Chapter Eighteen
Valentine’s Day—2004
Ice-covered snow clung to the ground.
Clinging onto life a lot longer than anyone thought, Mike died on Monday. They were all put on punishment after the kidnapping, even though everyone believed it gave Mike a few more months to live.
Levi felt ill-fitted in his suit, while kids from his school milled around the resort’s restaurant. His parents allowed them to have the memorial at Goosebay Lake. The Scotts owned the only place big enough to accommodate the whole town.
“We’re going to the quarry to pour out a pint of Guinness,” Greg said as he joined them. During the whole service, his group pretty much stayed to themselves. When they carried the casket from the church, Bud broke down. After that he didn’t say much. He seemed pretty lost without his brother.
“Boys,” Sheriff interrupted their plans.
“Sheriff,” they responded.
“You idiots are really lucky that kid didn’t die during your little stunt, otherwise this memorial would be going a lot different.” Shawn’s dickhead dad still wore his uniform and he didn’t even have to work that day. Levi wondered if the overbearing ass even owned regular clothes. “I guess your parents have some money to blow, huh, Scott?”
Since Levi didn’t know how to answer, he just looked away in hopes Sheriff would leave them alone. No one wanted to hang at Shawn’s house for just this reason.
“Well, they should quit trying to show everyone up. People are grieving … it’s not a contest.”
Very rarely did Levi thank the heavens for Trent Scott, but one second in Sheriff Cooper’s presence always managed to fish that emotion out of him.
“Okay, well, you idiots remember this is a memorial and conduct yourself accordingly.” Sheriff Cooper looped his thumbs in his gun belt, probably waiting for them to apologize for kidnapping Mike that day. Considering none of them were sorry, they all stood in awkward silence until he moseyed off to harass someone else.
“I have to help my parents clean up,” he blurted out the lie. They hired a crew, but he just needed to get away from the sadness the huge hole Mike’s absence made in the group.
“Levi!” Meghan’s high-pitched whine forced his stomach to drop.
“Uh-oh, Levi’s in trouble,” Shawn teased.
Someone made the sound of a whip, while they chuckled at his current predicament. For weeks, he had kept her at arm’s length, using Mike’s illness for the reason.
“What are we doing for Valentine’s Day?” she damn near yelled as bright welts inched up her neck. “Did you make plans? Do you even have anything for me?”
Levi grabbed her by the arm to steer her away from his friends. Although he was glad to provide entertainment, he didn’t want it to be at his expense.
“We’re at a funeral.”
“Memorial,” she corrected, “and it ends at five. What are we going to do after that? You haven’t even given me flowers.” Meghan sniffed.
Shocked he was even having this discussion, Levi became that guy he never thought he would be. “I need a break.”
“What?”
“This isn’t about you, it’s about me,” he threw out, unable to stop the dreaded words from falling from his lips.
“It’s Valentine’s Day,” she screeched.
The polite murmur in the banquet room grew silent.
He tried to pull her away but she snatched her arm from him. “You’re the shittiest boyfriend!” she cried. Levi had no idea how she pulled that sound off but hoped to never hear it again. “When you wake up tomorrow and come to your senses, don’t call me!” She signaled for her friends to leave, while his dad stared daggers at him. Humiliated until the end of time, it took a minute for the room to go back to their polite small talk.
“That was smooth.” Shawn put his hand over his shoulder and laughed. “You broke up with your girlfriend at your best friend’s funeral, and on freakin’ Valentine’s Day. Fucking classic, man.”
“Yeah,” Greg agreed. “This is going to be epic when we go back to school.” The embarrassment would have been much worse if Bud didn’t chuckle at his predicament—the first smile he had witnessed from him in days.
“Your life is going to be pure hell. You know how those girls stick together.”
“Maybe they’ll make a cheer about it at the next basketball game,” Bud muttered.
As Levi realized the severity of his situation, his friends all laughed at how screwed he would be come Monday morning.
Not five minutes later, his father ripped him a new one over Meghan’s meltdown, and Levi passed on hanging with the guys. Instead, he hiked over to the cabins. It snowed in a hard drizzle that would eventually turn to good ski powder. Drawing his suit jacket closed, he made every plan to sit down and do his homework.
Of course, he ended up two cabins away from his house. He gave Cayden’s door a quick rap with his knuckles. She greeted him in a tight white t-shirt, pajama bottoms, and glasses. The glasses were delightfully new.
“Sorry to hear about your friend.” Cayden stood back to let him into her girly palace. He walked in and felt the release of tension he didn’t know he held in the pit of his stomach all day.