The Quiet Ones

20. Sleeping Softly

We left the prison around half past eight, and honestly I've never appreciate fresh air so much in my life until I walked through the glass doors and back into the inviting surroundings of nature.

Levi looked exhausted from sitting up all night. He gave me the bed while he sat on the bench and kept guard to make sure nobody would harass me while I slept. It was nice to have someone protect me while I was in a vulnerable state, being a young girl sleeping and all, but I still felt bad that Levi had to force himself to stay awake and alert for so many hours.

"Do you want me to drive?" I asked as we began walking closer to the car. "You look pretty tired, I can drive most of the way home."

"No, I'm fine. I just need to sit down for a second," he said while he obviously began to nod off.

While his eyes burned red as he squinted at the sunlight, I came up behind him and took the keys out of his hand. His reflexes were a bit off from being extremely fatigued, so he didn't fight back until we were in the car and I was sitting in the drivers seat.

"I can drive Parker. I'm fine," Levi insisted while covering his mouth to yawn.

"Yeah, no. You can't. I'll take this one and you can drive yourself the rest of the way after we get to my house. Deal?"

He nodded while strapping himself in with the seatbelt. I started his car and adjusted the seat and mirrors- which took some time considering it went from being ideal for a six foot tall male to a five foot three inch female. I turned the air on slightly to rid the oven effect the car was beginning to develop, and I opted for a quieter radio station.

By the time I put my foot on the break and shifted the gear into drive, Levi was out. His eyes were closed and his body sat still while his head rested against the cool glass window of the car door. His eyes fluttered slightly as he breathed quietly. He looked almost like a sleeping child by the way he slept so quietly and still.

I gave him a small smile before I drove out of the parking lot and hummed along quietly to an acoustic song playing on the radio.

The ride wasn't too bad, only about twenty minutes. Levi, for one, seemed to enjoy my cautious driving by the way he would occasionally smile to himself and place his arms closer to his body.

But his unbearable amount of adorableness didn't help the fact that I had no idea where exactly Levi lived.

"Levi," I whispered when we stopped at a red light. "What's your address?"

"495 Ports Road," he mumbled quietly under his breath before turning to his other side and taking a deep breath while drifting back to his dreams.

Hearing the address come from his mouth took me off guard. Levi only lives about three streets over, and I still have never seen him before I joined the gang. Instead of questioning him like an obsessive girlfriend- which is something I told myself I would never be- I shrugged it off as we pulled into his house while I turned off the car and readjusted his seat, but I must have pulled the lever too hard because right as the seat clicked into place, Levi's eyes opened slowly while he squinted at the harsh rays of sun coming in through the window.

"Why are we at my house?" He asked while he rubbed his eyes and stretched. "I'm supposed to be driving here. You were supposed to stop at your house."

"Yeah, but you were asleep. I couldn't do that to you. Now, go inside and I'll walk home."

"But Parker-"

"No, you're obviously exhausted and need your sleep. I'll be fine. Call me when you wake up, okay?"

He didn't fight me any further. Instead he got out of the car nodding and giving me a small wave. I watched as he walked up the pathway and into his house, making sure he made it in safely. After that, I began my journey home.

I didn't mind walking much. The sound of birds in the morning and the quiet rush of cars was actually quite comforting after being stuck in a building with screaming men all night. On the upside, I can now tell people that I've been to prison. I don't know if that's something I should be bragging about, but it may earn me some respect.

After crossing only a few short blocks, I arrived at my small cottage-like home. My mother's tiny car was still in the driveway. I forgot she goes to work an hour later on Saturdays. So basically she has a full sixty minutes to lecture me on everything I've done wrong in the past few weeks. Great.

I slowly opened the wooden door and walked into the living room, greeted with the familiar smell: Ginger and mint. Breathing in the soft fumes helped me relax, yet my shoulders tensed and my stomach churned as my mother entered the living room with her hands on her hips and her hair disheveled, obviously from being in distress.

"Care to tell me why exactly you spent the night in jail?"