Page 76 of Taken By Storm

“How much have you already had to drink?”

Keith opened his mouth, ready to deny having any, so Levi saved him the bother of trying.

“I can smell it on your breath.”

Keith closed his lips as if to block the scent.

“How much?”

“Only one,” Keith said, though Levi didn’t believe the kid. Why would he? Keith had done nothing but go out of his way to be a thorn in Levi’s side, and he’d done a great job making Kasi’s life difficult.

“One?” he repeated.

“Yes,” Keith insisted. “One, okay? Me and Archie cracked open a couple when we got inside, so we could decide which ones we wanted…”

“To steal,” Levi finished when Keith didn’t.

“Are you going to tell Kasi?”

Levi hadn’t expected that question. Or rather, he hadn’t expected the tone behind it, the sadness lacing the words.

Rather than reply—because honestly, he hadn’t made up his mind about Kasi’s involvement—Levi crossed his arms. “What the hell is going on inside your head, Keith? Why are you doing all this shit?”

Keith looked away, and Levi figured silence was the only response he was going to get…so he was surprised when Keith ran a hand through his hair and replied, “I don’t know why.”

It was a quiet admission, and Levi considered pushing for more. Then he realized Keith seemed to be genuinely searching for an answer, so he simply stood there, giving the kid time to think.

“I miss her.”

Any annoyance or anger Levi harbored toward Kasi’s kid brother vanished in an instant after those three small words. “I know you do.”

Keith refused to look at him, swallowing heavily. “I know this will make me sound like a pussy, but my mama was my best friend.”

Levi shook his head. “Doesn’t make you a pussy at all. I’m close to my mom too.”

“It’s just…when she died,” Keith blinked rapidly, fighting hard not to cry, “I got so fuckingmad.”

“Anger is a big part of grieving,” Levi started.

Keith shook his head. “No. I wasn’t mad because she died. I was madather for dying, for leaving me. If she was sick, why didn’t she go to the doctor? And then I got mad at my dad for just…fucking disappearing. And…”

“And Kasi?”

“I got mad at her because she didn’t cry at the funeral. Not once. It was like she didn’t care at all!”

Levi reached out and put his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “That’s not true, Keith. You know that. Kasi is just as devastated as you are.”

Keith scoffed. “Yeah, right. She didn’t shed a damn tear. Then, a few days after the funeral, she goes right back to work like nothing happened. Like Mama never existed at all.”

Levi recalled Kasi recounting the days following her mother’s funeral. How Keith had struck out, how her father had taken to his room, how she’d been left to try to hold them all together. Keith had interpreted his sister’s strength as apathy. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

“Kasi misses your mother every bit as much as you do. People grieve differently, but that doesn’t mean their pain isn’t just as real. Kasi has spent the last eight months fighting like hell to hold it together. For you and your dad.”

Keith lowered his head. “I know that.”

“You do?”

For the first time, Keith lifted his face, his gaze meeting Levi’s. “Yeah, but by the time I realized that, it was too late.”

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