Page 54 of The Art of Deception

I’m a mess.

But I need to be strong for Levi.

He’s my main focus right now.

So, I take a deep breath, steady my shoulders, and open the front door. Levi plays his video game in the family room. Calmness washes over me, knowing he’s doing okay tonight. I walk in, hang my bag on the rack, and kick off my flats. Greta glances up at me as she stands in the archway with a coffee in hand, her slightly graying hair up in a loose bun as she warmly greets me. “Hey, sweetheart, I wasn’t expecting you for another half hour?”

“Brent,” is all I reply.

She scrunches up her face as I peek in at Levi, who’s happily playing his game. “I swear you’re far too good for that place, Tomi. You need to find work at another tattoo studio. You’re wasting your talent.”

“You’re the second person to tell me that today,” I snort.

She tilts her head. “Think about it then? Promise me?” She pulls the mug up to her lips to take a sip of the steaming cup.

I nod. “How did Levi do at school today?”

Greta grimaces, gulping down a mouthful of her coffee. “He tried to throw a chair at a student. They had to shut the classroom down for a short time while they placated him. I was called to pick him up early.”

My eyes widen as I almost choke on thin air. “No. Really?”

She places her hand on my forearm sympathetically. “He wouldn’t open up to me about it. The principal was lenient because he didn’t actually throw the chair, but the intent was there.”

“Shit. Okay.” I sink in on myself. “Thanks for handling this till I got home.”

She rubs my arm tenderly in acknowledgment, reminding me she’s so much like my mom.

God, I miss her.

I sniffle as I exhale, walking past her to the sofa. Levi glances up as I enter. I try not to get in the way of the game when I sit down next to him. My feet ache like hell as I bring them up to rest on the coffee table.

Levi groans. Damn! I realize my mistake and shift them more to the middle of the table for him. I have no idea when he’s so focused on a game how he can still be so attuned to his surroundings. I recline into the sofa, my body feeling like death as I lean my head back into the plush cushions, waiting for Levi to be ready to talk to me. I don’t want to push him if he’s had a shitty day. The last thing I want is to trigger him again. He needs to know that behavior isn’t okay, but I need to know why he did it first.

But I have to let him come to me.

This is how we work.

“When is Xander coming over again?” he asks out of nowhere.

My eyes fling open as I drop my legs from the coffee table, sitting upright to stare right at him. “Wow! Where did this come from?”

He pauses his game and turns to me with a sad demeanor. “He’s my friend.”

My entire body deflates—he misses Xander just like I do.

Xander never once saw Levi for anything other than the bright spark he is.

“I know, buddy, I know.”

“So, can he come tonight?” he asks, a hopeful glint in his eyes.

It suddenly clicks.

I grab his hands. “Levi, did you get angry in class today because you miss Xander?”

His eyes dart around the room like he’s thinking. Then he finally glances back at me and nods. “He’s my friend.”

My chest squeezes as my eyes water. “You have friends at school, though, right?”

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