The Intern

Chapter 29

"Erwin is going to kill me."

I groaned and let my forehead fall against the mirror, finally giving up on choosing a suitable top. It didn't matter what I put on, after all. Whatever I picked out would be stained in blood and hidden from view once I was long and gone. It would all be over once Jean stepped onto that plane and Erwin realized I had made yet another move against him. Not that it had been my choice.

I'd spent the past three days trying to subtly convince Levi that bringing Jean along with us was not the best idea, but nothing had worked. Of course, it wasn't like I could outright say that I didn't want Jean to come with because I knew that it would push Erwin into coming after me. Levi wasn't even remotely aware of how quickly Erwin could destroy me, and if he knew then it meant that the secret was already out. And at that point I would lose him anyway.

Unfortunately it seemed I would have to go through with this and pray for the best.

There was no other way around it. Armin's ex would be joining us on what was supposed to be Erwin's romantic tour through Paris. And although I didn't want to see Erwin do anything with Armin, I was almost willing to give in just this once if it meant holding the fraying threads of my relationship together for a little longer. I wasn't ready to see it come crashing down, and I had no plans on how to repair it if it did. I needed more time.

Then again, I could have all of eternity and still mess this up. All because I had lied.

Stupid.

"Stupid, stupid..." I muttered, hitting my head against the smooth surface, "So fucking stupid."

"If you're referring to the way you're slamming your head into my mirror, then yea. I agree." Levi spoke from across the room. I turned to find him leaning against the doorframe ever so casually, his arms folded as he watched me with a bemused expression. "Care to explain why you're giving yourself a concussion? Or did you already knock that information out of your head?"

He didn't walk over right away, and I noticed immediately. It had been two days since we'd really seen each other, and he'd been cold to me since I walked in the door.

"I'm just nervous about the trip," I muttered, stepping away from the mirror and pausing to rub my forehead. It wasn't exactly a lie but it wasn't the full truth either. Not that I could give the full truth anymore. I was in too deep for that now.

"Oh, please don't tell me you're choosing now to mention that you're scared of flying," Levi remarked, rolling his eyes and pushing away from the door to walk towards me. "Because it's a little late. We're leaving in the next hour."

"No, it's not that," I frowned, looking down when Levi took a moment to straighten my shirt. He eyed it and then turned his attention back to me, seeming to approve of the selection. Which wasn't surprising, considering he was the one who bought it in the first place.

"Then what is it?" Levi asked, "Are you scared of the Eiffel Tower? The amazing food? Your first time in a foreign place?"

"It's not any of that," I said, sighing in a rush. I stayed still for a moment after and then forced myself to meet his eyes. "I'm scared of how Erwin's going to react when he sees Jean. I'm worried he's going to think that I'm the one who set it all up."

"And he probably will," Levi agreed, raising a brow. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"It's just going to make things worse."

"No, it's going to show him that you have a backbone," Levi countered, "You're going to make him realize that he can't jerk you around like this. Not where I'm concerned."