Chapter Fourteen #2
“You still alright to watch her this weekend?” I peek an eye open and see Levi petting Ellie’s head.
The tension dissipates as I take them in. Ellie has started to feel as much mine as his over the past few months, but he continues to ask every time if it’s okay, like he’s expecting me to change my mind.
“Of course,” I assure him. “She knows my home is hers.”
He smiles, and since our night on the porch, it’s all warmth and affection, so different than the look of disdain I’d grown used to, as he takes in Ellie and scans the room, finding the dog bed, toys, and bowls I have designated for her throughout my place.
“I see that,” he says, pausing for a beat.
“I guess I’ll get going.” Levi looks past the couch and to the TV, where Charlie’s abs are still frozen on full display.
His eyebrows shoot up, and when we follow his gaze, we notice what he’s looking at.
I cringe while the girls break into laughter.
“Goodbye,” I say, using both hands to literally push him out my sad excuse of a door.
I swear I can still hear his laughter as he walks to his truck.
My butt barely hits the couch before Rory is hopping into my lap.
“When did that start happening, and how dare you not tell us?!” she squawks, arms flailing. “Did you know about this?” She turns, asking Ainsley, who shakes her head, then serves me a raised brow with crossed arms that suggests, ‘get to talkin’.
I push Rory off me, rolling my eyes and shaking my head. She lands on the carpet with an oomf, but quickly plops back on the couch beside me, still waiting for answers.
“I don’t know what you two are going on about. Let’s get back to Charlie.” I press play on the remote, but before I’ve barely placed it down, Rory’s arm flies out, snatching it back up and pressing pause again.
“Um, no. You’re going to tell us when you both finally stopped wanting to kill each other and started wanting to do each other instead.”
My mouth drops open with a choked gasp, and my brows turn down. “Rory!”
“What? I’m not wrong,” she laughs maniacally.
I wave her off and lean back. “That is not what’s happening here. We’re barely friends. We tolerate each other at best.”
“Oh, honey,” Ainsley drawls, looking at me like I’m the most delusional little bee she’s ever seen. And yes, I now speak Ainsley fluently.
“Not you too,” I grumble, tilting my head as I cross my arms.
“You two are like fire and ice. Two extremes on the opposite sides of the pole, but when brought together, y’all sure make a whole lot of steam.”
Rory giggles beside me, and I hit her with a throw pillow.
“You’re both crazy.”
“The only one crazy is him, about you.” Ainsley shrugs.
A lump forms in my throat. Is that what I want?
“And it looks like you like him, too.” Rory smirks. “Who wouldn’t want a man in uniform?”
“Do you want to get hit with another pillow?”
“Ooooo, threats of violence? I must be right.” She wiggles her brows at Ainsley, who smiles and nods.
“You are both way off. We’re just neighbors. I help him with Ellie. That’s it,” I say, denying the tug that I feel deep in my chest with every word.
“Right. Y’all two are sharing custody and playin’ house, is more like it,” Ainsley teases. “The only thing y’all aren’t doing is each other.”
“Oh my God,” I gasp, mortified as heat floods my cheeks. “We can barely have a conversation without it turning into a pissing match. Please, it’s not like that.”
“I’m taking the credit,” Rory says, completely ignoring my protests. “Ever since you started our twelve-step practice to become a better person, your life has become way more interesting. Or maybe it’s just since you became besties with me. Either way, you’re welcome.”
“Trust me, my life is plenty interesting,” I grumble, remembering how my mom called earlier last week and told me there may be more to my father’s case than anyone told us.
A part of me has started to worry that he may never get out of jail. I thought I didn’t care, but when the reality of it starts to set in... I don’t know. I’m conflicted, and it probably is Rory’s fault for helping me on my ‘empathetic-journey-twelve-step’ bullshit.
“If only there was something we could do about her face,” Ainsley chimes in with a laugh, pulling me back from my thoughts.
“Listen! You two are lucky I’m willing to control my mouth.”
“That’s true. It would take an act of God to get her to control that side eye,” Rory says in agreement.
Naturally, I glare at her with that side eye she’s mentioned. “We should talk more about your life and why you decided to take a nose dive behind the counter today and hide until Chief Mason left with his order.”
Rory blanches and starts choking on a chocolate-covered pretzel. “Nope,” she finally manages to blurt out before hitting play on the remote.
“Mhm.” I toss Ainsley a wink and Rory purses her lips. This is one mystery the two of us are invested in getting to the bottom of.
For the rest of the night, between movies, snacks, and conversation, I can’t help but replay the last two weeks in my mind, searching for a clue that there could be any truth to what Rory and Ainsley believe.
Every time I think I might see it, see where something Levi has said to me could mean something more than just a friendly gesture, my brain scrambles for a logical excuse.
When the girls leave, I tuck myself and Ellie into bed.
Pulling at my light pink comforter, she snuggles in close, and I methodically pet her while my thoughts run rampant.
As she starts to snore, I check the time, seeing that it’s going to be another long, late night.
I’m no closer to an answer and more confused about my own feelings than I was before.
Have to love girls’ night.
“Happy Birthday, Princess!” my mother and father’s voices both chime through the phone. I look out at the rising sun past the full green trees from my porch, inhaling slowly, keeping my temper at bay as I clutch my coffee in my hands like it’s a lifeline.
Leave it to my parents to figure out a loophole that stomps all over my boundaries and gets me on the phone with my father. My mother can’t figure out how to find the weather app on her phone, yet somehow she’s figured out three-way calls... that’s just great.
Levi’s screen door creaks open. Noticing I’m on the phone, he quietly steps out and leads Ellie to the front lawn.
I’ve learned he’s not particularly a morning person, so usually we sit together in a comfortable shared silence on mornings when he’s not working.
But I’ve been doing my best to keep a safe distance from him since girls’ night two weeks ago, after they happily opened that lovely can of worms in my head.
I’m not sure he’s noticed, but if he has, he’s not saying anything.
“My birthday is tomorrow,” I sigh. “Not today.”
“We know that,” my mother quickly says with a lilt in her voice, which makes me positive that she, in fact, had no idea. “We just didn’t want to miss you in case you have plans with your friends.”
Right.
My mother is great at being quick on her feet when it comes to saving appearances, but there hasn’t been a single birthday that either of them has remembered or celebrated with me since I was about eleven.
There’s always been some reason or excuse as to why they can’t be here.
A trip they had to take that left me with the nanny, or more often than not, by myself.
It wasn’t until I turned sixteen that I started making plans of my own.
Now at almost twenty-eight years old, I couldn’t care less. I’m not going to start now.
“Of course,” I mutter, feeling them drain my battery like the energy vampires they are. “Well, I need to get ready for work soon, so...” I let my voice trail off. Hoping they’ll take the hint.
“Soon, Princess, you can quit that job, and we will celebrate your birthday together,” My father’s voice booms through the phone. Confident in a way that makes me wonder what he’s up to.
“Oh, really?” I ask, forcing down the skepticism. “How do you figure that?”
“I have a plan, don’t you worry.”
“That’s great,” I reply with forced optimism. “I’d love to hear it.”
I push back in my chair and meet Levi’s eyes as he walks up the steps and stares at me incredulously. Clearly, he’s not buying a word I’m saying. Lucky for me, he’s not who I’m trying to convince.
“I have a few more calls I need to make this morning, but it means the world to hear your voice. Let’s chat soon.”
“Great,” I respond as the line clicks off.
Unbelievable.
I stare at my phone, chest heavy as I reflect on how nothing changes.
He hasn’t heard from me in months, and yet he still doesn’t have the time to treat a conversation with me as anything more than a call he’s penciled into his schedule.
He didn’t even ask me how I’m doing. He just assumes that I want things to go back to the way they were and that I don’t want to work.
I have to admit, even I’m surprised to find that I’m finally happy with the routine of it all.
I’m not rich by any means, but having everything I need because I worked hard and earned it?
I’ve found a sense of pride in it, which I’ve never had before.
Something he would have learned if he had asked, if either of them had asked.
Good Lord, I’ve been brainwashed by the small town charm fairy.
With a resigned huff, I set my phone down and sip my coffee.
“So, tomorrow is your birthday? Not today?” Levi asks with mock sincerity, his lips quirking up as he takes a seat on his side of the porch.
I let out a groan. It’s not that I’m not a fan of my birthday. It’s that I’ve never had a reason to be. “Yeah,” I say, my head feeling heavy as I lean it back.
He chuckles. “You know it’s called a happy birthday, right?”
“Oh, shut up.” I smirk behind my coffee mug.
“You and the girls celebrating tonight?”
I bite my lip, trying not to let him see me grimace. “Yup.”
His eyes narrow slightly, but he doesn’t comment.