Off the Ice (Penalty Kill 2)

~

“Get up right now!”

The covers of my bed are being jerked away from me.

“What the hell?” I look up and see Marley with her hands on her hips.

“Get up!” She walks over to my closet and pulls out a pair of jeans, shirt, and heels.

“I’m tired, Mar. Go away.” I try to reach for my blankets when she jerks them away again and throws the clothes at me.

“Get your ass out of that bed now. It’s three o’clock and you’ve done nothing but lay in that bed.”

“I’m tired and it’s Saturday.”

“No, you’re not tired and I don’t care what day of the week it is. I can see all the beer bottles and that isn’t like you. I’m worried and I’ll be damned if anything happens to you because of some guy.”

“Some guy? This wasn’t just some guy. This was my guy. My Levi and I ruined it all.” Tears pool in my eyes and Marley stares me down.

“I know it was Levi and I know how much you love him, but Pres, this isn’t healthy. You need to get out and we are doing it now. Get up. Please go take a shower, and let’s go out.”

We both just stare at each other, waiting to see who will give up first.

“Presley McCarthy, if you don’t get in that shower in the next minute, I will pick you up and put you in it.” She crosses her arms, and I know that she will. What is the point of arguing with her? I sigh in defeat and head to the shower.

Standing in the shower and letting the hot water hit me is supposed to be helpful, but it isn’t. I just think about Levi and me and our night in the shower. I can still feel his lips, his touch, and his bites on my skin. My tears mix with the water as I quietly sob. I ruined everything, and I don’t know how to fix it.

I finally get out of the shower and get dressed. I don’t feel like putting on makeup, and I just throw my hair into a ponytail. When I look in my bedroom, I see that Marley made my bed. I walk into my living room and kitchen and she cleaned up my trail of empty bottles too. Trevor and she are sitting at the kitchen table, talking quietly. I’m sure they are plotting to take me to the nut house.

“Hey, Twin.” Trevor looks up from their conversation. “I thought I would grab some food with you too.” His voice is upbeat and Marley is smiling too. They’re trying to make me smile and forget that I’m single and alone now. I give them a small smile and Trevor suggests a place to eat close to the apartment. I know they do this so that I won’t run into anyone from RU or Levi. I just nod. Trevor throws his arm around my shoulder as we walk out to his truck.

All through dinner, they try to engage me in conversations and ask a lot of questions about my classes, teachers, and even what’s been on TV. I’ve never been so thankful to be in the quiet of my apartment after they drop me off. I walk over to my fridge. I am just going to grab a beer and go to bed, but I stop. Marley is right. I can’t keep doing this. I dump the beer down the drain and sit at my kitchen table.

I stare at my phone. There is nothing from Levi. I silently pray that he will contact me right now. That he’ll say it’s okay, and he’ll come over. I pray that he will hold me all night and tell me how much he loves me and forgives me. I say the pray over and over, but nothing happens.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Levi

It’s time. I’m done thinking and mulling everything over. Standing outside her door, I’m suddenly nervous about knocking. What if I took too much time and it’s too late? I go ahead and rap twice quickly before I can change my mind. The wait for her to open the door is torture. I know she’s most likely here because her car is in the parking lot. Finally, the door slowly opens to reveal Presley. Her eyes are red and puffy, her hair in an extremely messy bun, and she’s wearing a baggy shirt with sweatpants.

“Hey, Smarty,” I say softly because seeing her like this again and knowing I’m partly at fault, steals any other words. It’s a blow to my gut and all I want to do is make it better.

“Levi, what…What are you doing here?”

“I told ya I would come find you when I was ready. Can I come in?” I ask.

“Sure.” She steps to the side, and I enter the apartment.

“I, uh, I’m sorry it took me so long to come talk to you.” Now that I’m here, I don’t really know what I want to tell her.

“Well, I guess you thought things through, so what’s the verdict? Are we going to work it out or not?”

Tentatively, I lift my hands and rest them on her shoulders. “I just need to hear you answer me one thing.”

“What’s that?”

I smirk at her. “Did you really break his nose?” Please, let her laugh.