*****
I call my brother and tell him that I’m back in Perth. I tell him I’ll catch a taxi to his house, but he says no, he or Levi will come now and get me, so I plop down in a chair in the Perth airport and wait for one of them to arrive. I put my phone on but ignore the countless number of missed calls and text messages from Tane. He and I need to have a talk. Me running away wasn’t the best course of action, I know that, but I couldn’t handle it. Maybe he didn’t touch the drugs? Maybe he was only considering it? Maybe there is still a chance? He could talk to his sponsor. He told me about him one night, a man named Timothy.
Maybe I’m just so in love with him that I’m looking for excuses.
Great, I’ve become one of those women.
Fifteen minutes pass, then Levi walks up to me, a worried look on his face.
“What the hell happened?” he asks, scowling.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now so please don’t make me,” I grumble as he carries my bag for me.
“Now I feel like shit. It was my idea that you went there.”
“This was not your fault, Levi. You were being amazing, as usual,” I tell him. “Thank you for coming to get me. I told Gage I was happy to jump in a taxi.”
“Well, when you rang we were both worried, and Bianca was over, so I said I’d come and get you,” he tells me, opening the car door for me.
“You’re so good to me.” I sigh, closing the door and putting my seat belt on.
Soft music plays on the radio as we drive home.
“You’re going to have to tell us what happened,” Levi says after some time.
“I will,” I tell him, but don’t say anything else. I’m almost embarrassed to admit what happened. How do I say, I went into his bathroom and found drugs? Just throw it out there?
“Are you trying to protect him?” Levi asks.
Is that what I was doing?
“I guess I just don’t know what to do,” I admit. If he did have to go back to rehab, would I stick by him, wait for him to come out and try again?
Yes, I would wait for him. I’d do anything for him. I’d want to be there for him and help him in any way I could.
Be his rock.
“I think I’ve messed up,” I admit.
“Everyone makes mistakes, Giselle. Tane is a good man, and I know for a fact he’s crazy about you. I’m happy for the two of you. Everyone knew you were meant to be together.”
I shouldn’t have left him. Why did I leave? I should have stayed there so we could talk it out. I should have trusted him. He hasn’t given me a reason not to. I acted irrationally.
I ran.
Why did I run?
Tane needed me right then, and I bailed when I should have been there by his side, offering help.
What if he needs help?
I won’t give up on him.
“You’re right,” I tell Levi. He’s always right. “I love you. You know that, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do, and the feeling is mutual. Now talk to me, Giselle,” Levi says in a low tone.
I open my mouth to tell him everything, but suddenly the car jerks on the gravelly road.
“Shit,” Levi says. The car swerves out of control and Levi pulls on the steering wheel, trying to correct its path. All it does it make the car go skidding the other way, so when he pulls on the wheel one more time, the car goes flying.
It happens so fast. I’m not sure how many times we rolled. It could be once. It could be five times. My head hits the roof and the window, causing sharp stabs of pain that turns into a relentless throbbing. The car finally stops moving and we’re tilted on the side, my side down.
When my vision clears, I turn to look at Levi. His face is covered in blood but I can’t identify the source. It’s splattering onto me and my panic increases.
“Levi?” I croak. He doesn’t respond. “LEVI!”
He doesn’t even move.
I hear someone calling out to us but my vision goes blurry. A concerned man’s face appears in my window and it’s the last thing I see before everything goes black.
*****
I wake to my whole body hurting. I feel stiff. My eyes flutter open in confusion. Where was I?
“Gage?” I rasp when I see my brother flopped down in a chair near my bed. He lifts his head, eyes red and swollen. He looks like shit.
“How are you feeling?” he asks, standing and holding my hand.
His is ice-cold.
“What happened?” I ask him.
“You were in a car crash,” he says hoarsely.
“Parker?”
“He’s safe, don’t worry. Do you remember what happened?” he asks in a careful tone.
Memories flash. The car rolling. Levi.
“Levi,” I say, tears pooling in my eyes. “Where is he?”
I remember the last time I saw his face covered in blood.
Gage shakes his head and starts to cry. My brother. I’ve never seen him cry since we were children.
Instantly, I know. Nothing else would bring Gage to look this devastated.
“No,” I say shaking my head, the brace around my neck restricting my movement. “No. No. No.”
Gage covers his face with his hands. “He didn’t make it, Giselle.”
He didn’t make it.
Four words.
He didn’t make it.
Levi.
I shatter. My world crumbles. No, he can’t be gone?
“No!” I wail, breaking down in hysterical sobs.