Page 20 of The Art of Deception
He pushes them to the left a little more.
What’s that about?
Tomi moves in beside me, letting out a heavy sigh. “Oh yeah, things have to be in the middle of the table… you’ll get used to it.”
My chest squeezes at how Tomi knows so much about her brother’s needs. She’s amazing the way she takes care of him. But at the same time, my heart breaks a little for Levi, considering how hard it must be to live a life where if things aren’t a certain way, it’s painful for him. That’s what I’ve read, anyway. So I want to do things right by Levi. I want to be a good friend to him, maybe a support he can lean on.
I try to learn everything I can about autism and how to cope with it as an outsider. I need to understand how he must be feeling because if helping Levi makeshislife easier, it also makes Tomi’s life easier, and I’m all for that. I simply want to assist them both.
That’s actually what I was aiming for in that damn email. I wanted to help her, not offend her. I wanted to give her support, as much of it as I can without making her suspicious. I didn’t mean for it to come across negatively. I guess I can see how it could, though. Especially for someone who’s as headstrong as Tomi.
I move to sit, causing Levi to moan. He points to the seat tohis left, making me glance up at Tomi. She shrugs with a nod, so I move to sit next to Levi while Tomi shifts to the other side, trapping Levi in the middle.
He smiles so wide, like he’s finally comfortable.
Reaching out, I go to grab one of the donuts. “Want a donut, Levi?”
He bobs his head emphatically. “Yeah.”
So, I pick up the one right in the middle. Levi grins as he takes the donut from me.
I get it now.
Levi likes everything in the middle—it’s his comfort zone.
I can work with this.
“Peanut butter’s my favorite,” Levi gushes while smashing the donut into his face.
I chuckle as Tomi dishes out the ice cream into three bowls while watching us. I pick up a donut, shoving it in my mouth, the creamy texture of the peanut butter mixed with the sugary donut is like a damn flavor overload. I’m not sure I like it, but if Levi does, then I’m sure as hell going to pretend I do to make him happy.
“It’s good, yeah?”
Levi turns up his lip. “No… it’s gross. But I like peanut butter.”
Tomi bursts out laughing as she brings the bowls over while I try to swallow the donut without laughing. Tomi glances over at me. “Sorry,” she murmurs.
My hand slides up the back of her thigh, and I shake my head. “Nothing to be sorry for.”
Her bottom lip pulls in as she bites down on it, then she slowly slides down on her seat.
I glance at Levi, who’s still persisting with the god-awful donuts. “Wanna eat your ice cream before it gets warm?” I ask, and he bobs his head like he is waiting for someone to tell him that very thing. He drops the half-mangled donut into the boxand pulls his ice cream to him as I glance at Tomi and smile. It’s weird, but this feels like the most normal way to eat dessert—with Tomi and me on either side of Levi as we encourage him to eat it all. I don’t know why, I haven’ttrulyknown her all that long, but this feels like it fits.
If dessert is this good, then how would Tomi and I be in this situation? We’re obviously so damn right for each other. How can we have met under these circumstances, and it bethisright but also so utterly fuckingwrong?
My mind swarms while Levi keeps me occupied and distracted, but in the back of my mind, I know this could come crashing down on me at any fucking second.
Tick-fucking-tock.
Chapter Seven
TOMI
I sit back and watch Xander with Levi.
He’s so great with him.
I’ve always been apprehensive over the idea of having a man in my life because he’d have to accept Levi. Not only does Xander accept him, they’re almost getting along better than Xander and I are right now. I giggle, watching them battle each other on Levi’s favorite video game,Fortnite.Xander, of course, has no idea what he’s doing, but he’s putting the effort in, and that’s all that matters with Levi. He knows if you are genuine or faking it. He’s a hell of a lot smarter than people give him credit for. It’s what irks me about the life he’s been dealt. His brain is so powerful, and he can do so much. It’s just the limitations his body and mind have put on him that are sometimes debilitating.
