Page 81 of Finding Noah

“Yeah, no problem.”

I popped the lid off my cup and took a sip, immediately wincing.

Levi laughed. “Tastes like shit, doesn't it?”

“I think shit would taste better,” I grumbled.

He chuckled again, a look of faraway wistfulness blanketing his face. “Your dad … believe it or not, he had a taste for the real artisanal shit. The bastard could brew a mean espresso. Best coffee I've ever had. Better than Starbucks or whatever hoity-toity shit people drink these days.”

I couldn't help but smile at that. “I have a hard time imagining him holding one of those tiny little cups, pinkie up.”

Levi nodded, taking the lid off his coffee and looking into the black, black brew. “He had his talents. Could've done something with them, if he hadn't been so hell-bent on getting himself killed.”

I swallowed as Levi took a sip. I noticed he hadn't winced the way I had. He was used to drinking this crap now, despite whatever miracles Seth had toiled over and put into his cup. That was a lifetime ago now, a distant memory, washed away by years of instant shit barely passing for coffee.

“You remember him as being a piece of shit,” Levi went on, lowering the cup to the table as he raised a finger with his other hand, “because he was. He treated your mother like a dog. No, fuck that—he would've treated a dog better. I told him to leave that girl alone, but he couldn't keep his fuckin' dick to himself.”

Suddenly, a question I'd never known to ask tugged at my tongue. “Why though? Why didn't he leave her alone?”

Levi tipped his head and groaned a sigh. “He, uh … well, initially, he had her attention. I dunno if you know this, but she agreed to go out with him. He'd done the right thing—he'd asked—and she said yes.”

I furrowed my brow. “No, I didn't know that.” Honestly, if I wasn't so sure that Levi was telling the truth, I would've accused him of lying.

He nodded. “Well, that's how it happened, but see, your mom was … she was a nice girl, and she was a kid. Fourteen or sixteen or something like that, and your dad was … well, let's say, he was too old to be taking a kid anywhere, let alone to The fuckin' Pit.”

“The Pit,” I said, recalling something Dad had said. “That was where you guys went to sell to high-school kids.”

Again, Levi nodded. “Kids went there to get high and to fuck, and we were there to give them what they needed to get the job done. Your mom though … she didn't belong there, and she knew that the moment she stepped into the thick of it. She wanted to leave, your dad told her to hang around for a little, he started getting handsy, she screamed … it was a whole thing, man, and Soldier …” He laughed then, like he was recalling the good old days. “That bastard and his fuckin' hero complex, man. He came running to save the little damsel in distress.”

I couldn't help myself; I smiled.

Why hadn't I heard this story before?

Why hadn't they told me?

“So, that's how Dad met Mom,” I uttered, wonder in my voice and a stupid grin on my face.

“That's how Soldier met Rain,” Levi confirmed, nodding. “But Seth … Seth hated Soldier. You know that much, right?”

I nodded.

“And after Soldier took the girl home, Seth swore up and down that he was gonna get back at him. He was gonna show him. So, a couple of weeks later, he went to your mom's house when her parents weren't home, and he took what he wanted.”

The thought of it … the thought of Mom, being so young and alone …

I hung my head, envisioning the way it must've happened after bearing witness to it so many times in my younger years.

Hearing her scream, her cries, her pleas for him to stop, to go away …

“He tried to do the right thing after that,” Levi said quietly, respecting the pain I was feeling. “He found out he’d knocked her up, and he tried to be the good guy she deserved.”

“Didn't try very hard,” I muttered.

“No,” he agreed. “And, listen, it's not an excuse, but … your old man … he had a real shitty beginning. His father killed his mother before offing himself. He came to live with us when he was a kid. So much of his life was out of his control, and I'm just guessing here, but I think … he enjoyed the power he had over your mom. He liked that he could just go and take whatever he wanted from her, whenever he wanted it. It was a sure thing, and it was easy.”

“He made our lives a living hell.”

“I have no doubt about that,” he said, lifting his cup again to his lips. “And you have my deepest condolences, kiddo. You were the most innocent victim in all this bullshit. Your mom … no offense to her or anything, but … she could've called the cops, told her daddy or something, but—”