Nothing (All the Things Book 2)

by K. A. Last

  Or kneed Scott in the balls harder.

  “Everything all right?” Jessica asks.

  “Yeah.” I nod. “I’m tired though. Think I’ll call it a night.”

  “We could probably all use a good night’s sleep,” Karen says.

  Jessica and Stacey hug me before going next door to their room. Karen gives me a hug, too, and I go into the bathroom to wash my face. I stare at the mirror, and I smile at myself, because despite everything I’ve been through, I’m still standing.

  You Have to Choose

  WE ALL SLEEP IN THE next morning, and it’s nice not having to get up for anything in particular, or be anywhere special. The four of us spend the day lazing by the pool at the hotel, soaking up some sun. We have a light lunch on the beach, and I enjoy walking along the sand.

  I told Levi I would call him, but I’ve been putting it off because spending time with my friends right now is exactly what I need. I text him to say maybe we can do lunch another time. He doesn’t reply, and it’s not until my phone rings late in the afternoon that I feel a little guilty for not calling him instead. Still, I stare at Levi’s name flashing on the screen and let it ring out. After last night and what happened with Scott, maybe I should swear off boys forever. I’m yet to meet one who hasn’t hurt me, not including Daniel and Dad of course. But then, Levi isn’t Scott.

  “You don’t want to talk to him?” Karen asks, linking her arm through mine as we walk up the beach.

  “I don’t know what I want,” I say. “And I have no idea what to do.”

  “Maybe now is when you need to give him a second chance.”

  I squeeze Karen’s arm. “Maybe. But not today.” I slip my phone into my back pocket. “Today I want to be with you.”

  We spend the rest of the afternoon and night at the hotel. Jessica and Stacey go out dancing for a couple of hours, but they’re home and on the couch with Karen and me by ten pm. My friends must sense I’m not in the mood to party, and I’m grateful to have their company.

  The next two days go pretty much the same. Jessica and Stacey do their own thing for a few hours at night, and Karen keeps me company either on the beach, or back in our room. We gaze at the stars together, and talk about life and what we want to do when we grow up.

  Levi calls every day.

  But I don’t answer.

  Now it’s six-thirty pm, and I’m looking at another night on the couch because I don’t feel like going anywhere. I hear my phone ring, and when I come out of the bathroom, Karen is staring at me. She has my phone in her hand.

  “What?” I ask. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “This has gone on long enough,” she says. “We’ve been here for five days, and all you’ve done is mope in our hotel room, and walk on the beach.”

  “That’s not true.” I twist my finger into the hem of my top. “I had my fortune told.”

  “Yeah, which you haven’t given me any details about. Come on, Katie.” Karen stands. “Tomorrow we should go and get some henna done. Or have a drink in one of the bars tonight.”

  “I don’t want to drink.”

  She drops her hands to her sides. “I spoke to Levi. He wants to see you.”

  “What happened to you hating him for what he did to me?”

  Karen walks towards me and wraps me up in a hug. “I do hate him for what he did. But I know you, and I know you’re trying to figure out a way to forgive him. Because he’s Levi.” She pulls back and smiles.

  Tears sting my eyes, and then they’re spilling onto my cheeks faster than I can wipe them away. “I’m so confused,” I say between sobs. “What if I forgive him and he hurts me again? What if—”

  “You won’t know unless you try.” Karen strokes my hair. “You don’t want to spend the rest of your life wondering ‘what if’, do you?”

  I look at my best friend, and take a deep breath, shaking my head. “I’m scared.”

  “Not knowing what will happen is part of the fun.” She smiles.

  I laugh, because so far none of this has been ‘fun’.

  “What did he say to you?” I ask.

  Karen hands me my phone. “He wants to take you to dinner. We have a few days left before we have to go home. Just ... go and see him.”

  I take my phone and look down at it. “Okay.”

  Karen goes into the bathroom, and I sit on the edge of the couch, squeezing my knees together. My fingers hover over the screen of my phone, then I key in my passcode. Levi is at the top of my most recent calls list. It looks like he spoke to Karen for a few minutes.

  After a moment of hesitation, I hit Levi’s name and hold the phone to my ear.

  He answers on the second ring.

  “Katie, hi.”

  “Hey,” I say. “Karen said you called.”

  I wince at my stupid words, since I’ve been ignoring his calls for the past few days.

  “So she convinced you to call me back?”

  Silence hangs between us, and I bite my lip. This is harder than it should be. “Yeah.”

  “Did she also tell you she said she’d rip my balls off if I hurt you again?” He laughs.

  I cough and stand. “She said what?”

  Levi’s laugh intensifies.

  Karen comes out of the bathroom, and our gazes meet.

  “Did you threaten to rip Levi’s balls off?”

  Karen raises her eyebrows and smiles. “I sure did.”

  I shake my head and walk onto the balcony, leaning on the railing. There’s still some light left in the sky even though the sun has gone down. The stars twinkle above, and I watch them blink in the hazy darkness.

  “What’ve you been doing?” I finally ask.

  “The usual.” Levi pauses. “Hanging out. You?”

  “Same. Pool. Beach. Chocolate in front of the TV.” I close my eyes and shake my head. I’m so lame.

  “Want to grab something to eat tonight?” Levi asks.

  “Um ... Okay. What time?” I ask.

  “Now,” Levi says.

  “You’ll have to give me a chance to get ready.”

  “You’re beautiful exactly how you are.” I hear the smile in his voice. “Look down, Katie.”

  My chest warms at him telling me I’m beautiful. I drag my gaze away from the sky and look to the street. Levi is standing on the other side of the road, his face tilted up towards me.

  “How did you know ...?” I adjust the phone at my ear.

  “Karen told me which hotel you’re staying at. I just spotted you.”

  I press my lips together. “Give me ten minutes.” Then I end the call.

  Levi pulls his phone from his ear before I go back inside. Karen is standing in the middle of the room holding up a summer dress. My one pair of nice sandals hang from her fingers.

  “Better change quickly,” she says.

  “Not that dress,” I say. “It looks amazing on you. Me ... not so much.”

  I dig around in my case until I find my three-quarter jeans and paisley top. Karen sighs, but doesn’t say anything as I tug off my shorts and change. I set my glasses on the coffee table while I run a comb through my hair.

  “Don’t you want to put your contacts in?” Karen asks.

  “No time,” I say. “And if he likes me, he has to like everything about me. Glasses included.”

  “You’re testing him.”

  “I guess.” I shrug. “But you know how long it takes me to put those things in. I really don’t have time.”

  Karen hands me my purse, and I slip my phone inside after quickly coating my lips with gloss. I grab one of the room keys on the way to the door. As I step into the hall, Jessica and Stacey’s door opens.

  Stacey looks me up and down, smiling. “Where you going?”

  “She has a date with Levi,” Karen says.

  “Finally.” Jessica comes out to the hallway.

  “Call me if you need us,” Karen says. “I’ll text you and let you know where we end up.”

  I sm
ile and back away before turning to head towards the lifts. My hand shakes as I reach out to press the button. Why am I so nervous? I’ve known Levi my whole life, and there’s pretty much nothing he doesn’t know about me. I get into the lift and press the button for the ground floor.

  When I step out into the lobby, Levi is waiting. A smile spreads across his face, and I can’t help smiling back. I clutch my purse to my chest like a shield, and walk over to him.

  “You look great, Katie,” he says.

  “Thanks.” Heat prickles my cheeks, and I resist the urge to touch my glasses, gripping my purse tighter instead.

  “What do you feel like eating?” he asks, walking towards the front doors of the hotel.

  I fall into step beside him. “Anything. I don’t mind.”

  “Let’s hit the mall and see what we can find.”

  We step out into the balmy night air, and walk down to the foreshore. It gets busier as we get nearer to the mall, and the hum of activity wafts along the street. We walk in silence for a bit, and I listen to the crashing of the waves on the beach. It’s dark enough now that I can’t see the water from the strip, but I turn my face in that direction anyway.

  “Can we go down to the beach later?” I ask. “I like listening to the waves.”

  “Anything you want,” Levi says.

  I smile at him.

  We keep walking, and I people watch. Couples out like us. Larger groups of friends. People on pushbikes and skateboards. There’s activity everywhere.

  We stop at the lights to cross the road into the mall. When the little man turns green, Levi takes my hand. I look up at him and smile. He leads me through the mall to the pub, and while I said I don’t mind what we eat, I’m not sure I want to eat here. Still, I go with it, and a few minutes later we’re seated together in a booth up the back.

  It’s noisy, with groups of people filling most of the seats, and every stool at the bar is taken. A waitress in a short black skirt and tight white button blouse sashays over to us, a notepad in her hand.

  “What can I get yas?” she says, her bright red lips turning up into a wide smile.

  I pick up the menu from the table and quickly scan it.

  “I’ll have the steak burger,” Levi says, without looking at what’s on offer.

  I bite my lip and flip the menu over, then back again. The meals look big, and I’m not very hungry.

  “Wedges, thanks.” I look up at the waitress, but she’s ogling Levi.

  “Drinks?” Miss Flirty asks.

  I frown, and glance at the drinks menu that’s sitting on the table.

  “Water, please,” I say.

  The waitress raises her eyebrows and makes a note on her pad.

  “I’m assuming you’ll have your usual?” Miss Flirty winks at Levi.

  “Yes, please.” Levi smiles.

  The waitress saunters away, and I can’t help watching her path to the bar.

  When I look back at Levi my mouth is hanging open. “She was flirting with you.”

  “No she wasn’t.” He leans back, and puts his arm along the top of the booth.

  I scoff, and clench my fingers under the table. “You’re blind then.”

  Levi sits forward and leans his forearms on the table. “She’s doing her job.”

  I glance in the direction of the bar, and see Miss Flirty doing exactly what she did with Levi to another customer. My shoulders loosen. I don’t feel so uptight about it now. When I look at Levi again, he’s staring at me. Heat creeps into my cheeks.

  I realise how this must look to him. I’m jealous of another girl looking at him. Is that what this feeling is? Jealousy? I wasn’t prepared for the way her flirting has made me feel, but at least it seems like she does it with all the male customers. Knowing Levi probably isn’t special to her makes me feel better. Still, Miss Flirty ogles him again when she brings our drinks.

  “She checked you out again,” I say.

  “Katie, would you relax?” He picks up his beer and takes a sip. “Can we just have some fun?”

  I lean forward and take a sip of my water. “Sure. I can do fun.”

  Our meals arrive, and I’m grateful this time that Levi doesn’t take his eyes from mine.

  We chat over our dinner. Levi tells me about this great nightclub they’ve been going to, and I describe the resort pool at the hotel. Levi orders another beer, and I take a deep breath to stop myself from saying anything. I’m not his mum, so I can’t, and shouldn’t, tell him what to do.

  After that, he orders another, and another. I stick to water, and listen as his words start to slur. He’s full of energy though, and he looks so happy. When he goes to the bathroom I take my phone out to check the time. Ten pm. The pub is pretty much full, and the noise level has risen to above comfortable. I want to leave, but I can’t do that until Levi comes back.

  “Katie. How are you?” Geoff slides into the booth beside me.

  By the time I look at him, Jarred and Josephine are seated across from me, a beer in each of their hands. Veronica stands at the end of the table.

  “I’m great, thanks,” I say.

  I don’t want to spend the rest of the night with them around, and I crane my neck to see if Levi is coming back from the bathroom.

  “Where’s Levi?” Veronica asks.

  “Here,” he says, nudging her shoulder with his.

  He has another drink in his hand.

  “Nice dinner?” Jarred looks from me to Levi.

  “Yeah, great,” I say, turning to Geoff. “Could you move, please?”

  He stands, and I shuffle along the seat to get out of the booth.

  “Where are you going?” Levi asks.

  “Thank you for dinner,” I say. “But I’m going to head back.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  I press my lips together. “I’m tired is all. I’ll catch up with you later.”

  “Let me walk you.” He sets his drink on the table.

  “No, it’s fine.” I turn and make my way through the crowded pub as quickly as I can, hoping Levi doesn’t follow me.

  I’m not in the mood to spend time with his friends when I thought I was spending time with him. And I also don’t want to be having a conversation with him when he might not remember it tomorrow.

  Why does he have to drink? Why can’t he just have dinner with me?

  I step out into the fresh night air and take a deep breath. It was really claustrophobic inside the pub.

  A hand touches my shoulder, and I stop.

  “Katie,” Levi says. “Why are you going?”

  I shrug away from his touch and face him. “I told you, I’m tired. I’ll see you later.”

  But when I try to leave, Levi darts around in front of me, so I stop again. We’re in the middle of the mall with the noise from the pub behind me.

  “Please stay,” Levi says.

  “Why? So I can watch you drink yourself stupid?” I snap.

  The surprise on his face makes me regret my words.

  Levi takes a step back. “I’ve only had a few.”

  I close my eyes for a second and collect myself so I don’t say anything else too mean. “We should talk tomorrow. When you’re sober.”

  “We can talk now.” Levi crosses his arms over his chest, and I’m surprised he’s so coordinated after the number of beers he’s had.

  “No, really,” I say. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

  “Well, I want to talk now.”

  “Please move.” I look up at Levi, but when I go to step around him he steps in my path again. Anger fills the pit of my stomach and rises into my chest. “Get out of my way, Levi.”

  “No. I want to talk. Something is bothering you.”

  I glare at him. The middle of a busy mall is not where I want to be discussing this.

  “Fine,” I say. “I thought you were taking me out to dinner so we could spend some time together, but instead ... You’re drunk. And then your friends showed up. It’s not my idea of
a romantic night. So excuse me again, and move.”

  “I’m not drunk,” he says, like that explains everything.

  I blink a few times in an attempt to control my anger. “Has drinking become so normal to you that you can’t even see what you’re doing to yourself?”

  “It’s just a few beers, Katie.”

  “A few too many.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “I bet Mason thought exactly the same thing.” The words are out before I can stop myself.

  The way Levi’s brow pinches and his mouth puckers tells me I’ve stepped over the line. But right now, I don’t care. Maybe he needs to hear the cold hard truth.

  “Don’t you dare bring him into it,” Levi says, clenching his fists. “This is not the same.”

  “It’s exactly the same!” I yell, tears pricking my eyes. My chest heaves as I try to breathe. “You forget, I was there, too. I went through the pain, and the loss, and the heartache, just like you did. I don’t want to go through that again.”

  He shakes his head. “You don’t know ...”

  “I do know. I know I couldn’t stop crying for a month after Mason died. And I know it opened a hole in my chest so wide I never thought it would close. But the worst part was, you shut me out. I love you, Levi. And I’m so close to forgiving you for everything you’ve put me through. But what’s the point if all you’re going to do is drink yourself stupid all the time? One day, you’ll end up right where your brother did, wrapped around a telegraph pole.” I stop and swipe the tears from my cheeks. “I can’t watch you do this.”

  “Katie ...” Levi reaches for me, but I step back.

  “No,” I say. “You can’t keep doing what you’re doing. And if you do, I won’t stick around. It’s me or the booze. If you want me to stay, you have to choose.”

  The Mess I’m in

  KAREN KNEW SOMETHING was wrong the moment I walked into our hotel room. I told her everything. How he’s been drinking a lot since he started talking to me again. Or maybe he’s been doing it longer than that, and I haven’t noticed. How he let me walk away once I delivered my ultimatum. We speculated about a lot of things, and in the end I told her I was tired and wanted to go to bed, because I didn’t want to think about it anymore.