Coming Home

Three

Startling awake, I open my eyes to see the sun just peeking over the horizon. Of course, my first night in this horrible town would bring nightmares along with it; I shouldn't have expected anything else. They're quite the common occurrence, anyway, but this place seems to have somehow amplified them. I slip out of the overly-firm hotel bed, careful not to wake Theo, and quietly head for the bathroom. I'm certainly in need of a hot shower after such a horrible dream. As the steam fills the bathroom and the hot water pours down onto my skin, I feel my muscles relax under the pressure. After scrubbing away the remaining tension from the memories that haunt my sleep and, oftentimes, even my wakefulness, I dress for the day.

I mentally debate whether or not I should wake Theo but decide against it. He's probably still mad at me, and I'd really like to just have some time to myself this morning.

There's that selfishness again, huh? Oh well, sometimes you've simply got to put yourself first.

I find myself wandering through the small town, walking down the roads I used to know so well, past the places my childhood memories are filled with. For a moment, it feels almost peaceful, as if whatever tiny glimmers of good that remain could somehow repair the damage that has been caused and the years of unnecessary pain. That feeling doesn't last long, though, as my mind quickly overflows itself with negative emotions again.

As my brain battles against itself, I keep my head down, my eyes focusing solely on my feet; I don't want to see anything that could possibly change my opinion of this place right now. No, I'd sincerely prefer to continue hating this town and everything within it for eternity.

Out of nowhere, I unexpectedly crash directly into someone whose torso feels as hard as a brick wall before falling rather ungracefully toward the ground. Closing my eyes to brace myself for the impact, I feel a pair of arms wrap themselves around my waist, narrowly preventing my face from smashing into the concrete.

I guess my luck isn't wholly shit today.

"Are you okay, Miss?" a deep, masculine voice asks me. With my eyes still closed, it takes me a moment to realize that the voice likely belongs to the arms that are still securely holding me, and I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks.

I open my eyes to look into the face of whoever saved my precious head from exploding on the sidewalk, gasping aloud when I'm met with the most beautiful chocolate-colored eyes I've ever seen in my life. Somehow, my mouth simultaneously goes dry and floods with saliva, and I'm left utterly speechless for what's probably the first time ever.

Before I can force out a verbal response, the man speaks again, "Miss?"

"O-oh, thank you," I reply stupidly, my voice betraying both the awkwardness and embarrassment I'm feeling at the moment. "I'm so sorry for running into you."

The man with the beautiful eyes grins at me, making me realize that there's a whole face attached to those eyes, as if I'd momentarily been too blinded to notice previously. Not just any face, either, but a stupidly handsome face with a bit of scruff on his chin and a wide, bright smile. "It's no problem at all. It's not every day that a beautiful woman crashes into me," the man says. His Adam's apple bobs as he speaks, drawing my attention to the movement. Oh, hell, this man is gorgeous.

Still unable to remove my eyes from the ridiculously attractive stranger, my brain finally processes that his arms are still wrapped firmly around my waist, holding me to that rock-hard chest that I mentioned I crashed into. My eyes widen a fraction, and I can feel the redness pooling in my cheeks, which were already fairly pink from the cold weather.

Noticing the blush on my face, the man chuckles to himself as he helps me back to my feet before carefully removing his arms from my body. "My name is Levi Hutchins," the man introduces himself, smiling broadly at me.

Realization sweeps over me at the name, and I'm left staring at the beautiful man in complete shock. "Levi?" I whisper, although my voice is hardly audible and sounds foreign to my own ears. I take it back; I guess my luck really is shit. I stand there, probably looking like a complete idiot, as I stare at the suddenly not-so-stranger, my brain disbelieving of the fact that the man before me is the same Levi Hutchins I knew five years ago.

Levi's smile disappears as he looks me over, obviously trying to understand my reaction to his name and figure out how I know him. I take a step back, putting a bit of distance between the two of us, as Levi shoves his hands in his pockets and continues to stare at me. There's suddenly not enough space between us, and I can't seem to get an appropriate distance away from him. "Lexi?" he asks quietly.

He recognizes me. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, trying to calm the rising panic inside me. "It's 'Kate' now," I force myself to say, wholly wishing I could simply disappear at this moment.

When I open my eyes again, Levi is still looking at me. Thoroughly. In fact, his eyes are now roaming over me as if he's taking me in. As if there's somehow something before him that he's been missing, and he can't believe his own eyes. "You've changed an awful lot since graduation," he says simply.

"Yes, well, five years will do that," I retort, probably rudely, taking another step away from him. It's still not enough. I want to run, to turn around and run and never look back. To get as far away from this town and the people within it as possible. To leave Levi Hutchins behind indefinitely. But for some reason, I'm unable to. My feet won't do as they're told; my body won't cooperate with my commands. I'm just... stuck there, with the somehow incredibly handsome Levi Hutchins staring at me.

"I'm sorry about your grandmother," says Levi, sounding sincere. I can detect a tone of sadness in his voice, which is prominently mirrored in his entrancing chocolaty eyes. His entire expression drips with what one might liken to grief, but I'd probably label it as longing if I were brave enough to.

I nod in reply, unsure of whether or not I should continue conversing with him. Hell, I know that I shouldn't. That I should turn tail and get out of here as quickly as possible. And I try, unsuccessfully, with all the willpower within myself.

"Would you like to get coffee with me?" he asks, the emotions displayed in his eyes flickering to hope.

"I, uh... I have to... go..." I respond, suddenly finding the words to excuse myself from this wholly uncomfortable situation. As if by magic, I'm finally able to move my feet, and I swiftly turn back in the direction I came from and walk away from this undoubtedly perplexing interaction.

"I'm sorry, Lexi!" Levi shouts after me, but I don't bother to acknowledge him in any way. I really wish he wouldn't call me that, either. I increase my pace and hurry back to the hotel, ready and practically eager to return to my argument with Theo.

Yes, that's definitely preferable to... whatever that was.