Chapter 22
Levi
Levi walked up the steps of Evie's parents' townhouse, the weight of his own guilt heavy in his chest. The stately brick home loomed before him, its ivy-covered walls and pristine windows a reminder of the childhood he had always known, yet somehow felt distant from tonight. He paused at the door, hesitating as he raised his hand to knock, wondering if he even had the right words to say.
After a few minutes, the door opened, revealing Evie's father. Jason's usual warm smile faltered for a moment, replaced by a flicker of surprise, then concern. Levi cleared his throat, trying to steady his voice. "Good evening."
"Levi," Jason stepped aside. "What a surprise."
"Is Evelyn home?" Levi asked, the bouquet of flowers feeling awkward in his hands.
Jason studied Levi's face, recognizing the troubled expression, and nodded slowly. "She's in her room. Go on up."
He stepped aside to let Levi in. The familiar scent of polished wood and fresh flowers filled Levi's senses as he crossed the threshold. Levi moved through the house with a sense of dread, his footsteps quiet on the hardwood floors. The townhouse was elegantly decorated, the walls adorned with family photos and artwork that hinted at a life of privilege and stability. But tonight, it felt more like a museum, cold and unwelcoming, as he made his way toward the staircase.
As he climbed the stairs, each step seemed heavier than the last. His mind raced, replaying the moments from the lunch that had led him here. The sharp words, the way he had brushed off her feelings, and the look of hurt in Evie's eyes. He felt that familiar tightness in his chest, that unbearable weight that had only grown since their argument.
Reaching her room, he hesitated again, his hand hovering over the door. He could hear the faint sound of music playing softly from inside. Taking a deep breath, he knocked gently.
"Come in," came Evie's voice.
Levi pushed the door open slowly, the creak of the hinges barely masking the nervous flutter in his chest. Evie sat on her bed, her legs curled beneath her, surrounded by binders and notes. The soft glow of a bedside lamp cast warm light across the room, highlighting the delicate features of her face. When she looked up and saw him standing there, her eyes narrowed.
"What do you want?" Evie asked.
"I needed to see you," Levi closed the door gently behind him, the sound of it clicking shut seeming to echo in the room's silence. He looked around at Evie's childhood room, the same room he had spent countless afternoons in doing homework or school projects. "I came to apologize."
Evie's narrowed eyes followed his every move, her expression a mixture of frustration and guardedness. Her posture was tense, and the usual warmth that filled the room whenever they were together felt absent, replaced by a cold distance that made Levi's heart ache.
"I don't want to hear it," she said sharply, turning her gaze back to the pile of notes on her bed as if to dismiss him entirely.
But Levi wasn't going to be brushed off so easily. He moved closer, his steps careful, as if approaching a wounded animal.
"I know I hurt you," he said softly, his voice gentle. "And I can't stand the thought of leaving things like this between us."
Evie didn't respond, her fingers tightening around the edge of one of her binders. The silence stretched, thick with unspoken words, until Levi couldn't bear it anymore. He walked over to the bed, hesitating for only a second before sitting down beside her. He didn't reach out to touch her, not yetâeven though he was dying to feel her soft skin.
"Do you remember that time we stayed up all night on Halloween?" Levi asked quietly, his voice full of warmth as he tried to break through the wall she'd put up. "We watched way too many scary movies and neither of us could go to sleep."
A flicker of a smile tugged at the corner of Evie's lips, but she quickly masked it, her expression hardening once more.
"What's your point?" she asked, her tone still cold.
Levi sighed, feeling the weight of her resistance but refusing to give up. "My point is that we've always been there for each other, no matter what. And I'm not going to stop being here for you just because I messed up. I care about you too much, Evie."
"Where were you the last two years?" Evie asked. "Was that you being there for me?"
Levi frowned.
"You hardly ever answered by texts," Evie continued. "When I was in New York, you found excuses to leave town or not come see me. You avoided me like the plague. And now, all of a sudden, you want to pop back into my life and control it."
"I don't want to control it," Levi said. "And I wasn't avoiding you."
"Then what do you call it?"
"I was....." Levi took in a deep breath. "I thought I was giving you and Mason a fair shot."
"What?" Evie's eyes narrowed in confusion.
"I know about you and Mason," Levi said. "About what happened between you two in Aspen during my dad's birthday."
"What do you mean?"
"I saw you coming out of his room that night," Levi said. "I never told Mason you were off limit but it made me angry. But then I decided that if you two wanted to be together, I wouldn't object to it."
"How did you....." Evie frowned. "Did Mason tell you?"
"No."
"You saw me coming out of his room?"
"Yes."
"You avoided me since then because you thought Mason and I were together?"
"Yeah..."
"Are those flowers for me?" Evie looked down at the bouquet.
"Yes."
"Are you going to give them to me?"
Levi smiled. He held out the bouquet, "Evelyn, I am so sorry-"
Evie grabbed the bouquet and swung it like a baseball bat. Levi winced as the bouquet made contact with his head, the flowers exploding in a shower of petals that scattered across the bed and floor. Evie's fury was palpable, her eyes blazing with anger and disbelief as she swung the bouquet again, this time with even more force.
"You absolute idiot!" she shouted, her voice trembling with a mix of frustration and hurt. "You thought Mason and I were together? That's why you've been avoiding me?"
Levi instinctively raised his hands in defense, "Evie, Iâ"
"Nothing ever happened between me and Mason!" Evie cut him off, her voice rising. "How could you even think that? Do you have any idea how hurtful it is that you assumed the worst about me everytime?"
Levi's heart sank, the weight of his assumptions crashing down on him. "I'm so sorry. I just... I saw you coming out of his room.... I thought I was doing the right thing by giving you space."
Evie stared at him, her chest heaving as she tried to calm herself down. She was still clutching the now-tattered bouquet, her grip tight as if she wanted to throw it at him again.
"You didn't even give me a chance to explain," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "You just assumed I didn't care about you, that I was off with someone else, and you disappeared from my life."
Levi felt a lump forming in his throat as he took in her words, realizing how deeply he had hurt her.
"I'm an idiot," he said, his voice soft, laced with regret. "A complete and total idiot. But I swear to you, Evelyn, nothing could ever change the way I feel about you. I was scared of losing you, so I pushed you away before you could push me away."
Evie's expression softened slightly, but the hurt in her eyes remained. "You were scared of losing me, so you abandoned me?" she asked, incredulity and sadness mixing in her tone.
"I'm not proud of what I did," Levi admitted. "And I realized that I'm repeating the cycle. I have overstepped my boundaries with Harry. I want to make it right."
Evie looked down at the ruined bouquet in her hands, her anger slowly giving way to exhaustion. She sighed heavily, letting the flowers fall from her grasp.
"Levi, I don't know what to do with you," she said, her voice weary but no longer sharp.
Levi took the opportunity to reach out, gently taking her hands in his. "I'm trying not to be that idiot who jumped to conclusions," he said softly, his voice full of sincerity. "Let me show you that I'm the Levi who loves you more than anything, the Levi who wants to be there for you no matter what."
Evie didn't pull away, but she didn't fully relax into his touch either. She looked up at him, her eyes searching his, as if she wanted to say something. Her lips parted for a split second, words forming on the tip of her tongue before she quickly closed her mouth.
"You really are an idiot," she said instead.
Levi nodded, a small smile forming on his face. "I know. But I'm your idiot, if you'll have me."
"I can't believe you thought Mason and I...." Evie shivered. "That would be so weird, I would be thinking of you the whole time-"
Evie's voice trailed off, and the moment she realized what she had said, her cheeks flushed a delicate pink. Levi's breath caught in his throat as he saw the way her eyes darted away, suddenly shy, as if she couldn't believe she had admitted that out loud.
For a split second, Levi felt his heart race faster, the space between them seeming to shrink despite neither of them moving. He could feel the pull, that invisible force drawing them closer, the same force he had fought against countless times before. His fingers tightened ever so slightly around her hands, the warmth of her skin grounding him yet pushing him toward that edge.
"Evelyn..." he began, his voice barely above a whisper. The way he said her name was full of longing, tinged with the conflict raging inside him.
Evie glanced back at him, her eyes wide, the same mix of emotions reflected in her gaze. She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out, only a soft exhale that mingled with the tension hanging between them. Her pulse quickened, the weight of his gaze on her stirring feelings she wasn't sure she was ready to confront.
Levi knew he should pull back, should ease the tension with a joke or a smile, anything to break the spell that was slowly binding them together. But he couldn't. Not when she was sitting so close, not when her lips were just inches away, not when every part of him ached to close the distance.
Evie felt it tooâthe undeniable attraction that hummed in the air, the pull of Levi's presence that made her want to lean in, to feel his breath against her skin. But she fought it, swallowing hard as she tried to keep her emotions in check.
"Not that I think about you in that way," she started, though her voice lacked conviction, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself than him. Levi held back a grin, his eyes flickering up from Evie's lips to her eyes.
The moment hung in the air, heavy with unspoken words and lingering emotions. Levi's gaze, warm and searching, met Evie's, and for a heartbeat, the world seemed to narrow to just the two of them, caught in the delicate balance between friendship and something more. But then, as if on cue, they both pulled away, breaking the invisible thread that had momentarily bound them together.
Evie was the first to move, clearing her throat as she sat back, her hands slipping out of Levi's gentle grasp. She turned her attention to the papers scattered around her, using them as a shield to hide the flush of heat that had crept up her neck.
"I should get back to what I was doing," she muttered, her voice a little too quick, a little too high.
Levi let out a small sigh and ran a hand through his hair, the tension easing from his posture.
"Yeah, of course," he replied, his tone light and casual, though his eyes lingered on her a moment longer before he forced himself to look away. The charged energy that had crackled between them was still there, but now it was buried beneath layers of polite distance and careful restraint. "What are you working on?"
Evie glanced up, her expression softening as she realized he wasn't going to press the issue. "Just going over some wedding plans," she said, her voice regaining its steadiness. She gestured to the open binder in front of her, filled with notes and clippings, the organized chaos of her mother's meticulous planning.
"Wedding planning?"
"Yeah, you know the small thing Harry and I'm doing," Evie rolled her eyes. "I've been trying to get everything sorted out before things get too hectic."
She offered Levi a small smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes, as if she were trying to convince herself that everything was under control.
"How is Harry?"
Evie arched her brow, "He's good. Thank you for asking."
"No, I mean as a person," Levi said. "How is he as a person? Is he good to you?"
"If he wasn't, I wouldn't be marrying him," Evie muttered, picking up a pen and returning to her plans.
Levi watched Evie's reaction closely, trying to gauge how she truly felt about her upcoming marriage. Her words were confident, but there was something in her tone, in the way she avoided his gaze, that made him doubt the sincerity of her response.
"Of course," Levi said, nodding slightly. "I just... I want to understand more about him, you know? I want to be supportive."
Evie glanced up from her papers, her eyes narrowing as she studied his expression. "Supportive?" she repeated, her voice laced with skepticism. "Or are you just trying to find reasons to make fun of me and Harry?"
Levi blinked, taken aback by her accusation. "What? No, that's not it at all. I'm justâ"
"Because it sure sounds like you're fishing for something to laugh about," Evie cut him off. "You don't have to pretend to be interested just to get more material for your jokes."
Levi felt a pang of guilt at her words, realizing how his curiosity might have come across. He had intended to show concern, to prove that he was willing to put aside his own feelings and genuinely try to understand her relationship with Harry. But clearly, his approach had backfired.
"Evelyn, that's not what I'm doing," Levi said softly, his tone earnest. "I know I haven't exactly been supportive, but I'm trying to change that. I'm not here to make fun of you or Harry. I just want to make sure you're happy."
Evie sighed, her shoulders sagging slightly as she set down her pen.
"I am happy," she said, though her voice wavered. "Harry makes me happy."
Levi nodded slowly, though the tension in the room didn't dissipate. He could sense the walls Evie was putting up, the way she was trying to convince herself of the very thing she was telling him. It made him want to push further, to ask more, but he knew that doing so would only make things worse.
Instead, he offered her a small, sincere smile. "That's all I needed to know," he said. "I'm here for you, whatever you need."
Evie looked at him for a long moment, her expression softening slightly as she saw the genuine concern in his eyes. But the doubt still lingered, a shadow that neither of them could fully dispel.
"Anything?" She asked.
"You name it."
Evie tilted her head and smiled. She held up two pieces of color swatches, "Which shade of white for the dinner plates? Eggshell white or butter white?"
Levi couldn't help but laugh softly as he took the swatches from Evie, his fingers brushing against hers for a fleeting moment. He held them up to the light, squinting as if trying to discern some great difference between the two nearly identical shades.
"Eggshell white or butter white?" he repeated, his tone playfully serious. "You're really putting me to the test here."
Evie smiled, "Well, you did say 'anything.' Consider this your first task."
Levi turned the swatches over in his hands, pretending to weigh the decision with great importance.
"I don't want to mess this up," he said, his voice filled with mock gravity. "This could be the most crucial decision of your entire wedding."
Evie let out a small laugh, shaking her head. "Levi, they're dinner plates, not a life-or-death situation."
"Hey, don't underestimate the power of a good plate color," Levi countered, grinning. "But if I have to choose..." He paused for dramatic effect, his eyes flicking between the two swatches. "I'm going with eggshell white. It's classic, timeless, and it says, 'I care about elegance.'"
Evie rolled her eyes, though she couldn't suppress the smile tugging at her lips. "Eggshell it is," she said, taking the swatches back from him. "Good choice."
"Thank you," Levi replied, his grin widening as he saw her relax. The tension that had hung over them moments ago seemed to dissipate, replaced by the easy banter they had always shared.
For a moment, it felt like old timesâbefore the misunderstandings, before the engagement, before everything became so complicated. But even as they laughed and joked, Levi couldn't shake the feeling that they were both skirting around something much deeper, something that would eventually have to be confronted.
Still, for now, he was content to help her with the little things, to be the friend she needed.
"Next," Evie flipped the page. "My bridal bouquet. What kind of roses should I get?"
Levi leaned back on his elbow on the bed as Evie presented him with the options. He studied the pictures with his brows knit in concentration.
"Something strong and sturdy," he said. "Something you can beat the shit out of Harry with."
Evie looked around at the field of rose petals they sat amongst and laughed. She raised her hand and pulled out a few pieces from her hair.
"Heirloom roses," Levi said, pointing to one of the pictures. "Peach-colored heirloom."
"Really?" Evie asked, staring at the picture. "Are you sure?"
"They're perfect for your eyes," Levi said, his gaze caught on Evie's face.
Evie's laughter faded as she noticed the way Levi was looking at her, his words hanging in the air between them. His gaze was intense, sincere, and it made her heart skip a beat. She glanced down at the picture of the heirloom roses, trying to refocus her thoughts, but the warmth in her cheeks betrayed her.
"For my eyes?" she repeated softly.
Levi nodded, still gazing at her. "Yeah, they bring out the color of your eyes."
Evie nodded, forcing herself to focus on the page in front of her. "Peach-colored heirloom roses it is," she said, making a note in her planner.
_____________________
Lily
"Any drinks for you?" The waitress turned toward Lily.
"Just a glass of water please," Lily smiled.
"Sure."
Lily gathered her menu and handed it to the lady. Before her Alexa did the same. The two girls had just finished their last classes for the afternoon. Lily grabbed the opportunity to invite Alexa out for lunch. Her heart hammered inside her chest as she sat before her friend, drifting with the napkin in her hands.
"How was the engagement party?" Alexa asked. "I saw the pictures you posted. You looked so beautiful."
"Thanks," Lily smiled. "It was really fun. I missed everyone so much. It was fun to go back."
"Are you staying on campus after finals?"
"No," Lily shook her head. "Evie asked me to be her bridesmaid. I need to be in New York to help out with the planning."
"Makes sense," Alexa nodded. "She's beautiful by the way. Everyone in your family is. Especially your brother."
"Which one?" Lily laughed, her heart beating even faster.
"The really tall one," Alexa said. "Light brown eyes."
"Theo," Lily nodded.
"My god, he is fine," Alexa sighed. "I bet girls go crazy over him."
Lily shrugged, "He was pretty popular in high school and college. But Theo doesn't really pay attention to things like that."
"Like Gabriel," Alexa chuckled.
Lily swallowed, "A lot of girls are after Gabriel....?"
"Yeah, man, it's so annoying," Alexa clicked her tongue. "In high school, that was mostly the reason why anyone wanted to hang out with me."
Lily's pounding heart caused her throat to dry. She tried her best to stay casual. "You don't like your friends dating your brother?"
"Who does?" Alexa snorted. "I hate it. Mainly because Gabriel thinks it's funny to mess with my friends. Senior year of high school, he did end up dating one of them and it was a disaster. To be fair, she turned out to be completely crazy. He broke up with her and she lost her shit. She stalked him, keyed his car, slashed his tires, even tried to date his best friend to get back at him."
Lily's heart sank as she listened to Alexa recount Gabriel's past antics. The initial excitement and hope she had felt about Gabriel now felt like a cruel joke. Her fingers gripped the edges of her napkin tightly, trying to steady the sudden wave of disappointment that threatened to overwhelm her.
"That's insane...." Lily didn't know what else to say.
"It was a nightmare."
"Wait, so....." Lily's voice wavered as she tried to process what she was hearing, "Gabriel flirts with your friends just to get under your skin?"
Alexa nodded with a mix of exasperation and amusement. "Yep. He thinks it's hilarious. It's like his personal entertainment to mess with my friends. And it's not just harmless flirting; he really gets involved. I hate it."
Lily's heart felt like it was breaking apart. She had hoped that Gabriel's attention towards her was genuine. But hearing this, she couldn't help but feel a deep sting of betrayal. The image she had built of Gabrielâone filled with possibility and sincere affectionâwas crumbling before her eyes.
The waitress returned with Lily's water, and Lily took a long sip, hoping it would somehow quench the ache in her chest. She tried to maintain a brave face, but the sadness was palpable. "So... he's just playing around, then?"
"Seems like it," Alexa confirmed, her tone sympathetic but matter-of-fact. "He's done it before, and he probably will again. He's just not serious about it."
As Lily listened to Alexa's words, a crushing realization began to sink in. Gabriel had been playing with her feelings, rather than genuinely reciprocating them. The truth hit her with a brutal clarity. It was as if the image she had held so dearly of himâcharming, sincere, and possibly falling for herâhad been a mirage, a façade built on false pretenses. The warmth she had once felt whenever Gabriel was near was replaced by a cold, hollow emptiness.
As she and Alexa finished their lunch, Lily struggled to maintain a semblance of normalcy. The conversation felt strained, and the smiles she managed were thin and forced. Inside, she grappled with the weight of her realization, her emotions a tangled mess of sadness and disillusionment. The fantasy of Gabriel's affection had been a comforting illusion, now shattered by the harsh light of reality.
Sorry for the late updates :p