Page 16 of Rescued Hearts
And I wasn’t sure I wanted out.
5
Tess
I woke up on cloud nine, clinging to my phone with Levi’s text thread still open. It was the best sleep I’d gotten in a while, but that probably had to do with all the drinks I had, and not just because a boy—a man—texted me goodnight.
I stared at my phone again while brushing my teeth, grinning with toothpaste dripping down my chin.
Levi Hollis:I had fun with you too. More fun than I’ve had in a while.
Levi Hollis: Goodnight Tess. Sleep tight
The texts were simple,easy. Harmless. They should’ve meant nothing. But they made me feel giddy. Alive. And I’d chase that feeling to the ends of the earth.
I went downstairs, practically skipping, and saw Emmett at the dining table, eating a massive pile of scrambled eggs and toast. “You’re in the paper,” he said between mouthfuls, pointing at it with his fork.
“What?” I snatched it up, crinkling the pages as I grabbed it. I scanned the page so fast that the words blurred together. My eyes came to a screeching halt at my name. And then five words later, there was Levi’s.
Oh. My. God.
I read the paragraph again. Over and over until I had it memorized. My mouth opened, then closed, not knowing what to say. It wasn’t like the article was mean. If anything, it was teasing in that way theWhispersalways was. But even then, I still felt like I’d gotten caught red-handed. Or maybe it was because there was a flicker of hope in my chest that it wasn’t in my head. That there was something between Levi and me. Something big enough for other people to notice.
I swallowed hard, my heart racing. Would it be weird to ask if he’d seen it? Maybe he thought it was funny. Or maybe he’d be appalled that someone thought there was anything more than friendship between us.
The thought ruined my appetite.
My body kind of just…melted into the chair as I sat down, my mind lost in what-ifs. My phone buzzed in my hand, and I jumped, opening the notification immediately to find yet another text from Jeremy. It was just another demand to come home, nothing else. But then my blood turned to ice with the realization that he could possibly find us through this. I wouldn’t put it past Jeremy to be using every resource he could think of at this point.
So much for not texting Levi. I snapped a picture of the paper and sent it with:Can Jeremy find us because of this?My hands were shaking as I typed.
His response was almost immediate.
Levi Hollis:I’ve been looking into it already. Don’t think so. The WC Gazette doesn’t have an online presence. I think they might be the only newspaper in the world that doesn’t.
I let outa sigh of relief. And couldn’t stop the smile that spread. He was already ten steps ahead. Already considering Luke and me. Another text came in.
Levi Hollis:I’m really sorry Tess. Last night was reckless of me. I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted you to have a good time. Didn’t think anything like this would happen.
Levi Hollis: I won’t drop the ball like that again. I promise.
It feltlike a blow to the stomach. And I was furious. Not with Levi. With Jeremy. Even with five hundred miles between us, he was still controlling my life, affecting how people treated me. How I existed. I was sick of it. I was sick of him.
I didn’t even know how to respond to Levi. I wanted to tell him to drop the ball if it meant more nights like last night. I wanted the article to be true. I wanted him. His smile, his laughs, his attention. I wanted all of it. But from his text, it seemed like maybe I was the only one.
“Hey!” Emmett grumbled as I stole of piece of his toast and nibbled on it so I had something to do. Something to fill the hole inside me.
“You have practically a whole loaf of bread on your plate. I think you’ll live, Em.”
“I’m bulking,” he said. “I need to eat like thirty-five hundred calories a day.”
I grimaced, side-eying him. The thought of eating that much food was nauseating. “Bulking? You wantmoremuscle?”
He only nodded, stuffing his face more. My eyes narrowed at him, thinking. Working out must’ve been his way to cope with his demons. Maybe I needed something to do. Something to occupy my mind and channel all my energy into that wasn’t Luke. Because, as much as I loved being his mom, I needed something for me. Something I had just for myself.
And I needed to start making money.
“Good morning!” Luke screeched from the top of the stairs.
