The Intern

Chapter 26

"Eren, look at me."

I was pretty sure I heard my name, but I couldn't get my mind focused enough to understand what was being asked of me. All I could see were the roses that filled Levi's once dull apartment with a vibrant red that I now realized I hated. It was too bright, too invasive, too threatening. It made me miss the pale blues, stark whites, and cold grays that I had grown accustomed to seeing every time I walked into his home. The colors may have been bland but they were his. I felt comfortable here. Or at least I had, until Erwin splashed red all over the happy life we had been creating. He was going to ruin it now. I was going to be a stranger here.

"Eren."

There it was again. My name. I opened my mouth, certain that I was going to be able to manage some kind of response, but nothing came out. I wasn't sure if I was even capable of a coherent thought, much less words. My mind was reeling with the fact that I might actually lose him. How was it that tonight had been so perfect and yet so horrible? What had I done to upset Erwin, and how would I be able to fix it? Part of me was certain that this was just a warning, but the rest of me was terrified that the game had already ended. Maybe Erwin had decided that he wanted Levi for himself, and I wasn't sure I would be able to stop him if that were the case. Levi wouldn't want me over him.

"Damn it, Eren!" Levi's voice came out sharp enough to snap my mind back into the room, and my eyes turned to meet his when he grabbed me by the shoulders. "Look at me and calm down."

I stared into his piercing blue eyes and took a slow breath. My heart was hammering against my chest like it was trying to escape and my stomach was still twisted into a knot of complete anxiety, but looking into those eyes started to bring a sense of calm that I needed. That was, of course, until I reminded myself that this might be one of the last times that he looked at me with such caring eyes. We would be ending soon. It probably wouldn't be long until Erwin revealed the secret I'd been keeping from Levi for weeks, and then all of that affection would turn to hate. He wouldn't want me after that.

I took in a trembling breath and shut my eyes, remaining silent until I was certain that my voice would remain stable when I finally spoke. "I'm fine."

"Bullshit."

"Really, I'm fine," I repeated, opening my eyes to meet Levi's speculative stare. "Levi, I promise. I'm okay. They're just flowers."

"Just flowers?" He didn't sound convinced at all. "You're not acting like this is just about flowers."

"I'm not acting any differently," I responded a little too quickly. Damn, that sounded more defensive than I wanted it to. "Honestly, why would it even bother me?"

"Why would it not bother you?" Levi countered.

I opened my mouth to speak, but I had no response for that. I would just be lying to his face if I insisted that I didn't care at all when it was very obvious that I did. Levi had already made it clear that he hated lies and I didn't want to give him more reasons to be upset with me. Not when I was already keeping a massive lie from him to begin with. There was no point in creating a mountain of lies when I had already thoroughly fucked up.

"Should we wait..." Armin turned towards the elevator and suddenly seemed to remember that there was no outside to wait in. "Somewhere else?"

I had forgotten that Armin and Mikasa were standing only a few feet away from us. They had seen the entire apartment decked out in roses and my resulting reaction to it. From the look on Mikasa's face, I could tell that she was both confused and angry. Unlike Armin, she had no idea where the roses had come from. All she knew was that I was incredibly upset and something in Levi's apartment had caused it. Which of course meant that she was once again blaming him for hurting me when he hadn't lifted a finger to do so.