Page 64 of Code of Heart

Levi

The trip to the grocery store had gone off the rails.

Not because Aurelia reached for a box of plainCheeriosinstead ofHoney Nut, or because she placed a bag of regularDoritosin the cart while neglecting to add a bag ofCool Ranchflavor. No, the problem came when she started asking him for help finding ingredients on her list.

What should have been a simple errand turned into something else entirely.

At first, he tried. He tried so damn hard.

But as the labels blurred and the words refused to stay in place, the familiar knots of anxiety curled tightly within the very fibers of his being. He played it off, weakly joking that he was terrible at locating things in stores.

She hadn’t said anything in response…but it was obvious she didn’t buy it either.

Normally, Levi ordered his groceries online. The convenience was one part of it, but if he was being honest with himself, it was mostly to avoid this exact situation.

On the rare occasion he shopped alone, no one noticed how long he stared at a box. No one saw the way he sometimes had to read and reread the same label, hoping it would make sense the second or third time around.

He hadn’t thought about any of that when he agreed to come along with Aurelia.

Now, the ride home was uncomfortably quiet. And Levi knew the silence was his fault.

Lips pressed together, he helped carry the bags in. Unpacked items onto the counter and shelves with the same soundless effort. Moved about the kitchen like a ghost, caught in his head, spiraling.

Aurelia stepped in front of him and gently took his hand.

She didn’t say anything at first, the silence stretching taut between them. With quiet determination, she led him into the living room and guided him down onto the sectional. Before he could so much as object, she settled herself on his lap, her legs tucked on either side of him, anchoring him in place. An effective maneuver to prevent escape.

Levi blinked up at her, temporarily startled, only to shy away again. His jaw was tight, clenched in frustration, his eyes locked on something far beyond the back porch and the sparkling lagoon beyond it.

Aurelia gently cupped the side of his face, guiding his face to hers.

“Yesterday, someone made me promise to try and talk when something upset me. And now, that same frustrating person has gone completely silent on metwice.”

Levi continued to brood. But he didn’t pull away. He let her thumb gently stroke along his cheek, unable to break away, as if her touch steadied something in him.

Aurelia’s voice dropped lower, more intimate.

“First, it was when you found out the menu had changed atChez P'tit Chou-Fleur.You stared at it with this look of defeat on your face. The second time was today at the grocery store when I asked you to help me find some ingredients. You stared at the shelves with that same look.”

She was undeterred, waiting for him to extend a sliver of trust.

He kept his eyes closed, soaking in the comfort of her hand like it was the only thing tethering him to the present moment.

“Levi,” she whispered. “What is it that puts that look on your face?”

Slowly, he opened his eyes and found her patiently watching, unafraid, and unpitying. He stared into the brown depths of her eyes, temporarily mesmerized by the innocence and the raw honesty within them.

Covering her hand with his, he lowered them both to his lap. Drawing in a quiet breath, he gathered the strength to share one of the deepest pieces of himself.

“I’m dyslexic,” he said. The words felt heavier than they should have, like they had been carried far too long.

He tensed, waiting for her reaction.

Aurelia

She wasn’t sure what she expected to hear, but his admission wasn’t one of them. It was a small extension of trust, and yet Levi looked up at her with something akin to worry and shame.

Aurelia frowned at that, confusion flitting across her features. That wasn’t okay—not with her, and not about this.