Chapter 5 THE CRASH

"You wait here a moment. I will be right back," Mrs. Darnell said and ran off the stairs.

I ignored her order and followed behind, taking three steps at once.

"Get out of here, mom," Levi shouted.

"Leave here now," he screamed, then there was a smash.

Sound of an empty bottle flying across the wall.

Mrs. Darnell entered inside, and I peeped from behind.

My jaw dropped as I was shocked to see the least expected scene of my entire life.

It is true that the rich also cry, they have their own dark sides. 

Mrs. Thornes, Levi's mother, stood with a broken bottle. She had attempted to harm her son with while a bowl of medicine sat by her leg.

"Get - me - the - bag! She screamed, her voice echoing across the entire mansion. She looked messy, her hair scattered and some liquid stains on her blouse.

Then she began to sob and asked in a low tone, "Can I have the bag?"

She threw herself on the floor, rolling and crying, "Give me my bag."

Levi threw a glance at me and looked away. "Take care of her," he gestured to Mrs. Darnell.

"Mrs. Thorne, please get up. I will get you to your room now."

She motioned to me to support her, and we both took Mrs. Thorne to the room and put her on the bed.

Mrs. Darnell asked me to go bring her bowl of medicine and gave her some pills and a glass of water, then pulled the duvet over her.

I left the room and back to Levi's room, It was a disaster, as if a war had just broken out there.

Mrs. Darnell was now at my back. Levi shut his eyes for a moment, then he turned and walked out, leaving Mrs. Darnell and I to deal with the mess.

"You may go downstairs now. I will handle this."

"Okay" I nodded and turned to leave.

Down the stairs, I heard Levi speaking on phone in a low tone.

"You need to come home now. Mom has started again. I'm not sure these pills are working anymore."

"Not now, son," Mr Thorne replied.

"That's the point. You are always busy chasing your career and position in the company, while my mother's mental health rot away. 

I hate you, dad." He screamed.

"Wow, mental health. I thought life was all about wealth and abundance, but now I knew better.

How do I continue to work here with my sanity intact?" I thought.

"How dare you raise your voice at me! Didn't I warn your mother not to join the bad gang of women that call themselves the socialites - high and classy?" 

"Cut the crap, Dad, you caused it!"

"I never did, she did. I warned her".

"Dad!"

"I have an important meeting now, I'll see you later.

"Dad... Shit!" 

He punched a fist into his palm then turned around, walked upstairs and disappeared into another part of the house without seeing me.

I had hidden behind the curtains. I exhaled slowly. The Thorne family wasn't just rich, they were unraveling, and I was stuck in the middle of it.

"Maybe TV would help." Just anything to help ease off the day's stress.

I grabbed the remote and flipped through channels without really looking until I froze and sat up so fast the pillow fell behind me.

“Gooooaaaal! Levi Thorne with the winning shot!”

The commentator’s voice boomed through the room, too excited, too alive.

On the screen, I saw him skated across the ice like it was on an ordinary floor. It was fast and casual like practicing on a mere table.

"Was this the same person I had just seen hours ago?" The same eyes, same face but here, he looked a bit different. Lighter and even taller and looking determined, I frowned.

A replay rolled in slow motion. His stick moved with determination, the puck slide slowly into the net. The crowd exploded, his teammates rushed towards him, helmets knocking together, gloves tapping his back.

Chase appeared beside him, grinning so wide it looked like his face might split in half.

And Levi, he was smiling too.

I didn’t even realize I was leaning closer to the screen. It's him.

For a second, I forgot about the mansion, about the tension and about the silence in his eyes earlier.

Here, he was a star.

My chest tightened unexpectedly. "How does someone do that? How does someone who was so scared in that room look so bold here?"

The screen suddenly cut to commercials. I hissed under my breath. “Seriously?”

The apartment felt too quiet without the roar of the crowd. I pushed myself off the bed and walked to the kitchen, grabbing a half-opened bag of chips.

The sound echoed around my kitchen, I wasn’t even hungry but I just needed something to do with my hands.

My phone vibrated as I returned. Notifications, I sighed and read them.

"Thorne scores winning goal."

"Levi leads his team to victory."

I stared at the headlines longer than necessary.

A small smile parted my lips, I couldn’t help it. I knew the version of him the cameras would never show.

The next moment, I felt a sudden chill brushed against my skin. I paused and looked around.

My curtains were open, I wasn't sure I had closed them earlier.

A strange feeling hovered around me, that prickling awareness that someone might be watching.

"Don't be ridiculous." I whispered but I still walked toward the window anyway.

At first, I didn't see anything. Just the dim streetlight and shadows stretching across the pavement.

Then I saw him as I was about to close the Windows.

He was standing just outside the light, half-visible. My stomach churned.

He wasn’t moving or smiling but his eyes were fixed on my window then on me.

“Levi..what are you doing here…?” I whispered, though the glass separating us.

I blinked and then he was gone.

Just empty pavement, silence and the distant hum of a passing car.

The chips slipped from my fingers and scattered across the floor...