Flowers, Fame and Unforeseen Facades

Chapter 23

Oak:Strength
❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁
Zoe's POV

I looked up at him, my eyes asking him if he was sure. And when he nodded, I knew. I knew that he was ready, and he wanted to tell me. Maybe he didn't want to, and just felt the need to for some personal reason, but I just wanted him to do as he wanted.

 The sadness that I would see etched on his features way too often was a clear sign of his brokenness, and I wanted nothing more than to be there for him. To hold him in my arms when he cried, and to provide some comfort to him that he clearly didn't have.So, I made a soft, encouraging smile appear on my face, trying to make him more comfortable. 

He looked into my eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "My parents divorced when I was 15. I lived with my biological mother, and only rarely visited my father. Over time, we grew distant. But, he found Celine. He married her, and for some reason, he thought that that was the perfect time to act like he was my father again. Unfortunately, mom still loved him, and she was devastated. But she said nothing. I refused all of my fathers requests to join him for dinner, and any other things that he would offer me, clearly for bribing me into acting like the perfect son."

He closed his eyes, and his head bowed down. My heart started beating faster, his actions telling me that he was about to tell me the thing that was the most difficult to communicate. I squeezed his hand lightly, trying my level best to reassure him. 

"She died. Mom died. The doctors say that she had a heart attack, but I'm sure that it was because of heartache. She was the most strong, beautiful and talented person I knew. But she died. All because of her! All because of Celine! If my dad did not find her, Mom wouldn't be heartbroken. She would still be alive."

As he told me everything, my eyes widened, and my jaw dropped. The poor guy had been through so much, yet he still came off as sweet, and kindhearted. He was looking towards his lap, and my first instinct was to pull his head up so that I could comfort him. Once his eyes were staring straight into mine, I saw the tears in them, making his eyes look even clearer than before. 

A lone tear dropped out of the side of his eye, making it's way down to his cheek. My heart broke at the sight, and I instantly enveloped him in my arms. His own wound around me, and he softly sniffled on my shoulder.

As I patted his back, I thought deeply into what he had just said to me. Really deeply. I completely understood where Levi was coming from. Losing your parents was something that I wasn't new to, but to lose one because of such a severe reason was horrible. 

I continued to hold him, rocking him back and forth. The fact that he wasn't afraid to cry was something that I really admired. Unfortunately, men's toxic masculinity forces them to show no emotions. The fact that Levi wasn't a cry baby, but was able to cry when he needed to was something that I really admired.

Once the sniffling stopped, I looked at him, and said, " Levi, can I say something? But if I do, please don't hate on me. Just think about it deeply, and whatever your answer will be, after you're done thinking about it, I will respect it. Is that okay?" 

He nodded, his eyes showing confusion. I thought about my next words carefully, and tried to say them in the best way possible.

"Listen, Levi, I understand where you're coming from, but if I think about it, Celine isn't at fault anywhere in this entire situation. She was just dragged into the entire mess by your father. From what you've told me, she hasn't done anything wrong, and wasn't mean to you or your mother. In fact, she seems to care about you a lot. She seems like a nice soul who wants nothing but to call you her son. But you're not letting her do that." My voice was as gentle as I could make it. 

I was trying my level best to make him understand, and not lash out on me. As I looked at him, his jaw was clearly set. But he closed his eyes took a deep breath, and nodded his head. Oh god, I didn't hurt him, did I? He smiled at me, but it was clearly forced. Oh no, I did hurt him!

"I'll think about it Zoe.", he murmured. 

I decided to get up, because my butt was starting to get sore from sitting on that tiny stool for so long. I grabbed Harley, and Levi grabbed Jacob, both of us hauling them to the car, and putting them in the backseat. And let me tell you, it was not an easy job. Harley weighed a ton, and with the constant discussion of the apparent flying pigs around us, I had a hard time not slapping her to consciousness. Thankfully, I didn't do anything too severe. Levi got in the front seat, putting his belt on. Unfortunately, he was drunk. Albeit slightly, but he was. So I had to drive.

The sun was setting, and the sky was painted in beautiful shades of pink, golden and red, making me stare at it in awe. But I had to stop gawking to start driving, and thankfully, we were able to get home without Harley and Jacob jumping out of the window to say "Hi" to the flying pigs. The four of us got in the elevator, me hauling Harley, and Levi carrying Jacob like a three year old. It was the weirdest thing that I'd ever seen, but the situation didn't allow me to say anything.

The two of us took the intoxicated one's up to their apartment, lugged them inside, and got out of there faster than fast, trying to prevent ourselves from seeing a live make out session. As we went back in the elevator, I could clearly see the angry expression on Levi's face. Oh no! He was still angry over the advice that I had given him!

Well, this was going to be interesting.

Doneee! I don't even need to mention the cliffhangers anymore. XD Anyway, if you liked the chapter, make sure to comment, vote and share! Thank you so much for reading! Love you guys! Peace out!