Why do you lie, Levi?

Two

I SHUT MY EYES and breathe in the scent of the grass that I lie in. I can feel the cool air all around me. I can hear the way the water flows. I am at peace here.

The first time I came to the lake with Bailey, I fell in love with it. All the countless summers we spent together at this very lake. It was poetic in a way. Almost as if in all the craziness in the world, this lake was calm.

Just a little bit deeper into the woods, there's a hill. During the winter we go sledding down it. During the summers we do anything at it.

I'm starting to understand why my mom always wanted me to leave my room and go play outside as a child. Nature. It's beautiful, yet tragic. The same way love is. Love is pain, and gosh, love is beautiful.

I sit up, smiling down at the water when I begin to hear faint cries in the distance. I look around, trying to figure out where the sound is coming from.

The sounds stop before they get louder. I bite my lip, standing and following the sound. After about a minute of walking I freeze.

I see Levi sitting against a huge boulder, knees hugged up to his chest as he buries his face into them, sob after sob escaping him. My heart aches. Sure, Levi is a jerk to me, but I've never seen him so distraught.

"Levi?' I speak quietly, causing him to jerk up in surprise. The second his eyes meet mine my heart cracks in my chest. His green eyes are bloodshot, tear stains running down his face as he gasps. He frantically wipes his tears.

"T-the hell are you doing here?" He mumbles. He looks down as his bottom lip quivers.

"I was at the lake and I heard crying," I step closer and he scoots away. "Levi, is everything okay?" I am concerned.

His pale face reddens as he wipes more tears away. He looks like he's been crying for ages.

"I'm fine," He lies. "It's none of your business." He shakes violently, hugging his knees closer to his chest. "Levi," I began. "You seem like you've been crying for quite a while. You're going to make yourself sick." That causes another sob to violently crack through him.

Without thinking, I strut towards him and wrap my arms around him within a second. His eyes widen, yet he hugs me back and shoves his face into the crook of my neck, tears streaming down his face. I rub his back soothingly.

Levi Graham is a horrible person. That's just a fact and there's no way around it. But no one deserves to hurt this way. Something inside of Levi is broken beyond repair and I have no idea how to fix it, or if it is even my place to fix something like this.

"Please tell me what's going on," I beg "tell me how to make this right." I hold his body tighter against me. At this moment Levi and I aren't enemies. In this moment we are two oceans meeting, the strong winds and dangerous waves making us one.

"I don't wanna talk about it." He chokes out as he sobs violently. "Y-you can't fix me, Taylor." He sucks in a large breath. "Why do you care so much?"

Why do I care so much? "Because you're clearly hurting Levi." I sigh. His body tenses. "I don't need anyone's sympathy." He responds, voice hoarse from crying, tone laced with pure anger.

Pulling him back to look into his eyes, I speak the truth. "Well you have it, and my damn support. So Levi if you don't tell me–" "

"My Uncle," He interrupts.

"What about him?" My brows furrowed in confusion.

"He drinks." Levi states, body tensing.

"Oh." and that's all I can say. A small silence hangs in the air before I speak, "what happens when he drinks?"