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Chapter 8 : Magnetism

Thursday 25th october 2020

magnetism
/ˈmaɡnətɪz(ə)m/

noun
noun: magnetism
1.
a physical phenomenon produced by the motion of electric charge, which results in attractive and repulsive forces between objects.
2.
the ability to attract and charm people.
"his personal magnetism attracted men to the brotherhood"

3.

3 is the number of days Levi's been gone.

3 is the number of times a minute I longingly look at the front door.

3 is the number of texts I've sent him over the past 46 seconds.

But there was no reply.

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"Where's your boyfriend Allie?" Esther says, wiggling her eyebrows. Everyone around the table chuckles while I flush a deep red.

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Sure, sure," Nancy says unconvinced.

After our encounter in the maths classroom, my mind has been whizzing. At first I felt excited - the kind that makes you feel as if you have butterflies fluttering in your stomach. I wanted to see him, talk to him...kiss him. I waited for hours, listening at my bedroom door so I could 'accidentally' walk into him in the hallway.

However he never came home.

I started to doubt myself. Maybe it's because he feels guilty for Ezra? I mean, I am his best friend's sister. But I guess a part of me wondered...was it me?

What if I'm not pretty enough?

Smart enough?

Funny enough?

I know there's easily at least 200 other girls just in our school that would easily want to take my place, so maybe he changed his mind?

As each day passed, I felt more and more uncertain. Surely he wouldn't do this. Leaving me hanging, desperate and pathetic.

No.

I know him.

That's not like Levi. He'd be upfront, decisive...no matter my feelings. But I guess that thought's unsettling too. I mean he's been gone for 3 days straight - he didn't turn up at lunch, school or even my house. It's like he's walked off the face of the earth.

What if something happened to him?

What if he's dead in a ditch somewhere and I'm here tucking into a fucking caesar salad.

Standing up from my seat, I decide to go try to find him - I mean, like how many places can this boy be?

"Sorry guys, I have to go - potential boyfriend to talk to," I knew they'd not ask questions if I said I was talking to Levi. They nod and wink...just like I thought.

I leave my half eaten food on the table and down the last of my water. 'Less calories, less fat?' I guess this is just a bonus for finding Levi.

Plus I read on instagram that water is great for getting a higher metabolism.

As i'm running out of the school car park, I flip out my phone from my blazer pocket - screen now finally fixed - and tap the screen a few times :

I'm coming to find u : Allie

I wait patiently, looking eagerly at my screen every time I get a notification. Finally i see an answer :

Levi : noo dddont comee tto fucukig find me ALiie i just nedd to be alomee fors a little bit

You have got to be kidding me.

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Now that I'm thinking about it, I really should've worn a coat.

It's now been 2 hours since I started 'hide and seek' with - what seems to be - a very intoxicated Levi. I've been walking up and down the streets of Redbourn in my school uniform, trying to locate Levi using snapmaps. But after my phone conveniently died, I've had to just walk around, near where he last was and hope for the best.

I huff, exhausted from the trek. My feet ache, my armpits smell and my hair has been blown around by the wind. You would've thought that with all this exercise I've been doing lately would've made it easier.

I was wrong.

Very, very wrong.

After 10 more minutes, I spot a cafe down the road and automatically make a beeline for it. Green tea and a toilet sound brilliant right about now.

I trudge up the road and swing open the door with a satisfying ring, but I stop short when I see something out of the corner of my eye. A 1966 black ford mustang.

Levi.

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"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!" I feel like Mrs Weasley from the 2nd 'Harry Potter' when the boys return from taking Harry from the Dursleys.

"Ughhhhh...nghggggh."

Levi is slumped against the back seat, an empty 750ml bottle of vodka in his hands. Vomit covers his now discarded clothing - a putrid smell stinking off of them. His eyes have deep bags under them and his hair is even scruffier than usual.

But that's not what stands out.

His knuckles have deep cuts slashed raw across each finger and his chest is marked with bruises, travelling all the way up to his neck and face. It looks like he's transformed into the next bloody Muhammed Ali! Purple fingerprints decorate the sides of his neck as if someone's tried to strangle him. His fists are raw and red, fresh blood seeping out of the cuts, as if he's put up a fight. What the hell has happened? Did he do this?

"Allie..."

"Allie..."

I hear him tossing and turning, and I see his eyes squinting as if someone's shining a blinding light in his face.

"Help..."

-----------------------------

"Hey, hey, be careful" I hand him a jumper and a bottle of water as he sits up slowly.

Note to self : NEVER EVER get into a punching match, it looks absolutely crap.

So far I've spent 45 minutes nursing Levi back to his usual health and he's still a complete wreck. I've had to clean HIS car, buy him a clean hoodie from a nearby charity shop and pop into various cafes and drugstores to get him everything he needs to look less like a homeless drug addict.

"Jesus Christ, where the hell am i?" Levi gulps the paracetamol and chugs down the water with a satisfying 'ahhh' sound escaping him.

"Umm... looks like we're on Gartheld Street,'' I check google maps and show him the location, turning down the brightness on my phone before so he doesn't go blind.

"How did I get here?"

"You tell me" I say dryly.

He rubs his tired eyes and opens the compartment next to the front seats. He whips out a pair of dark sunglasses and slips them on, brushing his hair out of the way with one of those squiggly sports headbands.

Levi takes another swig of water and adjusts his hoodie, making it rise up against his torso as he stretches. I see the dark blues and purple decorate his sides, they're around a day or two old. I reach out and lightly stroke them, making him wince at my touch.

"Shit, that's bad," he says when he sees the damage.

"What happened to you Levi?" I ask, worry and concern marking my face. He's only been gone a few days, how could this have happened?

"Look, uhm, Allie it's honestly nothing," he stutters, rubbing a hand over his exhausted face. It looks as if he's as confused as I am. Can he even remember anything that happened?

"Levi, did he do this?"

He looks away and rests his arm on the window. I move my body to face him, so he can't evade my question, "Levi, I need you to tell me the truth, was it him?"

"Fuck, uhm...I- I dunno, I can't remember-"

The fact he's not saying anything confirms his answer more and more each second he stutters, thinking about what excuse to use to lead me off the scent. But I'm not that naive anymore. I know Levi enough to know when he's lying.

"Levi I told you not to go back there...you said it wasn't bad, you need to tell someone about this-" This makes him jump up, catching his attention.

"No, no. It wasn't him, Allie, trust me."

"Then who did it Levi! You can't have just walked into a lamp post and managed to get these bruises so don't lie to me. Who attacked you!?" 

For a brief second, he ponders on what to say. He averts his gaze, refusing to look me in the eye, "Look, it was just some assholes who beat me up when they mugged me. It's fine though, you don't need to worry...just trust me."

Why is he lying to me? I saw his bag AND wallet perfectly not stolen when I was searching for some spare cash to get him some paracetamol, so what was he trying to hide?

"Really Levi, you expect me to believe that."

"Look it doesn't matter anyway, it's happened now. I can't change it." he mumbles. He's not in the mood for this conversation so I just accept it. Maybe I'll ask him later when he's properly sober.

"Fine, whatever you say," I slump back into the front seat, annoyed I couldn't get anything out of him. But I will. I have to.

I pull out my recently charged phone and see a stream of missed calls and texts from my family, all worried about my sudden disappearance. I tap a few letters and assure them im alright:

Dad : Allie why aren't you at home, everyones getting worried. Dad.

Mum : Sweetheart, I need you to come home immediately, you can't just go missing like this! xxx

Ezra : hey sis where r u

Ezra : r u in trouble

Dad : Please Allie come home. Dad.

Mum : ALLIE WHEN YOU GET HOME YOU'RE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE! I'VE JUST PINNED YOUR LOCATION AND YOUR MILES AWAY IN THE DARK!

Don't worry, i'm with Levi : Allie

Mum : GET HOME NOW OR YOUR GROUNDED FOR 3 WEEKS! YOU CAN'T JUST DISAPPEAR LIKE THIS!

Ezra : Levi, why r u with him?!

Dad : Come home button, and bring Levi with you. We've missed him the past few days. Said he'd been at his Mum and Dad's. Dad.

I shut off my phone and leave them on read, I do not want to deal with that right now. Using my bum to shuffle around, I spin around on my chair to see Levi massaging his temples. He seems sober enough...

"Come on, I'm gonna take you somewhere."

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As we sit in the cafe sipping our coffee, I feel a weird tension between us. The awkward silence is occasionally disrupted by the slurping sound of my straw from my starbucks order of a caramel frappuccino.

"Sooo..." he says, placing his cup on the coffee table. Nothing really happens for a few minutes. The only noise I can hear is the sound of Levi tapping the side of the table like a drum, filling up the silence.

"So..." I reply. What a thrilling conversation this has been, "how's your coffee?"

"Very black...and bitter."

'Like your soul' my mind retaliates. He clucks his tongue, feet tapping on the ground. Well this is going nowhere.

I decide to get right to the point, "So, Levi, are you ever going to tell me where you've been the last 72 hours."

"I dunno, around."

That's it. Around.

"'Around' well that's insightful" I mutter sarcastically, mimicking his voice. He rolls his eyes, rubbing them briefly then yawning. He clearly hasn't slept in days.

"Shut up Alison, I'm not in the mood." Oof he used my full name. That means he's really pissed.

"Well I'm sorry but I kinda expected slightly more entail than that, like perhaps how the hell I found you passed out drunk in the backseat of your car in the middle of a road absolutely miles from home."

"No Alison, your home, not mine." His voice is cold, showing no emotion. As per usual, I guess.

But then i stop and think about what he just said.

I guess I forgot that he does actually have a house away from mine. He's always at our house, I just assumed that's what he called home. But apparently not.

"It is your home Levi, we're family," I place my hand on his upper arm gently but he brushes me off and stands up to leave.

"Stop it...."

"Wait Levi, where are you going?" I'm confused as I scurry after him, bag half hanging off my shoulder.

He slams open the door, making the bell on the top of it ring loudly as it reverberates against the frame and strides out onto the concrete pavement. I run a few steps behind him, trying to catch up.

A single drop of rain falls onto my nose.

Then another.

And another.

Brilliant, this is just what I needed.

Soon millions of raindrops are falling down on me, it's hard to see the rain since it's so dark now but the reflections on the puddles are distorted - a mixture of lights, splashes and silhouettes. My clothes stick to my body, cold and wet.ut the reflections on the puddles are distorted - a mixture of lights, splashes and silhouettes. My clothes stick to my body, cold and wet. My hair is soaking and I end up looking like a drowned rat.

I reach out to grab Levi's wet hand in mine but he pulls it away and storms away. Running at full speed, I try to catch up with him on the other side of the road.

"We are family Levi, you're part of our family," And as much as I hate to admit it, it's true, he is family.

"I told you to stop it Alison!" he comes to a stop. So do i.

"No Levi, you are family, my family. Why do you not see that?!"

"You just don't get it do you!" he yells, several onlookers turn to see the commotion - we're certainly making a habit of this.

Rain is pouring down on us as we stand face to face in the middle of the empty road.

"What do you mean Levi...," my forehead scrunches up, making the raindrops that were on my forehead drop onto my cheeks, "you're like Ezra's best friend, we spend practically all our time together in and out of school, you're like my brother" I don't really mean it, he could never be like a brother to me, but that's what he needs to hear.

"Oh don't remind me!"

"But you are family, Levi!"

"Stop saying that Alison!"

"Stop saying wha-"

BEEEEEEP.

Suddenly I feel strong, wet arms wrap around me and I'm dragged onto the pavement as a car zooms past at around 40 miles per hour, splashing the sidewalk with rain water.

Levi's looking at me, a billion feelings swirling in his mind. His eyes contrast with his dark drenched hair, the icy blue shade standing out against them. I look down a few centimetres at his soft lips and bite my own. My heart is beating out of my chest and my breath is coming out in huffs.

"Stop. Saying. I'm. Family."

"Why Levi!"

"'Cause if i was family i wouldn't be doing this-"

Suddenly his lips crash to mine in a unity of passion. A strong mixture of rain, saliva and my cherry chapstick is sweet on the tip of my tongue. I'm gripping onto his jacket lapels like my life depends on it.

I'm in shock.

Paralyzed by this new revelation. But I soon melt into the kiss.  It was nothing like before, it wasn't gentil, tender or even sweet.

It was desperate.

Reviving.

Intense.

And at that moment everything just melted away. The cars, the lights, the people and the rain that's trickling down our conjoined faces.

Trust me, I tried to pull away. I honestly did. But there was this magnetic force that was pulling us towards each other and it was too strong to break.

Me and Levi.

We are like north and south. Night and day. Love and hate.

And what's worse was that we both know it. We're the definition of disaster just waiting to happen. An impulsive move that would no doubt cause destruction.

Yet that thought just only made us feel more alive.

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please remember to VOTE, FOLLOW, COMMENT, TAG and SHARE so i can get more publicity