to.
His eyes dart over to the container. âNo, I just refilled them.â He rubs his nose
quickly and looks away from me.
Heâs lying again.
I look at him, and he bites down on his lip.
âWhy?â I ask.
âWhy do you care? Itâs none of your business.â
âYouâre right, it is none of my business. But you know what? This is your health
on the line. You should care for yourself.â
âSince when do you think you know everything about me?â
Levi is just putting words in my mouth. Heâs being so rude about everything. I was
just trying to be friendly.
âI never said I knew everything! Iâm just trying to be here for you! Because thatâs
what I would want if I just moved to the total opposite side of the world!â I donât
want to yell, but I am. I canât help it.
âI donât need you! I donât need anyone! Just leave me alone!â
âFine, Levi, I will. Iâll leave you alone. Sorry for trying to help,â I say, leaving
his room and shutting the door.
I leave without saying good-bye to Mr. Harrison.
What happened with Levi keeps replaying through my mind. Every word, every movement.
I wish Levi actually spoke so I wouldnât have to interpret the robotic voice. It
makes fighting more difficult because thereâs no emotion in its voice.
For some reason, the robotic voice makes me even madder.
I donât know why Levi suddenly went back to how he was before. It definitely has
to do with his pills. I know he was taking them before, because he said they were
making him sentimental.
Why would someone stop taking pills? If they help, why stop?
I know I will never understand how Leviâs mind works, nor do I truly want to. Itâs
his personal business. Heâs putting himself in jeopardy by not taking his medication.
Iâm worried about him.
Maybe he just forgot. Thatâs a possibility, right? Maybe his mind was somewhere else,
and he didnât remember to take them for a few days.
I hope thatâs why. I hope heâs not intentionally stopping.
But something in the pit of my stomach tells me itâs intentional.
Levi doesnât want to be happy.
Chapter Eleven
LEVI
I anxiously sit in front of my laptop, staring at Calebâs icon on Skype.
Câmon, Levi. Just press call.
Weâve planned to video chat today, with my mum too. She doesnât understand how the
whole Skype thing works, so Caleb is helping her. Iâve kept my finger wavering above
the button to call for a few minutes now. I donât know why Iâm so nervous to see
them. Itâs my mum and Caleb, the two most familiar people in my life. But for some
reason, there are butterflies in my stomach.
Iâm anxious to see them again; it feels like itâs been forever. I feel like Iâm in
a whole other world, not just a different continent. Nothing is the same here.
Calebâs smiling icon pops up, saying heâs calling me. They probably think Iâve forgotten
or that I donât want to talk to them, but I do. I always mess things up, donât I?
I press accept and wait for the call to connect. I can hear them, just not see them.
âCaleb, it says the webcam isnât working. Whatâs that? Whereâs the webcam?â I hear
my mum say.
âLilian, Lilian. Stop pressing random buttons! I got this!â Caleb says, laughing
hysterically. He sounds happy. Heâs making the hiccup noises he makes when he laughs
too hard. I missed that.
Itâs been twenty-one days without them. Itâs nice to hear their voices, but I want
to see them now. But just hearing them is making me happier already. I didnât think
it was possible to miss Caleb this much; I thought we would both stop being friends
once I moved out here. But he hasnât given up on me.
âLook, oh my goodness, I can see Levi!â I hear my mum say. âCaleb, hurry! I want
him to see us too! Oh
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley