Coming Home

Seventeen

My mind whirls as I walk around the shopping center, thoughts of all of the life-changing events that have suddenly been thrust upon me taking over. I struggle to process everything that has happened over the last few days, the severity of this entire situation weighing heavily on my shoulders. With my thoughts jumping all over the place, I barely hear the voice calling my name.

"Alexis!"

While off in my own little world, I continue on my way, ignoring the garbled voice to the best of my ability. I hate that name with a passion; I really wish people would take the hint and stop calling me that. I don't want to be Alexis ever again.

"Alexis!" the voice shouts again; the word is much clearer to my ears this time.

A deep sigh rushes out of me when I realize that there's no escaping whatever this is. Turning around, I see that the person attached to the voice is none other than Levi Hutchins. Just my luck, right? That's precisely what I need right now, bumping into the only man I've ever really cared about right after catching my boyfriend cheating on me. The universe must think that my life is a joke or something.

"Lexi, wait up!" Levi calls again, running to catch up to me. "I'm so glad I caught you before you left town," he says once he's within arm's reach of me. "I was hoping we could, I don't know, hang out? Grab some coffee?"

"Levi," I sigh, but the handsome man interrupts me before I can voice an entire sentence.

"It's just coffee, Lexi. If you feel uncomfortable at any time, you can leave. Or you can tell me to get lost, and I'll leave," he says. "C'mon, Lexi, what do you say?"

Eleventh-grade Lexi would be internally screaming at the thought of Levi Hutchins asking her out for coffee. Now, though? Well, I might still be internally screaming, but Levi doesn't need to know that. Plus, I haven't seen him since high school; I don't even know him anymore. Not that we were really close back then either, but... we had a chance to get there. Before that summer happened, anyway.

Pulling my bottom lip between my teeth, I hesitate before answering, "I suppose we could get coffee." Levi smiles that gorgeous smile at me, and I practically melt into a puddle on the floor. Before he can say anything, though, I add, "But please, call me 'Kate.'"

Levi is quiet for several moments, likely processing what I've just said. I can see a hint of confusion on his face, his eyes swirling with unasked questions. I mentally prepare myself to be bombarded with said questions. However, Levi just smiles softly and says, "Kate, it is." As soon as the words leave his lips, I feel some of the weight on my shoulders suddenly lift slightly, my lips threatening to curl up into a smile of my own. "You're leaving tonight, right? Are you available now?" he asks. "It's my treat."

"Um... well, yes, I'm available now. But no, I'm not leaving tonight," I reply cautiously, my heart squeezing in my chest. "Something came up, and my plans have changed... I'm staying in my grandma's house for a while."

"I'm happy you're back, Lex--er, Kate," Levi says, leading me to the nearest coffee shop. He gestures to the shop once we enter and says, "The coffee here sucks, but at least the company is great."

A small smile tips the corners of my lips upward at his comment. It's a barely noticeable smile, but Levi catches it. As we sit in the little shop drinking our coffee, Levi looks as if he wants to say something, but he doesn't know where to begin. It leaves me feeling a bit awkward sitting there, Levi opening and closing his mouth like a fish. It's pretty cute, though, I have to admit. "So, how have you been since high school? What have you been up to?" I ask, breaking the silence between us.

"I've been good," he responds easily, seemingly thankful that I'd attempted to break the ice between us. "I'm working down at the mill. It's nothing fancy, but it pays the bills. What about you? Where have you been?"

"Uh... New York," I answer, feeling slightly embarrassed. I don't really know why, but there's just something about Levi that makes me feel like I can open up to him. Like my secrets will be safe with him. Not that my time in New York is really a secret. I just... for some reason, feel like maybe he won't judge me once he hears my story. And that makes me feel much more comfortable answering his questions. "I actually own a little coffee shop there, Jones's Coffee."

"No way, I've heard of Jones's!" Levi says, excitement dancing across his features. "You remember Gabe from high school? His little sister moved to New York for college, and Gabe said he grabbed some coffee there one time when he went to visit her. He raved about the coffee for weeks after he got back."

I give Levi another small smile and reply, "Yeah, uh, Hannah is actually one of my baristas now."

"That's so cool," he says, his eyes lit up with what appears to be genuine excitement. "So you own it? How did that come about? You just woke up one day and said, 'I wanna own a coffee shop'?"

"Not exactly," I answer with a soft chuckle. "The original owner actually took me in when I first got to New York. I was eighteen, broke, and homeless, so he offered me a place to live and a job. When he got too old to run the cafe anymore, he gave it to me."

"Wow," Levi says quietly. After a pause, he asks, "Did you ever plan on coming back? I mean, I know you're here now because of your grandma, but..."

"No," I cut him off, the word clipped as it exits my mouth. I almost feel bad for the harshness of my tone; Levi doesn't deserve to be snapped at. However, I can't bring myself to apologize for it. "I never intended to come back to this place, not after what happened here," I confess, calming my voice as much as I can.

"Lexi," Levi whispers, reaching over the table to hold my hand. I know that I told him not to call me that, but I find myself not really being bothered too much by it in this case. I can't explain it, but there's something comforting about the way Levi says my name--that name. "I'm here for you, you know? You can talk to me if you want. I won't judge you. And... I don't know exactly what happened senior year, but I do know that the rumors aren't true."

With those words, the tears spill forth from my eyes, racing down my cheeks quickly. That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me.