Page 110 of Just Between Us

“Oh c’mon, Levi,” he says quietly. “Let me take care of you one last time?”

“You need to leave me alone. Kai is…”

Where is Kai?

Oh, right, he had to call someone. He was scared. He was crying. I wanted to follow him to make sure he was okay. I need to find Kai. Now. I try to push past Adam, but he pushes me back against the wall, the back of my head hitting the hard surface with a loud thud that has me seeing stars.

He laughs, his mouth twisting into an ugly smirk and it hits me—he drugged me.

“Jesus Christ, Levi, why do you keep picking him?” he snarls. “He’s not worth your time! Don’t you see that I’m the one who cares about you? I’m the one who has always been there, but you don’t seem to care about me or what I’ve done for you. You never have.”

I try to regain my bearings but I’m slipping deeper and deeper into a void I’m not sure I’ll be able to climb out of. I need to find Kai, I remind myself. That’s the only way I can get out of this. Find Kai. Go home. It’s like a chant in my head.

“What are you talking about?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

He sighs loudly, running a hand through his hair. “Isn’t it obvious? Hasn’t it been obvious from the moment we met?”

I stare at him blankly and that only seems to piss him off. He crowds me, and for a second, I’m sure he’s going to hit me. Adam is lean but he’s strong. If he hit me, I’d feel it.

“Why did you do it?” he asks after a second. “Why not me? I would have let you do whatever you want to me. Isn’t that what you like? To be in control? I would have held you during your nightmares and talked you through everything when your mind got too loud. I would have been perfect for you.” Adam’s voice is wet with emotion.

It’s strange how much he knows about me—about the version of me that existed before Cole. He was there when things were too loud. He understood my moods and my ups and downs. He was my best friend until he thought he could take from me without my permission.

“And now you’re with Cole who keeps you on a leash like you’re some sort of lapdog?” His voice rises and he’s in my space again, that awful scent flooding my nose. “What happened to the Levi I love? The life of the party? You’ve lost your spark, baby.”

I reach out my arm, trying to push him away, but my body doesn’t feel like my own. Instead, I’m sweating, and I think I might vomit. I want to tell him that I didn’t lose anything. I want to tell him that Cole made me feel like I could be whoever I want to be with him. I want to tell him that Cole made me feel safe and unapologetic, but the words won’t come out, saliva only pools in my mouth. Nausea flares inside me.

“Adam, what did you give me?” I breathe out.

He frowns, watching me carefully, like for the first time he’s seeing me. “I don’t know, a bunch of stuff,” he says.

Oh fuck.

Okay, I think, I need to change tack. He won’t let me leave if I keep asking him to let me go. “I think I need a doctor, Adam,” I say, softening my voice. “Please call someone and then we can talk after?”

He frowns but I keep going, hoping this works. “That’s what you want right? I’ll—I’ll be honest, I think I’ve missed you too.”

“You have?”

I nod, fighting another wave of nausea. “J-just let me go for now?”

He watches me, blue eyes glassy under the dim lights. Suddenly, he shakes his head, smiling. “You think I’m that stupid?” he laughs. “I’ve been watching you, Levi. I know you don’t care about me anymore.”

My stomach falls. He was the one following me on my run. “What—what are you going to do?”

He takes a step closer to me, and our foreheads almost touch. I smell him, feel his clothes and his erection. I try to pull back, begging the wall to let me disappear through it.

“You shouldn’t,” I swallow. “Cole will…”

He laughs quietly, his warm breath on my face. “Cole will what?” he asks harshly. “Oh baby, Cole won’t want you after I’m done with you.”

Cold fear breaks through me. Watching him, I know he believes what he’s saying. “Adam, please…” I breathe.

I desperately want to find Kai. He’s all alone right now and he’s scared of something. I need to get to him but just as I try to push Adam away, my body sags against the wall, the tiredness overwhelming me.

“Levi?” Adam says but he sounds so far. “Shit, no wait, Levi!”

I need to get to Kai.

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