A Beating Heart

1.

I remember the shot going off.

The force of it was enough to knock me to the ground.

And then it went black.

6 Months Earlier

I think the reason I fell in love with Levi Rushing was because of his stupid baseball hat. There's just something about a guy looking down at you from under the old rim of a frayed hat like that that makes you feel sheltered and like you're the only person they're looking at. And don't even get me started on guys turning their hats backwards. Talk about a heart-eye emoji.

Clearly, I didn't stand a chance against the powers of Levi Rushing and his baseball hat.

We met for the first time at a country line dancing bar called Boots that a couple of my friends frequented. "Oh yeah, Maya, it's nice to officially meet you! I've heard lots about you." He said, laughing and shooting me a smile before turning his baseball hat backwards and looking back at his phone. It was nothing special, but I knew I was in trouble.

Damn baseball hat.

As the night progressed, me and my friends danced and laughed. It was clear I had no idea how to do any of the dances, I was flustered at first, but that was nothing compared to when my own personal knight in shining armor swooped in to save the day. "Here, it goes like this" Levi said, suddenly appearing next to me and showing me how to do the steps to Country Girl by Luke Bryan. By the end of the song I had a pretty good grasp of the steps and was able to finish with a semblance of what I was doing.

"See! There you go, you got it!" Levi said, putting his hand out for a high five and shooting me a wide grin that rivaled the one plastered on my face. "That was actually fun! Why have I never been here before?!" I questioned, still a little breathless from the dance. "I don't know, but you did good," he said, shooting me a smile. "Here, this is how the next one goes..." he said, turning his attention to our feet.

Going to Boots with my friends became a weekly thing, and much to my enjoyment, Levi was there. Eventually I was able to get his phone number and we began talking as friends and getting to know each other. My feelings continued to grow, but Levi remained frustratingly clueless to my feelings for him. We started spending more time hanging out just us two, between swimming, movie marathons, and coffee dates after church every Sunday, we saw each other at least three times a week the entire summer.

The days grew cooler and the schoolwork started coming as the fall semester started. Our pool, water park, and beach days with friends turned into coffee, theme parks, and homework dates.

"You know sometimes; I'm worried I'm never going to get married or have a family...I'm almost 24, and I've never even been in a serious relationship before." He confessed one night over coffee and pound cake at the local coffee shop. My breath hitched, and I tried to play it cool rather than blurt out "I volunteer as tribute!" in front of him and make a complete fool of myself. No, I have to play it cool. If he knew how I felt, I don't know how he would react, I could lose his friendship altogether if he didn't feel the same way about me, and that was reason enough to keep my feelings hidden.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you're going to! You're honestly going to make a great dad one day, and the Lord wouldn't place the desire for a family on your heart if it wasn't in his plan. You'll meet someone soon!" I told him, smiling at him. He still looked so defeated though that I reached across the table for his hand and gave it a light squeeze, shooting him a smile. He smiled weakly back at me and I took a breath before withdrawing my hand and nonchalantly suggesting, "And hey, you never know, maybe you've already met her?" I took a sip of my tea then, keeping my eyes downcast for a moment before looking up and meeting his eyes. He had a thoughtful look on his face, and was staring at me so intently it was giving me goose-bumps and made my heart-rate start to pick up. I felt my cheeks grow warm and I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, diverting my eyes for a second and laughing nervously. "What are you looking at, you dork?" I asked. Levi shook his head slightly, as if he had zoned out before taking a quick sip of his coffee. "So, when are you gonna let me take you mudding?" he questioned, raising his eyebrows and letting that smirk slide onto his face that made my stomach flip.