"It's been six hours and we still don't have anything." said Levi disappointment lacing his tone.
Axky sighed and handed him another chocolate chip cookie. "We need to keep looking." he said calmly. "I'm sure we can find something to prosecute him with."
"There's nothing!" shouted Levi angrily returning the cookie to the bowl. "Not one fucking thing. The asshole destroyed all the evidence there ever was!"
Axky shook his head and took the cookie for himself. Levi was still a teenager and very impatient. He didn't know that hacking wasn't all action all the time. There were dead ends here too, like most professions.
"Don't curse in front of my wife." he advised instead. "She'll make you wash your mouth with soap. Made Jack and me do it once."
He shuddered at the memory, but internally agreed that cursing in front of the kids wasn't a good idea.
Levi stood up and paced around the room in frustration. Axky was being rational, calm and well adult about this whole thing. And it was pissing him off. Levi's anger simmered under the surface as he craved some solitude. Spotting an empty balcony, he hurried to find some peace there. He leaned against the railing, his back to the afternoon sun and contemplated about his situation.
"Fuck." he said in a low voice. He wanted Gavin Walters behind bars, working his ass off in prison for the rest of his life. And he wanted it right now damn it!
"Watcha doin'?" came a sudden voice and Levi almost fell off the railing.
Spinning around he looked down to see Vicky waving her arm. "Missed you." she said brightly.
She looked so pretty just then, with the golden light reflecting off the loose strands of hair framing her face, he forgot why he was in the balcony, forgot why he was angry, forgot that Axky was just in the other room and spoke.
"Vicky...you look so beautiful." he said, catching her eyes and holding on with ease. "I want to kiss you."
Vicky blushed a deep red and looked away almost instantly.
"Levi..." she tried to stop him, but Levi went on, intoxicated by her mere presence, and overwhelmed by the surge of love he felt towards her.
"I want to take you away. Just you and me, having fun, making out, making love. God, I want to forget all of this and just kiss you. God, Vicky, hold on, I'll come down and take you---" he said passionately turning around and crashing into Axky's chest.
"Old man?" he said disoriented slightly by the collision. As soon as he realized what happened, he wanted to face palm. Don't tell me he heard us!
"Run away with my daughter?" repeated Axky raising an eyebrow looking thoroughly displeased.
"Yeah." said Levi automatically before wishing he would just shut up. "And get married preferably."
"You are sixteen." pointed out Axky smugly, secretly glad that the hormonal kid was still underage. "You can forget about the making love thing. Vicky is not going to sleep with you."
"How can you be so sure?" demanded Levi crossing his arms, completely missing how raging bull angry Axky looked right this minute. "Old Man?"
Yes. There was no damn filter in Levi's mouth.
Axky looked like he wanted nothing more than to box Levi's face into a postcard and send it to the Juvenile Correction Center. But of course, there were gentle arms holding his hand all of a sudden and his resolve to see Levi dead weakened.
"Don't worry Dad." said Vicky, panting slightly as she had run upstairs as fast as she could. "Levi and I aren't going anywhere."
"Damn right you aren't!" said Axky holding Vicky's hand with his own and pointing at Levi like he was an imposter. "My darling daughter, tarnished by this boy's uncontrollable sexual hunger---"
"Dad!" blushed Vicky, protesting weakly.
Levi rolled his eyes. "You're embarrassing her Old Man." he said sagely. "Ever thought that maybe I wasn't serious? It's so easy to mess with you."
"You want to get laid." scoffed Axky. "Of course you are serious. I was sixteen and horny once too you know."
"Yeah, during the Jurassic age." muttered Levi as Vicky slapped her forehead.
"Why you little shit---" Axky lunged forward trying to punch Levi, but missed and rolled off the railing, holding on to the bars with a single hand. "HELP ME!"
Levi started to laugh but shut up immediately seeing Vicky's distress and hurried to help Axky back up. He was heavy, but with Vicky's help they were able to drag his back up to the balcony, all three landing on the floor with the force.
"Are you okay Dad?" asked Vicky, scrambling to her feet and helping Axky up. Levi was laughing too hard to notice them. Vicky shot him a menacing glare, effectively shutting him up.
"My back." groaned Axky standing up slowly. "That devilish boy almost killed me."
"Not my fault you have bad aim." said Levi under his breath.
"What did you say?" asked Axky sharply and Vicky frowned at Levi daring him to say it again.
"I said: Not your fault, I made a mistake. " amended Levi realizing that he might get dumped if he told the truth.
"Hmm." said Axky disbelievingly but hunched under by the pain on his lower back he decided to give Levi the benefit of the doubt. "I'm going to go lie down for a bit. You kids have lunch. And no fooling around, we all sit on that couch."
He limped out of the balcony and disappeared into his room leaving the two teenagers staring at his wake.
As soon as he was gone, Vicky whirled around to glare at Levi, her hands landing on her hips. "Well?" she demanded.
"Um, we had a little tiff?" he said scratching his head nervously. Vicky knew kickboxing, this could get ugly if he wasn't careful.
She rolled her eyes at his words. "Anything new on your father?" she asked instead.
Levi shook his head. "We've been searching all day and we still got nothing."
Vicky nodded sensing his reason for being upset in the first place. She spoke optimistically in an attempt to cheer him up.
"We'll find the proof Levi. You have to trust my Dad. It's taking a bit long, I admit, but Dad's never failed a case before."
Levi nodded returning his gaze to Vicky. "How was school?"
"It was great!" said Vicky enthusiastically. "David is totally over me and has such a cute crush on Traci---"
"Hold on ... David... you WHAT?" said Levi astonished. Vicky groaned, she had forgotten Levi hadn't known about David's brief crush on her.
"Um...about that, sometime after we broke up, David kind of told me he has liked me for a while." she said nervously twiddling her fingers.
Levi was looking at her in a peculiar way, the universe finally making sense to him again. "That's why the bastard hates me so much!" he said with a groan. "It never occurred to me he had the hots for you."
"You remember, at the party...where you and I first met this year? David was the first guy I spoke to." said Vicky with a reminiscent smile.
"No wonder!" said Levi slapping a palm on his forehead and shaking his head. "It makes so much sense now. He spoke to you first so naturally he thought he had dibs on you. Then I come swooping in and in almost no time you're my girlfriend. Yeah, if that happened to me I'd hate the guy too."
Vicky knew it would be futile to try and understand guys. They had their own misconceptions about girls and honestly it was quite entertaining.
"So now he likes Traci?" asked Levi running a hand through his hair.
"Yes." said Vicky happily. "You should see him, trying to flirt. Traci has been waiting for him for a long time and all of a sudden he's giving her these compliments and stuff. She thinks he's puling her leg."
Levi laughed. It would be great to go back to school and get some fun at David's expense. The guy should be a lot more entertaining to hang with now that he was over Vicky.
He looked at Vicky standing in front of him smiling as the gentle evening sun played on her skin. This lovely, kind, intelligent girl was standing here with him. He who had nothing, he who had hurt her. It was so hard to believe that she had chosen him.
"Levi?" she asked raising a soft palm to cup his cheek. Her voice was like velvet against his skin caressing his soul.
"Vicky." he said softly, pulling her close and kissing her tenderly on the lips. She parted her mouth, eager to feel him, earnest to give all of herself to him. His tongue found hers and they tussled pleasurably, their hands holding each other close. Vicky ran her fingers through the soft tresses of gold blonde hair as he took in the sweet smell of her strawberry shampoo. Right then, the whole world seemed to disappear around them.
Well for a few seconds at least.
"Get a room will you?" called a boyish voice from below the balcony.
"What if you die sucking face like that?" asked another similar voice. "From lack of oxygen?"
"Maybe they use their noses to breathe?" said the first voice again.
"Hope so. I mean how can paramedics give 'em mouth to mouth when they pass out if their lips are stuck together like that?" said the second boy again.
Levi groaned as he and Vicky hastily broke the kiss. He didn't need to look down to know the twins were back from school.
A/N: Hi guys! Did this chapter make you smile?
Let me know your thoughts.
Sending you lots of love,
Andy