[1/3] NEVER LEAVE ME│s.m

two

"Josh!" I exclaim, laughing as I snatch my bowl of cereal out of his hands.

"I thought you made me breakfast!" he defends, sitting beside me at the island.

"I guess I could," I sigh, ruffling his hair. I step into the living area with my bowl, "Someone want this cereal?" I ask, holding it out to the boys.

JJ is the first to jump up and claim it as his. I laugh as the others moan in response, stepping back into the kitchen.

"What do you want?" I ask Josh, leaning on the counter.

"Scrambled eggs with bacon," he smiles, swinging around on the bar stool.

I take out a pan, a spatula, and other cooking necessities.

Cracking the eggs, I cut my finger on the broken shell. I'm accident-prone to fucking everything.

"Shit," I mumble, running over to the sink, dropping the shells in the garbage as I pass it.

I rinse my fingers under the warm water, cleaning my new cut.

It probably wasn't a good idea to continue making breakfast with an open wound, but it wasn't bleeding anymore so I found it do-able.

"Here you go," I sigh, placing the plate in front of him. He thanked me before delving into the food. I smiled at him, walking to grab myself a bandaid and wake Simon.

I had told the boys earlier in the morning, once they were all up, about what had happened, and they all agreed to have me stay with them until I was placed into my own home with a job to pay for it.

Everything felt right for once, but I knew it would be taken away sooner than expected.

••••

"Dropping by Levi's?" Vik asked me as I opened the front door. I nodded, smiling at him.

Levi had lived another block away from my dad's house, so I decided a walk would be needed anyways.

Maybe I should call him, see if he's home first.

But I felt a surprise visit would be something to make him smile, making me smile as well.

As I knocked on the door, I felt a wave of anxiety rush over me; I had never felt like this any other time upon seeing him.

He opened the door, a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Oh- Sage!" he calls out, his voice loud and clear.

"Hi," I smile. "I just wanted to drop by and see if-"

"Now isn't a good time," he says, interrupting my sentence.

"Oh, I could come back later," I reply, scratching the back of my neck. Something felt very suspicious about how he was acting.

"That would be perfect," he nervously smiles. "See ya later," he says, pecking my lips before shutting the door in my face.

"You really think I would leave this sketchy ass situation?" I question towards the door, jogging around the bushes of his house to his bedroom window, which was conveniently placed on the bottom level.

Once I peeked in, I prayed for what I just saw to not be true. Simon was right. He hadn't changed.

Out of anger, I pounded on his front door, waiting impatiently for him to answer.

"What, Sage?" he asks, irritated by me.

"Why do you have a towel wrapped around your waist while your hair is still dry?" I decided to see if he would come out with his secret, or lie right to my face.

"I was about to take a shower," he replies. So, lie right to my face it is.

"To wash the filth off from that slut that's sitting on your bed with a robe draped over her exposed flesh?" I quiz, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Wha-"

"We've been together for two years, Levi. Does commitment mean nothing to you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Like I said, we've been together for two years. You think I don't know when you're lying?"

He goes silent, gulping loudly.

"I hate you, Levi Penn," I spit, chucking the promise ring he had given me three months ago at his chest before storming back to Simon's.

He takes hold of my wrist with his strong hand, whipping me around to face him.

"You can't dump me!" he shouts, tightening his grip.

"I just did!" I holler, struggling under his grasp.

He slaps me across the face, the opposite cheek my dad had touched the other night.

"Hey! Let go of her!" I heard someone shout, footsteps nearing us in a quick pace.

"You're a fucking worthless bitch," Levi groans as he releases my wrist harshly, walking back into his home.

Tears prickled at my eyes once again, a pair of arms wrapping around me.

I look up at the person, my eyes recognizing them immediately.

"Simon, I-"

"Don't talk. Let's just go back to mine," he mumbles, pulling me away from Levi's neighborhood. I stare at the back of his head, still bewildered by his almost perfect timing.

"I don't feel like walking, Si," I mumbled, completely drained from the previous events. He simply turns around to face me, telling me to jump. I do as instructed, his arms wrapping around my body while my arms drape around his neck and my legs around his waist. I rest my head on his shoulder, holding back my tears as best as I could. "Why did you- How did you-" I try to start a conversation by asking him how he knew where I was, why he came here, and, basically, what were his intentions.

"Vik told me that you had gone to Levi's and I had a strong, nauseous suspicion in my gut. I had to come here to make sure everything was alright and my best friend was still in tact."

"That's very sweet of you," I mumble.

After a moment of silence, he softly asks, while rubbing my back, "So, what happened?"

"He cheated on me," I whisper. My mind had finally processed what just happened, causing me to break down in a panicked flood of tears.

"Sh, it's okay, Sage," he coos into my ear.

"I can't believe he did this," I sniffed as Simon set me down on their entry rug.

"Sadly, I do," Simon mutters. "Vik, take Sage to my room," he orders, setting me in the arms of one his friends and housemates.

"Where are you going?" I ask weakly, but he mustn't of heard me as he slams the front door behind him.

"What's happening, Sage?" Vik asks me, concerned.

"I don't know," I whisper before trudging up the stairs.

This isn't what I wanted when I started dating him. I wanted to help him become a better person- which I thought I'd accomplished.

Until now... until he cheated on me, and who knows how many times he's gotten away with it before this one time I managed to catch him.

I felt betrayed, unloved, lonely. I feared I wouldn't be able to bear this feeling much longer.