Page 160

Story: Ill Will

“And where is that? His fancy penthouse in downtown?”
“I’m selling that,” Levi said. “I’d much rather have the beautiful four square Amy lives in. I hear it has a lot of ... history for this family.”
Levi grabbed my hand and led me away, leaving Calvin sputtering after us.
“That was a dumpster fire... in a bomb ... in hell,” I said as we drove away.
“It could have gone worse.”
“How?”
“I could have not held back.”
“That was younotholding back?”
“Amy, think about what I saw,” he said. “I saw him crowding you while you looked one step away from crying.”
“And?”
“And?”he snapped. “That’s all I needed. He doesn’t get to talk to you like that.”
“I hate to tell you this, but he’s always been like that.”
“That’s why you got nervous, isn’t it? Because he corners you?”
“That’s the least of what he’s done.”
“Excuse me?”
“He was worse when we were kids. He would push me down in the playground?—”
“Wait, is that where you got the scar?”
“W-what?”
“You said you got the scar on your lip from falling down in a playground.”
“I told you thatnine years ago.”
“And I remembered. Did he do that to you?”
“Well,yes,but?—”
Levi pulled the car off the road and we came to a jerky stop. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel.
“Thatfuckingasshole.”
“It’s not a?—”
“Don’t tell me it’s not a big deal. It is. To me.”
I could only stare. Mom and Dad hadn’t been this protective when they found out. All they asked was what I did to deserve it.
What did that say about them?
“We were kids. He stopped doing that in adulthood.”
“You covered for him.”

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