“Levi?”
He stops on the stoop, turning back to me.
“Was Colton happy about the baby?”
He looks away and drags a hand through his hair. “He never talked to me about it, but same as you, I guess.” His voice is thick. “Little scared. Not ready. Wanted to do the right thing.”
“Do you miss him?”
His jaw tightens. “Yeah. It’s more complicated than that, but I do.”
More complicated because of me.
They were best friends, and I came between them. Hell, I remember enough that I can see now that I started coming between them years ago. Colton would be trashed and Levi would come to the rescue. Colton would get pissed and accuse Levi of trying to play the hero, and Levi would lie low for a while. When Colton was in rehab, Levi was my confidant, my shoulder to cry on as I prayed the man I loved would become stronger than his addiction. Colton needed me to be strong, so when I felt weak, I leaned on Levi. And somewhere in there, while I was still fighting for Colton and while I still believed with all my heart that he and I would be together forever, I fell in love with Levi—not as a lover but as a friend, a piece of my world as necessary as the ground beneath my feet.
“What about you? Do you miss him?” Levi asks, a hitch in his words.
“I do. Now that I remember him, I miss him a lot.” I want it to be an explanation for all I can’t say—for why I can’t let Levi hold me even though I want him to. For why I feel so damn guilty for wanting him to.
“He loved you. You might not remember enough to understand, but you were the best thing that ever happened to him.”
Are we still talking about Colton? Why do I feel like Levi is trying to tell me how he feels?
“Good night.” I close the door and watch him through the window as he climbs into his truck. I haven’t been alone anywhere since I woke up in the hospital, and as Levi drives away, the night stretches out before me. Just anticipating the darkness terrifies me.
When I turn to set the alarm, I remember I never brought my bag in from the car. I step outside and jog to the driveway. The sun is low on the horizon, painting the sky in an orange-and-red glow.
I open my trunk and grab my overnight bag. I throw it over my shoulder, then freeze. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Someone’s watching me.
I shouldn’t have come out here alone. Not when I’m feeling so paranoid.
I shift the keys in my hand, turning the car key to point out. Colton taught me that after Nelson broke into my house. A key to the eye will give you time to escape. I pull my trunk closed as nonchalantly as possible, forcing myself not to show my panic as I walk back into the house.
Only when the door is shut behind me and I hear the satisfying thunk of the bolt sliding home do I look across the street to find the danger I sensed so acutely.
I don’t see any.
In the driveway across the street, a few kids play basketball. Two houses down, a couple sits on the front porch, beers in hand, enjoying the perfect evening. A patrol car rolls by, and frogs begin to sing. A normal autumn evening.
“You’re being paranoid,” I whisper. Then I arm the security system.
I grab a flashlight from the drawer in the kitchen and head to the hallway. I stare at the attic access for two solid minutes before I make myself muster the courage to pull down the ladder.
I click on the flashlight. “Just do it, Ellie.”
The wooden ladder creaks with each step, and as I get closer to the hot and muggy space, chills race down my spine. I crawl across the rafters on my hands and knees until I get to the back corner.
Pulling aside the old blankets, I point my flashlight at the modified, extra-wide rafters to illuminate my hiding spot, but there’s nothing there.
The Discovery collection is gone.
Levi
It’s been a long fucking day at the end of a long fucking week, and I stand under the shower spray wondering when life turned so chaotic. Can we rewind time? Would anything be different if I’d never touched Ellie? If I’d never admitted how I felt or held her in my arms and promised myself that one day she’d feel the same? If I’d been nothing more than the friend she needed, would we still be here—piecing together a past she can’t remember, secrets she never shared with me?
Nothing makes sense, but a long shower can’t wash away my worries. I keep imagining Ellie back in her house by herself. She promised she’d use the security system, and it should protect her—we made sure to install the best—but I don’t like it.
Fuck it. I walked away tonight because she looked like she needed to process everything, but I can’t do it. I can’t let her stay there alone.
I turn off the shower and grab a towel. I’m going after her. If she refuses to come home with me, then I’ll crash on her couch. I rub the towel over my wet hair then down my arms and legs.
A sharp rap comes from the front door, and I frown. The clock in the bedroom says it’s after ten, so I can assume it’s not a salesman or a neighborhood kid trying to sell me candy bars.
The knock comes again, and I wrap the towel around my waist and head to the front door. Through the window, I see Ellie standing on my front porch, a duffel bag hanging on one shoulder. She has her arms wrapped around herself, and she’s shivering even though it’s a warm night for October.
I unlock the door and pull it open quickly, panic ripping through me. “Are you okay?”
Her bottom lip quivers. “I’m sorry.”
I open my arms, and she dives straight into them. “What happened? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. Nothing happened.” She sniffs and shakes with a ragged inhale as her tears wet my bare chest. “I didn’t want to stay there tonight. I didn’t want to bother Ava, and I didn’t know where else to go.”
“Shh.” I press a kiss to the top of her head and stroke her hair, my panic subsiding at the feel of the soft strands beneath my fingers. It feels fucking amazing to have her here. To know she’s safe. To smell her hair. “You’re fine. You can stay here. Before you knocked, I’d just decided I was going to get dressed and come get you. I don’t like the idea of you staying there alone.”
“Do you think Nelson McKinley is dead?” The question is asked in a whisper against my chest, but it sends chills up my spine.
I close my eyes and breathe her in. She’s here. She’s safe. “Yeah. I think he probably is.” Is it just me or do those words melt some of the tension from her shoulders?
“Do you think Colton killed him?”
I don’t know how to answer that. I’ve heard through the grapevine that the police suspect Colton snapped and attacked Ellie in a drug-induced rage, and while I don’t believe that, I could see him hurting his father under the same kind of circumstances. He hated his father more than anything.
“Do you?” Ellie asks. “Tell me the truth.”
“I don’t know, but they would’ve arrested him before he disappeared if they had any evidence.” I realize I’m holding her too tightly and loosen my arms around her. “You can stay here as long as you want. In the meantime, hopefully they’ll figure out who’s responsible for everything.”
She pulls out of my arms, sniffs, and swipes at her cheeks. “Thanks, Levi. You’re a good friend.”
I shake my head. If I were a good friend, I wouldn’t have shut her out when she told me she was taking him back. I would’ve been there to listen when she said she needed help. And then maybe I would’ve been there to protect her the night she got hurt. All I can do now is try to make up for it. “I’ll go get dressed and put some fresh sheets on the guest bed, okay?”
Her eyes flick down to my bare chest before returning to my face. “I can do it myself.”
“Let me. I’ve felt helpless as shit since I got the call saying you were in the hospital. It’ll make me feel better to take care of you while you’re here.”
She nods and treats me to a tentative smile that curves her tempting pink lips. I walk away. I have to or I’ll kiss her. She needs a friend right now. Nothing more.
Ellie