Trigger

sixteen • hatred

The building is a lot less daunting than I would have imagined.

When I think about an orphanage, I think of tall and dark buildings, burned by the windows and chipped bricks, littered with old woman with grey hair pulled into an incredibly tight bun and bottomless pits for eyes that are covered by wiry glasses. The orphanage we walk into isn't like that at all, though. It's still tall, though very clean, sort of resembling a prestigious school from the movies. When Hannah and I walk through the front doors, we're immediately met with kind and bright smiles from the worker behind the desk.

The worker is plump, dressed in bright clothes. Her make up is nicely done (making me wish I had the talent for make up, but that's Hannah's speciality) and her brown hair is up in a nice bun, not one of those scarily tight ones. Either way, she looks nice and approachable, unlike what I had imagined. Hannah gives my shoulder a tight squeeze and moves ahead of me, stopping in front of the desk and smiling at the lady. "Excuse me, I was wondering if I could have some information on one of your former... members?"

The lady looks confused at first. "Who exactly are you looking for information about?"

"Levi Collins," I speak up.

The woman's eyes light up at that. "Levi, of course! What do you need to know about him? His aunt took him in a while ago."

Hannah chews on the inside of her cheek before slowly saying, "You see, we were just wondering what his behaviour was like in those months that he was here. I understand he was going through a very hard time after the car accident..."

The woman- who, after glancing at her name tag, I see is named Marissa- loses the happy look in her eyes, her lips curling into a frown. "Levi was very torn up about it. Last I heard, though, his aunt was taking good care of him. Sometimes he had... episodes, but he's a sweet kid, always apologizing afterwards and offering to help with anything we need. Why do you ask?"

Hannah and I share a look. So Levi hadn't been crazy- at least, not the crazy he had become after Finn tampered with his pills. I sigh, deciding to be the one to break the news to her. "Well, Levi actually committed suicide a few days back. We just wanted to see if we could get anymore information to remember him by."

Marissa clamps a hand over her mouth, looking shocked. "That's awful! Oh my... Offer his aunt and uncle my dearest condolences. I'm so sorry."

Hannah smiles sadly at Marissa and continues to talk to her for a bit as I back away, closing my eyes and throwing my head back. I don't get it. I had hoped that Marissa would tell us that Levi was violent and crazy so I could tell myself that Finn is telling the truth and my mind would be put just a bit at ease. But she didn't call him crazy; what she said about the episodes would be expected from any teenager who had just lost his parents in an accident. Plus, she had called him sweet and said he helped around.

Hannah eventually finishes up, turning back to me and giving me a small smile, gesturing with a nod of her head for us to leave. We wave goodbye to the lady, who still looks disturbed and all around devastated with the news of Levi's death, but luckily she doesn't say anything else to us as we walk out the doors of the orphanage.

"You want to know about Levi Collins?"

My heart almost stops as I gasp, jumping what seems like a foot in the air, gripping onto Hannah. I turn to where the voice came from, spotting a pale and scrawny boy waiting outside the door. His blue eyes are icy as they stare at us calculatingly, his blond hair pushes up and styled and his clothes actually looking good together. His face, however, is far from welcoming.