by Claire Adams
“Excuse me,” the man behind him said.
Levi didn’t appear to hear him. A smile broke out onto his face. “Well, I’ll be,” he said.
“Could you get the hell out of the way?” the man said. Levi turned and looked at the man, who must’ve recognized him as Alex Bassett’s son, because he flinched and all the color drained from his face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was you,” he mumbled. “I’m late for a meeting.” He skirted around Levi and scurried inside.
Levi had that effect on people, even lawyers who were twice his age. He still looked as handsome as I remembered him, and part of me wanted to hug him, but another part of me just wanted to run the other direction. Levi had been both kind to me and incredibly cruel. When Mom and I first moved in, he’d been welcoming and showed me around. The place was massive, and it was easy to get lost; more than once I’d end up in a different room than the one I was looking for. One night, I was sitting in the living room (there were two of them, plus a more casually-appointed family room), trying to figure out how to get the TV to turn on. Well, the TV was on, but it was just a blue screen, and I was panicking, thinking I’d broken it somehow, because I’d knocked the remote onto the floor. Levi sat down on the couch next to me, showed me the right button to push to get the channels to come on. The Shining was playing, and we discovered that we shared a love for both Stanley Kubrick and Stephen King. We stayed up long after the movie was over, talking, and that still remained one of my favorite memories of all time. I began to feel a little better about this whole moving thing, about suddenly being uprooted from where I’d grown up my whole life and transplanted to this completely different world.
But then a few days later, I got home from school to find that Levi had some friends over, and they were in the den, watching a movie. Without even really thinking about it, I went in and started to sit down on the couch, next to a boy I didn’t recognize. Levi was in the recliner, next to the couch. I was about to say hi and ask what movie they were watching when Levi spoke.
“Yeah, I don’t know if that couch is going to be strong enough.”
I froze; it felt like blood had turned to ice. I could still remember exactly how it felt, and the smirks and laughter from his friends. If he’d said I don’t know if the couch is going to be big enough, I could’ve let it go, I could’ve believed that he meant there were just too many people on it for someone else to be able to fit comfortably, but he hadn’t chosen that adjective. One of the kids made a snorting sound, like a pig, and the others laughed, including Levi. I was too stunned to cry; I just left without saying a word.
It happened like that over the years, until our parents divorced when I was nineteen. Levi would be kind to me when it was just the two of us, but whenever his friends were around, he was the class clown, always with a sharp insult on the tip of his tongue, just for me. When Mom and I moved back to Maryland, I figured that I’d never see Levi again, and I was fine with that.
But now here he was. He was tan, he looked incredibly healthy, his thick, light-brown hair was tousled, as though he’d just blew in from some big adventure. I was aware of the looks women threw in his direction as they walked past us, like they couldn’t help but be magnetically drawn to him. It was like there was something in aura that just drew people to him, like moths to a light.
I had really thought that I’d never see him again. Except here was, right in front of me.
11.
Levi
I pulled my hand back from the door and stepped to the side so the other people behind me could go in.
“Isla,” I said, unable to keep the surprise out of my voice. I squinted. “Is that you?”
She looked completely different. I wouldn’t have recognized her if I’d passed her on the street; in fact, I would’ve done a double take just because she was damn fine. But that wasn’t the stepsister I remembered; the stepsister I remembered was a pudgy sixteen-year-old with zits and greasy hair that she was forever trying to get into one of those messy buns and always failing miserably. But she’d finally figured it out, and a whole lot more. “Wow,” I said.
The expression on her face stayed the same. “Levi,” she said. I couldn’t tell if she was glad to see me or not. Probably not. “I’m really sorry about your father. I was very sad when I heard the news.”
“Thanks,” I said. “And thanks for coming up here. I know that would’ve meant a lot to Dad. What are you doing right now?”
“I was just getting off the phone with a friend,” she said. “I wasn’t planning on being up here, but then . . . I got a call from your dad’s lawyer. Which is why I’m here.” She looked at me closely, and I could tell she was trying to figure out if I knew or not. I kept my face neutral, waiting to see if she’d say anything. She didn’t.
“Well, what are you up to now? Want to go get a drink? I could use a drink.”
“Sure,” she said. “Let’s get a drink.”
We walked a few blocks to Artemis and went inside and sat at the long mahogany bar. Holy fuck, I could not get over how different she looked! Not just that she’d lost a bunch of weight, but her whole demeanor seemed different. Did she know how good she looked?
I ordered a whiskey and coke and she got a martini. When the bartender brought our glasses over, we held them up and toasted Dad.
“So . . .” I said. “How’s everything been with you? It’s really been a long time since we last saw each other.”
“I know. Things have been going all right.”
“You’re back in Maryland?”
“Yeah. And you? You’re still living here?”
“I’m kind of all over the place. I was actually in Ibiza when I got the call that Dad had died. So I got on the next flight I could and came back here.”
She nodded. “You look like you just got back from someplace tropical.”
“You ever been?”
“No.”
“We should go sometime. I think you’d like it. I’ve got a place out there and everything. But we can talk about that later. What have you been up to?”
“My friend and I opened a gym.”
Ah-ha. That explained it. “Well, you look great.”
She took a sip of her drink and gave a tiny smile. “Not the fat girl you remember, huh.”
“You weren’t fat. A little . . . on the heavier side, maybe, but—”
Her eyes flashed angrily. “Do you think you’re being kind right now? Do you think you’re actually saying anything anyone wants to hear?”
“I wasn’t trying to insult you—I’m saying that you look amazing. I’m trying to give you a compliment, actually.”
“I appreciate the compliment, however late it might be.”
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is I was totally content with never having to see you again, unless it was in some magazine I was browsing through at the grocery checkout.”
I cringed. “Yeah, well, the only reason I ever end up in those magazines is because I hook up with the wrong person.”
“You can hook up with whoever you want, for all I care,” she said. “But I’m really not interested in hearing anything you think about how I look.”
“Even if it’s to tell you that I think you look incredible?”
That was a little hard to believe; what girl didn’t want to hear she looked good?
“You’re an ass,” she snapped, and then she picked up her drink and splashed it on me. She slammed the glass down on the bar and stormed out.
I sat there, feeling the cold liquid seep into my clothes and run down my face. Believe it or not, such a thing had never happened to me before, and now I could only sit there in surprise. I wasn’t even mad; just incredulous that it had happened in the first place.
12.
Isla
I ran out of the bar before I could break down into tears. What the hell was wrong with me? Had I just thrown my drink on him?
I hurried along the sidewalk, hoping that he wasn’t g
oing to chase after me. I glanced over my shoulder and didn’t see him, but I took the next left and then another right just in case. I didn’t know where I was going, only that everything that had happened in the past week was too much for my brain to handle. I kept walking and didn’t stop until I’d arrived at Central Park.
It was a nice day out and most of the benches were occupied, but I walked until I found a free one. I sat down and pulled my phone out of my purse and called Sophie back.
“You’re not going to believe what just happened after I got off the phone with you,” I said.
“What?” she asked. “Did you find out that Alex left you his penthouse, too?”
“No. Worse than that. I just ran into Levi.”
“Ew.”
“And he asked if I wanted to go out and get a drink with him, and I said yes.”
“Ugh, double ew! Why, Isla? Why would you hang out with him?”
“So I could throw my drink in his face?”
“Did you?”
“I might have.”
“Well then I take back what I just said and I totally applaud you for doing that! You really did that?”
I thought back to the expression on his face after I had, which was actually not as shocked as one might’ve expected. Maybe he knew he had it coming. Maybe he knew he deserved it.
“I truly wish I could’ve been there to see it,” Sophie said. “He was such an ass to you. So . . . what are you going to do now? You could go anywhere, you know. It’s like you’ve won the lottery. Except better, because I don’t think anyone’s actually ever won that much in the lottery.”
“Please don’t say anything to anyone,” I said. “I haven’t even told my mother yet. And I don’t think I want word to get out everywhere, otherwise I’m suddenly going to start hearing from people I haven’t heard from in years.”
“Oh, god, yeah you will. I didn’t even think of that. No, don’t worry, I won’t say anything. But that doesn’t mean I still can’t be excited for you!”
I smiled. “Thanks, Soph. I’m going to give my mom a call and then head back to my hotel room. I think I just need to be alone for a little while and process all of this.”
“I’ll bet you do. Crap, your mom is going to totally flip out. Good luck with that! Okay, I’ll talk to you soon. And don’t for a second start to feel bad about what you did to Levi!” She hung up.
My mother answered on the first ring; she knew I had my appointment with the lawyer today and had probably been carrying her phone around with her, ringer on high, all day.
“How’d it go?” she asked immediately.
“Hi to you, too,” I said.
“How was the meeting?”
“It was . . . interesting.” I wasn’t sure how my mother was going to react when I told her the news. She and Alex had what I supposed you could call an amicable divorce—no one threw anything at each other, there were no insults traded, everything was handled in an adult way—but she had chosen to leave him because he was never home, always busy at work, and she felt like she was simply not a factor at all in his life. I couldn’t blame her for feeling that way, and I was proud of her—and relieved—when we were able to get out of there and come back to Maryland.
“He left me money,” I said. “Quite a lot of money.”
“How much?”
“You probably won’t even believe me.”
“At this point, Isla, I probably would.”
“A billion dollars.”
“A billion dollars,” she repeated. “Wow.”
“I know. I wasn’t expecting that either.”
“You always did get along with Alex. He used to tell me he wished that Levi had even half of your discipline and motivation when it came to school.”
“Yeah, well, a lot of good that did me.” For a second, I could feel myself sliding back into a funk over the things that had happened this past week, but then I remembered none of that mattered. I didn’t need to worry about money anymore.
“I’d say it certainly did you a lot of good,” Mom said. “Do you think Alex would have left you anything if you were slacking off and partying the way Levi was? You’re set for life. Alex left you a very generous gift.”
“You’re set for life too, Mom. I’m going to take care of you.”
“That’s kind of you to offer, sweetie, but I’m not just about to up and quit my job. I like my job, and plus, I wouldn’t quite know what to do with myself. I wouldn’t mind a vacation somewhere warm this winter, though.”
“I saw Levi,” I said. “When I was leaving the lawyer’s office, he was just getting there.”
“Oh?” I couldn’t read Mom’s tone, whether it was simply curious or disapproving. “How’d that go?”
“It was fine. We didn’t really talk for that long.” I didn’t want to get into the whole story. Mom had never specifically said anything bad about Levi, but I knew she didn’t particularly care for him, and saw him as an entitled rich kid. Which he was.
“Well, I’m really happy for you, sweetie. I was quite curious over how this meeting was going to turn out. Anyway, I’ve got to get going, I just took a quick break to take your call, but I’ve still got lots to do before I can leave this afternoon. Why don’t you give me a call before you leave New York?”
“Okay, Mom,” I said. “I will. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
My mother was not someone who you’d say wore her heart on her sleeve, but I’d thought she’d be a little more excited. Maybe she didn’t believe me? I dropped my phone in my purse and started to watch the street signs so I could figure out how to get back to my hotel.
I took a few wrong turns, but I eventually made my way back. I walked inside and was crossing the lobby to the elevators when I happened to look over to my left and see Levi, sitting there on one of the couches.
“Hey,” he said, jumping up. “Sorry to just accost you here like this.”
“How’d you even know I was staying here?”
“Daniel told me. Don’t be mad at him, though.”
I shrugged. “I’m not. I’m going up to my room, though, and you’re not.”
Levi smiled. “Fair enough. This place is a dump, though. Why don’t you come back and stay at the penthouse?”
“Why would I do something like that?”
“I don’t know, for old time’s sake? And besides, there might be something you want there.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Like what? Not you.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said, holding his hands up. “Easy, girl! Who said anything about that?”
My cheeks flushed. He was infuriating because I could tell, if only I let my guard down just a little, I’d be back under his spell. It wasn’t fair that someone like him should have such a power.
I clenched my jaw and pushed past him. “I’m going up to my room,” I said. “Goodbye.”
He followed me over to the elevator and stood there while I pushed the button. “Okay,” he said. “I’m not a stalker, and I can take no for an answer. So when that elevator arrives, I won’t try to follow you on or anything. But I would like to say that should you change your mind and not want to sleep at a place that is rumored to have bedbugs, then you’re more than welcome to come back to my place. You can have your old room and everything. Let me give you my phone number.”
“That’s quite all right. And how the hell do you know this place has bedbugs?” I was starting to feel itchy just thinking about it.
“Check Yelp.”
“I don’t need to check Yelp.”
The elevator dinged just then and I moved to the side to let a few people off. Then I stepped in and turned to face Levi.
He stood there, hands in the pockets of those designer jeans, his t-shirt draping over his body in such a way to suggest a chiseled, muscular torso. He grinned as though he knew exactly what I was thinking. Three women walked passed us, and they all checked Levi out, making no attempts to hide the fact they were doing so. One o
f them also threw a cursory glance my way, as though she couldn’t believe someone like him would be talking to me.
I pressed the button for the tenth floor and stood there silently as the door closed. At the last second, he pulled one hand out of his pocket and gave a little wave, and then he was gone, and the elevator was being lifted upward, making my stomach do a little flip.
When the elevator opened at my floor, I stepped out, half-expecting him to be there. But he wasn’t. I hurried down the hallway toward my room, noticing the worn cranberry-colored carpet, a hairline crack in the ceiling. I slid the card into the door and it unlocked; when I stepped inside, the room smelled stale, the furniture looked shabby; it seemed exactly the sort of place that would be infested with insects of all kinds.
Why hadn’t I noticed this earlier? Why had I chosen to stay in such a dumpy place?
But I wasn’t going to let Levi start playing mind games with me. I wasn’t going to allow myself to fall back into that trap of his, though that same confusion I’d felt when we’d lived together was suddenly coursing through my veins, infiltrating my thoughts. It’d been baffling to me, as teens, how he’d be so cool and nice and fun to hang out with when it was just the two of us, yet whenever any of his friends were around, it was like he turned into a completely different person. If he wasn’t doing it outright, I’d sense that he was making fun of me, that I was walking in on some private joke, that they were all laughing at me behind their expressionless faces. Just waiting for me to go away so they could really start to make fun of me.
I found my phone and called Sophie.
“It’s me again. I’m sorry to keep calling you.”
“Don’t be sorry,” she said. “You just received life-changing news. That’s a big deal! I can only imagine the sorts of things that are going through your mind right now. What’s up?”
“I just ran into Levi again.”
“How is it possible you keep ‘just running into him’ in Manhattan? I mean, don’t like twenty billion people live there?”
“He came to my hotel. And then he told me it was infested with bedbugs.”