AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ve moved on.” I open my bedroom door. “I’m going to Levi’s tonight. I’ll see you Tuesday.”
“Fine, but we’re not done with this conversation.”
I gently pat her shoulder. “You don’t need to worry, Mom. I promise.”
She stops tapping her foot. “If you say so,” she says and kisses my cheek. “Have fun Monday. I’ll be watching on TV.”
I close the door and pop a Xanax from the bathroom, then shove the bottle into my bag for tomorrow’s away game. I have to get out of this house and take care of the Derek problem. I text Levi that we have an issue and that I’ll be at his dorm in under twenty minutes.
After a quick shower, I’m out the door and to my Jeep in the garage with my bags. Ten minutes later, I’m parking on the street outside of the dorms and walking up to Levi’s room.
The reality of the evening is starting to settle in like spoiled dinner. I’ve made a huge mistake. Levi answers the door wearing pajama bottoms and no shirt. He hands me a soda before plopping down on his gaming chair. His parents paid extra to have no roommate. At least, that’s what he claims. I know better than anyone that living with Levi is a nightmare. I kick an old pizza box out of the doorway on my way to stand between him and the loading screen for his game.
“What, dude?” he grumbles, backing out of the lobby.
“I’ve made a serious mistake…and I need your help.” Cold sweat creeps down my hairline.
His eyes widen as he sets his soda down on the floor next to a pile of his clothes.
“Shit. Is Taylor pregnant?”
I shove him and he falls backwards out of his chair. He hobbles up in a daze, his eyes wild.
“No, man,” I say, feeling like I’m going to throw up. “Way worse. We need to go, like now.”
He throws on a shirt and slides. “We have a game tomorrow. What do you mean go?”
“I threw a guy through a window, and I need to see if he’s dead.”
Levi’s jaw drops. “Whoa, dead?”
“I’ll explain in the car,” I say, tossing him a hoodie. “Let’s go.”
Levi hops into the passenger seat, and I drive us to old downtown on Second Street. I slow down as we pass the scene, seeing the shattered storefront but no Derek and no police. Levi squints out the window, rolling it down to see better. When we both determine that nobody is near, we get out of the car to investigate.
“You sure he was right here?” Levi asks, kicking the shards of glass on the sidewalk.
I shine my flashlight into the shop to see a small pool of blood but no Derek. I can’t decide whether I should be relieved or scared. No Derek could mean he got up and walked away just fine. And no cops means, well, he didn’t call the cops?
“Maybe he got up and left. He realized he shouldn’t be trying to rape women, and you throwing him through a window really woke him up to a better lifestyle,” Levi says.
Levi’s the only guy I could trust with this. With his women’s studies classes, he probably would have tried to murder Derek himself if he had seen what I saw. The way he pressed himself onto her and threw her to the ground. The way her body crumpled into the sidewalk. I grind my teeth.
“Maybe it’s for the best you two just call it even and hope he doesn’t press charges. If he was drunk and hurting a girl, then I doubt he’d have a solid case anyway,” Levi adds. He comes up to me and pats my back. “She’s safe, and he’s not dead. Best case scenario, right?”
But why do I suddenly wish I found his mangled body lifeless on the floor? Why do I wish that I had killed him? I know that would mean an investigation that could lead to me eventually. And even if I’m found not guilty, I’d still be off the team.
Levi drives us back to his place and helps me set up a bed on the floor. I’m a nervous wreck as I fall asleep. I haven’t felt this way in a long time. A very long time.
15
ELIJAH HAYES
10 years earlier
It’s a clear summer day as I sit in front of the TV. Mom’s upstairs running around frantically. I can hear her shuffling back and forth, back and forth. Over and over again. My dog, Jax, is on my lap, barking at the screen as if he knows what he sees. I wonder if he could ever experience an unfathomable loss like this or if, in the morning, he will wake up like he always does and beg for food. Why couldn’t I have been born a stupid, brainless dog?
The news reports about a plane crash. That’s all I heard before Mom fell to her knees as if someone shoved her to the ground, pinning her neck down with a forceful hand. Her wails echo from upstairs; she thinks she’s hiding it from me, but these walls are thin.
