Chapter 14: Ask

I awoke the next day to the sunlight coming in through my broken window. My alarm hadn't gone off because my first day off in weeks happened to be today. I woke up wrapped in my quilt with last night's previous attire underneath, lying on my couch alone. I started to remember the events of last night and how Levy had saved me. I was about to look for my phone and call him when I realized that I still had two busted doors and a dead man in my bathroom. I sat up, quickly. I didn't know how I could've possibly survived the night if Levy had left. I paused at the sight of a different front door attached to the hinges of my apartment entrance that had the same locks installed as the last one. The door wasn't new, but it looked much more secure.

I turned to inspect the bathroom door and saw that it was ajar and there wasn't a dead person still lying in there. The door to the bathroom hadn't been replaced, but I could see that the locks had been. I was so shocked that it took me a moment to process all of this. Did Levy go through all of this trouble just for me? I turned to set my feet on the carpet and jumped when I realized I wasn't alone. Levy was sitting up on the floor against the couch's armrest. His head was lowered and his arms were crossed over his chest. He hadn't reacted to my movement and was breathing softly, asleep. He had stayed with me. I couldn't believe it. 

I quickly stood up and changed into some jeans and a T-shirt before he woke up. Once I was fully clothed I relaxed and inched my way toward him. I sat down in front of him and enjoyed every last second of seeing what he looked like asleep. His dark hair fell over his face so I only saw his sharp jaw and soft lips. Even asleep, he looked like he was keeping the best posture he could. He must never suffer from back pain. He seemed so casual and peaceful, I just wanted to reach out and touch him. I rested my hand on my face as I watched him, getting lost in his slow breathing. 

Suddenly, he slowly raised his head and his eyes went to me. He woke up so smoothly that it startled me. One second he was asleep, the next, he was fully awake and catching me in the act of watching him. My whole face turned red and I quickly turned my head, hoping that he thought I was looking at something else this whole time. "Good morning, Lavender." I was still getting used to hearing my name so often. He was the only person alive who knew and called me by my name. I returned his greeting even though my voice was high-pitched and embarrassed. "Um, good morning." 

He raked his hair back with his fingers, pulling the wavy layers back and falling to the sides of his face after he removed his hand. The simple act made my heart bounce against the walls of my body. "Were you watching me?" I panicked and thought of a lie even though there was a mountain of evidence against me. "I-I was, um, just thinking of how to wake you." My focus changed to the new condition of my apartment and the nervousness eased away. "Did you get me a new door and lock?"

He uncrossed his arms and placed them on the floor on either side of him. "Not technically. I asked some friends of mine to fix the place up so I didn't have to leave your side. I wasn't about to go on a quest for a door and just leave you here while someone could very well repeat last night's events." I was speechless. The amount of care that this man put into me was almost frightening. There was no way that he would be so thoughtful to me just because I returned his pen. There had to be some other reason he was doing this. The way he looked at me suggested there had to be one.

After a moment, I snapped back into the present. "Thank you. So much. For everything you do. You spoil me in ways I don't deserve. I only wish I knew why." Levy raised an eyebrow. "Didn't we already have a conversation about this?" I scoffed. "Yeah, right. I've been alive long enough to know that people don't do other people favors just because they're kind or whatever. Please tell me the real reason." He was motionless as he looked at me. "...I didn't lie before. I agreed to protect you because you don't deserve to rot here. I do admit, however, that I protect you for a different reason now."

His statement sparked my curiosity. I knew he was hiding something. "What is the reason?" He waited a moment before smiling at me. "I don't think I'm going to tell you." I gasped at his playfulness. "What? Why?" He then raised a hand to my cheek and pinched it. I was so in shock that my face became red again. He smiled evilly down at me as he leaned closer. "Because you're so cute when you want to know something." My face caught on fire at his comment. He thought I was cute?!

He then let go of me and stood up from the ground. "Should you be getting ready for work?" I stood up after him, clumsily. "No, I don't work today." I then thought about how I wanted nothing more than to spend my free day with him. He saved my life and I wanted to repay him, badly. I remembered when I had decided not to ask him out because I didn't want it to come out of nowhere for him, and ruin everything between us. Now I had a real reason to ask him out. A reason that wouldn't be coming out of nowhere. 

I might even get away with spending the day with him without giving the impression that we were on a date. "A-About that..." I couldn't believe that I was going to do it. My heart raced as I forced the rest of my sentence out of my mouth. "I want to repay you for saving me last night, so, if you're not busy later... maybe I could take you out someplace." Surprise eased into his face so slowly that it barely happened. "You want to take me out?" I nodded even though I couldn't look at him. He paused. "Like a date?" He suspected my plan so easily I might as well have been standing behind a car as it backfired. 

I panicked as I tried to answer. "Well, that's not exactly- what I was thinking... It doesn't have to be..." When I finally looked at him his face had an expression of stone. "Trust me. You don't want to go out with me." I blinked, confused. "Why not?" He shook his head as he turned away. "I'm not boyfriend material. If we sat down and I told you a few simple facts about me, you would be running for the hills, screaming. I'm just a bundle of red flags under this trench coat."