𝐈𝐃𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐙𝐄 (yandere x reader)

➢ CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1996

(Y/N) awoke to the worst headache she'd ever experienced.

The light in the room, though dim, felt blinding. With a groan, she buried her head back into the strange source of warmth beside her, and felt it ease the pounding in her head a little. But then she heard a soft chuckle, and realized the warmth beside her was a person.

She jumped back and opened her eyes──  and groaned in pain as the light flood her pained senses.

"Let me get you an Advil or something for that head, yeah?" Lev said quietly, and shifted to get out of bed.

It was only then that she realized she wasn't in her own home.

"Holy fuck..." She muttered. "How much did I drink last night...?"

When Lev returned with the medicine, she gladly accepted it. Anything to make the headache go away. "Thanks," she said, looking up at him slowly.

He smiled softly──  a beautiful smile, really. It wasn't fair. How was she supposed to keep her distance when he was just so pretty.

But then it occurred to her: she woke up in his bed. How much did she have to drink? She didn't really remember anything after the first bottle. Anything could've happened. Avoiding his gaze, she addressed her very present concerns. "Last night──  we didn't... did we?"

Lev's eyes widened. "No, no!" He answered quickly. "I would never take advantage of you when you're like that!"

(Y/N) nodded slowly. That was a relief.

"Um, I did want to talk about last night," he said, taking a seat next to her on the bed.

"As long as you're not too loud," she half-joked.

He smiled... but the smile slowly faded, as he grew serious. "What... What happened?"

Trying to keep up the lighthearted nature──  anything to distract from the horrible reality of last night──  she laughed. "What do you mean?"

"(Y/N)..." Lev sighed. "You know what I mean." He ran a hand through his white hair. "You──  You were wasted last night, and you never drink. And you were talking about getting fired and──  and something about a hospital." He shook his head. "I'm worried, (Y/N). About you."

Silently cursing her drunk self for not being able to keep her mouth shut, she scrambled to think of a good enough lie that'd explain it away. "Uh, my mom... slipped and fell..." Not a great start, but she had to stick with it now. "She bruised her tailbone, or──  or something." Apparently being hungover made her lying skills way worse. "So they're keeping her overnight, just to keep an eye on her."

"(Y/N)..."

Seeing Lev's obvious skepticism, she quickly moved on. "And about the fired thing, it's really no big deal. I'll just... find another job." She put on a smile. "No big deal. I didn't like my boss anyway."

"If that's true, why were you so upset?" Lev questioned.

"I wasn't upset──"

"(Y/N)," he cut her off. "Stop lying. Please. Just tell me what's going on."

She readied herself to come up with another lie, but... she made eye contact with Lev. Maybe it's because she was hungover, or maybe she was just too upset from last night. Regardless, she felt her defenses crumble.

"Um..." She raked a hand through her hair, unsure of how much to say or where to start. "My... My mom's bipolar. Like, literally, she was diagnosed when I was a kid. But she refused treatment, and um... it makes her kinda──  kinda unstable sometimes...?" God, this was so hard to talk about. Especially when Lev kept looking at her like that. So supportive, so loving, but so full of pity. "Anyway, we got into a fight Wednesday, and she... kicked me out for a bit." She met his gaze, briefly, before looking away again. "That's why I showed up at your place. I... I didn't have anywhere else to go." She blinked back tears. "But I came back, last night, after I got fired. And she── she felt really, um, really guilty. And I said all the wrong things, because I was tired and distracted and upset and───" The tears were harder to suppress this time. Much harder. "And she tried to kill herself."

"(Y/N)..." He said. "I am so, so sorry."

She sniffled, quickly wiped the tears away. She hated talking about this stuff, but now that she had... well, she didn't know what to do. It felt awkward and uncomfortable. She almost wished she didn't say anything, but the logical side of her knew she couldn't keep this up forever.

"I had no idea," Lev continued. "But I do now. And I can help you."

(Y/N) scoffed bitterly. "No, you can't."

"I can," he insisted. "You can stay with me. Just for a little while, if that's all you want."

"No, I──  I can't."

"You can."

"No." She shook her head. "I have to be there for my mom, and──"

"(Y/N), that is not your responsibility," Lev interrupted. "Your mom needs... help. But that help can't just be you. You're her kid. It's her job to take care of you, not the other way around." Clearly there was a look of doubt on her face, because he continued. "(Y/N), what happened is not your fault."

(Y/N) didn't believe him. Didn't believe any of it. But she chose to change the subject, rather than argue. "She can't live alone. When she's released from the hospital, she's gonna need someone there. She doesn't have anybody else. She needs me."

"Okay," Lev sighed. "Okay, you're right. So just... live with me until she gets out of the hospital." His voice was so gentle. "I don't think you should be alone right now."

She considered it for a moment. She'd always hated relying on others, but... Lev was right.

"Okay," she said.

"Okay?"

(Y/N) nodded. "Okay," she repeated. "I'll stay here for a few days."

It would be the first of many compromises that led to her downfall.