Page 105 of It Happened on the Lake

Let his dad and brother tear each other limb from limb. Holding a hand over the wound near his eye, he got to his feet, and with one last glowering look at his sack of shit brother, he climbed up the stairs, straight to the bathroom where he slammed and locked the door. Holding onto the edges of the sink, he dropped his head and let blood fall onto the pink basin. Every one of his muscles tensed, and he wanted, oh how he wanted, to smash his fist into Chase’s always smug face. Well, this time Chase was in big trouble. Major trouble. He’d finally gone too far. The golden boy losing some of his shine.

Fool’s gold. That’s what it was.

Damn his brother. Damn his father. Damn his whole family.

He looked up to find himself in the reflection, his face still flushed, his nostrils flared, his lips pulled back as he took short, fast breaths.

Chase didn’t know how good he had it. He was such a dick! Levi turned on the faucets, leaned over again, and sluiced water over his face.

Then, slightly calmer, he washed the sticky blood from his hands and found a Band-Aid from the metal box in the medicine cabinet. He tore off the wrapper, then had to retrieve a second Band-Aid as the first was immediately soaked through.

All in all, it took four of the stupid bandages to cover the wound and stem the blood flow. In that time, his shame at being taken down by Chase had been replaced by anger at the entire situation.

Not that Levi blamed Chase for wanting to leave. But he could have found a better way than flunking out of school and then trying to dodge the draft. And he shouldneverhave said anything about getting Harper pregnant. Once-upon-a-time A student Chase had proved himself to be a moron.

As for Harper getting pregnant? That was just plain nuts!

Nonetheless, he felt a jab of jealousy at the thought of Chase and Harper together. She had beenhisfriend, and then Chase had noticed her. And then, oh crap. He closed his eyes. Couldn’t go there. “Fuck,” he said under his breath.

He heard his mother’s hurried footsteps as she rushed up the stairs to her bedroom on the upper floor. A door shut forcefully before he heard a series of muffled sobs.

Great!

Now Dad was pissed as hell.

And Mom was crying.

He took a deep breath and stepped out of the bathroom. His mother’s broken sobs were louder out here in the hallway, and he started for the staircase. There was a chance he could offer her some comfort, say something to smooth things over, but no words came. He didn’t know what to say. Maybe it was best to let things settle. Sleep on it.

He went into his bedroom. But behind the closed door, he could hear the fight still raging downstairs, his heat vent a speaker.

He stripped and fell into bed.

“You’ll never amount to anything!” his father accused.

Smack!

The sound of flesh hitting flesh.

Levi cringed.

“It’s my life!” Chase insisted again, his voice breaking.

Crash!

Levi reached between his mattress and box spring to withdraw a flask he kept hidden there. He opened it quickly and took several swallows of the whiskey he’d swiped from the bar downstairs. It burned his throat on its way to his stomach, but he hoped it would calm him, quiet his jangled nerves, and mute the sounds emanating from the basement.

It didn’t.

Even the throbbing over his eye and the alcohol seeping into his bloodstream couldn’t drown out the voices and sick sounds of violence.

“I’m not joining up!”

Thud.

A body crashing against something hard.

Tom said, “Try it, boy.”

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