I’M A BRAT AND I’M IN LOVE
(No more broken hearts ??)
Chapter 23
(The realization of love??… I didn’t meet you by coincidence)
Levi stared at the framed picture of he and Rika at her graduation. Even until now, he still hadn’t figured out a good place to keep it. It had been several months now since he had last seen her in person, and their video calls had reduced drastically because they were both busy. The serial rapist case had finally been wrapped up, and both Daniel Fuhrer and Alex Mayer were convicted and given life sentences.
He sighed at he stared at Rika’s smiling form. He would be lying to no one but himself if he said he didn’t miss her. Her absence had given him a lot of time to think.
Their paths were so different. She was just starting her life, and he had already gone at least one third into his. She had so much more of her life to live, and he was sure that she would be away from him much more than this in the future.
He knew all this. It wasn’t a problem.
Yet he was, missing her like a teenage boy.
He sighed, and his phone rang. He glanced at the caller and picked it quickly.
“Oh…hey Rika.” He said softly. He had gotten a little too excited just now.
“Levi,” her voice boomed out of the phone quietly. “Could you come pick me up?” She asked. His eyes widened. “Are you here? I thought you said you were coming home a week from now.” He said, and heard her sigh.
“I just decided to come home earlier. No one knows I’m here though, so let’s keep this between us. I’m at Palmview Hotel, near the airport.”
Levi began to grab his coat and car keys.
“Did you just arrive?” He asked.
“Yeah, about two hours ago.” She responded.
Something was wrong. Her voice sounded shaky, and it lacked life.
“Okay. I’m on my way.” He said and hung up.
As he dashed out of his apartment, one thought rang through his head.
Maybe he was selfish after all.
????
It didn’t take long for him to get to the hotel, where he spotted her sitting by herself with a bag on her laps.
The yearning he felt when he laid eyes on her surprised him. She spotted him too, and smiling, grabbed her bag and began to walk up to him.
He had always been in conflict with himself over whether his feelings for her were r0mantic. Well, now he was sure they were.
How was he so sure?
Because as he watched this beautiful blonde girl bound up to him, eyes full of a mystery he could never decipher, with a smile so alluring that hw wanted to keep it on her face at all times, he wanted nothing more than to pull her close to him and kss her senseless.
She finally reached him, panting slightly, and he popped the trunk so she could put her bag in.
“So why did you go all ninja mode on me? Don’t want your parents to know you’re home?” He asked as they both got into his car. Rika chuckled awkwardly. “Something like that. ” She mumbled as she fixed her seatbelt. She took a deep breath.
“Mmm. I’m loving your new ride.” She said with a small smile.
Levi began driving. “Well, I figured I’d go all out since my last car was destroyed in a bomb blast you know,” he responded teasingly and she chuckled. There was a short silence.
“So, where am I taking you?” He asked softly.
“Um….for now take me to your place. I’ll go and stay with Hunter tomorrow. And no, I don’t plan on spending the night at your house.”
Levi rose an eyebrow, musing on her words.
“Alright.” He said in agreement.
As they drove, he took stole glances at her whenever they stopped at a traffic light. She hadn’t changed much since he had seen her last. She seemed thinner though, and he guessed that must be from the stress of school.
But…there was something else. Something was bothering her, and weighing heavily on her mind. His brows creased with worry.
Whatever the reason was, he was sure it had something to do with her coming home a week early.
After they arrived at his house, he made some food for her to eat, and then she settled down to watch some TV while he did the dishes. When he came out of the kitchen, he met her standing over his desk, holding something in her hands. He went to peek over her shoulders. It was the framed picture he had left on his desk when he had rushed out. She turned back to him, startled.
Had she been….. crying?
“Oh, you’re done.” She said weakly, sniffling. Levi stared at her sternly.
“What’s going on Rika?” He asked.
She looked up at him, her eyes full of an emotion she couldn’t put into words. “What….what do you mean?” She choked out, further increasing his suspicions.
“You’ve been acting off since I spoke to you on the phone.”
She smiled. “I’ve….. just missed you alot, that’s all. And I…..wanted to see you at least…..” She trailed off, her voice breaking. Levi stared at her, unsure of what to do. She rose her eyes back to his. They were full of tears. She grabbed his shirt and rested her head in his chest.
“I’m…..just so tired Levi. I….tried so hard to get away. But I was delusional. I thought I could run away. But now, I might just end up loosing you because of my stupidity. I don’t want to get you involved anymore, but I don’t want to lose you either. Unfortunately….I can’t have both.” She muttered, sobbing on his shirt.
Levi had no idea what was going on, but he wrapped his hands around her and held her close, the feeling giving him more comfort than he expected. “What happened to the person that told me it’s okay to be selfish for your own happiness?” He asked, and her body shook with tears.
“I can’t be selfish when it comes to you. I’d rather give up my happiness for yours. This….this is the only way I can protect you.” She said quietly.
Levi pulled her away from him and faced her.
“And what makes you think I’d be happy without you?” He asked bluntly, staring at her tearstained face. She gasped weakly, not knowing what to say.
He sighed, and pulled her back into his arms. She continued sobbing, and when she had tired herself out, he led her to the settee and laid her on it. She was already dozing. He sat on the floor beside her, staring at her staring form.
She was hurting, and she didn’t want to tell him why.
There was nothing he could do for her.
Why? What was she hiding? What could be causing her thus much pain?
He rose his calloused hands to her soft face, and slowly tucked a strand of her hair behind her ears.
He didn’t deserve her. And he had no right to act on his feelings.
But…. could he really just stay friends with her? He sighed.
Rika Sato had come into his life, and contrary to his earlier conclusion, she had confused it in the most amazing of ways.
????
When Levi opened his eyes some hours later, he wasn’t surprised that he had fallen asleep beside her. Her presence was enough comfort to drive away his demons and insomnia. She might not know, but she protected him much more than she thought.
He stood up and looked around, noticing that she was no longer in the apartment.
Did she leave already?
He walked over to his desk and his eyes caught something that hadn’t been there before beside their framed picture. It was a copy of that Rika’s favorite storybook; the one about the princess in the glass castle. She must have left it there.
Odd.
She had said she didn’t remember the book.
He flipped it open. There was something scribbled on the front page.
‘The story I told you thirteen years ago wasn’t the full story. I’m sorry.’
He read the words, wondering what Rika must have meant by them. He began to read through the book. It was just as he had remembered, the princess not allowing princes into her glass castle, the injured prince opening her eyes to her loneliness, and the princess breaking her beautiful glass castle which had ended up being her prison.
However, as he turned the last page, there was something else scribbled on it. It looked older than what had been written in the first page, but it was in the same handwriting.
As Levi read through the words, his heart sank, and his mind shut down. Tears began to clog his eyelids, which had been dry for so long. The book dropped from his hands, as he grabbed his coat and dashed out of the house.
The storybook lay open on the ground, and on it were the words of a poem. It read:
‘The lost smile.’
The little girl was radiant, and the fairest of all.
Long was her hair, and deep were her smiles.
Her mommy loved her, and so did her daddy,
As she smiled everyday.
‘Your smile is what makes me love you.’ Her mommy would say.
And so the little girl would smile everyday.
But daddy loved her the most, as he always told her.
Giving her presents and toys and love unprecedented.
‘Daddy loves you.’ He would say, as he kssed her on the head.
‘Daddy loves you.’ He would say as he smelt her beautiful hair.
‘Daddy loves you.’ He would say as he took 0ff her cl0thes,
‘Daddy loves you.’ He would say as he hurt her, and she b.led, her innocence forever lost.
This her daddy did day by day, and no one knew, until the little girl stopped smiling, and never smiled again.’
?????
Written by Authoress Covenant.
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