Hypnotized

Chapter 38

LEVI POV 

"How do you want me to help you with getting Max put away?" 

"You have the resources. I need you to make it happen." I whisper.

"Levi, you gotta realize something. I have to be strategic about this. Everyone around you is buzzing about this now that the bastard is awaiting trial. Him suddenly being killed in his cell will only make things worse." My uncle replies.

My uncle Terry is someone in my family who most wouldn't really go to for help or advice, but in this situation I need him more than ever. He's in the mob, but he's not like most where he just terrorizes the general public. If there's a good enough reason for the person to be killed, he'll do it. When I was younger, my parents definitely sugarcoated what he did for a living. Something like that is too complex to explain to a child. But as I got older and started realizing that the world isn't such a good place, I began to understand why my uncle feels the need to rid the world of those who don't deserve to be amongst the living. 

"How would that make everything worse?" I ask, genuinely confused. 

My father stays in contact with my uncle, of course. That's family. However, he doesn't like what he does and wanted to keep that away from me and my brother while we were growing up. My mother, however, doesn't seem to really mind what my uncle is involved in, as long as it didn't directly hurt us. My uncle isn't the kind of mobster that kills just for the fun. He does it to the people who truly deserve it. Max deserve to rot after what he did to Xiu and Priscilla and whoever else he has hurt. 

"Because, you have to wait until the right time to make a move. Everyone knows that you're helping this girl out, and I don't want you being pinned for a murder you didn't commit. You have to move in silence with stuff like this."

It's still early in the morning, I made sure that I woke up early enough so that Xiu wouldn't wake up and walk in on this conversation. Of course bringing Max to justice is at the top of our concern. But the more I think about the way Xiu was beaten, and how he would've gotten to actually rape her had I showed up even later than I did, it nauseates me every single day. Priscilla still hasn't been found, and it pains me to come to the realization that she's probably dead. A prison cell would be too humane. Max doesn't deserve to receive shelter and food for the rest of his life.

"So are you willing to help me, yes or no?" I ask, somewhat irritated. 

"Alright. Give me a little bit. I'll call you when I've made my decision." Terry replies after a while, and I sigh.

I'm just worried he won't follow through with this. He should after everything that I just told him. Max is a disgusting, vile excuse as a person and shouldn't see the light of day any longer than he already has. There's nothing that will change my mind on it. 

I hang up, and I sit on the couch. My appetite has disappear. My uncle needs to agree to this. He has to. Max hurt someone that I love and I'm not going to run the risk of him not being brought to justice. 

Love?

Listen to yourself, Levi. It's too soon for something as significant as that word.

Lately, the more and more I think about it, I'm realizing just how much I might love Xiu. Since the day I met her, and every single day after that, this girl continues to surprise me. I never expected to have my feelings towards her blossom the way that they did. It all happened so fast. At first it seemed like she couldn't stand me, and then something switched. Before the semester even started, I didn't even think that I was going to be in a relationship at all. I was thinking this semester would be filled with one night stands, but after I had slept with Clove, I realized how tired I was of the one night stands.