
She apologized again, and it just annoyed me even more. I walked past her and went to the teacher's lounge. I avoided being around Coraline the whole day. Her motherly attitude could get annoying at times.
Tina noticed the rift between us immediately. She forced us to sit down and talk it out during our break.
"I really don't want to hear her say 'I'm sorry' again, Tina," I said.
"Then why aren't you accepting her apology?" Tina asked me.
"I did," I said, "I didn't say it out loud, but I did."
Coraline looked relieved at this, but seeing as I wasn't smiling, she didn't know what to believe.
"What were you upset for in the first place?" Tina prodded further.
"I didn't like her judging me for living with Levi."
"YOU'RE DOING WHAT NOW?!?" she exclaimed, causing nearby people to look at us.
Oh shoot, yeah, I forgot to tell Tina about this...
"Uhh..." I laughed sheepishly. "Uhm... Whoops, I forgot to tell you."
"Whoops? Whoops, Scarlett? How could you forget to tell me that? You told me that we would talk it over later, but later never came. Spill your guts, now."
I explained the situation to the two women. I told them about how beautiful the house was, and yet how it was missing the basics like proper food and drinks.
"So... I'm going to the grocery store after work," I finished.
"What the hell, Scarlett?" Tina shook her head in disbelief. "This is crazy. Levi never lets anyone into his house."
"But you've been there once," Coraline remarked.
"Yeah, but that's just it, it was just once. I've never been inside. I just had to give him a package and go, so I never went inside. He doesn't seem to be comfortable having people inside of his house."
"But then why did he let me in?" I asked confused.
"Maybe... he's come to like you?" Coraline suggested.
I laughed. "Good one!"
"I mean, he even accompanied you to Colt's house," she continued, "even though he has a strict rule of not involving himself directly with his clients' personal matters."
I gazed at Tina, who had gone terribly silent all of a sudden. She seemed like she was lost in thought.
"Tina?" I called out to her, waving my hand in front of her face.
She seemed to have snapped out of it.
"What's wrong?" I asked her alarmed.
"Nothing," she said, avoiding looking at me.
"What's your true relationship to Levi, Tina?"
I've been meaning to ask her this question for so long. This seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Tina finally looked at me. "We're friends," she said.
"Are you sure about that?" I asked her, remembering what Levi had told me before.
She tapped on the table nervously with her fingers. "We... met five years ago," she said, "We went out for two weeks."
"You dated him?" I asked shocked.
"Two weeks?" Coraline mentioned.
We knew Tina had commitment issues, but... two weeks? That was a record even for her.
"It just... didn't work out," Tina said, her usual cheerful demeanor vanishing entirely, "Levi has more layers of secrets than an onion. You can't peel those layers no matter how hard you try. I liked him at first, but it was like I was dating a brick wall. He didn't want me inside his house. He didn't want to meet me in public places. He wouldn't answer my questions about his past. It just didn't work out."
We were silent for a long time. The school bell went off, but the three of us remained seated. I hadn't expected there to be a romantic connection between Tina and Levi. What was Levi trying to hide so badly?