by Raathi Chota
***
“Where are we going?” I asked as we walked up a hill. We drove for half an hour, then Levi stopped, which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. No one answered me, and I sighed. I was the last one to reach the top, and I saw Levi’s smirk. I followed his gaze and watched the cows as they ate grass. My eyes widened as I turned to Levi, who had a smirk molded onto his face. “Not happening.”
“If I’m not mistaken, it is on the bucket list, pumpkin,” Axel mumbled beside me.
“I wrote that when I was like eight.”
“But it’s still on there,” Levi said.
“Do you guys even know how to milk a fucking cow?” Blake asked as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“Nope,” Levi and I said in unison.
“Yes,” Keene said as we turned to him. “Don’t ask.”
“Lead the way, Keene Stoner,” Levi said.
“Dude, I still can’t believe your last name is Stoner.” Axel laughed as we followed Keene to the cows.
“Shut it, Gunner,” Keene grumbled as he grabbed the bucket that stood by the gate.
“Aren’t we gonna get into trouble?” I looked over my shoulder and saw the farmer’s house in the distance.
“Not if we hurry up,” Blake mumbled. We stood in front of the cow that leisurely ate grass. I didn’t like it one bit. Keene took the bucket and cautiously placed it underneath the udder. He squatted next to the cow, and I leaned in to see what he did. The cow smelled funny, or it was the shit a few feet away from us. Keene held his hand out, and Levi rummaged through the bag and took out Vaseline. He rubbed it all over his hands, then gave it back to Levi.
“Where’d you get that?” I whispered to Levi.
“You bought all of this stuff,” he murmured as we watched Keene wrap his hands around two teats.
“How? When?”
“It doesn’t matter. You even got this.” He pulled out a Playboy Deodorant spray.
“What the h—” I cut myself off as Levi sprayed himself. Blake watched us in amusement, which Levi noticed. He walked over to him and sprayed him too. It turned out the cow didn’t like it and mooed loudly. My eyes widened as the other cows raised their heads from the grass and joined.
“Shit. Run!” Axel yelled. Keene stood up as we followed Blake and Levi, who already ran the other direction. Keene and I ran through the cows, and one almost kicked us. We continued to run for the next few minutes, and my feet ached in the heels. I stopped to catch my breath and to remove the heels. That’s when I noticed that we were in a sunflower field. Most of the sunflowers died since the cold winter swept through, yet it kept me covered.
“Come on.” Blake popped out of nowhere and grabbed my arm. He pulled me through the field to an abandoned barn where everyone else was.
“Well, that didn’t go as planned,” Keene muttered.
“No shit,” Levi muttered as we walked into the barn.
“Hay!” Axel pointed to a stack of hay. Blake looked at his brother in disappointment, then shook his head.
“Sleeping in a stack of hay is on the list.” Keene shrugged as he pulled his jacket off and put it on the hay.
“Yeah, I’m pretty beat.” Axel yawned as he took off his flannel and used it as a pillow. The whole barn was filled with hay, so we spread out. I couldn’t sleep, though, because I had too much on my mind. That dream I had got worse. Also, Levi would leave. As much as he annoyed me, I didn’t want him to leave. I felt as if us two together didn’t get much time alone. He’d go back to college, and I’d probably see him summer break or at the end of the year.
“Princess, you awake?”
“Yeah,” I whispered, then heard footsteps.
“Follow me,” he whispered as I got up. As I walked out of the barn, I noticed Axel and Keene hugged each other. Blake had his back facing me as he curled up into a ball. I walked out of the barn to see Levi run into the field. I grabbed my phone and took a picture as I followed him. The deeper I walked, I seemed to lose him, so I decided to take more pictures.
“Levi, where are you?” I called out as I put my phone back in my pocket. As I walked through the dead flowers, I tried to find him. Out of nowhere, I was pulled down onto someone. I hovered over Levi, who grinned. “Idiot.” I laughed and rolled off him. We laid in the field with dead sunflowers hanging over us. I let out a sigh and turned to him. I stared at the bird tattoo on his neck, then at his eyes. “I’m gonna miss you,” I confessed as he turned to me. He had a sad look in his eyes but still held a smile.
“Me too, but we’ll see each other…soon.” He whispered the last part, then looked up at the sky. “I hope you had an amazing time.”
“Yeah, even though I can’t remember half of it.” I sighed, then felt his palm brush against my hand.
“Look, when you do remember,” he said as I looked at him, “just know that I-I love you, okay?”
He waited for me to say it in the same tone and same way. My eyes bored into his as the corner of my mouth turned up and responded, “Love you too.”
“You know after the pool, we got arrested. Well, Keene, Blake, and I, while you and Axel were out God knows where,” Levi began, and I felt his fingers entwine with mine. “It was actually the first time I enjoyed being in a prison cell. We just talked.” I laughed at the thought, then a sudden reminiscence entered my mind when I sang “Miss Jackson” in Axel’s flannel. “Blake’s not a bad guy, you know.”
“Yeah, but what’s up with him?” I asked.
“I don’t know. When we’re hanging out, he sometimes spaces out for a while,” he mumbled. “He’s sorta short-tempered, but he’s caring.”
“Yep.”
“While you were drunk, he was by your side the whole time.”
“Oh.”
“Yep,” he added, then held my chain. “He gave you this.”
“Yep,” I said as he played with it.
“You do know that his is from Connecticut and yours is from Minnesota.”
“So?”
“You’ll understand, princess, soon.” He laughed. “Wanna go home?”
***
The drive home was an hour long, and Blake offered to drive. It felt short because most of us slept. We dropped Keene off, then turned to the Gunner household. It was weird because their goodbyes to Levi were rather short. Levi and I got home, and thankfully Dad wasn’t home yet from his night patrol. Our parents were still asleep, so we snuck into the house and to my bedroom. Levi showered while I helped him pack, typical that he left it for the last minute. While I put his shoes in the case, he walked out of the bathroom with a towel draped around his waist. I took out my clothes and was ready to enter the bathroom until I felt him pull me back.
“Hey, you might want to take that off now,” he said as he placed his hands on my hips. I followed his gaze and saw a bandage on the left side of my hip. He rubbed his hand on it, then slowly took it off to reveal a tattoo. My eyes widened as I walked to the mirror and turned my body to stare at it.
“What the hell is this?” I demanded as I stared at the black ink on the side of my hip.
“It’s a tattoo, princess. See? I got one too.” He smiled as he stood next to me and leaned his body toward me. Our tattoos touched, and it formed a full crown that read Prince and mine, princess, but together it said, Princess.
“Oh my God,” I gasped at the tattoo.
“It was on the bucket list since we were like thirteen, fourteen. When we saw Uncle Griff’s tattoo, you immediately wanted one,” Levi said as he straightened his posture and stared at me through the mirror. “Just gently wash it then use the ointment in the bathroom. It’s by the sink.” Levi brought me back as he touched my tattoo.
“Yeah, err…thanks,” I whispered, then grabbed my clothing. I did as Levi told me and took a nice warm shower. I washed all the pool chemicals out of my hair, then walked out. I put on my underwear, then a white tank top, pink sweater, blue jeans, and white Converse. I dried my hair, took out my contacts, and put on
my glasses. By the time I was done, everyone was downstairs. No one talked at the table since it’s our last meal together. After breakfast, I sat in the living room with Levi as I watched him pack up.
“Levi dear, what about your dirty laundry?” Jade asked as she came into the room with a bag.
“I’ll leave it here, Mom. Lana will keep it for when I come again.” He took it from his mother and handed it to me.
“And when exactly do you plan on coming again?” She glared at him. I sat on the La-Z Boy and strummed Levi’s guitar as I watched the two. Levi gave his mother a stern look, and she threw her hands up. “Goddammit, Levi Ramone Radcliff!” she huffed, then walked into the kitchen and called her husband.
“What was that about?” I asked.
“Nothing. Mom’s just overreacting.” He wrinkled his nose. Out the corner of my eye, I saw Dad walk toward the front door. There were voices followed by footsteps, and I looked up to see Uncle Griff.
“Hey, guys,” he greeted.
“Hey, Uncle Griff,” Levi and I said in unison.
“So, Lana, are you gonna miss this idiot?” Uncle Griff asked as Levi looked up.
“Yeah.” I awkwardly chuckled as they shared looks.
“Let me help you,” Uncle Griff said as he helped Levi with the last few things. As I played his guitar, I heard voices from the kitchen. The only words I made out were: stay, no, future, and she.
“Lana,” Levi called out as I turned my head to him. “I think I forgot one of my jeans up in your room. Can you check, please?”
I gave a short nod, then put his guitar down and walked out of the room. I still heard voices from the kitchen, but Uncle Griff’s voice topped all of them.
“What the hell are your jeans doing in her room?” he asked, and I laughed as I walked upstairs. Out the corner of my eye, I saw all the adults wander into the living room. I continued to my room. My room was right above the living room, so I made out the voices. I crouched down and leaned my ear on the wooden floor to hear. I was curious.
“You’re putting my daughter in grave danger, Levi!” Dad exclaimed.
“He came out of nowhere and just started talking to us. They had guns and everything. If there was something I could have done, I would have, and you all know it!” Levi hissed.
“Did you at least tell her?” Griffon asked as I rolled my eyes.
“No, she was freaking out, and when he left, she yelled out, ‘Where is he?’ and ‘What do you want?’ It was honestly scary seeing her like that,” Levi replied as I squinted my eyes. Little bits of me yelling flooded my mind. Blood splattered everywhere as the person collapsed to the ground. My features softened as the memory of James came back. How Levi comforted me after I yelled and I was going to tell him everything.
I stood up and grabbed Levi’s ripped jeans that hung on my door. I walked down and heard their muffled voices. When I entered the living room, everyone stopped to look at me. I held a poker face as I walked to Levi and gave him his jeans. “Thank you,” he whispered, and I nodded as I sat back down. I looked at my dad, who ran a hand through his hair in frustration, probably at the thought of James. Richard and Griffon glared at Levi while Jade and Angie whispered to each other.
“Come on; we gotta hit the road.” Richard broke the silence. Levi nodded as he began to lock his bags. All the adults piled out of the room, and Griffon went to help Richard load the car. I walked over to Levi and helped him.
For the next twenty minutes, the house was silent for some unknown reason. Levi didn’t talk as I helped him put stuff into his car. I stood on the porch and watched as Levi greeted Uncle Griff. I gave my farewells to Jade and Richard, and they were already in their car as Mom and Dad spoke to them. They hugged each other one last time as Levi slowly approached me.
“Well, this it, princess.” He walked up the porch and stood in front of me.
“Yeah, all the best, and enjoy college,” I mumbled because I didn’t know what to say.
“Yeah, and I promise that we’ll talk and FaceTime a lot.” He pulled me in for a hug. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he whispered in my ear. “Promise me one thing.” I pulled away yet his hold on my waist tightened as I looked up at him. “That you’ll keep working and striving to get into Yale. It’s your dream school, princess.” I smiled. “Also on the very first bucket list we made. So at least one of us will leave Illinois happy.”
“Promise,” I said as he wiped away a tear with his thumb. I looked over his shoulder and noticed Uncle Griff watched us with a stone hard look. I glanced back at Levi, who smiled at me, then let go. As he walked down the porch, the corner of my mouth tugged up in a smirk. “Goodbye, my knight in shining armor,” I said. Griffon laughed as Levi spun around and gave me a sad smile. I watched as he ran, picked me up, and hugged me.
“Love you,” he mumbled as my legs wrapped around him.
“Love you too,” I whispered as a tear rolled down my cheek, and I thought what would happen if we saw each other again.
Chapter Eighteen
Lana
Our break was short, and it’s back to school. I regret not spending a lot of time with Levi because I missed him. At least he has kept his promise, and we’ve spoken a lot. The past few days I spent getting ready for school, finishing work, and going on dates with Benny. He hadn’t said anything yet about Levi or me when I left his party, but then I checked my phone and saw that Keene texted him that night. That was a crazy night from what I could remember, but it was also one of the best nights of my life.
“Morning, Dad.” I sat at the table. He spun around and placed a cup of coffee in front of me, then sat down.
“Morning. Your mother just left. She has an early operation.”
“Okay.”
“Excited for school?”
“Nope.”
“I know you aren’t. I never was, but it’s the last semester. It’s crucial, Lana. Griffon will help you as much as he can, but most of it’s on you.”
“Don’t worry, Dad. Have I ever disappointed you?” I asked, then rethought the past few years. “Wait, don’t answer that.”
“Yes, you have, Lana, and you know it.” Dad shook his head.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I don’t even remember much from Jaden’s party. All I did was go with Keene, Miranda, and Levi. We were having a very good time, then…” I trailed off as I tried to remember what happened after I let Levi take my virginity in his car. We arrived at the party early, so he parked his car in the garage so it was the perfect place, I guess, all alone, away from everyone else with The 1975 echoing in the car. “Levi and I left because he wanted to go somewhere, and…from there I don’t remember anything,”
Dad let out a sigh, then stood up to put his mug in the sink. I silently drank the rest of my coffee as I watched him.
“I’m just glad you’re safe,” he whispered, then kissed my forehead. I stood up and put my cup in the sink. I spun around when he put on his jacket. I stood in front of him and fixed his collar as I avoided eye contact. “Listen, err…Levi told me about what happened on New Year’s with James.” I gaped. “As witnesses, you all need to come in for questioning. We found the body.”
“What? Where?”
“At the park and it wasn’t pretty. He was hung upside down on a tree,” Dad hissed as I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to remember his face.
“When should we come?”
“After school will do,” Dad said with a sad smile, then sighed. “I’m sorry you have to go through this, honey. I just want to get him and keep you safe. Heaven knows what else he’s planning.”
“You’ll get him, Dad. You have to, and I know you will,” I said, then hugged him. Benny’s car honk broke the silence as I pulled away. I looked up at Dad and watched him sigh.
“Listen, now that you have a boyfriend, I don’t want any distractions, okay?”
“Yes, Daddy.” I pursed my lips as I grabbed my bag and walked out of the kitchen. I got into Benny’s car, greeted him, the
n kissed the corner of his mouth. Usually, he’d turn while I closed the door, but he stared straight ahead. I gave him a weird look as we drove.
“Do you know what I just realized?” he asked after a while.
“What?” I asked and turned to his blank expression.
“A few days ago, you gave Levi and Blake lap dances. I had a few drinks, you were drunk as fuck, and I just…” He trailed off as he slowed the car down and parked against the sidewalk. “Fuck!” He hit his palms against the wheel. My eyes widened as I looked at his hands, then him. Benny turned to me, then leaned forward as he placed a hand on my cheek. He pressed his lips against mine, and I quickly responded when I kissed him back. He leaned his forehead against mine as he looked at me, then my lips. His thumb caressed my cheek, then moved to my chin as he stared at me. “You’re mine. Okay?” He pecked my lips. I smiled at him as I bit the inside of my cheek and nodded. “Good.” Benny started the car again and we drove to school. The rest of the way I couldn’t stop grinning and biting my lip. To think he stopped to give me a proper kiss and said I was his. I didn’t want to squeal or he’d think I was weird.
Benny parked the car, then turned to me. A wide grin plastered on my face as he smirked and leaned forward. He parted my lips and kissed me as I smiled. “I just want to kiss you all day,” he whispered, then slowly bit his lip. He was about to lean in and kiss me again, but I quickly spun around because I felt as if I was being watched. I put a hand to my chest and rolled my eyes when I saw Liam. Benny cussed under his breath as I got out of the car. I glanced up at the brunette, who smiled.
“Creep,” I muttered as Benny approached us.
“The windows were tinted!” Liam beamed.
“Yeah,” Benny and I said unison as we walked.
“Smile!” Liam caught up to us as he held up a camera, then took a picture of us. “It’s for the yearbook.”
“Oh wait, retake it. You never get my good side,” Aidan said behind us. We spun around and watched him pose.
