Who does Levi think he is?! Is he trying to show off? He had help! I made the mistake of not watching him. Not one person could pluck all these fruits off the trees in one day. It's impossible! "Take the baskets into the barn. Then break for lunch," I tell my crew. The guys nod.
I turn around and head back to the house.
As I stomp into the house, I hear Daddy and Alice laughing. I head into the kitchen, and Levi is sitting on the island eating a taco. He smiles when he sees me.
"What's going on?" I ask everyone, trying to hide how upset I am. My eyes go straight to a frying pan sitting on the stove. I would love for it to go flying and hit Levi on the head.
Daddy is looking down at a black cell phone, and Alice is getting ready to feed the crew of forty. "We were talking about our trip into town! Levi took us to buy cell phones. He convinced us that we needed it. We even met Sandy there. She wanted to show me the property we would be leasing. You know, for the bakery."
Wait, what?! When did Levi have time to go shopping and pick fruit? I glare at him. "How long was the outing for?" I am talking to my aunt but staring at Levi. I'm sure he notices the protruding vein on my forehead.
Daddy is playing on the phone when he looks up at me. "A couple of hours. We left at eight."
What?! Impossible! Did he pluck all the fruit in two hours?
"Emery, here you go, hun. I picked up a phone for you too." She hands me a box. "It's an iPhone. It's all the rage." She smiles at me as I stare at the phone box.
"I don't need it." I sigh, looking at Alice. I didn't need or want a phone. "Why should we conform to the masses?"
"Everyone needs a phone," Levi says unamused, jumping off of the island. Why is he eating our food?!
"Can I talk to you? Outside?" I ask him nicely. I feel my left eye twitch.
"Sure! Need my help with something else?" Levi boasts as he takes a bite out of his taco. Levi walks out of the kitchen, and I follow. We head outside.
Levi leans against his car and looks toward me. He takes another bite from his taco.
"You were supposed to work alone! I don't know how you snuck people in to help you pick fruit, but it will never happen again! Do you understand me?!"
Levi chuckles wryly as he takes another bite. I stand there livid. How is he not taking me seriously?
"You think I'm a joke, don't you? The only reason I allowed you on this property was to prove to you that you are nothing but a selfish miscreant! You're always on your phone or showing off! How can anyone stand to be around you? I curse the day I met you!"
I walk up to him seething and slap the taco out of his hand, knowing he doesn't deserve to eat our food! A smile creeps on my face as I turn away. That'll show him!
As I finish my turn to head back towards the barn, Levi is standing in front of me, livid.
"What the hell?!" I yell. I turn toward the car. How did he get in front of me so quickly?
Levi looks mad. "A curse? What does a tiny, insignificant mortal know about curses!" Levi steps towards me, his chest practically in front of my face. Suddenly, red smoke slowly covers the blue in his eyes until it engulfs the entire eyeball. They turn red and then pitch black.
My mouth opens and suddenly closes. I am terrified! What is going on?! What is he?!
"You speak of one being ungrateful, but you have yet to thank your aunt for the phone she bought you! It's so obvious to tell who you are deep inside! You pretend to be tough when inside you are a scared, little girl!"
Levi smirks as he takes several steps towards me, causing me to step back. "I could break you easily and not even touch you!" He looks at me as if I am disgusting to him.
My body trembles as I look around. There are so many on this property right now. Why is no one around? Then I remember everyone is at the big barn getting ready for lunch.
Is he going to kill me?!
Levi then turns and walks towards his car. He looks at me as he gets into the car. His eyes look normal again, but he's still visibly angry.
Turning the car on, Levi spins out and speeds off of the property. A cloud of dirt falls all around me. I stand there, not being able to move. What the hell just happened?!
"Wait a minute! You're telling me that the hottest guy in Ackley worked on your farm? And you smacked a taco out of his hand because he had helped you? Then his eyes turned black? Are you serious?!" Katey asks me in shock.
"Yes! That's exactly what I'm saying," I say, looking around to make sure no one hears us.
Katey and I had been best friends since birth. She is the one female every guy drools over, brown hair, green eyes, model tall legs, and the goofiest laugh. She hates it, and I love it!
She had spent her first year away at college and is on summer break. We are at the mall in Des Moines, which is an hour from Ackley. I wanted to buy some clothes and be far away from Leviathan as humanly possible.
"Why do you always have to be so tough, Em? Who cares if he had help? It took a load off of you and the guys, and you didn't have to pay him. You always complain about not having enough help." She grabs my arm before we walk inside a store. "Please tell me you at least said thank you." Katey glares at me as she sips her iced coffee.
"Uh, absolutely not! I don't owe him anything. He's weird. He does weird things," I say as I lean into her and begin to whisper. "I think he's a demon or an alien. I've seen these strange-"
Katey's face twists to disgust and confusion. "You've been working in the sun too long. You might need a vacation. You do know that?" She touches my forehead.
"Oh, wait!" She yells as she grabs both of my arms and forces me to face her. "Remember in the first grade! When you swore, there was a monster under your bed! You didn't sleep for a month. You had your parents drive Father Monaghue to the house to bless your entire room," she says, sticking a giggle. "And-"
"I'm serious, Kate! On top of that, I've been seeing this weird, yellow light glowing in the sky. What if that's connected to him?"
Kate shakes her head and laughs as we walk into Sephora. "Yeah, okay! Now I need to speak to your aunt. You're crazy! It must be the town water."
"I'm not crazy!" Of course, she doesn't believe me. I wouldn't believe me.
After a couple of hours and several purchases later, it is time to go back home. Katey decides she wants to grab a pretzel before we leave. We are waiting in line.
"So, did you hear that Trevor is back for good?" Katey asks with a smile on her. "Have you thought about him at all?"
I look at her with disgust. "Are you crazy? Once a cheater, always a cheater."