Levi was the only boy I’d ever known. Though he was shy and reserved, and something about him was tortured and dark, I knew deep down he wasn’t bad.
He darted forward, stopping abruptly with his lips just inches from mine. It wasn’t like he was about to kiss me. He was just trying to scare me.
“You don’t know me,” he growled, his gaze flicking between my lips and my eyes.
My fingers crumpled my skirt. “Someone who enjoys listening to the beauty of music can’t be evil.”
Unlike someone who destroys it.
He blinked, taking a step back. “I never…”
I closed in on him. “I knew you were listening.”
I’d felt his presence at the top of the stairs, absorbing the melody of my violin. It was comforting, like having a silent protector, a ghostly friend. One time, when I’d left the studio, I even saw a tear on his cheek, though he’d never admit it. Who needed words when the music spoke for itself?
That was why I always left the door open.
For him.
“Will you stay here in the house? Or are you leaving?” I asked.
The lines on his forehead creased, his irises like storm clouds gathering before a downpour. “Why? So you could come to visit?”
I gulped, tearing my gaze away from his. “I…maybe.”
I still wanted to see him, but Dad would never allow me to return.I’ll never see Lucie’s son again.He’ll be gone, just like Lucie.
“If you want to talk about Lucie, I can listen…”
“She’s dead!” His voice cut through the thin air like blades. “She’s gone.”
I felt the first traces of tears prickling at the edges of my eyes. She was truly gone. I extended my hand to reach for his shoulder. I wanted to comfort him; he had no one to hug him. Grandma was the one who always hugged me when I was sad.
But his hand closed around my wrist to prevent me from touching him. It was the first time our skin had touched. My heart surged in a crescendo. His hold on me was surprisingly warm.
“Your heart is beating like a scared little lamb,” he snapped, his voice harsh, and I stifled a gasp when his lips brushed against the shell of my ear. “I hate you and everything you represent. I want to hurt you so fucking much. I want to take something from you. So leave before I change my fucking mind.” He straightened his spine and released my hand from his grip. His eyes locked on mine, showing only emptiness.
“Why were you watching me every Wednesday if you hate me that much?”
He had no answer for me.
The air hung thick with dust. It was the last time I could try to help him. I shared his suffering. We’d never really talked in all those years, but the weight of silence sometimes says a lot too.
And so, I gathered my courage and rose on my tiptoes, my hand trembling as it rested on his chest. He tensed. Maybe I was doing this wrong? Everything was about to change. This was my goodbye to him.
It’d be another secret we could share.
On impulse and fueled by years of curiosity, I pressed my lips against his. Despite the cuts marring his lips, they felt surprisingly soft against mine. He didn’t push me away, but he didn’t kiss me back either.
I broke away, cheeks ablaze with embarrassment, but then I felt the grasp of his hand around my wrist. He drew me back to him, and this time, his lips found mine. Harder and rougher.He wanted me back.With just a kiss, he had bloomed a garden of colorful flowers in my stomach. I didn’t know tongues could kiss, but it was like ours had fallen madly in love, too. I drank in his essence, the smell of wine wafting to my nose, but it didn’t matter. He ensnared me further by gripping my waist firmly. My knees wobbled. It felt forbidden, the kind I would never confess to anyone—certainly not to our priest.
This moment would be forever mine.
“Dalia, what’s taking you so—”
Dad?I pushed Levi away, my heart catching in my throat.It was over.Dad loomed just beyond the door, his broad shoulders almost blocking its entirety.No. No. No.
“You little piece of shit, get away from my daughter!”
