“Why didn’t you tell me?” Koen asks, a hint of desperation in his voice. “I would have?—”
“You would havewhat?” Nicholas cuts him off with a bitter laugh. “You showed me exactly what you’d do. You chose him over me without a second thought.”
“I did it because you hurt him!” Koen argues. “If you came to me and told me about?—”
“About what?” Nicholas snaps. “Howyour twinwas making my life a living hell?”
“Why me?” Levi looks stunned. “Iwasn’t the one bullying you!”
“But you were the one spreading the rumors!” Nicholas fires back.
“I…what?” Levi stammers, his defensiveness giving way to confusion.
“You went around telling people how I liked flowers, how I’d never had a girlfriend, how you were sure I was gay. You asked guys if I’d hit on them or if I ever tried to kiss them!”
Levi’s eyes widen. “Fuck, that was… I didn’t do that to spread rumors. I was asking for myself! I was trying to figure out if there was a chance you might be into me too.”
“Still, you were the one who spread them.” Nicholas looks down at his feet, clenching his fists.
Holy shit.
The realization hits me the same time it does Levi, and I watch as his defensiveness surges even before he opens his mouth again. “Well, you could havestillnot acted like a fucking asshole and hurt me. We could have just talked it out. Shows what kind of person you are.”
“What kind of personIam?” Nicholas looks up at Levi again and steps closer, jabbing a finger into his chest. “You took my family away from me. Koen, Oscar. Youruinedmy life!”
Ezra steps in, shoving Nicholas back with a force that makes him stumble, and Koen reaches out to grip Nicholas’s upper arm to keep him from falling on his ass.
“Don’t youdaretouch him,” Ezra growls. “Lay a finger on him one more time, and I’ll cut it off.”
“Ezy, stop.” Levi tries to pull him back by the elbow, but Ezra shrugs him off.
“No! I held you for months after what he did to you. You still have nightmares because of thisdickhead.”
Fuck, this is escalating fast.
I shoot a glance at Sylus and Ace, who both look tense as well.
Nicholas looks like he wants to take another step closer, but Koen holds him back. “Easy, Snickers.”
“Oh, and Levi’s some fucking angel, huh?” Nicholas yells at Ezra. “He’s never done anything wrong?”
“Shut the fuck up!” Ezra shouts.
“Ezy—” Levi tries again, but Ezra turns and grabs his face in both hands, then kisses him hard. The room falls completely silent except for the collective gasps of Koen and Sylus.
When Ezra pulls back, he keeps his hands on Levi’s face, looking directly into his eyes as he promises, “Nobody will ever hurt you again, love. Not even me.”
Levi looks dazed, his eyes wide, his lips parted as he stares at Ezra. He nods, a tiny movement before Ezra takes his hand and leads him out of the room while we all turn to watch them go.
Hell, yes!
Koen clears his throat, his gaze bouncing between Nicholas and the door Ezra and his twin disappeared through. “Well, that wasunexpected.”
Ace leans against the counter. “Was it, though?”
I notice the little smug sheen in his eyes I know so well and have to suppress a laugh.
After a few more moments of silence, Koen breaks it. “I’m sorry, Nico. I saw what was going on, and I should have acted. I just… I didn’t know it was that bad.”
