The Caretaker | Levi x OC

Chapter 9

The paparazzi swarmed into a tight circle around the four of them, the name "Connie" tossed like fresh gossip in a mess hall. Jack staggered back a step.

"Levi." His throat bobbed. Sage was too wrapped up in her own little bubble-posing and blowing kisses at the paparazzi-to notice the tension. Karma's palms moistened against the rubber wheelchair handles.

Jack...Connie... She thought of the picture in her tote bag. There was a boy with a buzz cut smiling in it. Was it the same person? Why would he go by a different name?

"Levi, what's happening?" Karma said, bending her chin to his shoulder.

"Bastard's the reason I'm in this damn thing." He smacked the armrest of the wheelchair. "Yelena's gonna be pissed. We need to leave."

"But the movie-"

"We are not entertaining the idea of a Scout reunion. Period."

"Wait." Karma grabbed the handles before he wheeled off the curb. "Jack-or Connie, or whatever-he knew you were going to be here. There's no way Sage didn't mention your name. If he was willing to see you, there must be a good reason. Maybe a Scout reunion wouldn't be the end of the world."

"Even if the shithead could be civil, we want the attention to be on us. That's the whole point."

"Then we can't cancel the movie. They need to see us on a date."

Levi's jaw worked as he mulled it over. "Fine. But baldie and bimbo need to leave."

Karma fought the urge to retort. She was nervous to be alone with Levi, but he was right. She elbowed her way back through the crowd to tell Sage that their double date was canceled.

"But Karms, the cameras love me! I can't go now."

"Please, Sage."

"Jack was really eager for our double. He wanted to talk to Levi."

"Some other time. I promise."

Sage huffed but grabbed Jack's arm. A few camera flashes chased after them, but the majority stayed on Karma and Levi, capturing snapshots of them entering the theater. Their first ever date. Luckily, the paparazzi couldn't follow them inside, though they would undoubtedly be waiting for them when the film ended.

The theater wasn't anything like the ones in Old Marley with their sticky floors and buttery odor. Karma drank in the ambiance of chandeliers dripping with diamonds and white gloved hands removing cashmere shawls, her heels clicking against marble. But a chill kissed her skin when the hundred New Marleyans gossiping in the lobby quieted, piercing them with glares. Unlike her first trek through New Marley, Karma blended into the throng with her floor-length gown like a shower of sequins-they had no way of knowing she was Old Marley scum.

They hated her because she walked with him.

Levi's public image was definitively negative. She could sense it without ever having read the tabloids. People stood in pockets, whispering behind cupped hands and chancing glances. Murmurs whisked past them. Narrowed eyes followed them into the auditorium. Even the ticket attendant donned an icy glower as he directed them to their skybox seating.

Fortunately, the floating booth was private. Maybe she and Levi could enjoy the movie in peace. They took their seats, Karma smoothing her dress over her legs. But even twenty feet above the shuffling crowd, she caught snippets of gossip.

"-her?"

"Won't last-"

"-freak."

A woman flaunting seed pearls gestured up to their booth and chortled with her girlfriends. A portly man blatantly sneered at Karma, mustache twitching. A brown loafer hit their railing, followed by a ripple of laughter.