Sinful (WICKED #2) | ✓

40

"BE GLAD I HELD back," Alex said, arms crossed," you know, I could have done some real damage, Levi, once I released the beast inside of me."

"Uh-huh," Levi said, handing a towel to Ella.

As soon as the fog had cleared up and Alex stopped trying to jump them, Levi had told them to turn around, so now all of them except Ava were with their backs towards them as Levi waited for her to put her clothes back on. It was sweet, but she didn't understand why poor, gentle Mia thought she had to turn around as well, patiently waiting with the boys. What she really didn't understand though was how Alex had missed them when they had been sitting there with their noses sticking out of the water. This man truly was living life with no sense of danger whatsoever.

The fog had helped though, Levi immediately having pushed a few buttons to turn the heat up as soon as they had gone underwater. She was glad she was out of the pool, because the heat coupled with the dark really hadn't been very pleasant. Levi, the psychopath, had been able to sit there with his eyes open underwater, but she couldn't even manage to blink without feeling them burn. Once she had her clothes back on they started walking towards the living room, Ella's hand grazing across her nose as she looked over at Ava.

"That felt like attempted murder," she said.

"The next time you two jump scare me, there will be nothing attempted about it," Ava smiled.

The topic of Ava and Alex' conversation wasn't spoken about, but it didn't need to be. They were clearly more at ease with each other, but in the way old acquaintances were who had been apart for years; there was still the slight searching for each other's boundaries, the somewhat forced smiles as they tried to adapt to each other's changes. Most of all, when they sat down to play boardgames with them, they just seemed relieved.

Levi somehow got uncharacteristically competitive during their game of Monopoly, clearly harboring a grudge as he forced Alex to pay up his whole fortune like some loanshark. Alex in return stole Levi's money, Will having to come in between to explain that they weren't playing the game right, at all. In the end Ava won, the game having taken so long only she and Ella were still awake, the others all sprawled out across the couches. Alex was lying face down on one of them, Levi sitting on the floor in front of the couch with his head on Ella's shoulder, Will with his head on the table as Mia had snuggled up on the couch.

"Survival of the fittest indeed," Ava commented.

"They must have gotten tired from running around all day," Ella said, fondly running a hand through Levi's locks.

"All things aside, how was your date?" Ava said, placing all the Monopoly dollars down on the table.

"Eventful," Ella smiled," it always is with Levi. I had a lot of fun."

"Levi, he -" Ava began, pausing for a second as she looked up at Ella," he's been through a lot of stuff, as you know. I'm glad you make him so happy, he deserves it after what that asshole did to him."

Ella knew Ava was talking about Levi's father without her having to mention it and for a moment she thought back to Levi's reaction when that man had talked about his father. She had never met the man, but after what he had done she would break as many bones of his as she could when she did. More than anything she didn't want Levi to get hurt, especially by someone who didn't even deserve to be near him.

"What do you think happened to him?" she said.

"I hope he dropped dead," Ava replied," but he hasn't. The worst people never do. Will's father had hired an investigator to see what happened to him, to make sure that he wouldn't come to bother Levi. Apparently he has some underworld ties now. There was a while when Will's parents were scared of letting him go out in case all the people Vince was antagonizing would be out to get him, but thankfully nothing has happened until now."