Page 16 of Claimed By Ruin

He nodded. “I knew you’d come to your senses.”

I chuckled. “You sound pretty sure about that.”

“I was. I am. But now that you’re here, what are you going to do?”

“Same thing I always have,” I responded flatly.

Levi laughed, then leaned back against the swing, his weight so slight, it barely moved. He collapsed back, his thin shoulders as sharp as the metal, but those eyes twinkled.

“You ever heard the saying, son?”

“What saying is that?”

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result.”

I shook my head. “All that time in bed leaving you free to read the Reader’s Digest or something?”

He smiled. “I always preferred the paper. But no, the young boy got me into those graphic novels. Reminded me of the dime store comics from when I was a kid.”

I arched a surprised brow. “You’re a comic book guy?”

Uncle Levi nodded. “Well, whatever it takes to pass the time. So no. You don’t have Reader’s Digest to thank for my wisdom. It’s hard-earned.”

It was time to cut the shit. “Why are you being so nice?”

Levi cocked his head. “Way I see it, you two need to get past this. Start looking toward the future.”

I looked away, but couldn’t help but think of Asia, our baby.

Levi, to his eternal credit, didn’t raise that particular specter. In fact, I didn’t even know if he knew. Asia barely acted like she did.

“That still doesn’t explain why you’re being nice. Aren’t you pissed at me for leaving?”

He sighed. “I’m…Never mind. Doesn’t matter what I am. You’re a grown man. You made your choice.” Then he smiled. “And besides, I figure Asia’s going to give it to you good, so I don’t wanna pile on.”

“How saintly, Levi.”

The man laughed. “Never that, never that. Just smart. I know how my girl can be when she gets going.”

I smiled, but then sobered. “You’re not well.”

“Don’t take a triple-digit IQ to see that, son.”

“What are we going to do?”

Levi huffed. “You think I’m the first person to die? No. So you’re going to do what we always do. Keep going forward.”

He stared at me like he expected me to argue.

I didn’t. And if I wasn’t seeing things, Levi gave an imperceptible nod of approval. I looked back off the porch, forcing myself to avoid Asia. I saw Miles, saw the others working, saw both what they had built.

Saw how fragile it was.

I noticed Caitlin staring at me.

I stared back at Levi, whose breathing was even.

I didn’t bother him and instead pushed off the porch and headed straight for Caitlin.