Levi’s Secret – Chapter 5

“She went in Axky. She went in alone—” said Paula frantically into the phone after she’d parked by Mrs. Harbody’s house.

“Uncle Axky, there were plenty of teenage boys and they were scary.” provided Jason.

“They puked on your car.” said Gary smugly.

That got Axky to respond pretty quick.

“What?” he said finally. “Did you see which one attempted to destroy my car? I need him to clean up his own mess when he is sober. But then again, my poor car will have to wait that long to get clean. Maybe Kyle has a hose? But then again that kid who threw up needs a lesson on the importance of controlled drinking. Also that beer doesn’t go with everything.”

“Axky?” said Paula her voice dangerously low. “Our daughter is in that hell hole alone. So help me God, please worry about her first.”

“Oh of course honey.” said Axky sounding mollified. “I’m pretty close by actually. I have cctv footage of the party. You can drop the boy’s off at Kyle’s house and come over to house number 15 in the same street as the party. I’ve set up base here. Oh and Jack and Brielle are here with me.”

“Mom’s here!” exclaimed Gary. “Shit.”

“language Gary!” reprimanded Paula.

“Um Aunt Paula, we’re good here. We’ll just stay with Kyle okay? Maybe even sleepover. Or stay the full week.” said Jason as he and Gary darted out of the car and made to head to Mrs. Harbody’s house.

“Why? What did you do this time?” wondered Paula as she followed them out.

Axky’s laughter rang through his ears.

“Those little devils filled every lighbulb in the house with hydrogen sulphide pellets. So when Brielle switched on the lights this evening the house pretty much smelt like shit.” He said merrily.

It was times like these that Paula was truly glad she had a calm and sensible daughter.

“So Ms. Smelly Cat and her harried looking husband are here with me. Anywhere is better than their house right now.”

Paula laughed. How Axky came up with new nicknames everyday was beyond her.

“Well Brielle is a chemistry professor after all. It figures that Gary and and Jason would find some chemicals to mess around with.” she said as the boys waved from Kyle’s balcony.

She got back in the car and hurried along to meet her husband and their closest friends.

***

A popular rap song blared through the open doors and windows as Vicky approached. She couldn’t believe it. Levi was there. He was literally only a set of stairs away.

She was finally here.

All of a sudden she felt insanely brave and confident. She threw aside her fear of closed gatherings, her detestation of alcohol and cigarettes, her phobia of socializing and who knew what else and barged right in through the front door.

And then in one single second she lost it all.

Teenagers were sprawled all over the house. Couples hung about by the sofa and the corners eagerly making out, while others chugged down ample cans of beer and glasses of a questionable variety of punch.

Open pizza boxes were scattered over what appeared to be a vintage dining table. Vicky internally winced at the sight of a girl wearing what appeared to be a bikini top and a mini skirt throwing up on the leather couch.

Vicky searched for the stairs leading up to the balcony as she walked deeper into the party. She tried not to lose sight of her goal, but her surroundings were very distracting.

A few boys and girls eyed her, taking in her entire appearance. The lip piercing guy from earlier, David, she recalled as his name, was back inside and winking at her.

She turned away quickly, spotting the almost hidden wooden staircase beside what appeared to be a meeting room. She was about to climb it, when someone caught hold of her arm and pulled her backwards, landing her flush against a hard chest.

She spun around instinctively, folding her hands into a punch, fear pulsating in her veins. Her eyes latched onto the person holding her arm, surprise cascading through her body.

It was Samthon Cross, Levi’s neighbour. He probably didn’t know it, but Vicky knew more about those two boys than they probably did about themselves.

So why was he pulling her back again?

“Um sorry about that.” said Samthon, blushing furiously as he rubbed the back of his neck. “You can’t go up there.”

Vicky’s heart beat sped up and her tongue seemed to have stuck itself onto the roof of her mouth. Because even if Samthon Cross wasn’t her crush, he was still a boy, a good looking one at that, with blue eyes and light blonde hair…damn it, her nervousness was already kicking in.

“Why- why- why-why not?” she forced out, her stammer coming out more like a shout over the din.

“Well, my friend is up there and he asked me to keep people out of the top floor for a while.” said Samthon glancing at the staircase meaningfully. Vicky didn’t understand his action.

“Let-let-let go-go.” she said pointing to his grip on her arm. He released her immediately and stepped back as though singed.

“I’m sorry, I , I didn’t hurt you did I?” he asked rubbing the back of his neck, blushing again. He was kind of cute when he did that.

And Vicky continued to have difficulty speaking.

“Um-um-um I I  oh God I-want-to-speak-to-your-friend.” she coaxed out, the words coming out in a rush as she let loose a breath she’d been holding.

Samthon gaped with undisguised shock.

“Excuse me?” he asked sounding perplexed. “You want to speak to him? When you can speak to me?”

He had the audacity to look incredulous as he said it. Vicky shook her head at his immodesty. Yes, Samthon was probably the better looking one when compared to Levi, but it wasn’t thoughts about Samthon that tugged at her heartstrings when she was alone.

A drunken couple inched closer to the staircase just then, no doubt interested in doing the dirty upstairs. But yet again, Samthon caught the guy and the girl with both his hands and dragged them backwards.

“What’s up Samthon?” slurred the shirtless, long haired guy after he unwrapped himself from his scantily clad partner.

“There’s a better room in here,” said Samthon gesturing towards a door inside the meeting room. “Less distractions.” he added with a wink.

Vicky looked at her feet, unsure of what to do. Samthon seemed to be stopping everyone from going upstairs—not just her. What was Levi doing up there anyway that he was being so secretive about?

The shirtless dude smiled and his companion squealed. “Let’s go!” she said happily.

“For a minute there I thought you were cock-blocking me man.” said the guy before going to find the room Samthon suggested.

As soon as they were gone, Samthon gave a sigh of relief. It wasn’t easy warding people off like this at a party when everyone wanted to find a corner for themselves.

He turned towards Vicky, shocked to see her still there. “What?” he asked. “Why do you need to speak to him? Look, I’m his best friend, I can take a message for him okay? Tell me what—“

“No.” said Vicky feeling very hot all of a sudden as some kind of smoke drifted over to her nostrils.

“Shit.” said Samthon closing his eyes and rubbing his temples in with exasperation. “They burned the brownies.”

“B-brownies?” repeated Vicky looking around. She knew what that meant—she wasn’t going to have any.

“Yes, look, whatever your name is, just wait here okay? Don’t go upstairs please, Levi will be down in a few minutes anyway. Ask him why I made you wait when he does okay? Till then keep people from going upstairs. See ya.” he said running his hands through his fair hair and darting off.

“Wait—” she called out, but Samthon was gone.

Vicky was resisted the temptation to climb up the stairs and instead sat at the foot comtemplating her next move. What if Levi was up there with a girl? What if he had a girlfriend and Samthon was just being a good friend and looking out for him?

Vicky wasn’t sure if she was ready to see him with someone else. Her research had indicated that he was single, but as she had seen tonight, being single didn’t mean you couldn’t hook up for the night.

So far she’d witnessed hook ups, people throwing up, dancing like crazy, getting drunk and high on brownies. She glanced at her watch, suddenly tired.

She was completely out of her element here, and the level of speech incoherence she had displayed to Samthon was embarrassing. She only hoped he wouldn’t tell anyone else, otherwise she would be a laughing stock at school next week.

She got ready to get up, when she heard footsteps behind her. Anticipation coursed through her bloodstream like liquid electricity, charging up her very soul as she turned to face the person she most craved to see.

And there he was. Mouth slightly open, dark hair messed up with the wind, curling slightly at the ends, a hint of a dimple blurred by confusion etched on his black eyes.

Vicky smiled slowly, unable to say a word but fully aware that her body was going to betray her any minute.

She knew she was going to stammer again. She was already shaking with nervousness, sweat was forming droplets on her forehead and her knees were about to give away. She felt a rising panic start from the pit of her stomach and emanate everywhere.

The room was too small, it was closing in on her. The smell of alcohol was too strong, she suddenly wanted to puke, she was suddenly cold, shivering for reasons she couldn’t comprehend, and she wanted to fall unconscious, to close her eyes and disappear, but she also wanted to keep staring, keep looking at the person who was making her feel this way.

“Are you okay?” he asked, a rich voice cutting through everything going on with her and bringing them to a halt.

“No.” she said simply as she held tightly onto the railing. “I am going to faint.”

Her heart beat turned sluggish and her head started to spin. Her heels slipped on the second stair and she started to fall backwards, relieved that she would feel the pain only when she woke up.

She didn’t know then, but he never let her fall.

***

A/N: I’m so sorry for the late update.

Work has been very demanding this week, but yay for the weekend.

So Vicky and Levi finally meet. I know I’m dragging this out…but trust me the anticipation is worth it.

To make up for such a late update I’ll have the next chapter up quicker. 🙂

Thanks for reading! Do leave a comment letting me know your thoughts and/or a vote. You really brighten up my day 🙂

Lots of love,

Andy

Next -> Read Chapter 6 here! (link will be live soon)

Go Back <- Read Chapter 4