I sit down on the side of the bed and read the message over and over until tears blur my sight, making it impossible for me to see.
I don’t know what to do. How do I even begin to process everything?
Chapter 21
Levi
The past twenty-four hours of my life have been a living hell.
The second the piece Colby recorded aired on his YouTube channel, it went viral.
My agent called and he tried to get me to agree to do an interview with one of the big networks, but I refuse to talk about my personal life on national television. My agent and publicist said they would get the footage of what happened outside Kelcie’s house taken down.
It’s too late, though. Last time I checked, the video had over two million views. Everyone now knows I have a murderer for a half brother.
I don’t give a flying fuck whether my sales go down the drain and the publishers cancel their contract with me.
I want Kelcie back. I don’t care about anything else.
Pain rips through my chest like a category five hurricane, obliterating everything inside me.
I load my last bag into my car, ignoring the stares from the neighbors who are suddenly interested in taking evening walks in the middle of winter.
Going into the house, I make sure all the windows are shut and the back door is locked. I check every room for anything I might’ve left behind, then pat my thigh for Lick to follow me.
When I open the car door so she can jump onto the back seat, my eyes go to Kelcie’s house.
For a long while, I stand and stare at her place, remembering every special moment I got to spend with her.
“Jesus,” I gasp, the pain too much to handle.
I shut the back door before getting in behind the steering wheel. When I start the engine, I look at both houses where I found a taste of happiness.
That’s what makes this so unbearable. I now know what it feels like to be loved, and it will be so much harder to return to my old life.
I reverse out onto the street, aware there’s a very good chance this might be the last time I drive through this town.
I might never see Kelcie again. Which will mean I’ll never feel her touch again.
Even as relentless heartbreak drowns all the light from my life, I know with dead certainty I’d do it all again just for the chance to experience being loved by Kelcie.
She’s worth all the hell I’ll have to endure for the rest of my meaningless existence.
I stop at the gas station to fill my tank, and while I glance in the direction of the auto repair shop, I see Kelcie’s sedan in one of the bays. There’s damage to the bumper, and it has chills racing down my spine.
No!
My heart stutters in my chest, and my mouth goes bone dry. I jog toward the repair shop as Malakai begins shutting the doors.
“What happened to Kelcie’s car?” I ask.
His head whips in my direction. “Oh, hey, Levi. It slid off the road into an embankment. They had the car towed here for repairs.”
Icy air fills my lungs as I gasp, dread coiling around my heart. “Did Kelcie get hurt?”
Malakai shakes his head. “Jordan said she’s fine.”
Thank fuck!
