Page 78 of Sunset Catchers

My eyes dart between his—and yes, I do want to tell him about it. He grabs the wicker basket from me and puts the glasses inside, carrying our loot as we move on.

“My mom had me when she was eighteen. Fresh out of high school, barely a full-fledge adult. She met my dad through mutual friends. He was twenty, and they dated for a few months over the summer. When fall came, she found out she was pregnant with me.”

They decided to keep me, obviously. I think my mom thought it was romantic. Two people allegedly in love, coming together and making it work, despite their young age. Choosing to come home to each other every night. But one day, my dad woke up and thought, hey, so, this is fucking insane. And he chose not to come home. And suddenly, it wasn’t romantic. It wasn’t even tragic; it was just stupid.”

Just two kids who made a stupid decision; me.

“So, our relationship…it’s complicated. My childhood wasn’t all that great. I’m talking no warmth and barely any fuzz.”

Levi chuckles, wincing.

“Then, it pretty much imploded when I turned eighteen. Since then, we haven’t really been a part of each other’s lives.” I get lost inside my mind for an instant as we step out into an outdoor, covered space that is filled with old,beaten down doors. I hope they came from homes where love lived.

“A penny for your thoughts,” Levi says, the words a touch desperate. When I focus back on him, an amused smirk shoves away the sad pout on my face.

“Wow, big stud. You’re selling me really short right now.”

“Sorry. I have a ten-dollar bill in my wallet. That’s my last offer.”

I wonder if that ten-dollar bill is the same one I tipped him. Did he hold on to it? Which wouldn’t mean anything; nobody uses cash anymore. Still, I do pathetically wonder.

I bump my shoulder to his arm playfully.

“Nah, you brought me a coffee and croissant, consider your fee paid.”

“You really don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he adds.

That’s really sweet.

“I know. I want to tell you.” He is bashfully smiling, and oh my! “I’m just thinking about how I was the iceberg in my mom’s life. She was just cruising through life before, with all these plans and aspirations, and then, here I came, ruining it all.”

I sense the shift in Levi immediately. He’s agitated as he reaches for me. His hand lands softly on my shoulder, his thumb on the brown skin over my collarbone. It’s a bit awkward, us standing still, as the sky finally surrenders to the heaviness and deluges over the land.

The sound of rain drops hitting the tin roof is a loud melody that makes the turmoil inside my head somehow quieter. The scents of petrichor and mildew mingle around us. The chipped green paint on one of the doors is a comforting sight.

My eyes catch on to Levi’s.

He’s watching me; waiting for my cue.

But he doesn’t let go.

Thing is; it’s not quite a hug from my best friend, but it makes me feel better all the same.

“Do you think there’s a way your relationship could get better?”

I cleared my throat before answering, gazing at the unkept field beyond. It’s too much; Levi touching me and holding eye contact.

“I really don’t think so,” I whisper.

We’re Jack and Rose and that single plank of wood. There is space on it for both of us, and yet, I end up in the freezing cold water, numb and sinking.

“She’s been calling me these last few weeks.” I wince. “I know it’s bad ignoring a call from your mom.”

The whole of Levi; crestfallen.

“Fuck, Win. What I said earlier about not ignoring my mother’s call. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, Levi. It’s not something you could’ve guessed.”