Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 108124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Levi chuckled. “Anything but that.”
It took another hour or so before the fire department departed and the crowd that had formed thinned out so Levi and I could take a peek inside at the damage. The electricity was off in that part of the house, so we grabbed a flashlight and went down to see how bad things were. My heart sank when the light illuminated the wall we’d just put up earlier today. Half of the nice, new sheetrock was torn down, and the parts that remained were charred black. Not to mention, the entire ceiling was dripping water, and the beautiful oak floors were covered in a sludgy mix of water and ash.
I sighed. “God. Is this a sign, Levi? It feels like the universe might be trying to tell us something.”
He turned to face me. “It’s just a slight setback. That’s all.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“You probably don’t remember this because you’re a few years younger than me, but when I was seven, I fell off my skateboard and broke my ankle. It was about a month into my second year of playing peewee football.”
“I didn’t know that.”
He nodded. “They gave the starting quarterback position to Eddie Andrews. I was in a cast for eight weeks and couldn’t play, and then I had to work my way back to putting weight on it. By the beginning of the next season, I was back to myself. But the coach kept Eddie as the starting quarterback. He told me Eddie had earned it, and I’d need to earn it back. I did by midseason, but after starting only two games, I fell off my bike and dislocated my elbow—on my throwing arm. Eddie went back to being number one. After I’d healed again, Coach kept Eddie as the first-string quarterback for the season, no matter how hard I worked. So when the next year rolled around, I started getting up early and making my mom drive me to school at 5AM so I could run sprints around the track. I also stopped riding bicycles and skateboards, and had my dad throw the ball around with me every night until it got too dark to see.”
I sighed again. “I get what you’re trying to say. But this isn’t football, and I’m not you, Levi.”
He shrugged. “Maybe not. But the same principles apply. If you want something bad enough, you don’t let anything stand in your way.”
I nodded. “Okay. It’s been a really long day. Hopefully things will seem brighter in the morning.”
“I think they will.”
“Come on, let’s get out of here.”
I’d already called my mom and told her what happened, and she’d invited me to stay the night at her house. But Levi had said he was going to stay at a hotel.
“It’s late. Why don’t I drop you at your mom’s?” he said. “I can pick you up in the morning, and we can stop at the insurance broker’s office first thing. They’ll probably need a statement from you and stuff.”
“Oh...okay, yeah. I hadn’t even thought about insurance. But that sounds like a good idea. To be honest, I don’t feel like driving right now. A ride would be great.”
When we pulled up at my mom’s house, she was waiting at the window. She bolted out the door and ran to the car before Levi could even park. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” She hugged me.
Levi got out and walked around to greet my mom. “Hey, Mrs. Sullivan. How are you?”
She engulfed him in a big hug. “Better now that you two are safe and sound.”
We talked for a few minutes before my mom swatted a mosquito. “Why are we standing out here? It’s so buggy.”
Levi smiled. “You two go ahead in. I’m going to get going anyway.”
“Are you staying at Shelby’s?” Mom asked.
“Nah.” Levi shook his head. “I was over there for dinner earlier, and she had a headache. When I left, she was going to lie down. She still gets those migraines. I didn’t want to wake her. I’ll fill her in tomorrow on what happened.”
“Where are you staying, then?”
He thumbed behind him. “I’m just going to grab a room at the Best Western.”
My mother frowned. “Nonsense. You’ll stay with us.”
If Levi thought he could politely decline and walk away unscathed, he obviously didn’t remember my mother very well. “It’s okay. I already got the room. But I appreciate the offer.”
Mom wagged her finger at him. “It wasn’t an offer, young man. If you’re not going to stay with us, then you have to at least let me feed you dessert. I insist.”
“It’s okay. Really, I—”
Mom grabbed Levi’s hand. “Come on now. I need to feed these pies to someone. When I’m nervous, I bake. I whipped up three different pies after Presley called to tell me she was in the house when a fire broke out. You know it’s an unwritten rule that a good Southern man does not let pie go to waste.”