Half of My Heart ✔️

49 | deep brown eyes

I speed the Mustang through the empty streets, narrowly dodging a few students who look like they're on the way to some party. I see one of them fling their arms up in annoyance at me, but the adrenaline coursing through me makes it difficult for me to pay them much attention. I have my focus set on my destination and the person I need to talk to right now.

Levi opens the door a few seconds after I knock, and I'm surprised when his signature easy smile graces his face. "Here to apologize?" he asks.

"I need to talk to you," I say bluntly.

"I'm actually heading out right now," he says without even hearing me out. "How about you wait here and I'll take you to dinner afterward." And I'm stunned by his demeanor. As if our conversation earlier today never even happened.

I think back to all the times Levi burst into my room unannounced, and a bit of red-hot anger fizzles to the surface of my emotions. "Let me rephrase that. I need to talk to you now. I don't care where you have to be," I say, firmer this time.

His eyebrows draw together, surprised by my tone. Then an annoyed look rises through the cracks of his laid-back demeanor. "Is this about your little research?" he asks. "Because I'm pretty sure you've already found all there is to know. Now if you'll excuse me—"

I refuse to move out of the way. "You're right, this is about my research. Now I know exactly why you were so angry about me looking you up," I reveal. "How long were you planning to wait before telling me about your brother?"

He scoffs, and the easy smile is totally gone now. "That my brother died? This again? I don't know Scarlett, how long do you think it takes someone to mourn the death of their only sibling?" He's choosing to play dumb, acting like his brother's death is the only surprising thing about his past. I stare into his eyes for a second, realizing that he has no intention of telling me just how deep his brother's death goes.

I wonder how many more times I'll have to stand in front of someone as they lie straight to my face.

All his talk about cutting off people who keep things from me, and here he is, acting like he cares about me while keeping this huge secret buried. "I can't believe this," I say almost too quietly for him to hear. "You're impossible."

I'm not gonna waste my time trying to pry the truth out of him when he's obviously content to build a relationship on mistrust and lies, so I turn to leave. Just before I can take a step toward the staircase, his hand reaches out and grabs my arm, jerking me back.

"Scarlett, listen," he says, forcing me to turn toward him. "Are you really gonna make me the bad guy for something you learned on the internet? What I did before you doesn't matter. My brother doesn't matter when it comes to us."

"This isn't just about your brother, Levi," I exclaim, wrenching my arm from his grasp. "This is about you being arrested for his murder. I thought we agreed on no secrets between us. How long were you going to wait before telling me that you were under investigation for his death?"

I watch as his Adam's Apple moves with his swallow. "I was never charged for anything," is all he says. I want to scream. There are a million other things I want to ask him, and looking into his hardened eyes only makes it more difficult for me to organize my thoughts.

"That's not the point," I say, frustrated with this conversation. "The investigation, the evidence against you, the authorities dropping the case for no reason. Or the fact that you're apparently from South Dakota, not Virginia. None of it makes any sense, and you're not helping at all. Why won't you just tell me the truth?"

"I don't know what you want from me," he says, raising his voice. Then he steps outside with me, closing his front door behind him, as if the thin wooden door will muffle the sound of his yelling.