The betrayal was instant and brutal.
“Phoenix,” Levi whispered.
“Don’t,” I said quietly as I stepped away from him. I’d been such a fucking fool. My entire job depended on my ability to judge people and I’d completely missed the mark on this man. After the day I’d spent with Levi and Henry, I’d been convinced that Levi was innocent…no, not of the crime seven years ago, but of everything that had come after. He’d been trying to do good with his life. Volunteering, being a father to the little boy who needed him…
“Please, Phoenix, just let me explain,” Levi begged. His eyes were pooling with tears, but for once, I didn’t feel the need to comfort him.
“I get it,” I bit out. “Doesn’t get any clearer than that,” I said, motioning to the tattoo. It was no bigger than the size of a half-dollar, but it might as well have been the size of the moon. My anger was threatening to consume me so I moved farther away from Levi. As much as he disgusted me, I didn’t want to hurt him.
Why the fuck hadn’t I just done my damn job?
Levi tried to grab my arm, but I jerked it from his grasp, making him let out a little whimper. I turned to leave the kitchen so I could pull myself together, but he stepped into my path.
“Please, I’m begging you-”
“Get the fuck out of my way, Levi,” I snapped. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I really need a goddamn minute right now.”
I stormed past him, ignoring the sob that tore free from his throat. I went out to the alley and wished like hell T would be waiting out there, but the bastard hadn’t shown his face since the day I’d intervened on Levi’s behalf.
The day I’d chosen him over my family.
“Fuck!” I yelled and then I rammed my fist into the wall. Not hard enough to break my hand, but enough to have it hurt like a motherfucker. I’d definitely have bruises.
I was half-tempted to leave, but I couldn’t do that to the people who were counting on me tonight. I might have started this whole volunteering gig to keep a closer eye on Levi, but I’d found myself putting more into it and getting more out of it than I’d anticipated. I’d started interacting with some of the people who used the soup kitchen’s services and while I didn’t know all their stories, I’d seen enough to know that my contribution made a difference.
I gave myself five minutes to calm down before I went back into the building. Levi wasn’t in the kitchen, but I didn’t really care. I kept myself busy by cleaning up the mess we’d made with the water, but all that did was cause my temper to notch up again as I remembered how eagerly Levi had kissed me back and how good he’d felt in my arms.
And how damn beautiful his laugh was.
Five minutes passed, then another five before I started to wonder if Levi had left. I hadn’t seen him leave through the back entrance, but he could have gone through the church’s front entrance. But I doubted he’d bail on his responsibilities. I waited a few more minutes and then began looking for him. I told myself it was because we needed to finish up the dinner preparations, but I knew that was a lie. Now that my immediate anger had started todie down, I couldn’t help but remember the way he’d begged me to hear him out.
When I reached the back rooms, I noticed the door to the small bedroom was closed, so I figured that was his likely hiding spot. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I started to get nervous as I remembered his breakdown this morning in my bathroom.
“Levi,” I called as I knocked again. Still no answer. I expected the door to be locked as I turned the knob, but it wasn’t. The room was dim since only the small lamp on the nightstand was on, but there was enough light for me to see Levi sitting on the bed with his right arm balanced on his lap. It took me several long seconds to understand what I was seeing.
Because where I should have seen the black ink from the tattoo, I saw only white foam. I automatically flipped on the overhead light so I could see better. The additional light helped me see the dark ink of the tattoo, but something wasn’t right. My eyes fell to a yellow bottle on the floor next to Levi’s feet.
“What-” I began as I read the label from where I was standing.
Oven cleaner.
My eyes flipped back to Levi’s wrist and I shook my head in disbelief.
“What the hell?” I yelled as strode forward and snatched Levi’s arm so I could get a better look. The blackness I was seeing wasn’t the tattoo at all. It was his fucking skin!
“What have you done?” I asked, completely horrified. The white foam on Levi’s wrist was bubbling. I glanced at his face and saw that sweat had formed on his brow and his face was pale and drawn tight.
In pain.
“Jesus,” I said as I snatched the bottle of oven cleaner off the floor and turned it around to read the label. I dropped it as soon as I found what I was looking for.
Lye.
One of the ingredients was lye and it was currently burning away the layers of Levi’s skin. I yanked him none too gently to hisfeet. I knew I needed to get the shit off him, but I was afraid of the damage I’d do if I just wiped it away with my shirt or something else. I needed to get him to running water. But the second I began pulling him from the room, Levi fought back.
“No!” He tried to rip his arm free. “I need to make sure it’s gone first!”
“Stop it!” I shouted and then I bodily dragged him to the kitchen.
