I peel Levi's arm off from around my waist and back away once again. "What do you mean you're here to bring me home?"
"I mean exactly what I said. You shouldn't be here." he folds his arms across his chest, accentuating his large biceps.
"I'm here finishing my college year, Levi. I can't just up and leave and definitely not because you want me to." Walking away from him and back into the crowd, he grabs my arm, firmly and pulls me outside to the large front yard. "What are you doing?"
"Listen, Kara. Before, I was so focused on keeping you safe and away from the gang that I didn't realize how much I was hurting you and myself. I'm sorry. And fuck, I couldn't even stay away from you for more than a week. The last time I saw you, you were running away from me with tears pouring down your face. The same night, just minutes after you said you loved me. Do you know how happy I was to hear you finally say what you were feeling? For you to finally admit that you loved me back and that this wasn't one-sided." I don't say a word as he rants, letting out everything that he's thinking. "But I know that if you truly loved me, you would trust and believe me when I say nothing happened between Iris and I."
Levi rest his hand in mine and laces our fingers together. Neither of us says anything, just standing here together in silence. Well, besides the party music in the background.
I take a deep breath, pushing my hair out of my face with my free hand. "What was I supposed to think?" I pause. "When I saw Iris at the bottom of your stairs in only a towel, it felt as if someone had shoved a knife through my heart. I couldn't bear being in that room with the two of you for another second." I pull my hand out of his and wrap my arms around my body. "And I know we're not even together so I have no right to be upset about you doing stuff with other girls. I just..I thought there was something."
Levi tugs me against his body, holding me tighter this time. "There is something! Look, you have every right to be upset with me. I should've set everything straight with Iris months ago. I love you and it will always be you that I want. Nothing happened with Iris. Please give me a chance to explain everything."
My eyes water as I stare back at Levi. His green eyes wide and awake, awaiting me response. "fine. Okay."
He immediately tightens his grip on my waist and a smile almost spreads across his face but he refrains from fully expressing himself. "Really?
"Not here, though. We should go somewhere where there's not people throwing up ten feet away from us." He nods, silently agreeing.
I walk with Levi back to his car after finding Melanie and letting her know where I was going to be. Not that she was listening though. She was too busy grinding up on her boyfriend to fully comprehend what I was saying.
Levi opens the passenger door for me and jogs around the front of his shiny, black Dodge Challenger with dark red rims, and climbs into the driver side. We're on the road for about an hour before he pulls into an unfamiliar driveway.
The house in front of us is on the larger side but a family type of home and doesn't look like something Levi would own. A white van is parked beside us and there's a yard to the right, filled with toys and play sets. My eyes roam farther back to see a smaller house in the distance
"Where did you bring me?" I ask, turning to face him.
"Come on," is all he says before stepping out of the vehicle.
I quickly climb out and follow after him as we approach the porch. Levi knocks on the white wooden door and we wait for a few seconds before a tall, brown-skinned, bearded older man appears in the doorway. He's dressed in a white undershirt and green shorts—pajamas. I glance at Levi.
"Now, what in the hell are you doing here at this time of night, boy. I outta shoot you for nearly giving me a heart attack." The man says. Just now, I realize he has a pistol in his hand.
"I don't mean to come so late, Harvey. Can we crash in the guesthouse tonight?" Levi asks, shoving his hands into his pockets.
The man looks me up and down and raises his eyebrows back at Levi. Levi just shrugs, taking a step closer to me.
"Go on. And don't make too much noise." he almost shouts before closing the door in our faces. I take notice of the fact that the man—well Harvey—didn't ask any questions about why we were here or who I was.
Levi takes my hand in his and takes me around the house to the guesthouse he mentioned. The door is unlocked and the place is dark. My hand goes to find a switch on the wall and the lights go on to reveal a tiny living room and kitchen with two doors on the opposite side of us.
"Sit." He gently places his hand on my lower back and guides me to the couch. "When's the last time you had something to eat?"
"I don't know. Maybe this morning." I answer, watching as he moves to the kitchen, opening the fridge.
"You should eat."
"I'm fine, Levi. I don't want to any food right now. What I want is for you to explain what happened last night." I stand up from the couch and cross my arms over my chest.
"I will tell you tonight, but right now I need you to eat." He pulls out some spaghetti, pasta sauce, and ground turkey along with a few other ingredients. "Pasta?"
I sigh. "Sure." His mouth curves a bit on the side and he turns back to the counter to focus.
Moving closer, I prop myself up on the bench. Levi is busy making us something to eat and I find myself staring at him, mesmerized by his fast pace. He was wearing a tight, navy blue t-shirt, accentuating his back muscles and black jeans. Before I even know it, he's placing a plate in front of me and handing me a fork.
I look up to his green eyes and they're shining with anticipation. I dig my fork into the spaghetti, tasting a small portion. My eyes widen in shock. "It's delicious."
He smiles at me and goes to start his own.
"I didn't know you could cook."
"My father taught me." He grabs a napkin and goes to wipe the side of his mouth. "He used to always say 'real men know how to cook'. He would slap me on the back of my head every time I confused sugar with salt". Levi starts to chuckle at the memory of his father.
Levi and I ate the food he made and he turned on a movie for us to watch. When it was finished we both just sat in silence beside each other. I looked over at him to see him deep in thought. I rested my hand on his forearm.
"Levi..." I started.
He grabbed my hand, squeezing between his larger ones. His hold was strong and as if I would disappear.
"I had no idea what was going on." He began. "One second she was in the doorway and the next she was at the bottom of the staircase in my towel. When I finally figured out what the stunt she pulled, I was furious. I wanted so much to follow you in your car as you drove away, but I knew I had to deal with her before I even pursued you." Levi turns to face me and holds my face in place with his hand. "She used a bottle to knock me unconscious, Kara. I did nothing with her and I never will. I need you to trust me. I would never deliberately hurt you. I am not the same as I was months ago. I love you."
I remained quiet and he wrapped his hand around my chin, making me look into his eyes. "Please..." He begged.
I love Levi and I know he wouldn't do something like this to me. Yes, he has hurt me in the past, taking me away from my family and forcing me to live with him. But I know he's not the same man he was then. He's proved that countless of times. I can tell he's deeply ashamed of the way we had met.
"I..I believe you. I do." I wrap my arms around his neck. "I'm sorry I didn't give you the chance to explain before."
"You don't have anything to apologize for, baby. This is all my fault." He gently tugged my arms from around him. "Everything that has happened to you has been because of me. I'm so sorry for bringing you into this. I don't deserve you."
"Stop." I grab his face. "Stop blaming yourself for everything. It's going to eat you up inside. I'm here with you right now because I want to be." He wasn't looking at me. "What else is wrong, Levi? I know you're refraining from saying something. Tell me what's concerning you."
Levi finally looks up. His eyes are filled with mixed emotions. Worry, anger, concern, and sadness the most predominant ones. "I don't want to talk about it, tonight."
I gave him a look.
"Please. Let me just enjoy your presence." He slid further down the couch, pulling me down with him and hooking his leg over the side. "I'm so tired."
I rested my head on his chest, leaning close to him as we both laid down. "Rest, then. I'll be here when you wake up." I kissed his hand, softly.
Levi closed his eyes, tightening his grip on my hips. I watched him drift off to sleep. His eyes had red bags under them and his stubble was now a short beard. Even though, he looked exhausted he was still beautiful.