Why do you lie, Levi?

One

                                 TAYLOR
September 11th 2023

I'M AWAKENED by a blaring alarm, causing me to groan in protest. I roll onto my back, throwing my arms over my face with a loud yawn.

Rubbing my eyes, I sit up glancing around my room. The sun pours through my windows, giving my room a bright glow. All of my pink pillows are scattered across the floor while my blankets are tangled around my body.

The different shades of pink from my pillows gave my hurricane gray floorboards a vibrant look.

I love my bedroom. I have since I was a child. Being sent to my room isn't a punishment, it was a privilege. Being able to sit in the four walled room, reading or writing music was the best feeling any child could have.

I roll over, pulling my phone from the charger and looking at the time. MONDAY, 6:30 AM. I hate mondays. Always have. Not because of school, but because of the feeling it brought. Monday always brought me a queasy feeling and I never understood why. Nothing good could ever happen on mondays.

I type in my passcode on my phone, texting Alia to know if she's going into school today. She says yes. I exhale a sigh of relief and get ready.

Once I'm ready, I head downstairs. Each step is a reminder of what's to come of today. Classes, alia, laughter, sadness, and Levi. Banishing the thought of him from my mind, I head into the kitchen and take a seat on the stool at the counter.

"Good morning sweetie," My mom says, rounding the counter and kissing the top of my head. "You look beautiful." She takes my face in her hands, analyzing every bit of me.

I give her a small smile, muttering up a 'thank you' as she gives me a bowl, a spoon, milk, and some cheerios. I pour it, taking a bite.

I watch as my mother grabs her purse, searching around the kitchen for her keys.. "I won't be home until later tonight," She smiles and lets out a small sound of victory when she finds her keys. "So I'll leave some money so you can order pizza for you and the kids."

The kids as in, Bailey, Maddison and Eliza down the street. I've been close with them since I first moved here when I was ten. Bailey is fourteen now and in eighth grade, breaking all of the boys' hearts. Maddison and Eliza the twins twelve, in the seventh grade, and closer than ever. Maddison is bright like Eliza and fiery like bailey. While Eliza is more like me, reserved yet outgoing depending on the crowd.

They're like the siblings I've never had. They're always over and Maddison is always hungry so my mom is always cooking for her.

"Sounds good, mom." I take another bite of my cereal, batting my moms death grip away as she hugs me.

THE WALK to school is peaceful. The breeze from the fresh autumn air hitting my face as 'Fade into you' by mazzy star blasts in my airpods is pure bliss. I enjoy these morning walks. I've loved walking to school ever since I got the chance in fifth grade.

Autumn reminds me of Levi. I met Levi Graham in the fifth grade, I fell in love with that class clown act he had. It made me laugh during the times I would've rather been anywhere but that classroom. He hated me though. I never understood why.

Where everyone else was nice, Levi was mean. Once, In the seventh grade, we had to write an essay about where we felt that we most belonged. I wrote mine about my bedroom. Levi wrote his about the lake in Autumn. The lake is well, the lake. It's a random little lake not too far from where we live with no official name.

I was introduced to it by Bailey two days after that.

I open my locker, grabbing my books as Alia approaches me.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshh!" She announces, causing me to giggle.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh, what?" I shut my locker, tone laced with amusement. She hits my arm, claiming I'm being a bitch.

"I am in love, Taylor. Like in love, in love." She declares. I smile, knowing exactly what she's talking about. As if on cue, Alex Bridgers struts down the hall with his usual swagger. Alex Bridgers is hot. No way around it. We've both had a thing for him, but he's shown me zero attention. Alia on the other hand? She has that poor boy wrapped around her little finger.

I turn to her, giving her a serious look. "I am in love with your boyfriend, Alia," she laughs. "Hide him before I steal him."

We both laugh loudly and I notice a pair of eyes glancing over from across the hall. Levi stands at his locker wearing his signature scowl.

His fluffy blonde hair in all sorts of different directions, dark circles under his emerald eyes, and his signature black hoodie saying everything about what kind of mood he's in.

My smile fades and Alia notices. "Stop giving him the time of day," We begin to walk to class. "Seriously babe, he's just an ass to you because he knows he can't have you." She wraps an arm around my shoulders.

If only it were that easy. Levi Graham is cruel. He has no reason to be. I've always wondered why. It's not like he was hurt.

We've never been friends. No matter how hard I tried, he didn't budge. He made middle school a living hell for me. Spreading rumor after rumor until we got to high school when he stopped caring.

I glance behind me one last time, Levi now deep in conversation with his buddies Lucas and Xavier, sleeves rolled up. I noticed a huge bruise on his arm. It's not the first one I've seen.

Over the years I've seen countless bruises on him. I always wondered how he got them.

THE ROOM is filled with laughter as I sprawl across the couch, Bailey and Eliza lying on the living room floor, and Maddison tucked comfortably into my side.

"There is no way that just happened." Maddison comments, referring to the fight that just broke out. The night was going fine, I ordered pizza for us and we went to seven eleven for snacks. We're all hanging out, eating when Eliza tackles Bailey for the last slice. They wrestled for a moment before agreeing on something.

Eliza only wanted it for the crust and Bailey just wanted the pizza itself. They agreed that Eliza would get the crust once Bailey finished the pizza, while me and Mad's laughed on the sidelines and recorded everything.

It's moments like this that you can't make up.

"Well Bailey had four slices." Eliza adds, laughing as she munches on the crust from the pizza. Bailey burps, grinning as she nods. Maddison, and Eliza yell out, 'ewwww!', causing Bailey to let out another.

"Alright let's stop being nasty and hop on roblox with voice chat, yeah?" I tell them, pulling out my phone from my pocket.

That erupts a loud 'Yeah!' from them.

We play for a bit before eight thirty comes around so I walk them home. On the way back home, I soak in the feeling of the cool night air. The lake is all I can think about at the moment and it's the one place I want to be.

Once I arrive home, I change into a hoodie and some sweatpants before heading out to the lake. I pull my hood over my head as the wind blows my brunette curls into my face. It's about a ten minute walk and extremely soothing.

I make it to the wooded area, following the trail past tons of trees. I'm finally close enough to see the way the water glistens and glows. I let out a contented sigh as I approached the water. I lie down, shutting my eyes.

This is exactly where I was always destined to be.