Page 57 of Playing the Neutral Zone

“Sir, your order is ready,” the guy behind the counter said, tapping my shoulder.

I turned, thanked him, and took the box of food from him, and went to walk away when I felt a tap on my shoulder.Scarlett stood there looking up at me, tears in her eyes, one even escaping and rolling down her cheek.

“I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me one day, Levi.”

I shook my head as I looked at her.“Have a good life,” I said and made my way over to the staircase that led to our seats, joining my parents and Mia, forgetting about the confrontation I’d just had.

Chapter 17

Scarlett

“You look deep in thought.What are you working on?”Scottie asked, coming into the kitchen and heading for the fridge.

“I didn’t think you were still here,” I said, turning and looking at him over my shoulder.

“Mom tricked me into staying, bribing me with her pineapple upside-down cake.”

I nodded.“Ah, yes, I had to leave the table.She’s making me gain weight.I told her she needs to stop making all the sweet treats.”I giggled.

It had been six months since I’d returned home.While my life hadn’t come back together after all that had happened, I was slowly healing.I still held onto the feelings I’d had the day I left Vancouver.Levi wasn’t a person you got over quickly.In fact, I missed him, and Mia so much and still thought about them every day.Scottie once told me it takes thirty days to get over someone, but he’d been wrong.No matter how many text messages I’d typed out containing an apology or explanation, I sent none of them.I knew Levi would never respond to them anyway, so I figured why face even more hurt?

Scottie pulled the chair out from beside me and sat down, cracking open a can of cola.“So, what are you working on?”he asked, looking at my screen to see a video of the Dominator’s last game.Of course, I’d conveniently paused the game right when Levi was on the screen.

“Nothing, just catching up on the games.”I shrugged, looking over at my brother, forcing a smile.

“Have you spoken to him?”Scottie questioned.

I shook my head.“No, only at the ball game a few months ago.To be honest, even if I did, I wouldn’t even know what to say to him.So, it’s pointless.He’s so angry at me.”

“Well, what are you going to do about it?”

I shrugged my shoulders.“I doubt there is anything I could do.”

“Well, maybe you should come up with some ideas.Make it a work in progress?”

I looked at my brother, let out a sigh, then lifted my notebook, pulling out a piece of paper with some ideas I’d written with ways to apologize to him.

“What’s this?”he asked.

“This is what I’ve come up with,” I said, shoving my list to Scottie.

He looked at it, then chuckled as he looked over at me.

“What’s so funny?”

Scottie shifted in his chair and picked up the piece of paper and began reading out loud.

“Number 1.Move to a new state.You did that, it hasn’t helped.”He winked.“Number 2.Go on an Eat, Pray, Love type journey to find myself.I can’t for the life of me see you going to any of those places she visited in that movie, aside from maybe Italy.Number 3.Go on a yoga retreat.I love you, Scar, but how are any of these going to help you apologize to Levi?”

I shrugged my shoulders.“I don’t know.Maybe if I find myself, I’ll have the courage to text him and apologize.”

Scottie shook his head.“Okay, Number 4.Be hypnotized to forget all past life experiences that relate to Levi.”He looked over at me and placed the paper on the table, shaking his head.

“What?”I questioned.

“While all these things are great ways to heal yourself after what’s happened, aside from the hypnotic experience, if you really want to apologize, it needs to be something big, and it needs to come from here,” he said, placing his hand over his heart.

I looked down at the list on the table.He was right.This list was garbage.I reached over and crinkled up the paper and looked at my brother.

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