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Grabbing Levi’s shirt, I wrenched hiuy live or did you kill him?"
Levi swayed aardly on his feet and h his shoulder"
Releasing Levi’s shirt, I slaainst the wall behind his head "Fuck!"
"That star means you’ve killed or shot someone?" Lexi’s shocked voice sounded beside otten I’d left out that part of the explanation Forgotten she knew nothing about this life
Staring at her shell-shocked face, I adet it when you shoot your first s Don’tthe shot for the crew Proving you’re in this life one hundred percent"
Lexi’s sleeve-covered palrew to the size of the moon "Have… have you… killed anyone?" Her focus was all on the stidda onenough
Closing h my nose "I shot someone in the chest Never knew if it woulda killed him or not"
"You didn’t stick around to find out?" she whispered anxiously
I glied "Didn’t have to Axe shot him between the eyes before I ever found out He was a key member of their crew and he needed to be taken out"
Water filled Lexi’s eyes, and I felt Levi hang his head In shame, disappointment? I didn’t wanna know
"Hello, youon from what I’d just revealed and addressed my brother I watched Lexi smile at him in easy acceptance Levi blushed and nodded his head As Lexi shook his hand, the edge of Levi’s bottom lip sucked in like he always did when he was nervous
I bent down to Lexi and laid a grateful kiss on her head I was thankful she was being kind toanother element of my fked-up past, she hadn’t cut her losses and run
"Yeah, I am Who… who are you?" Levi asked Lexi quietly, and I moved out of the way to shut us in the privacy of the trailer and away fro eyes
As I watched my fourteen-year-old brother sturet This kid beforekid was out on the streets, selling snow to junkies Putting his young life on the line so Ma about his life, this life, was so fkin’ wrong, and I had no idea how the hell to fix it for hio of his hand
Levi looked over Pix’s head tohis cheeks Levi wasn’t like Axel He wasn’t full of confidence, arrogant or rude, thinking he could take on anyone no ry at the whole fkin’ world, and pessiree Levi was a thinker; he was quiet, barely saying a word if he wasn’t forced to Preferred to listen and learn than be the center of attention He had more natural athletic ability than anyone I’d ever known And he was smart Real fkin’ smart And because we needed coin for Mamma to live the rest of her days in relative comfort, he was forced to work the streets and put hiirlfriend?"
My breath paused at Levi’s sudden question as I waited for what Pix would say When only silence followed, I felt my stomach fall into that empty pit of disappointirl?"
Walking toward the two, I placed my hands on Levi’s shoulders and said, "She’s my Pix That’s all you need to know"
I saw Levi frown in confusion at my answer but heard the quick inhale of Lexi’s breath behind me, and I turned to see a sweet, stunned expression on her face
That satisfied whisper of happiness right there made my whole fkin’ life Chest cracked, heart exposed--whole fkin’ life
"Austin?" My mamma’s barely-there voice drifted from the direction of the bedroom, and as always, I instantly felt weak I wasn’t a twenty-one-year-old gangbanger and potential NFL player at thiskid whoseMa h with your meds in just a ain "What the hell happened tonight, Lev? You’re a fkin’ mess"