by Kent, Rina
“Is that why you ghosted me for two weeks?” The question comes out of nowhere, but that’s probably because it’s been at the back of my mind since I woke up this morning.
I won’t pretend everything is okay after he spent two weeks pretending I wasn’t there.
His expression closes and he lets go of my face. Just when I think he’ll retreat and I’ll have to chase him all over the park, he entwines his hand with mine.
I run in front of him but with his hand holding me hostage, it’s kind of impossible to get far ahead from him.
“Tell me why.” My voice catches. “I have the right to know why you treated me like I didn’t exist.”
He says nothing, continuing to stride ahead.
“Are you going to do it again? Do I have to sit and wait until your switch is on and you turn against me?”
Levi tugs on my hand, bringing me to a screeching halt. “Believe me, princess. That won’t happen again.”
“Why not? If you did it once, what’s going to stop you from doing it again?”
He releases a frustrated sound and continues dragging me along. At first, I think we’re leaving, but he stops in front of the Ferris wheel and gives the man our tickets before he flings me inside.
I fold my arms and sit at the far end from him.
He slides to my side. When I attempt to stand up, he yanks down on my thigh with a strong hand.
A groan of frustration rips from me. “I’m angry at you right now.”
“You can be angry all you want without leaving my side.”
I release an annoyed breath and stare outside as the Ferris starts moving. The more we go up, the smaller the world becomes. People are so minuscule, they’re barely decipherable.
Levi’s hand snakes up the leg of my shorts. I grab and throw it away. “Unless you’re ready to talk, don’t touch me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, princess.” His hand surrounds my throat. “I touch what’s mine whenever I damn well please.”
“Stop,” I hiss, feeling my walls crumble. “Just stop playing these mind games with me and tell me, Levi.”
His head tilts to the side like it does every time when he’s plotting something — usually trouble.
“Are you still searching into what happened that night?” he asks.
My brows furrow. “How did the conversation go to that?”
“Answer me.”
“I told you I’m not giving up on my justice.” My lips part as I search his face. “Is this what is it about? Did you have something to do with the accident?”
A muscle ticks in his jaw and he focuses on the outside world.
I clutch his face with both my palms, forcing him to look at me. “You… did?”
Oh. God. Please tell me this isn’t true.
I search his pale eyes for any tell, but they’re glassed over. He’s sealing himself inside.
“I was there,” he says calmly. Too calmly.
A sob tears from my throat.
He was there.
Levi watched me being hit.
“But I wasn’t part of the accident.”
“Then you were a part of the ones who chased me like I was an animal?” I ask with stupor.
“No.”
“How the hell am I able to believe anything you say, Levi?” Everything clicks into place and I stare at him as if he’s not real. “This is why you approached me, isn’t it? You didn’t want me to reveal what you and your little band of friends did… wait… were Ronan, Xan, and Cole a part of it? Oh, my God. Of course, they were. Aiden told them to leave me to die, didn’t he?”
“Astrid!” He clutches my shoulders and I realise tears are streaming down my cheeks.
I promised myself that I’d never cry for him, but here I am.
Only, these tears are for myself. For the pathetic fool in me who considered trusting him again.
“For the last time, I’m repeating that I had nothing to do with the accident.”
“How did you feel when you saw me covered in my own blood, King?” I cry. “Did you get off on it?”
“No!” His grip tightens on my shoulder.
“Then why were you so insistent that I drop the case? Why did you make my life hell for it? And don’t lie to me. If you do, I’m erasing you completely. I swear.”
“You’re erasing me, huh?” He fists a handful of my hair in his fist, eyes menacing. “Do you think you can forget me?”
“Maybe not at first.” My voice is filled with emotions. “But I promise that I’ll eventually do it. I’m not your plaything, Levi and I never will be.”
He drops his hands from my hair and sighs. “Fuck it.”
Fuck it?
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
“Do you remember what happened the night of your accident?”
My brows furrow. “The accidental fire?”
“Only it wasn’t accidental.”
My eyes widen. “You…”
He nods. “I set my uncle’s mansion on fire.”
“But… why?”
“Arson leads to prison, princess. Uncle could’ve gotten me out of it, but that would’ve been at the expense of my freedom. That’s why I needed you to drop the case.”
“No. Why did you burn your uncle’s mansion?”
He laughs without humour. “Because I wanted to rebel against him? Because he threatened to take my inheritance and keep me on a leash? Because I wanted to be a dick and take his favourite holiday home right before the summer? Take your pick.”
Wow. I didn’t realise his relationship with his uncle was that strained.
“Can your uncle take your inheritance?”
“My father listed him as my guardian until I’m twenty-five. If I don’t play into his hands, he won’t let me touch a dime from the family’s money.”
“Can he really do that when you’re over eighteen?”
“Yeah. Even if he can’t, I can’t challenge him in court. No lawyer will beat Uncle’s harem of hotshot lawyers.”
“Why is he doing this to you?”
He releases a long breath. “He doesn’t want me to become my father. You see, my father wasn’t the perfect King that Jonathan is. James King loved life more and he never engaged in the family business. He played rugby in his early years and had a horrible injury that forced him into early retirement. He became depressed then manic. While Uncle built the empire, my father either gambled the King’s money or spent it on drugs.”
Humming energy pulses off Levi the more he talks about his father.
I inch towards him, slowly as if I’m afraid of setting him off. My heart aches for him and I can taste his pain on the tip of my tongue.
No king is born as a king. They’re made into one from their childhood. Levi never had a silver spoon. His mother abandoned him without a look back, his father had mental issues, and his uncle is obviously a control freak.
Oh, and his cousin is a psychopath.
“But you told me you had a good relationship with your father.”
“I did when he wasn’t manic or high, which leaves very little room for father and son bonding.” He pauses. “He taught me to be myself. I didn’t realise how much he really meant to me until I lost him.”
I lean my head against his tense shoulder, squeezing his hand in mine.
This must be why he has prejudices against drugs. It was part of the reason he lost his father.
“Jonathan doesn’t want me to be a failure like my father and Jonathan stops at nothing to get what he wants.”
I can see where Levi and Aiden got their ruthless side.
Levi wouldn’t admit to it openly, but he takes after his uncle in more ways than one.
“And what do you want?” I ask in a whisper.
His eyes find mine and they soften. “You.”
If my heart could escape its confinement, it would be spilling at our feet about now.
“What else?” The words come out on a breath.
�
��Just you would do.” His lips find mine in the slowest, most toe-curling kiss he’s ever given me.
I push him away with a hand on his chest. “There must be something else you want.”
He’s silent for a beat. “Football.”
“You want to play pro?”
He nods once. “I had some calls and interest from Liverpool and Manchester City.”
“Wow. Those are big ones.”
He narrows his eyes. “How do you know that, Miss-I-don’t-care-about-Football?”
“I had Dan educate me.” I smile. “But wow, I’m happy for you.”
I try to camouflage the breaking of my heart at the thought that he’ll be on the other half of the country.
“Doesn’t matter. If Uncle forbids it. No good team will accept me.” He stares down at our entwined hands. “What about you? Where do you plan to go?”
“Dad is thinking about Imperial College.”
“And let me guess, that’s not where you want to go.”
“I’m an artist. I want to continue being an artist.”
“Did you tell him that?”
“Have you seen my dad?” I laugh awkwardly.
“He seemed a lot more reasonable than my uncle.”
“Do you really think that?”
“Not really.” He lifts a shoulder. “But Uncle’s enemy is my friend.”
I laugh, leaning my head against his shoulder. For a moment, we get lost in the lights in the distance as the Ferris wheel continues its ascendance to the top.
Then, a crazy thought comes to mind. “Levi… did you see who hit me that night?”
“If I did, I would’ve told you.”
I pull back, staring at him. Then I grab both his arms and feel around them. “Were you there at the moment I got hit?”
“I heard the hit.”
“Meaning, you were at the road? Did you see anyone?”
“Believe me, princess, if I knew who hurt you, I’d be the first to fuck them up.”
But a crazy idea won’t leave my mind.
Could it be…?
I lift his long-sleeved T-shirt to his elbows.
He chuckles, “Am I going to be your sugar daddy sooner than agreed?”
My gaze zeroes on the lines in his veiny forearms. I pull it to the shadows and gasp.
The mole near his elbow looks like a small star in the darkness.
My eyes blur as I look at him. “You saved me.”
47
Astrid
Just when I think I have you, everything dissipates into thin air.
* * *
Weeks pass and every day is surreal.
Every day, Levi tests my limits and I test his right back.
We’re like two pieces of a jigsaw, him and I. It’s impossible to have one without the other.
I walk into the school with Levi’s arm wrapped around my waist. Most of the football team surround us like knights.
Dan, Aiden, Xander, Ronan, and Cole are like my own protection and follow me whenever Levi isn’t there. I can tell Aiden doesn’t like it, but Levi forced his hand somehow.
Since that pool punishment, the three others keep quiet around Levi. Apparently, their captain has been out for their lives at practice. I’ve been hoping it’s not because of the orgy joke.
But knowing Levi, that most likely plays a part in it.
Levi isn’t only possessive to a fault, but he’s also the petty jealous type when I as much as look at his teammates. I might have been doing it on purpose to get a rise out of him.
I smile mischievously as I tell Ronan, “When are we going to have another drinking competition?”
“Tonight if you like…” his grin falters when Levi cuts him a glare. “Or never. Yeah, never.” He leans in to whisper. “Come down when Captain is asleep.”
“I heard that.” The look on Levi’s face is that of pure contempt. I can only imagine all the ideas he has going on in his head on how to punish Ronan.
“You’re pathetic.” Aiden shakes his head at his cousin.
Levi flips him the finger.
“Twenty-two hundred.” Ronan coughs and my gaze immediately flies in that direction.
The blonde girl, Kimberly’s friend, hugs books to her chest and walks towards the library. The guys stare at her, but only Aiden and Levi check her out openly.
“What’s the deal with her?” I ask. “An old ex of the both of you?”
A stab of jealousy hits me. Levi said he doesn’t date, but if he has an ex of that level, it makes my self-confidence shaky.
“She’s no one’s ex or current” Xander laughs. “She’s Frozen. An ice princess.”
“Unfortunately for this chap.” Cole nudges Aiden.
He throws him an undecipherable look and scrolls on his phone as if nothing happened.
“She’s sort of like you,” Xander snaps his fingers at me. “Captain had his knickers in a twist because of you.”
“Piss off, Xan,” Levi tells him.
“No.” I elbow Levi’s side. “I want to know more.”
Ronan’s playful gaze bounces between me and the girl who disappeared in the direction of the library. “Do you think she’s pretty, Astrid?”
“Are you kidding me? She looks like a doll.” And I’m glad she has Aiden’s interest, not Levi’s.
Scratch that.
I shouldn’t be glad that anyone has the psycho’s attention.
A lustful look covers Ronan’s features. “As in you’d do her?”
Ronan is the type who makes everything about sex — like Dan. From the time I spent with them, he’s the one with the most heart out of the four horesemen. Xander is too slippery. Cole is too silent. Aiden is too..., well, nothing. I can’t grasp his real character no matter how much I study him.
“Yes, I would.” I keep up with Ronan’s game.
“Take my fucking money,” Ronan exclaims. “I want to watch. First row!”
“In your fucking dreams.” Levi pushes him away with a hand on his face.
“Oh, come on, Captain. You already took away my cake bunny hookers fantasy.”
“Cake bunny hookers?” I chuckle.
“Ronan wanted hookers dressed as bunnies coming out of his birthday cake,” Cole says. “Captain denied it.”
Wow. I don’t even have thoughts about that.
“You killed my fantasy once, Captain.” Ronan talks in his dramatic voice. “You can’t do it une autre fois. Two hot girls will be explosive. It’s a waste if no one watches.”
“Who said no one will watch.” Levi meets my gaze with his darkened, lust-filled one. “I would.”
“I would watch, too,” Aiden says without lifting his gaze from his phone.
I don’t know which one to be more surprised by. Who knew both cousins had this side to them?
When we arrive at my class, Levi pulls me against him by the hips and leans in to whisper in my ear. “Locker room. After practice.”
Last week, I snuck into the football team’s locker room to surprise Levi. The surprise somehow ended up with me sucking him off in the showers before he fucked me against the lockers.
I still have bruises and hickeys to prove it.
My skin throbs and heats at the mere memory of that day.
“That was a one-time thing.”
“I’m making it a multiple-times thing.” His tongue slides to the shell of my ear. “Be there, princess.”
“Or what?” I lick my lips, unable to resist the urge to push him.
There’s this sick thrill about getting under his skin.
“Or I’ll bind you again.” He pauses. “Wait. You’d like that, won’t you?”
I thin my lips in a line to keep myself from screaming hell yes.
He taps my nose twice. The gesture has become an addiction. “I’ll wait.”
Like a lovesick idiot, I watch his strong, broad back as he retreats down the halls.
He’s just too tall and well built, it’s unfair.
My own V
iking.
When I turn to get into class, someone slams their shoulder into mine on the way inside. Nicole.
She’s been extra aggressive these weeks. I usually strike back, but I don’t want to stir a big problem with her. If she tells Dad about Levi and I, things will become murkier than ever.
The only reason she’s keeping her mouth shut about my relationship with Levi is because I threatened her that her sexcapades with Christopher under Dad’s roof will come to light as well.
That kept her in line. Sort of.
She and Chloe still throw remarks my way whether in the halls or at the games when I go. I decided to tune them out as background noise.
I’m finally living my life as I always wished, and I won’t let them or anyone else ruin it for me.
With every session with Dr Edmonds, I’ve come to appreciate everything I have. I’m even coming to peace with myself that I might never recall my memories from the night of the accident and that it’s completely fine.
My memories or whatever grudge I hold don’t define me. My past doesn’t define me.
Since that resolution, I’ve been more comfortable in my skin and I even started getting my muse back. Baby steps, but it’s there.
I want to say it’s all because of the therapy, but it’s not. There’s a different type of therapy wrapped in an enigma called Levi.
Ever since I found out he’s the one who saved me that night, it’s like someone breathed fresh air into my soul. My own type of a second chance.
I’ve been given that second chance for a reason. I always thought that Levi was my bully and my tormentor, but maybe since the beginning, he was more.
I’m not naive enough to think that life with Levi is easy. It isn’t. While he doesn’t have his father’s mental illness, he has a suffocating intensity that demands everything out of me.
Whenever he offers a piece of his heart, he confiscates mine in return. I’m just hoping it won’t be broken beyond repair by the end.
We didn’t start as some sort of a meet-cute. It was bloody and gruesome and a part of me knows that Levi will never be the prince charming type. I’m completely fine with that, I always preferred the villain anyway.
I love our morning runs and our non-traditional dates. I love how he models for me just so he’d end up taking my clothes off and I’ll be the one modelling for him. In bed.
