Page 37

THIRTY-SEVEN

SABLE

D ayton’s room is bathed in the soft, hazy light of early morning, the kind that filters through the thick curtains and gives everything a muted haze. The air is warm and heavy, the scent of sweat and sex still lingering from the night before. I can feel the stickiness of it on my skin.

Silas’ body is pressed against my side, his arm draped possessively over my waist, his face buried in the crook of my neck. I can feel the steady rhythm of his breath against my skin. The warmth of them is a comfort I’ve come to crave. On my other side, Dayton is sprawled out on his back, one arm flung across the bed, his chest rising and falling in deep, even breaths. They both look so peaceful, so at ease, but there’s a tension in me I can’t shake.

Careful not to wake them, I slip out from under Silas’ arm, the cool air salving my heated skin as I sit up. My phone is plugged in on the nightstand, a small mercy I can thank Kai for. He is usually the one who checks all of our phone batteries on the app and yells at us to charge our phones. I reach over to Dayton, my fingers brushing against his arm as I grab the device. The screen lights up as I tap it, and I’m immediately hit with a flurry of unread messages. My heart sinks, a heavyweight settling in my chest as I read the first one.

Heather

Sable, did you hear about Vicky? OMG, I can’t believe it… call me!

The words blur together as my mind races to catch up with what I’m reading.

Ryan

What did your horsemen do to Vicky?

What did my horsemen do?

Gretchen

Did you know about this? How could something so awful happen to her? It’s all over campus.

I can’t tear my eyes away from the screen as more messages flood in.

Heather

Sable, you okay? This is seriously messed up.

I can’t breathe. My chest tightens as I open the next notification, an email from the campus administration. My eyes scan the subject line, my heart hammering in my chest as I force myself to read the message.

“In memory of Victoria Ashford. A vigil will be held there tonight at 7pm. All are welcome.”

I stare at my phone for longer than I should; the words blurring together as my mind struggles to process what I’m seeing. Vicky… dead ? I can’t believe it. I don’t want to believe it.

The phone slips from my hand, falling onto the bed and hitting my calf, that folded underneath me. I feel like I’m going to throw up.

Vicky is dead.

The guys’ last girlfriend.

Dead.

And Levi.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

That’s why they asked if we had anything to do with it. Because Levi just publicly said he was going to kill her last night because she touched me .

My thoughts are interrupted by a soft groan as Silas stirs beside me, his arm searching for the warmth of my body. He murmurs something unintelligible before settling back into sleep, his grip on me tightening momentarily before loosening again. I should feel safe with him, but instead, I want to run far away.

What if it has been Levi the entire time?

Toby?

Asher?

Now, Vicky?

I can’t sit here. I need to know what happened. I need to get the fuck away from here. I slide out of bed fully, my bare feet hitting the cold floor. My clothes are scattered around the room. I grab the first t-shirt I find and slip it over my head, then pull on a pair of shorts.

“Sable? What are you doing ? We don’t have to go to class for a couple of hours?” Dayton says.

I freeze, my hand on the doorknob. “Vicky. She’s… she’s dead, Dayton.”

There’s a pause, and when I turn to look at him, his eyes flutter open. He stretches, reaching for his phone on the nightstand with a lazy groan. As he checks the screen, his body stiffens, and his expression shifts from relaxed to tense in an instant.

“What the fuck? This... this can’t be right.”

“Yeah,” I whisper. “What the hell is happening?”

His eyes flash with shock. “I didn’t know,” he mutters, running a hand through his messy hair, now wide awake. “Jesus Christ... Kai must’ve texted the group chat last night, but I didn’t see it.”

How could he be sleeping so fucking peacefully when his ex-girlfriend was just brutally murdered? I shake the thought, because everything running through my head leads to them being guilty.

“Talk about what?” I demand, louder now. “What the hell happened, Dayton? Why are people saying that Levi had something to do with it?”

He hesitates, his gaze shifting to Silas, who is now awake and watching us both with a steely expression. “Sable, don’t look at us with that look.”

“What look?” I snap.

“Like we killed Vicky.”

“Well, did you?” I demand, my heart racing.

“No,” Dayton says. “And for the record, Levi didn’t, either. This is not something you need to get involved in. Just drop it.”

“Not something I need to get involved in?” I echo. “Vicky is dead, and everyone on campus is talking about it like I had something to do with it! Like WE had something to do with it!”

“People are going to talk, they’re going to assume shit. That’s just how it is.”

“That’s not good enough,” I fire back. “What if it was Levi…”

Silas pushes himself up on the bed, his eyes narrowing as he looks at me. “It wasn’t Levi.”

“Then who? If it wasn’t Levi, then who’s responsible?”

“I don’t know, Sable. But Levi… he wouldn’t do this. Not to Vicky.”

“How can you be so sure? People are pointing fingers. You can’t just say it wasn’t him and expect me to drop it.”

“Because I know him,” Silas says. “Levi might be a lot of things, but he’s not a killer. And he had nothing to gain by hurting Vicky. Nothing.”

Dayton nods slowly, backing Silas up. “Look, Sable. I get why you’re worried, but Silas is right. Levi wouldn’t cross that line. We know him better than anyone.”

I want to believe them. I do. But doubt lingers, like a dark cloud hanging over everything. “Then what happened?” I ask, desperation creeping into my voice. “If he didn’t do it, who did?”

“I don’t fucking know.” Silas shakes his head.

I stand there, my hand still on the doorknob, frozen between two worlds. One where I trust them, where I walk back into bed and let them handle it, and another where I push for answers, where I can’t let it go. Every instinct in me screams to stay, to be part of this. But there’s a part of me that knows that if I dig too deep, I might not like what I find.

“Don’t do anything rash, Sable,” Dayton warns, as if he can read my thoughts.

“I just,” I start, then pause, swallowing the lump in my throat. Unsure of what to even say.

No one deserves to get murdered. Even if she was a total bitch to me.

Silas shifts in the bed, sitting up fully now, his gaze never leaving mine. “You have to trust us. Levi didn’t do this.”

I bite my lip, my mind racing with questions, doubts, and fears. I want to trust them. But if Levi didn’t do it, then who did? And why are people so sure it was him?

I need to talk to Levi. I need to hear it from him.

Silas’ words hang in the air, heavy with certainty, but they do nothing to ease the gnawing doubt in my gut. He’s so sure, so steadfast in his belief that Levi had nothing to do with this. But how can he be so sure?

Everything points to them.

“I need to hear it from him,” I murmur. “I need to talk to Levi.”

“If he’s heard the news, Levi’s not in a good place right now. He doesn’t need you questioning him.”

“Questioning him?” I snap back at Dayton. “You think I’m just going to sit here and accept that everything’s fine? Another person is dead, and everyone is saying that Levi’s responsible! How am I supposed to just… ignore that?”

“You’re not ignoring it, Sable. But this isn’t something you can fix. Trust us. Trust Levi.”

There’s that word again— trust . I’ve trusted these guys with everything. My body, my heart, my secrets. But this—this feels different.

“I do trust you,” I whisper, but even I can hear the uncertainty in my voice. “But if Levi didn’t do it, then why does everyone point toward him? He publicly declared he was going to kill her. Then hours later she ends up dead.”

“He was pissed off, Sable. Levi was protecting what was his—you. But saying something in anger and actually doing it are two very different things.”

“But what if he lost control?” I ask. The fear and doubt in my voice causes my words to choke out of my throat. “What if this time was different?”

The two of them avoid eye contact. Not having a reasonable answer for me, solidifying my doubt in all of them. I storm out into the hallway. My mind is racing. My heart pounds, every beat echoing in my ears as I try to make sense of it all.

When I make my way down the stairs, Levi’s keys are already off of the hook, his leather coat not on the rack. He’s already gone for the day.

Slipping out of the manor, I head across campus. Anxiety twists in my gut like a cruel time bomb. Ready to burst.

I slip inside the building of his first class of the day, the heavy wooden door creaking on its hinges as I push it open. My heart races as I approach the lecture room, the sound of murmuring voices growing louder as I near the door.

Steeling myself, I enter the room and quietly make my way to the back row, slipping into an empty seat unnoticed. The room is vast, with high vaulted ceilings and long rows of wooden benches.

My eyes scan the room, searching for Levi. It doesn’t take long to spot him near the front, his back to me. He’s sitting there, but something about him seems off. Even from a distance, I can see the tension in his posture, the way his shoulders are hunched, as if he’s carrying the weight of the world on them. He’s always been intense, but today there’s a darkness clinging to him, a shadow that wasn’t there before.

The professor begins to drone on about something—philosophy, maybe history—but I can’t focus on a single word. The sound of chalk scraping against the blackboard blends with the low hum of whispers from other students, but all I can hear is the pounding of my own heart.

My eyes stay glued to Levi, watching every move he makes—or doesn’t make. He’s unusually still, his head down, hands gripping the edge of his desk so tightly that his knuckles are white. There’s something about the way he’s holding himself, like he’s ready to snap at any moment.

When the class finally ends, the students gather their things, the scrape of chairs against the floor jarring in the otherwise quiet room. I stay put, watching as Levi stands, his movements slow, almost mechanical. He doesn’t notice me—his eyes are distant, his mind clearly elsewhere.

I hang back until he exits, then quickly gather my things and follow him out, my heart pounding in my chest. The hallway is crowded with students, but I manage to keep Levi in my sights, slipping into the flow of bodies as we move toward the next building.

The towering buildings and twisting pathways feel more like a maze designed to trap me.

I watch as he enters the studio building. My feet feel like lead as I approach, every instinct screaming at me to turn back, to leave this alone. But I can’t. Not now.

My heart pounds as I make my way into the building. The halls are quiet, the usual buzz of activity absent this early in the morning. I keep my distance as I watch Levi enter the studio, waiting a few moments before following him inside.

My heart pounds in my chest as I step further inside, my eyes locked on Levi’s back. He’s still facing the piano, his hands resting on the keys, but he doesn’t play.

I take a few more tentative steps forward, my breath catching in my throat. “Levi?”

He doesn’t respond, doesn’t even flinch at the sound of my voice. I can feel the fear creeping up on me, tightening around my chest like a vise, but I force myself to push it down. I came here for answers, and I’m not leaving without them.

“What are you doing here, Sable?” His voice is low, rough, almost a growl.

“I needed to talk to you,” I manage to say, though my voice trembles despite my best efforts to stay calm. “I heard about Victoria.”

At the mention of her name, Levi’s shoulders tense. For a moment, I think he’s going to turn around and face me, but he stays where he is, his back rigid.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” he says flatly, his voice cold.

“There’s everything to talk about?!” I retort, the fear in my chest giving way to frustration. “Everyone on campus is saying you had something to do with her death. They’re pointing fingers at you, Levi. You can’t just ignore that.”

“Everyone is wrong,” he snaps, finally turning to face me. “I didn’t kill her, Sable.”

He finally moves, his hands leaving the piano keys as he straightens up. But when he turns around, the look in his eyes stops me cold. There’s a darkness there, something raw and unfiltered, that makes my heart skip a beat.

“I said there’s nothing to talk about,” he repeats. He takes a step toward me, and instinctively, I take a step back. “You shouldn’t have come here, Sable.”

My back hits the wall before I even realize I’m moving, and suddenly Levi is there, right in front of me. He’s close— too close —and I can feel the heat radiating off him, the musky smell of him enveloping me. I feel a mix of fear yet longing.

Longing for him to touch me.

To acknowledge that I...

What do I even want to say?

That he drives me crazy? That he’s never laid a hand on me, yet I dream of what his body could do with mine. That I have wished he would touch me, kiss me, devour my fucking soul. He is the forbidden fruit of all my desires. I just want a taste. But he’s always just out of reach.

Shielded.

Guarded.

I want to tear every one of his fucking walls down.

“I had to,” I whisper, my voice trembling. “I couldn’t just… I needed to know if it was true. If you really?—”

“If I really what?” Levi snaps, his hand slamming against the wall next to my head, making me flinch. “If I really killed her? Is that what you’re asking me?”

I can barely breathe, my chest tight with fear. “No, I?—”

“Because that’s what everyone is saying, isn’t it?” he continues, his voice rising. “That I lost control, that I snapped and did something unforgivable. That’s what you think, too, isn’t it, Sable?”

“No!” I insist, though the word feels hollow, even to me. “I just want to understand, Levi. You’ve always been so distant... You shut me out when everyone else is bared open to me.”

His eyes narrow, and for a moment, I see something flicker in them—something like pain. But it’s gone in an instant, replaced by that cold, hard anger.

“I’m shutting you out because you don’t belong with us.”

“You don’t know what I can handle.”

Before I can react, his hand is on my throat, restricting my airway, causing my hands to fly up to his wrists. I give a weak attempt to claw him away, but it’s no use… My pulse races as I stare up at him.

“You think you know me, Sable?” he murmurs. “You think you can handle what I am? What am I capable of?” His lips brush against mine and arousal floods my core.

He’s touching me.

He’s almost kissing me.

I want more.

I want him to give me everything.

“Levi, I?—”

“Shut up,” he growls, his grip on my throat tightening enough to make my head spin. “I’m tired of your questions, of your fucking judgment. I’m not a fucking murderer. But I will show you exactly who I am and what it means to be mine. To be fucking claimed.”

I barely have time to react before he’s pulling me down, forcing me to my knees in front of him.

“You think you’re strong enough to handle me? You think you actually want this? Prove it.”

There’s no time to think, no time to process what’s happening. Levi’s fingers curl into my hair, tugging my head back as he unbuttons his pants with the other hand, his movements swift and aggressive. He yanks his cock free, hard and throbbing. It’s huge and pierced at both the tip and the bottom, near his balls.

“Open your fucking mouth.”

He’s not giving me a choice. This is a test, a challenge, and if I back down now, I’ll lose—lose whatever twisted connection we have, lose the chance to understand him, to see the darkness he keeps hidden.

So, I obey.

He doesn’t ease me into it, doesn’t give me a chance to adjust. His hips snap forward, and his cock drives deep into my throat, forcing a wet gag out of me as spit gathers on my lips. My hands fly to his thighs to brace myself, but Levi doesn’t stop. His grip on my hair tightens, yanking my head as he forces me to take him deeper and rougher with each thrust.

My throat burns, my mouth fills with spit. I choke and cough, but I don’t resist. I can’t. All I can do is try to keep up, try to prove I’m not weak, that I’m not afraid.

His touch is different from the others. Where Silas and Dayton are rough in their own ways, they’ve never been this cruel, this punishing. They’ve never taken what they wanted with such ferocity, such disregard for my limits. But Levi—Levi is different. He doesn’t care about boundaries, about holding back. He’s pushing me to the edge, testing how far I’m willing to go, how much I can take.

“Fuck, Sable,” he groans, his voice a low, filthy rasp. “You look so fucking good choking on my cock.”

His words are like gasoline on a fire, igniting something primal in me. The sound of my gagging, the wetness of my mouth, the tears streaming down my face—none of it slows him down. If anything, it spurs him on, pushing him to fuck my mouth harder, deeper.

“Take it,” he growls, his voice a harsh command. “Take all of it, Sable. Don’t fucking stop.”

I’m on the verge of breaking, but I push past it, letting spit trickle down my chin and smear over his cock as I fight to keep going. My world narrows down to Levi—his cock ramming into my throat, his hand fisted in my hair, his rough voice in my ear. It’s suffocating, overwhelming, and yet… I crave it. I crave the way he’s dismantling me, breaking me down until I’m nothing but spit and gasps, stripped of all control.

Levi’s breathing grows ragged, his hips snapping forward with bruising force. “Fuck,” he groans, and his cock twitches in my mouth.

I hate that I need this, that I need him to push me, to break me.

My vision blurs as the tears continue to stream down my face, but I don’t stop, don’t pull away. I can’t. I’m too far gone, too wrapped up in the storm that is Levi.

He held me by a thread for so long until I finally snapped. This is the feeling of falling, and I don’t think I’ll land gracefully this time.

With a final, brutal shove, he holds me there, his cock buried deep in my throat as he comes, the hot, bitter taste flooding my mouth. I gag, spit pooling around his length, some of it escaping and dripping down my chin, but Levi doesn’t pull back. He keeps me there, his cock pulsing against the back of my throat as he rides out his release, forcing me to swallow every last drop.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, Levi pulls out, his cock still twitching as he stares down at me. His chest heaves with the effort of catching his breath, his eyes dark and unreadable.

My knees ache from the hard floor, my throat is raw, and my mind is spinning. But more than anything, I feel a strange sense of satisfaction—a dark, twisted pride that I took everything he threw at me and didn’t break. That I’m still here, kneeling before him, my body trembling but unbowed.

Slowly, his grip loosens, his fingers slipping from my hair, and he steps back. The coldness in his eyes is like a slap, and I feel a pang of something sharp and bitter.

Don’t retreat.

Don’t go back into your shell.

Embrace this.

Love me.

Want this as much as I want you.

“You should leave.”

I swallow hard, the taste of him lingering bitterly on my tongue, and force myself to stand. My legs feel like jelly, weak and wobbly beneath me, and I’m more exposed than I’ve ever been. I want to say something—to demand an explanation, to ask if any of this meant anything—but the words lodge painfully in my sore throat, unwilling to come out.

He turns his back to me as he zips up, the movement almost mechanical. The distance feels like a chasm, something insurmountable between us now, as if he’s shut me out the moment he was done.

Tears food my vision, heat rising up my chest and face.

I’m embarrassed.

How dare I think that he could actually want me.

Want all of us.

He’s never going to accept me.

“Lev—”

He doesn’t turn around, doesn’t acknowledge me, his focus entirely on the piano in front of him. His silence is a wall, impenetrable and cold, and it stings in a way I hadn’t expected.

“Was this supposed to prove something?” I force out, my voice shaking as I try to push through the wall he’s built up between us. “Was it all just some game?”

Still, he doesn’t respond, his fingers brushing over the piano keys as if they’re the only thing in the world that matters.

“Maybe I can’t handle you,” I say. “But I’m not running away, Levi. I’m not going to give up, because I know you’re not a monster.”

For the briefest second, his shoulders tense, and I think maybe, just maybe, I’ve struck something. But then he turns, and his gaze is colder than ever, like I’ve just stepped into the eye of a storm.

“You don’t know a damn thing about me, Sable,” he snaps, his voice cutting through me like a blade. “You think you can just waltz into our lives, bat your eyelashes, spread your legs, and we’re all supposed to fall at your feet? Newsflash—I don’t need you.”

The venom in his words hits me like a punch, and I can’t hide the hurt flashing across my face. My throat tightens, and I struggle to keep my composure, but it feels like he’s torn me open and now is just going to walk away.

“Stop shutting me out, Levi.”

He finally turns to face me, “I’m not your project, Sable,” he growls. “So stay the hell away from me.”

I stand there, rooted to the spot, torn between the urge to stay and the need to escape the suffocating weight of his words. But I know, deep down, that he’s right. I’m in over my head, drowning in the darkness that surrounds him, and if I’m not careful, it’s going to pull me under, too.

“Where did you go after the party?”

“Why does it matter?” he replies coldly.

“Because you threatened her, Levi!” I burst out, the words tumbling from my mouth before I can stop them. “You told Vicky you’d kill her if she touched me again. And now she’s dead. How am I supposed to ignore that?”

“So, what?” he snarls. “You think I did it? You think I killed her?”

My breath catches in my throat, and I’m not sure how to answer. Part of me wants to deny it, to tell him that I trust him, that I don’t believe he could do something like that. But the other part of me—the part that’s seen the darkness in his eyes, that’s felt the raw, brutal intensity of his touch—can’t help but wonder.

“I don’t know what to think,” I admit. “But I know you?—”

“You don’t know a damn thing about me,” Levi interrupts. “You think I snapped, lost control, murdered my ex-girlfriend, because of you? How fucking bold of you to assume.”

“But you said?—”

“It was an embarrassment to the officers of DSN to have her come up to us. To grab you. I couldn’t have that.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “Tell me the fucking truth, Levi Thompson!” I shout, my chest tightening with frustration. My hands tremble as I press them against his chest, trying to push him away, trying to force him to say something real for once. “I don’t care what you are! I just want the truth. I just want to know if you—if you?—”

“If I what?” he growls, his voice low and dangerous as he grabs my wrists, pinning them roughly above my head against the wall. “If I killed her?”

I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I won’t let him see how scared I am. “Yes.” The word barely comes out clearly. “If you killed her.”

Levi stares at me for a long moment, his breathing heavy. “You want the truth? Fine. I went to find her after the party. I was going to make sure she stayed the fuck away from you, Sable. But when I found her?—”

He cuts himself off, his eyes flashing with something I can’t quite read. “What?” I press, my voice shaking. “What did you do, Levi?”

“See, your tone makes it clear that your assumption is that I had something to do about it. You wouldn’t believe it even if you saw the killer himself.”

“If you did?—”

His grip on my wrists loosens. “I didn’t kill her, Sable.”

The tone of his voice softens, and I see the walls around him shatter. I believe him. But. But. Then, what?

“What do you mean? Who?—”

“I don’t know,” Levi snaps. “But it wasn’t me.”

I take a shaky breath, my heart pounding in my chest. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

I nod. “Yeah. Okay. I believe you.”

“That easy?”

I sigh. “Well, no. But please let me help?—”

“You can’t help me, Sable, No one can.”

“And that’s your fucking problem.”

Without another word, I turn and walk out of the studio, my steps unsteady as I make my way down the hall.