Winter Air [H.S.]

Twenty-Nine

There he was sitting with his greasy black hair pulled back in a baseball cap. His t-shirt was ripped and he looked like he was scratching his neck nervously. Harry couldn't help but wonder how they were friends. If it hadn't been for Delaine, he probably wouldn't have found himself being friends with someone like Levi. He was an addict and an alcoholic - two things that Harry tried to stay away from. It was a lifestyle that he never wanted to find himself wrapped up in again. He was sober since he moved to Vancouver. He hadn’t touched a cigarette or even drank profusely since the move. That was his old lifestyle. He didn’t want to be reminded of it anymore. Yet here he was staring his past in the face. How he was friends with someone that was so wrapped in a world of drugs and partying seems foreign to him now. How even fell hopelessly in love with his cousin is an even bigger mystery.

His pace was slow. The uneasy feeling that was in the pit of his stomach would not settle. He didn't know why he was here, and why he was here now. This was his past, and he wanted to keep it there. He was moving on with his life, with a quirky brunette that loved tea and books. 

Up close, Levi was in a more rough shape than he thought. The skin on his hands were scarred and his eyes looked bloodshot; either from the drugs or the jet lag (he would soon find out). How he managed to get through security in this state was a mystery.

"Levi." His tone was short. Yet that didn't stop the genuine smile from plastering to Levi's face. He scrambled to his fee, making sure he didn't lose his balance, and engulfed Harry in tight embrace. 

"Harry!" His accent was strong and his voice was rough. It was clear that he had a few too many cigarettes in his short time span. "Ya look good mate! Canada has done ya well, ay." 

"Yeah, it's been good."  Harry sat back down on the bench with Levi following him. "Are you well?"

"Yeah mate. Been sober for a year now. It's been rough, but I'm trying. You?” 

“I haven’t touched a cigarette since I moved here.” 

“Good on ya!”

Harry gave him a nod and studied his face. He wasn't twitching or showing any other sides of using. He believed him. "Why are you here, Levi?" 

Levi scratched the back of his neck once again. He was nervous. That was clear. He grabbed his backpack and pulled out a small box. It was familiar. It was the box that Delaine would store all of her precious notes and valuables in. 

"I was cleaning up and found this." 

"Delaine's box."

"Yeah." He pulled it open and took out a small envelope. "I was gon'a send it to ya with the letter, but I had to check it out first. Make sure it was creditable. Ya know how she was. Always lyin' and pullin' shit. I didn’t want to give this to you unless I knew that it was for real."

Harry knew quite well how non creditable she could be. That was just one of the qualities that he found attractive. She kept him on his toes. He shook his head at the thought.

"Well? What is it?"

"Open it up. This is somethin' you need to read for yer'self."  

Opening up the envelope a piece of paper was folded around a picture.

No. "You're messing with me right?" 

"I'm sorry mate."

In his hands was a sonogram of a two month old fetus. His fetus. It was dated a month before she was killed. "You're telling me that I was going to be a father?! She fucking hid this from me? This must be a fucking joke." He was in rage. He could feel his face heat up and his hands began to shake.