Messed Up (9 page)

“What are you talking about?” he asked sounding only mildly concerned. I explained what had happened, but he seemed unconvinced that I hadn’t left the window open in the first place.

“So I guess you don’t mind if I get cut into a thousand small pieces by some homicidal maniac?” I said, his calm having had an effect on me.

“No, that would bother me. Remember I’m supposed to be the psychopathic killer?”

“
Well then you may have some competition.”

“Aren’t you wondering why I’m calling you in the middle of the night?”

“Yeah, and aren’t you supposed to wait a minimum of three days to call after a date? I think I read that in
Seventeen
last month.”

“I must have missed that article,” he laughed, “I was actually just driving home from Bryce’s house and I noticed your light was on.”

“Translation: you were stalking me?” I asked sarcastically.

“Pretty much. I’m actually sitting in front of your house right now. Kinda hoping that you might want me to come up there and check things out. You know, protect you from the predator hiding in your closet.”

“He’s not in the closet, I already checked. But, yes come up quickly, before he starts slicing.”

The phone clicked off, and in less time then seemed possible for human movement I heard tapping on my window.

“
You’re still alive,” he joked as he climbed in, “That was close.”

“You’re telling me,” he took my hand and we sat down on the bed together, “Don’t your parents ever wonder where you are?” I asked, this occurring to me for the first time. It seemed strange to think that Levi even had parents. Did mythical creatures have parents?

“They are so narcissistic; they avoid thinking about me unless I am needed for some social function,” Levi changed the conversation swiftly, “Nice hoodie, by the way.”

“Do you like it? This incredibly hot guy let me borrow it. I don’t think I’m going to give it back anytime soon though,” I said, my adrenaline rush from earlier had left me feeling very ballsy.

Levi grabbed the collar of the sweatshirt and pulled me gently toward him. He kissed me, this time slightly more aggressively. I let my hand find the back of his neck. His hands came around my body and pulled me closer to him. After the kiss ended we hugged and Levi said quietly, “I’m so lucky I met you.”

“I’m glad you were so lucky,” I said smiling at him.

“Can we get in your bed and just cuddle for a little bit?” he asked quietly. I nodded, because speaking is never easy with a heart that is fluttering like a hummingbird with ADHD. We climbed under the covers of my bed and I laid my head on his hard chest. We intertwined our fingers. I could feel Levi kiss my head gently. As I lay there looking at his strong hand laced around my own, I just kept thinking how gloriously unanticipated Levi’s presence in my life was. Could my life really be turning out this insanely perfect?

We talked quietly for a while. Levi spoke in a low methodical voice, as he told me about his favorite books, music, and movies. I could feel my eyelids becoming heavy, and although I demanded that they remain open, wanting to hear every single detail about this amazing guy, I eventually let them softly shut. I felt warm in his arms, my head rising subtly up and down with his breath. I fell into a deep sleep.

I woke up the next morning to find myself alone in bed. There was a note on my desk that read:

I smiled hugely to myself and did a little silent jumping around the room to celebrate.

When my mom dropped me off at the yogurt shop, I found that I was working with Bryce Fanning. For once his presence didn’t cause me to roll my eyes and groan. His connection to Levi had given him with a new and improved status in my mind. Plus, there was the distinct possibility that we might even have the opportunity to talk about Levi, which seemed like a benefit as he was all that I could think about.

We didn’t have much time for talking though; Yogurt Heaven was actually busy for the first time in a decade. We had a steady stream of customers forking over their hard earned cash for obscenely sized portions of frozen confections. I knew I’d be picturing strawberry yogurt with rainbow gummy bears every time I closed my eyes for a week.

Things finally began to slow down, and I hurried around straightening up the shop so we wouldn’t have much to do for closing. Bryce, in contrast, pulled out a magazine which seemed equally dedicated to cars as to the scantily clothed women on top of them. He leaned against the counter
reading
. After restocking the carob chips and gum balls, I finally gave into my overwhelming desire to discuss the subject of Levi.

I casually stood next to Bryce, trying to look uninterested, “So, you hung out with Levi last night?” I said as more of a statement than a question.

“No,” he replied not looking up from his magazine.

“Really, but he said...”

“Oh,” Bryce looked up, startled, “Yeah, I mean. Chelsea, don’t distract me when I’m reading,” he went back to looking at his magazine, but his face looked a little strange, almost scared, “We hung out, okay.”

Why so defensive, Bryce? “No big deal. Enjoy your little testosterone fest.”

I went to the back of the store and started mopping. I tried my best not to let it bother me, but I couldn’t get Bryce’s reaction out of my head. I wondered if Levi had lied to me about being at Bryce’s house, but I couldn’t make sense of why he would. There was something on the tip of my mind that wouldn’t quit harassing me. I should remember to bring my iPod with me to work next time, I thought, it would make this mopping business less solitary. I smiled to myself as I thought about the pink iPod. How cute is it that he remembered my favorite color, I thought happily. I replayed the moment in my mind when I spotted that little red package on my desk.

Then it dawned on me. When did Levi put the iPod in my room? I tried to think logically. The note of apology was taped to the
inside
of the wrapping. That means he must have gotten it for me, or at least wrapped it after the whole Toby debacle. He had to have snuck back into my room that night after I had fallen asleep, and if he was willing to do it then, was that what he did last night? And if so, why? I started to feel my stomach twist. I found it to be disturbingly creepy as well as slightly embarrassing to have anyone breaking into my room while I was unconscious, probably with drool oozing out the corner of my mouth. Especially if that someone happened to be the most amazing, drop-dead gorgeous guy I’d ever met.

While rinsing the mop bucket I began to consider my options carefully. On the one hand, if I confronted Levi with my theory and he hadn’t broken into my room like a stalker, he would either think I was crazy or pathetic, most likely both. On the other hand, if he had broken into my room he’d probably just deny it. Either way I would be worse off, so I decided to let it go and just be sure to lock my window. I admit that this was probably not the most sensible decision to come to, but I was fully obsessed, okay?

Just as I was beginning to empty the trash cans, cursing Bryce silently all the while for sticking me with the dirty work, I heard Levi’s voice from the front of the store. My stomach did its obligatory backhand springs. I was about to burst through the door when I heard Bryce say, “It’d be nice if you’d warned me that I’d be lying for you.” I froze, listening silently.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Levi replied, unfazed.

“What was that all about anyway?” Bryce asked.

“Nothing you need to know about,” he said firmly. Bryce dropped the subject like a bedbug infested pillow, and they went on to talk about some band that would be playing soon. I quickly realized they weren’t going to say anything more of interest, so I walked into the front of the store acting surprised to see Levi.

“Hey beautiful,” he said leaning over the counter and kissing me gently, taking the time to look deeply into my eyes before straightening himself.

“Hey. I hope you didn’t come early to help me mop, because I already finished. Don’t be too disappointed,” I said, all my concerns melting away as soon as I looked at his perfect eyes, nose, mouth.

“You are so cruel,” he smiled, “Actually, I was hoping that your manager would let you off a little early,” his eyes flashed to Bryce.

Bryce nodded, “Sure. What are you guys doing?”

“I’m going to drag Chelsea to The Valencia, if she’ll go?” he looked at me.

“I’ll go. But drag gently.” Not that I knew what The Valencia was, but frankly I could have cared less. What’s that? Spend the night hanging by my ankles covered in poisonous spiders? Will Levi be there? Yes? Then count me in.

“You want to meet us over there?” Levi asked Bryce.

“Nah. I’ve got to get home early tonight.”

I turned to Bryce, “Are you sure you don’t mind if I leave? I think I pretty much finished the closing list.”

“It’s fine,” Levi interjected, “You ready?”

I glanced at Bryce who had gone back to his magazine. His face looked a little too serious for his reading material. I shrugged to myself, grabbed my backpack and ducked under the counter.

We were stopped at a red light when Levi looked over at me and asked, “So aren’t you going to demand that I tell you where I’m taking you?”

“The Valencia, right?”

“And you know what that is?”

“Nope, I’m just going to blindly follow you,” I replied, scrolling though his iPod.

“Are you sure that’s a wise idea?” he smiled.

“Actually, I’m sure it’s not a wise idea, but I’m a teenager. Small frontal lobe.”

“Small frontal lobe?”

“Yep. The frontal lobe of the brain controls logic and reason. It keeps you from taking hasty risks. Teenagers have underdeveloped frontal lobes,” I explained, “I would guess your frontal lobe is especially inadequate.”

“Oh yeah?”

“What else would explain your getting naked in front of hundreds of strangers for a ten dollar hat?” I giggled.

“Fifteen dollars, actually,” he corrected.

“Oh, well… That makes all the difference.”

Minutes later, Levi pulled his car to the side of a residential street and shut off the engine. “Hope you’re ready to see my small brain in action,” he said as he grabbed his skateboard from the back seat and hopped out of the car.

I looked around the tree lined street. It was quiet and dark, warm light spilling from the windows of the single story homes.

“
Okay, now I’m curious. Where are we going?” I asked as I met him on the sidewalk, “And that was a small frontal lobe by the way, I’m sure the rest of your brain is perfectly proportioned.”

He laughed and grabbed my hand, “Too late, you’ll just have to wait and see.”

We walked for a couple blocks, and then turned down a cul-de-sac. Levi gestured to his lips for me to be quiet and led me down the side yard of a small dark house at the end of the street. The yard dead ended at a chain link fence. Levi seemed undeterred by the fence as he quickly hoisted me halfway up, and then easily scaled the fence himself. Once he was on the other side he spotted my own ungraceful descent.

I found myself standing at the edge of what look like a thick forest. Levi pulled me by the wrist into the trees. It was a bright night with a huge full moon, but once under the thick canopy of foliage, all I could see was darkness. As we walked silently into the blackness, I began to feel uncomfortable. What did I really know about this person who was leading me to God knows where? I scolded myself for not being more practical. When I was with Hannah, I was always the logical voice of reason. She would be shocked at how quickly I’d slipped into the role of irrational flirt. Was I really so blinded by Levi’s stunning good looks that I would put myself in danger? The answer was a resounding, YES.

On the flip side, I began to justify to myself as we walked, maybe I’m over thinking the whole thing. I remembered my sister pointing out that I was at the point in my life where I should be having fun. Maybe it was good that Hannah wasn’t here for me to be the responsible one for. Maybe this was the time in my life to be reckless. I sighed audibly. Debating my own conscious was driving me crazy.

“
You okay back there?” Levi asked in response to my sigh.

“
I’m fine. I just wish my brain would shut up every now and then,” I replied, annoyed.

“
We’re almost there,” he slowed down a bit to walk next to me. He moved his hand from my arm to my waist and pulled me closer to him, “Be nice to that brain of yours, I think it’s pretty damn cute.”

The darkness was once again disrupted as we walked into a clearing, the moon shining its light on us. There looming before us was a colossal stone structure.

“
What is it?” I asked, in a whisper

“The Valencia,” Levi smiled mockingly at the annoyed glare I shot at him, “It’s a hotel. Or was. I guess it was very popular at one time.”

As we walked closer, I began to be able to make out the huge structure. The hotel had the feeling of a medieval stone castle, with a large turret on one corner and three peaked windows along the front. There were the remnants of a covered deck stretching around the entire building. The deck’s roof had caved in at several points, giving the hotel a frowning expression. Despite the decrepit condition of the rest of the structure, the front entrance looked almost untouched by time. The opulent grand entrance had a huge door made of a dark carved wood. An intricate stained glass window framed the door. I could picture long stretch limos driving down the circular driveway stopping at the front steps; a tuxedo clad bellboy bustling to help the rich and famous exit their cars.