“What’s wrong?” Levi’s voice broke into my racing thoughts, and I refused to look at him, keeping my face firmly planted in my pillow. He sat next to me on the bed, setting a hand on my upper leg, precariously close to my ass. “You need to try to be nice, Kelsey. They’re your parents, and it’s obvious they’re trying—”
“What would you know about it?” I asked, slowly turning my head aside to glare at him.
“I know you’re being a little childish,” he said. “Your parents are separated. It is what it is. It’s not the end of the world.”
I sat up, less than a foot from him. I either wanted to strangle him or make-out with him. Not sure which one. “Yeah, but…” I trailed off, biting my lower lip.
“But things are going to change,” he said, blue eyes unrelenting as they stared at me. “Yes, they are. But just because things are going to change doesn’t automatically mean change is bad. It might be good, but you have to give it a chance.”
A chuckle left me. “Since when do you talk like some kind of fortune cookie, Blue?” He was about to answer, but I shut him up by kissing him hard. “Sorry about being such a bitch.”
He shrugged, smirking. “We all have our moments. You just have them more often than anyone else I know.” I shoved him playfully, causing him to add, “Okay, okay. Except my mom. But everyone else, you have them beaten.”
Leave it to Levi to cheer me up, somehow. Leave it to him to just be there and make it better. Frankly, if he wasn’t here with me, I doubted I’d be handling this all so well. He was my rock, and I needed him, and I hoped, prayed he knew it.
As we got up and headed to my door, I grabbed his hand and stopped him, pulling him back. Those blue eyes found mine, taking the breath out of my lungs. “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I told him, meaning it. Meaning every single word. Lovey-dovey wasn’t in my nature, but with him, it sort of came naturally.
Dinner was ready at four, and my dad had pulled the kitchen table away from the wall so the four of us could sit around it. I was the lucky one who got pinned between the wall and the table, leaving Levi to sit beside my dad, and my mom on my other side. The table before me was full: turkey, gravy boats, cranberries, bread rolls, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and a few other things. So full. So much food I doubted we’d be able to eat it all.
I wasn’t really hungry, so my plate was sparse. After we said our thanks, we dug in.
The table was quiet for a long while, the only sounds the silverware clinking on the table and glasses being picked up and set down. I ate a bit of turkey, but turkey wasn’t my favorite meat. More often than not it was too dry. Dad had cooked the turkey well enough, but eh.
After dinner came the pies. Apple, pumpkin, and even pecan. Those my dad bought from a store; no way he’d be able to cook it all by himself—although he seemed to do well enough with everything else.
Everyone was stuffed afterward, except me, because I’d pretty much just moved around my food, only eating a few bites here and there. My appetite hadn’t been the same lately. Levi and my dad had cleanup duty, which let me sit in the living room, unfortunately accompanied by my mom.
My favorite person in the whole world. Loved her so freaking much.
“So,” I whispered, tearing my eyes off the TV. Finally we’d taken the parade off repeat, now watching whatever was on. I glared at my mom. “Where’d you move to?”
“A condo, actually,” my mom said. She sat near me on the couch, but a cushion sat between us. “It is something I wanted to discuss with you, Kelsey. I know you…you’re not happy with your father and I divorcing, but it’s going to be finalized next month. We decided not to drag each other down, just to cut ties.”
My stomach curdled. I had no idea why she was telling me this, why she thought it was a good idea to explain to me how amiable their divorce was. Didn’t want to hear it.
“I want to be honest with you, honey,” my mom went on, reaching over to grab my hand, but I moved it away from her before she could, causing her to harshly sigh. “I’m not alone in the condo. If you’re feeling up to it, I would like you to meet Shawn—”
Hold up. Who the fuck was Shawn?
“Shawn?” I asked, blinking. Somehow I knew whatever answer she gave me would not make me a happy camper.
“I’ve been seeing Shawn for a little under two years. Your father knew. It doesn’t have to be soon, but he is a good man, and I—”
I got up, waving a hand through the air as if trying to dissipate the bullshit, of which there was a lot. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Absolutely nothing, because there was nothing to say. Instead, I turned, left the room, heading right for the front door, and grabbed whatever shoes I could find. After throwing on my hoodie, I left, ignoring my dad’s and Levi’s questions about what I was doing.
What was I doing? I didn’t know, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to sit there and listen to my mom any longer.
Once I was outside in the dying daylight, I ran. I ran as
