Shadow and Stars

Three

After insisting that not only did I not cheat on Mr. Burke's chemistry test, but I never even stepped foot in his room to take it, Mrs. Casey is looking at me like I might need a trip to the counselor's office.

To avoid that uncomfortable conversation, I stop arguing, accept my pink slip, and at three o'clock, trudge down the hall to the library for the very first after-school detention of my life.

When I fling open the doors to the library, my eyebrow raises when I see every table full. Maybe I wasn't the only one Mr. Burke "caught cheating."

My eyes scan the room and find one empty chair.

In the back left corner.

Right next to Levi.

He must've just done an excellent job of avoiding me today.

Eyes fluttering closed, I sink into the chair next to him, scooting as far away from him as I can, refusing to meet his eyes. But after roll call, when I finally let my gaze travel to him, I realize it didn't even matter; Levi has his head down, his face buried in his crossed arms.

I let out a strangled breath and reach in my backpack for my tattered copy of Our Town, and for the next fifteen minutes, I pretend to read. But as the familiar woodsy smell of Levi's cologne slides over me, the words on the page blur with my sudden tears.

Where did we go so wrong? How could Levi ever think I'd cheat on him? He's the only person I've ever loved. The only person besides my dad who could ever quell the raging storm of grief that still consumes me on my darkest days.

I can't stand it anymore, and I rip a piece of notebook paper from my binder, scribbling a note before I can stop myself:

Levi, please. Can we talk? I just want to understand what happened or what you think happened. Please.

I push the note under his folded arms, and he stirs, letting the note sit on the tabletop for a full minute before he unfolds it and reads, a scoff escaping his lips. He pulls a pen out of his pocket and scrawls a message, shoving it across the table.

I have nothing to say to you, Camryn. I saw what I saw, and there's nothing you can do to change it. It's done. Just leave me alone.

Shaking my head in frustration, I respond:

Levi, something weird is going on here...I don't know how to explain it, but

I don't get to finish my sentence. The bell rings to dismiss us, and before I can even look up, Levi disappears.

"Damn it," I mumble, shoving everything into my backpack, nearly knocking over a chair and Ms. Harris as I chase after him.

"Levi!"

When he stops in my path, I stumble into him as he turns to face me.

"Camryn. What do you not understand about this? Leave. Me. Alone. I don't want to hear your excuses; it's all bullshit. My vision doesn't lie...I know what I saw." 

Anger bubbles up inside me. "It is not bullshit. I wasn't kissing anyone else! Something is wrong, Levi, and I wish you'd just—"

"JUST STOP!" His voice echoes through the empty hallway, and I jump at the sound...the harshness of it. "Just fucking stop, Camryn."

Hot tears flood my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I'm almost over being heartbroken; now I'm just pissed he won't let me explain.

"Finally, you shut the fuck up," he snaps, and when he turns to leave, Rose is standing behind him, her freckled hand resting on her ample hip.

"I know you're not talking to my friend like that, Hammond," she drawls, her Ozark accent pronounced in her indignation.

"Mind your own business, Langston," he says, brushing past her like she was nothing but a gnat flying in his personal space.

He doesn't even look back as he pushes open the front doors so hard that they slam against the brick.

I sigh and lean against the wall, sinking down to my butt and pulling my knees to my chest. Rose sits cross-legged in front of me and rests her hand on mine. "You okay, Cam?"

Lowering my forehead to my knees, I shake my head. "No. Everything is wrong, Rose, not to even mention Levi. My windshield got busted, I got in trouble for cheating and went to the principal's office for the first time in my entire life, and—"

"I wanted to ask you about that...since when do you cheat?" Rose asks, pushing my ponytail away from my face.

"I don't," I murmur, looking up at her and wiping the tears from my cheeks. "I didn't cheat."

"But then, why—"

I spring to my feet, gathering my things from the floor. "I gotta go. My dad expects me home earlier than this, and I already have to explain the cheating thing to him."

"But—"

"I'll text you later," I say over my shoulder, running out to my car as fast as my feet would take me.

When I get home, I breathe a sigh of relief to see that my dad isn't there yet. He must've had to pull some overtime; my dad is the general manager of the only claim to fame Eureka Springs, Arkansas has ever or will ever have—the Crescent Hotel. It's a prime tourist spot, known as the most haunted hotel in America. Even though it isn't peak season yet, there's always something to do, and some nights he'll work until 10 or 11:00. It sits atop the hill directly behind our house, though, so I know when he leaves, it won't take him long to get here.

Throwing my backpack onto the couch, I abandon all thoughts of the pile of homework I have to do as I run upstairs and settle into the window seat in my bedroom, resting my forehead against the cool glass. 

Levi believing I cheated on him is almost secondary to the fact that I had a strange vision in the middle of English, cracked my windshield without ever touching it, had a premonition of the principal's office before I ever even went to Burke's class, and if I'm honest with myself, those aren't even the first three instances of weird shit happening.

But Levi...Levi thinking I cheated on him is the cherry on top of the shit sundae.

A tear slides down my cheek and I close my eyes, letting the fatigue consume me.