Eight Months Later
Fifty-One
Oakley
The smell of fresh-brewed maple coffee stirs me from my sleep, and I sigh happily before sitting up in bed. I’m careful not to disturb Bandit, who is arguably more lazy than I am, considering it’s nearly nine in the morning and he still hasn’t stirred.
I think we wore him out yesterday. Justin, Jessie, Levi, and I took a long hike to the top of Whiteface Mountain, and though the elevation was killer, and I thought my legs were going to give out multiple times, it was worth the effort it took to get there.
Like everything in life, the only thing standing between you and the view is a little bit of effort, determination, and grit.
Levi walks in, carrying two steaming mugs of coffee and smiling like he already has the wickedest plans for me today.
His black joggers hang loose on his waist, and he’s shirtless, showing off the expanse of smooth skin and corded muscle.
My eyes zero in on the V that leads to one of my favorite places, and my cheeks heat at the memory of how often he spends worshiping my body with his.
Despite our near constant need to tangle ourselves with each other, it’s still not enough.
I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of him.
I murmur a “Thank you,” as I take the offering from his outstretched hand and lift it to my lips, letting the sweet aroma cascade over me before taking a sip.
Levi settles into bed beside me, clicking on the TV and switching it to a sports channel before dropping the remote and petting Bandit’s slumbering form.
The past eight months have been nothing short of grueling.
The paramedic that night was right. Travis’s injuries were extensive, and, from what I’m told, will take long months and maybe even years of intense therapy and doctors’ visits to correct, all of which will have to be done from the confines of his prison cell.
I keep waiting for the guilt to hit me, but despite my best efforts, I don’t have it in me to feel an ounce of remorse for how things turned out for him.
He was arrested on multiple counts of felonious kidnapping, menacing in the second degree, illegal possession of a firearm, and a bunch of other charges that I can’t be bothered to remember.
I think there were some drug possession charges in there as well, from what Sheriff Hadley relayed to Levi after searching Travis’s car.
The bottom line? He’s locked behind bars, without the possibility of parole, and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.
The district attorney’s office called me to attend the hearings, but after discussing it with both Levi and my therapist, I ultimately decided not to go.
Not because I wasn’t strong enough, but because Travis had already stolen so much of my life by that point, and I didn’t have it in me to give him another second of my time.
I settled, instead, for writing a victim impact statement with the help of my therapist, which I’m told was read at Travis’s sentencing.
There’s no telling whether my words got through to him or not, but it gave me some peace of mind to get it all out.
The act of sealing my statement up in an envelope and mailing it to the court was more therapeutic than I expected it to be.
Despite the prison sentence, the court granted me a full order of protection, meaning that he is allowed absolutely no contact with me if he wants to avoid another charge.
He found that out the hard way when he called me from prison shortly after his conviction.
I didn’t hesitate to call Sheriff Hadley and let him know the order had been violated, which tacked on another charge to Travis’s extensive rap sheet.
A required condition of his sentence included an annulment of our “marriage.” Since I wasn’t aware of what I was signing when it came to the marriage certificate, I petitioned the court for the annulment, and it was signed and ordered by the judge before the ink on my signature had even dried.
I’d held my breath when the district attorney produced a manila folder with the signed papers inside, handing them to me over his mahogany desk and informing me they’d already been filed with the clerk.
Levi stood by me through it all. Through the good, the bad, and the ugly.
He’s witnessed my tears and frustration on multiple occasions, and, by some miracle, it hasn’t scared him off yet.
If anything, I think it’s brought us closer together.
There’s something beautiful in the way he continuously picks up my broken pieces and puts them back together, and I can only hope I do the same for him.
He’s going to therapy regularly now, too, which I think is good for him, considering everything that happened that night clearly dragged up the ghosts of his past.
He had nightmares for months following that night, and, in the beginning, I’d wake nearly every night to him thrashing around in the sheets, covered in a glistening cold sweat.
It’s been exhausting working through our issues together, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
There is no doubt in my mind that I couldn’t do this without him, and I can only hope that I provide the same reprieve from the darkness for him as he does for me.
I took a two-week hiatus from my job at the bar, something I will always be grateful to Joe for allowing me.
I needed the time to rest and heal and get back to the person I had been before that night.
News spread fast around town, and though nearly every account contained at least partial embellishment, the story remained pretty much the same.
Even Layla offered to cover my shifts for as long as I needed, and I took advantage of the break.
Towards the end of the second week, though, I was going a little stir crazy in the house and felt myself itching to get back into a normal routine.
I spent a few weeks back at work, mostly enjoying the conversations with the regulars and appreciating their well wishes, but something felt off about being back in the place where everything happened.
I was uneasy, constantly eyeing the door and bracing myself for something bad, despite knowing I was safe with Levi accompanying me to every shift, and Travis locked securely behind bars.
Ultimately, I made the decision to quit, and, instead, accepted a secretarial position working for the same construction company as Levi.
I’ve spent the last six months falling into a rhythm with the new job and have come to enjoy it a lot.
Plus, working for the same company means I get to see Levi a little more each day, and our schedules actually align now that I’m not working nights.
When I’m not working, I’m still exploring the various trails and paths that wind endlessly through the mountainous landscape around me. Sometimes with Levi, sometimes with Jessie, and sometimes alone. The hikes alone have continued to ground me and connect me with something bigger than myself.
I’ve felt every range of emotion there is in the midst of those solo hikes.
Pure, unadulterated joy. Deep, mournful sadness.
White-hot, burning rage. Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I cry, and sometimes I scream my fury to the skies.
The mountains soak up every ounce of my emotions, lending their silent comfort and strength in a way no person ever could.
Levi has been my rock throughout it all.
Patient and attentive to all of my needs, both in and out of the bedroom, and I swear, every time he touches me, he puts another piece of my soul back together.
I didn’t come to North Creek expecting to find love in the midst of my flight from hell, but when life offers you your deepest desires on a silver platter, you don’t say no.
“Want to hike to the waterfall today?” Levi asks from beside me, and my face lights up at the suggestion.
Despite my aching muscles from yesterday’s adventure, I’m eager to get back out into the mountains again and experience them in the springtime. It’s crazy how different they look from season to season, as if they hold a million secrets that unlock one by one with each passing day. I nod eagerly.
“I think Bandit might have to sit this one out, though. I think he’s still pooped from yesterday,” I say, chuckling as the dog lets out a light snore.
“I think you might be right. Besides, I’d like to finish what we started beneath that waterfall the first time I took you there.
” There’s a simmering glint in his eyes as he takes my coffee out of my hands and sets it beside his own, before crawling back over to me.
It’s a wicked unspoken promise, and I let out a giggle at the intensity of his gaze.
“Oh yeah?”
“Mmm, yeah.” His lips descend on my neck, and I let out a soft groan as they dance over my skin and send shivers down my spine.
“Hmm…” I pretend to think about it before answering, and he lightly nips my bare shoulder. “You’ll have to convince me though.”
“And how,” he trails his fingers down my chest in an achingly slow path, and my breathing ratchets higher, “do you propose I do that?”
“Use your imagination.”
His fingers delve lower and lower until they meet the heat between my legs, and I let out a moan as he strokes a teasing finger over my clit.
His groan is a rumble of satisfaction in his chest when he finds me bare and ready for him.
His fingers circle my clit once, twice, three times before I’m a wanton mess trying to clamber closer to him.
His fingers withdraw, and I nearly whine at the loss of him.
“Save some for the waterfall,” he says, before bouncing out of bed and over to the chest of drawers against the far wall of the room.
I let out an exasperated huff and throw off the covers, careful not to disturb Bandit as I join Levi. We dress quickly as I try to ignore the steady ache between my legs, and the drag of the fabric over my hardened nipples when I tug my shirt down.
Thirty minutes later, we pull into the trailhead parking lot, and I can’t help the flutter of excitement that rushes through me, not only at the anticipation of what dirty things Levi has in store for me, but also at being back at a place that means so much to me.
This place was where we had our first real hike.
The one where I let go of my reservations and flung myself from the cliff with abandon.
It marks the first time I ever tasted the intoxicating flavor of freedom, and I know it’s a place I will cherish for the rest of my life.
It’s funny how memories are made and time passes, but something as simple as a place in a small corner of the universe has the potential to bring the same emotions from that day rushing back and bathing me in nostalgic bliss.
“Ready?” Levi asks as he rounds the truck and throws the hiking pack over his shoulder.
I secure my hair in a clip and set off towards the trailhead.
“Born ready!” I’m met with his gleaming smile as I take off down the trail, not bothering to wait for him to catch up.
These mountains now belong to me as much as they belong to him, and I, for one, can’t wait to see the view from the top.