Chapter 24 #2
I raised a brow, crossing my arms over my chest as I leaned back in my chair. “Can’t argue with that. But it’s fine. I’m sure you had other things going on in your life.”
He dipped his chin in a nod of acknowledgment. “I did. But so did you. And you didn’t have a support system to fall back on like I did.”
I swallowed hard, averting my gaze as I tried shoving back the lump that had suddenly risen in my throat. I didn’t cry. And I certainly didn’t cry in front of other people. “Yeah, well. I handled it.”
“Of course you did,” he said, his tone full of admiration. “You’re Harper fucking Davidson, and I don’t think there’s been anything in your life you haven’t been able to handle. But just because you can doesn’t mean you should have to.”
If only life worked that way… I’d been handling shit on my own for years because the other option was crawling back to my parents after cutting them out of my life.
And I had zero interest in doing that. No matter how lonely it got.
They were like a cancer, and I wasn’t going to allow them to spread their poison into my life any longer.
“I don’t want to sit here and give you excuses, but Levi was a wreck after everything went down with you two.
A total fucking disaster.” Chase blew out a heavy breath as he glanced at the table between us.
“He was doing everything he could to escape. Alcohol. Drugs. Whatever. I was worried he’d—” Chase cut himself off, clearing his throat as he averted his gaze.
Worried he’d…what? My stomach tied itself in knots, a thousand different possibilities flying through my mind, each one worse than the last. Had he really spiraled that far? And at what point had he stopped?
Needing to know, I voiced my thought. “Worried he’d what?”
Chase pressed his lips together and shook his head, tracing a mindless pattern on the tabletop with his fingertip. “Just know he’s been stuck in a downward spiral of self-destructive behavior for a long time. Anything so he doesn’t have to think about it.”
“So he didn’t have to think about it? He was the one who ended things, Chase. It was his choice.”
“Maybe. But maybe there’s more to it than you think.”
“Well, I’d love to hear about it.”
Chase ran a hand along his stubbled jaw as he regarded me.
“I wish I could tell you, but this really isn’t my story to share.
Just know that not everything was—or is—as it seems. And you two need to sit down like grown-ass adults and have an actual conversation, rather than yelling and pissing matches or whatever the hell it is you two do when you’re alone in that apartment. ”
Flashes of the night I’d walked in on Levi in the living room immediately came to mind. How hot he’d made me. How he’d looked at me as he’d stood there and watched. How he’d sounded…
“Time to be my dirty girl, sparrow.”
I nearly shook the thought from my head because it didn’t make any sense. Levi hadn’t said a word that night.
So then, why could I hear him so perfectly in my mind?
“Time to be my dirty girl, sparrow. Come all over your fingers and pretend it’s my cock.”
My entire body flushed, heat creeping up to pool in my cheeks.
I cleared my throat, pushing away the unwelcome memories.
I couldn’t think about that night right now.
Not when Chase was sitting across from me, studying me carefully.
The last thing I needed to do was fixate on whatever my mind had obviously conjured up as if it had come from Levi.
“Why are you telling me all this?” I finally asked.
Chase shrugged. “Because you need to know. And Levi’s sure as hell not going to tell you.
Not unless you push. He likes to pretend for the whole fucking world that he’s fine.
But he never pretends he’s happy. That’s because he hasn’t been in a long damn time.
Not since the last night you two spent together, if I had to guess. ”
I shook my head, staring at him openmouthed because none of that made sense. Not with how Levi’s and my history played out in my mind. “He was the one who broke my heart, Chase. Or have you forgotten that part?”
“I haven’t. And I can guarantee you, neither has he.
” He braced his forearms on the table and leaned toward me.
“Talk to him. I mean it. Before you leave Starlight Cove for good, I want you to talk to him about this. So I don’t have to keep any more fucking secrets.
And so maybe I can finally have my two best friends again. ”
I ended my chat with Chase with more questions than answers, his words echoing in my mind, refusing to let up.
But regardless of their persistence, I couldn’t reconcile them with what I’d been telling myself for years.
What I’d thought I’d known was true—that Levi had been cold, cruel, and calculating when he’d ended things and then disappeared off the face of the earth.
Blocking me everywhere he could without remorse or regret.
How could I have possibly gotten that wrong?
I wandered along the beach, needing time alone to think before I headed back to the apartment. Before I saw Levi again.
It was so peaceful down here, the water lapping at the shore and the soft ocean breeze through my hair. As kids, Levi and I had spent hours on the beach, talking about our dreams for the future. A future we were supposed to share together.