Page 30 of Every Single Broken Piece
Levi just shakes his head.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to talk about my family, but I can’t stop myself from asking, “Want me to share some of mine with you?”
The corner of his mouth lifts. “I’d love that.”
I lean forward and set the empty bottle on the coffee table while I let myself willingly think of my childhood for the first time in a really long while.
Memories flood me, and a sad smile pulls at my mouth when I think of something I can share. “Before Jordan and ...” Pain slices through my heart, and I squeeze my eyes shut. “... Sage moved out, we used to have little treasure hunts for our birthdays. We’d hide twelve pieces of candy all over the house and garden, and whoever’s birthday it was had an hour to find them all.” My nose tingles as the urge to crybuilds in me. “It was just candy, but we had so much fun. We’d blow those birthday whistles ...” I open my eyes to look at Levi. “You know the ones that roll out?” When he nods, I continue, “Anyway, we’d blow them if the person was heading in the wrong direction.” My smile widens. “The one time, Dad started laughing. I can’t remember why, but his whistle kept squawking like a duck. I laughed so hard, I almost wet myself that day.”
When I blink, a tear slips free and rolls over my cheek. I brush it away, and when I see the wetness on my fingertips, a weird mixture of a sob and laughter bursts from me.
My voice is hoarse as I admit, “I haven’t cried since I left the hospital.”
After a while, Levi whispers, “Thank you for sharing your happy memory with me.”
Even though it’s growing dark in the room, Levi doesn’t move to switch on a light.
Lick snores, and it pulls my attention to her. “She lies like a human when she sleeps. It’s so cute.”
“Yeah.”
I keep looking at the beautiful dog as I ask, “Do you want to share a memory with me?”
“You want us to make a memory-for-a-memory deal?” he asks.
My eyes dart to him, and I don’t even think twice. “Yes.”
His expression grows tense again. “Just tell me if any of mine are too much for you, and we can stop.”
Dear God.
I straighten up and square my shoulders to ready myself for whatever he’s going to share with me.
“I was five when my mother remarried. I never knew my biological father, and I was excited that I finally had a dad.” Levi pauses, and I see the moment he slips into his past, his expression tightening until he looks tormented.
I’m overcome with the urge to go to him and hug him tightly, but I sit still and listen.
“At first, he was only verbally abusive. My mother was already pregnant when they got married, and not long after, my half brother was born. That’s when things changed drastically. If my brother cried, my stepfather would beat me, so I spent every waking moment trying to soothe him. I would push his stroller for hours.” Levi seems to come out of the daze and exhales a heavy breath. “To this day, the sound of a crying baby puts me on edge.”
Unable to keep my distance, I get up and walk over to Levi. Sitting down beside him, I ask, “May I hug you?”
He turns his head slightly toward me, then nods.
I scoot closer until our bodies touch and wrap my arms around his neck. When he leans into me and places his left hand on my back, I don’t think and press a kiss to his hair. “I’m so sorry you had to experience that.”
His other arm comes around me, and he grips me tightly to him.
After a few minutes, he whispers near my ear, “Your turn.”
“When I was sixteen, we all had to take lifelike baby dolls home for a weekend. It was to teach us how difficult it is to have a baby. At night, my family took shifts to take care of the doll, and during the day, they all helped with the diapers and feedings. When I asked my parents why, they said that’s what it would be like if I came home with a baby. Everyone would pitch in to help and make things easier for me.” Laughter sputters from me. “Then they gave me the talk about using protection, and I almost died from embarrassment.”
Levi lets out a chuckle, the sound deep as it rumbles from his chest, and it makes me feel like I did something good.
When it sinks in that he isn’t going to pull back first, I slowly let go until I’m able to meet his gaze. “Thank you, Levi.”
“For?”
“Doing what no one else could do the past year.”
