Page 57 of Dear Adam
“Aly? You up?” Levi pokes his head in the bedroom and…that’s funny.He’s holding his phone.
“Yeah! I’ll be right out,” I reply.
“I wanted to show you some pictures I took of the sunrise this morning,” he says, grinning down at his phone. “What’s wrong?” he asks when he finally meets my eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t wake you this morning. You were sleeping so peacefully.”
“I just keep hearing this buzzing across the room and I don’t know what it is,” I say. “I thought you left your phone here, but obviously not.”
Something unrecognizable—fear, maybe—flashes across Levi’s face so fast I almost missed it. Now I’m more confused than ever. Levi clears his throat, his eyes dart around the room, and I get up and approach him.
“It’s probably nothing. Why don’t you come into the living room?”
“I just want to see what this is first,” I say. I first noticed it when I texted Adam, so I type out another simple message and hit send.
Hi.
Immediately, there’s the buzz again, and I toss the pile of Levi’s clothes from last night across the room. At the very bottom are his jeans with a lump in the pocket.
“Aly,” he says quietly. “Wait. Please let me explain.”
I ignore him, reach into his pocket, and withdraw the phone.
The navy blue case. The lock screen of Pretzel as a puppy.
Adam’sphone.
“Why do you have this?” I whisper, keeping my back to him. Surely, theremustbe a logical explanation for why he has Adam’s phone. When he doesn't immediately answer, my heart sinks further than I thought possible. “Answer me, please,” I croak out. Hot tears stream down my face.
In an instant, he’s in front of me, reaching for me.
“Please tell me,” I beg, holding up my hands to stop him. He sighs, his shoulders slumping, telling me everything I need to know. “Did you read them?” I ask, my voice quivering. “Did you read the messages I’ve been sending him?”
His head falls to his hands then he grips his hair at the roots, knuckles white in frustration. Still, he doesn’t answer me.
“Did. You. Read. Them?” I ask again, growing more irritated.
“I wanted to tell you,” he says.
“That’s not an answer.”
Slowly, he nods, and I’m certain the floor beneath my feet has turned to quicksand. I brace myself against my dresser, blinking rapidly to clear the haze creeping into the edges of my vision.
“All of them?” He nods again and a choked sob escapes me. “Why would you do that?”
“It’s not that I wanted to,” Levi starts, and I find myself wishing he’d leave. I clench my fists as he continues. “But when I got home from the hospital, I realized they got his phone mixed up with my stuff. I didn’t mean tokeepreading them, but every time I tried to get the phone back to you, something came up.”
“Something came up?Something came up?You can’t seriously tell me there wasn’t a single moment the entire time you’ve been here where you could’ve given the phone back?”
My eyes burn with unshed tears and right now, I don’t care if Levi’s flight is in five minutes or five hours. The ache of what he’s done settles on my chest like a heavy weight, and I want him as far away from me as possible.
“I really did try,” Levi says pathetically.
For a split second, I consider hearing him out. He’s not a bad guy; I know he’s not. But then I think of Adam, and I’m blinded by rage. Levi’s chin quivers, and I force myself to look away. He doesn’t deserve my pity right now.
“You had more than enough chances to tell me. But you didn’t.”
“Please let me explain,” he pleads.
Still avoiding his gaze, I point to the door. “You need to leave.”
