The Time in Between: Chapter Six

Comments:

Alumina: Haha, glad you're so into it! I tried to put this up quick so you wouldn't have to wait too long to find out a little bit more of what happens ;)
Siya: I agree...I really don't like Levi's dad either haha. And thank you so much for the compliments :) enjoy!
Monkey: Well thanks for the critique, I'll try to work on that. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Kayleigh:

Kayleigh shut the front door with a smile, turning around and heading for the living room. She opened up the curtains to let the beautiful summer sunlight in. After pouring herself a cup of coffee, she sat down on their couch to watch the news and rest for a little while. She got weak pretty easily these days, something she knew physical theraphy would help with slowly.

Her first session started Monday. From what she'd heard through experienced friends and family, physical therapy was no walk in the park. But Kayleigh was determined to follow through with it until the end.

Speaking of walks in the park, she thought, I'd better get going. Her doctor had told her that the next best thing to professional physical therapy was just walking it out.

"Go on as many walks as you can," he had told her. "Start out shorter, then gradually lengthen them. It may be a pain, figuratively and literally, but I promise it will pay off. And it will make physical therapy a lot easier."

With the doctor's words in mind, Kayleigh got up off the couch, set her coffee cup in the kitchen, and headed outside. The walk to the park was somewhat slow-going, and Kayleigh's leg was aching, but she knew it was good.

When she finally arrived, she was flushed and breathing hard from the energy it had drained out of her. She made her way over to one of the park swings and gratefully sat down, taking a few deep breaths and trying to enjoy the beautiful morning.

She took out her phone and sent Levi a quick text. "Love you babe. Hope your day goes well. And you better not be looking at any girls ;)"

Kayleigh set her phone in her lap and pushed gently off the ground, starting the swing slightly. She was mostly joking in her text. At first, coming to terms with the fact that her very attractive boyfriend was a lifeguard was difficult. She couldn't help but worry at the thought of him being surrounded by girls in bikinis all day.

The longer their relationship lasted, however, the less she worried over it. She knew he loved her, and she loved him just as much in return. She trusted him. The only girl that still bothered her was Jordan. Even just thinking about that girl made Kayleigh angry.

Luckily, her thoughts were interrupted as her phone buzzed. She looked down; it was Levi. "I have to admit, 74-year-old Ms. Wilson is here today, and she's lookin mighty fine in her bright purple one-piece...love you I'll text you when I'm off."

Kayleigh laughed out loud, immediately feeling better, set her phone back in her lap - and almost screamed when she glanced up and saw a familiar man standing in front of her. It was Levi's father.

"Oh my gosh, Mr. Cox? You scared me half to death."

Levi:

Levi was sure glad that the pool wasn't too crowded today, because his thoughts were elsewhere. He had so much on his mind it was giving him a headache.

First of all, he flat out didn't want to be here. He wanted to be with Kayleigh. Ever since that day over a month ago when the police told him their suspicions about the car accident not being an accident at all, it was painful to be away from Kayleigh. He felt like leaving her out of his sight put her in immediate danger.

She refused to acknowledge the fact that it might not have been an accident; that someone might have been out to kill them. Whenever Levi tried to bring it up, she completely shut down and wouldn't talk about it. He knew it scared her to death and she just wanted it all to be in the past. And technically, since the police had never found any evidence, Levi needed to put it in the past too. But it was so hard when something in his gut told him the police were completely right.

Secondly, Levi could not get his father off his mind. Where had he gone? Why did he suddenly leave? True, his father was the king of douchebags and Levi was better off without him. But still...something didn't feel right about this. His father didn't seem like the kind of guy who would just leave without saying anything. Instead, if he DID decide to leave, he was the kind of guy who would go for some ridiculous lawsuit and try to come away with as much of their money and possessions as possible.

"Hey mister lifeguard, good thing I'm not drowning because you're off in your own world!"

Levi was snapped back into reality by the husky, seductive voice that he immediately knew to be Jordan's. He looked down and reluctantly met her gaze. She smirked at him, running a hand through her long blonde hair.

"Yeah, well," he answered, "I guess it is a good thing then." His response was short and lifeless, because honestly, Jordan left him tongue-tied. Come on, Levi, let's be real, he thought to himself, MOST girls leave you tongue-tied.

It was true. All his life, girls came after him like bees to honey. They called him sweet, sexy, shy, gorgeous, gentle, funny...and it completely overwhelmed him. He didn't know how to handle girls, he didn't want their attention. He never knew what to say, the way they just gushed all over him made him uncomfortable and at a loss for words. The only girl who had ever seen the real him, the only one he'd ever felt comfortable with, was Kayleigh.

Jordan, meanwhile, was still standing there staring at him. She was not to be deterred from her mission. "Well it looks like you've got it pretty easy today any ways. There's hardly anyone here! Come on, take a break and come swim with me." She smiled and took a few steps back toward the water.

"Sorry, I can't. Even if there's not many people here, I'm still on duty."

"Bro, I got you." Levi's heart sank as he looked and saw his friend Jason walking toward him. "Go swim with her."

"But my shift isn't over for another fifteen minutes," Levi answered through gritted teeth, hoping Jason would notice that he did NOT want to leave his post.

Jason didn't pick up on Levi's hinting. "Nah really man, it's cool. I'll cover you. I was watching you; your head isn't in it today anyway. Go have some fun."

Levi groaned inwardly as he stepped down from his post. What else could he do? Jordan grinned a victorious grin, grabbed Levi's hand and practically dragged him into the water.

They swam a few laps, and then sat at the edge of the pool in the shallow end, their legs dangling in the water. Jordan shimmied closer to Levi until their bodies were practically touching. She leaned back with a dazzling smile, making sure her tiny black bikini did not go unnoticed.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Levi didn't know what to say. He laughed nervously. "Yeah, I guess not."

Before he knew it, Jordan had jumped up, pushed him into the pool, and jumped gracefully in after him. She was laughing hard as he bobbed up, and Levi couldn't help but laugh himself.

"Oh yeah?" He gave a devilish grin, and dunked her under. She popped back up and pretended to be angry.

"That was mean," she pouted.

"Hey, if you can dish it out, be prepared to take it back," Levi said with another grin.

Suddenly the atmosphere changed. Jordan quickly bridged the distance between them, slid her arms around his neck and pressed her stomach against his own. "Oh I'm prepared to take it..." She whispered it ever so softly, tracing a pattern on his neck with her thumb.

Levi hesitated, but only for a moment, before untangling himself from her. "No thanks, Jordan." He swam to the edge and hopped out of the water. "I'd better get back to work. Have a nice day." And with that, he walked off, leaving Jordan looking angry and rejected in the water.

Kayleigh:

"Sorry Kayleigh, I didn't mean to scare you," Levi's father said with an apologetic grin. "I drove over here so I could walk around and think for a while. When I saw you, I thought I'd come over and say hey."

Kayleigh eyed him suspiciously for a moment. Why was he being so nice? After all the stories Levi had told her about him, she had no sympathy for this man at all. She didn't like him one bit.

"It's okay," she said shortly. "I just wasn't paying attention."

"So what brings you here?"

Why do you care? She wanted to yell at him. Don't try to act like you care at all; you don't even give a damn about your own son.

"Nothing much. My doctor says that walking is a really good way to help my leg get back to normal. So I've been walking to the park a lot lately." She was feeling uncomfortable with this whole conversation. "Well any ways, I guess I'll go now. It was good seeing you, Mr. Cox."

He shook his head. "That's silly Kayleigh, I'll give you a ride home. My car's right over there."

Kayleigh smiled a very sweet, and very fake smile. "It's okay Mr. Cox. It's good for my leg anyway."

"You don't want to walk on it too much, though. That could damage it again. I would feel terrible. Seriously, your house is only a couple of minutes away. I'll just give you a quick lift."

What could she do? She had no idea why the man was so intent on giving her a stupid ride home. But oh well, if he wanted to that badly...

"Alright, well thanks. As long as it is no trouble."

"No trouble at all," he said with another grin. They both began to walk toward his car.

Levi's Father:

Could it really be this easy? What kind of luck was this! Was he really just going to be able to walk off with Kayleigh?

Make conversation, his mind told him. You've gotta act nice at least until you get her into the car.

"So how are all your injuries healing?"

He was worried she could tell he was being fake. She had already given him a couple wary glances. "They're doing fine, thanks. Practically all healed up."

After what seemed like an eternity, she was in his car. He locked the doors. A few minutes passed and then they were almost at her house. He saw her get nervous as he didn't slow down at all.

"Um, Mr. Cox? My house is right there." Her words were urgent and frightened.

"Kayleigh, you're not going home."