Page 59 of Twisted Trust
“No,” Levi says calmly. “I’m not saying that at all.”
“Well good, because that’s fucked up.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I glare at him while praying Scott quickly comes back from the bathroom. “I had a one-night stand and the guygot hit by a car like two weeks later. He died, and I had my baby all by myself, understand?”
Levi doesn’t look like he entirely believes me. In fact, he almost looks a little sad, which just infuriates me further. How dare he feel anything for my son?
“And why does it even matter?” Once I’ve started, I can’t stop. It’s like all the anxious, scared energy inside me has latched onto the outlet of arguing with Levi, and it’s almost calming. “I almost died because ofyou!”
Levi’s brows shoot to his hairline. “Excuse me?”
“Why else would someone come toyourpenthouse? Huh? I'm nobody, Levi. I’m just a person, and you were the worst thing that ever happened to me. Then suddenly I’m being drugged and kidnapped and the only people that kind of shit happens to are people in your world!”
“How do I know it’s because of me and not you?” Levi snaps suddenly, and he pushes off the door frame where he was resting. “Maybe your past affiliations are finally catching up with you. Did you ever think about that?”
“What? My only past affiliations are with you!”
“We both know that’s not true.” An edge of accusation cuts into Levi’s tone. “Let’s drop the pretenses and put it all out on the table, shall we? I’m not the only one with a past, Maeve, and it’s time you owned up to yours before it gets you hurt, or worse, something happens to Scott!”
What the hell is he talking about?
There’s insinuation in his words, but whatever he’s alluding to is beyond me completely. He must be trying to project his fault onto me, and I won’t stand for it. Before I can snap my rebuttal, though, Scott wanders back from the bathroom with none other than Elio in tow. My mouth snaps shut and Levi straightens up slightly.
“Dad. I didn’t know you were here.”
“I came as soon as I knew you were settled. I want to go over the security with you so nothing like tonight ever happens again.”
“Right now?” Levi glances at me with a lick of anger in his eyes. He clearly wants to continue the conversation, but with his father here, there’s no window for it.
“You should go,” I say tightly. “Make sure we’resafe.”
He told me the penthouse was safe, and look how that turned out. Holding out my hand, I coax Scott toward me and he hurries over after flashing a shy smile at Levi. Taking a deep breath, Levi relents.
“Fine. Let’s go over the security of the complex.” He waves his father away and follows after a long glance back at me.
How dare he accuse me of my past being the cause of all of this? He is my past, which places him right in the middle of everything. It’s his fault I was heartbroken, his fault I had to flee to Vegas, and now it’s his fault that once again, my son has been through hell. Drawing Scott into my lap, I bury my face in his hair and breathe him in, then wince.
“Oh, baby, you’re stinky.”
“Am I?” He gazes up at me with wide, tired eyes.
“Bath and bed for you, I think.”
Scott grumbles about it, but he doesn’t fight me as I take him to the bathroom, run a warm, bubbly bath for him, and plop him inside. We play with the bubbles and I wash him down until suddenly, tears fill his eyes and he sniffles while staring up at me.
“Oh, honey, what’s wrong?”
“Is Levi mad at us?”
“No! Why do you think that?”
Scott shrugs and the tears continue to roll down his cheeks. “I was really scared I made a mess on his couch.”
“Levi won’t care about that,” I reassure him, leaning far over the edge of the tub so I can hug him properly. “He’s just glad you’re safe.”
“I was scared, Mommy,” he sobs, and something about how quiet his tears are cuts me deeper than any of his loud sobbing ever has. “I’m glad Levi saved us from the bad men. He killed them, didn’t he? Like Batman?”
I wince inwardly. Hoping he’d never understood what Levi was doing was a weak dream, but if he’s relating it to his cartoons, then maybe it will help him. I just wish I could explain that Leviisthe bad man we should be scared of.
But he’d never believe me. He’d never understand that despite Levi’s faults and darkness, it’s still safer being near him than away from him. And he clearly already views Levi as some kind of hero, which makes the truth even harder to swallow.
