Page 10 of Drag You Down
The building is from the 1950s, and it’s easy to see that the landlord hasn’t done much in the way of modernization. The handrails on the stairs are clean, though, and I don’t spot obvious dirt trails like I would expect from an older building. The dust on the front door is an outlier.
I stop in front of apartment 302. It’s on a corner, which tells me it’s probably larger than the other units. When I lean close to the door, I can hear voices filtering through.
Is one of them Levi?
I step back and consider my options. If I knock on the door, I might scare my little lamb, and I can’t even be sure he actually lives in this unit.
I glance around and spot the fire alarm on the wall by the stairs.
That’s one way to get people out of a building. I don’t want to risk getting seen yet, though, so I go back downstairs and pull the alarm there, using my sleeve to not leave fingerprints.
The alarm starts blaring, and I calmly walk outside and to the other side of the street, leaning against a car that’s parked there. Other people stop at the commotion.
After a few minutes, several people walk out of the building.
They’re all dressed in the same beige-and-white getup. Beige slacks or skirts, crisp white shirts. The women have long hair, while the few men who appear are all clean shaven except for the bearded man I’d seen on the video footage.
And, finally, Levi exits.
My heart freezes, and a small smile spreads across my lips.
He’s as beautiful as I remembered.
He truly will be my fallen angel.
Soft black curls fall around his ears, and he purses his plush lips in dismay.
Levi is holding a woman’s hand, but she looks similar enough to him that I assume they’re siblings. No need for jealousy.
She shouldn’t be touching him though.
He’s mine.
After a few minutes, the bearded man goes over to Levi and his sister. He puts his arms around them both, and my smile turns into a scowl.
I have to assume that this isZ. He looks old enough to be their father, but there’s something in the way he’s touching them that has me thinking he’s more than that. Maybe it’s my imagination, but I don’t like it.
Maybe he needs to be my next target.
I force myself to calm down. I don’t know what they are to each other yet. For all I know, Zistheir father, I remind myself. He could be something else entirely.
I scan the crowd again, focusing on the anomalies I’m noticing. Their dress, their hair, their demeanors — it’s all so similar. I purse my lips, not liking this at all, then my gaze returns to Levi.
My little lamb looks spooked.
I want to go to him and comfort him, to tell him there’s no threat, but that would give up the entire game. I’m not ready for that yet.
I’m not ready to stop staring at him yet, either, but like he’s every bit as aware of me as I am of him, our eyes meet even in the middle of this chaos.
He freezes, and I smile at him.
It’s as gentle as I can make it, but he still turns away from me. It makes something seize in my chest, and my fingers curl into fists at my sides. I want to be the one he turns to, not the one who causes him to look to another man for comfort.
Time. I need time.
I don’t know what he’s going to say to Z, and I can’t risk being seen there by anyone but Levi himself. Instead of lingering, I turn and walk away with calm strides.
I saw him. I didn’t imagine him, didn’t dream up the entire encounter.
