Levi had only been in Elijah and Greyson's bed once, and it was when he screamed at Elijah and accused him of being a rapist.

Not a memory he was proud of.

Now, he couldn't get over the space. It smelled like Elijah and Greyson's separate colognes and the room was suited to both of their tastes, with one beautiful forest green wall, the other walls colored cream. An oak desk in the corner was littered with papers, and Levi assumed they were for Greyson to do work at home.

Levi went into the bathroom and found a huge walk-in shower with two shower heads as well as a soaking tub in the corner. He couldn't believe that he got scared and ran away without even investigating the beautiful room!

"I want to put a mirror in above the bed," Elijah purred, standing behind Levi as they looked into the mirror. "Greyson said we'd get one if you're comfortable with it."

"Why would you want a mirror above the bed?" Levi asked, giving Elijah a puzzled look. "What if it fell and stabbed us?!"

Elijah shrugged. "It wouldn't kill us. Plus, watching yourself have sex in a mirror is so hot," he said with a moan, before smirking at Levi through the bathroom mirror. "The only mirror in our room right now is here in the bathroom, so you probably don't want to touch these counters."

Levi gave him a disgusted look.

The two entered the bedroom and found Greyson making the bed, something that hadn't been done that morning because they hadn't been there. Elijah was much more organized and tidy, but it irritated him to no end when the bed wasn’t made, so Greyson picked up on the habit. 

"I'm hungry," Greyson said, setting up a blanket on the bed. "We can go get some food from the kitchen and eat while you tell us about why you... you know."

Levi huffed.

He didn't want to talk, but he knew that he needed to tell the pair eventually. And, he trusted them, so he wasn't scared to talk... it was more of a fear of how they'd react and the unknown of what they'd do.

"How am I supposed to eat if I'm talking?" Levi asked, a weak attempt at escaping the conversation.

Greyson caught on and rolled his eyes to feign annoyance even though a smile was on his face. "Then we can all eat first before you talk," he said, grabbing Levi's hand to pull him to the kitchen. "Such a smart idea!"

Levi groaned. "Can't I just stay here?" he asked, not in the mood to explain his bandages to the other sins, who he knew were bound to ask.

Unless they already knew, which wouldn't surprise Levi too much.

"If you can talk and eat at the same time," Elijah said, agreeing with Greyson and giggling at the pout on Levi's face. "If not, Greyson can teach you. He pauses and talks while eating me out."

Levi choked on his spit.

"Careful or that won't be the only thing you're choking on," Elijah mumbled, but Levi still heard him. "I'll go make food, you two stay here, bye!"

Greyson smiled at his excitable soulmate and settled onto the bed beside Levi. "He's really something," he said, looking at the door that Elijah disappeared through.

Levi agreed, leaning into Greyson's chest. "You both are," he said, feeling Greyson's hum of appreciation resonate in his chest. "And I'm still sorry."

"Soon enough we'll understand why you did it and you won't have to be sorry anymore," Greyson said, wrapping his arm around Levi and pulling him closer, careful to avoid his forearms.

Levi sighed and tried to will his tense muscles to relax. He knew that Greyson and Elijah deserved the truth and to know, especially because they wouldn't let him go, but he was so scared that they'd judge him or blame him for what had happened. Nothing that had happened to him in his past had been light or happy, so he couldn't even soothe the story with happy pieces.

He laid in silence on Greyson's chest until Elijah reappeared in the room holding a tray with three bowls of pasta with shrimp and juice boxes for all three of them.

"Can I talk before we eat?" Levi asked, his stomach churning. "I might vomit if I eat before."

Greyson and Elijah agreed, leaving the tray on the desk across the room.

"Promise you won't hate me?" Levi asked as Elijah spooned him from behind so Levi was sandwiched between the two.

"Promise," both Elijah and Greyson said, Elijah kissing him on the shoulder and Greyson on the forehead.

Levi took a deep breath, thinking about where to start. "I was born in Tennessee, in a small cottage with my mom and dad. When I was nine, my dad died of a rare bone cancer that we didn't know he had until he was too far gone. Even if we caught it early, we didn't have money to pay for it. I didn't have any siblings, aunts, uncles, or grandparents that I knew so it was just my mom and I when he died. We were fine for a while, both of us grieving, but I thought my mom was getting better when she decided to cook my favorite meal one night and we had a movie night together. She tucked me in and told me she loved me. She said everything was going to be okay."

He paused, tears welling in his eyes.

"I found her body the next morning on the floor with needles in her arms. I didn't know what to do, so I ran and tried to get help. They said she was dead and tried to find me a home in Tennessee, but I couldn't stay there, so I ran. Some guy picked me up on the side of the road and said he'd drive me to Cincinnati because I looked like I needed help...

"He did get me there, but said once we'd arrived that I had to pay him. I was only nine and had no money... I'm sure you can figure it out," Levi grumbled, not wanting to say it. 

He felt the grip on him tighten from both Elijah and Greyson.

"After that he threw me out on the side of the road and I ran until a police officer found me and told me that he was going to help me, but all he did was put me in the system. I told him a man in a truck had hurt me, but they never did anything or even looked for him. I didn't want a new family but they kept sending me to foster homes and for some reason they always picked the one with men that wanted to use me.

"I ran away every time and I developed a habit for it, up until I was fifteen. I was sent to a single man's house and he was actually kind to me. He got me through school, helped me, comforted me, and encouraged me to work hard to earn what I wanted. I thought he actually cared..." Levi paused and wiped his wet eyes. "He said he loved me and wanted what was best for me."

Greyson could tell where the story was going, and from the look on Elijah's face, he understood as well.

"I came home after school one day and found him drinking, which wasn't too surprising because he'd have a few drinks every once and a while, and usually I'd just leave him alone to watch TV, but he said he had a present for me and I didn't understand it, but I followed him because he'd never done anything bad to me before so I had no reason not to trust him.

"As soon as I entered the room he forced himself onto me and tied me up so I couldn't go anywhere. I begged him to stop and he wouldn't listen, and he kept saying he did it because he loved me and wanted to make me feel good. He raped me until I passed out and when I woke up he was still going and I was in so much pain... eventually I convinced him to untie me by faking that I was enjoying it and that I had to use the bathroom. I was able to pack a bag and left the house even though it hurt to move. I lived on the streets for a few years until the cafe owner that often gave me their stale bread offered to help me pay for an apartment if I worked full time without pay for the first month to work off my debt and then she paid me from there."

Levi paused and took a deep breath, giving Elijah a small smile when he hopped up and handed him a juice box so he could calm down and catch his breath.

"That's why you freaked out..." Greyson murmured, adding on when he received a confused look from Levi. "When you were drunk, Elijah said something along the lines of being in love with you and you lost it and started screaming and crying."

Levi nodded, finishing his juice box and getting comfortable once again. "That's why I can't tell people I love them easily and why it makes me uncomfortable when people say it to me and also why I've turned to self harm. It's just... When I get really upset in my head, I get horrible headaches and the easiest way to get rid of the mental pain is to take it out on myself physically," he explained, the bandages on his arms feeling more obvious now that he mentioned the cutting. "I cut myself nearly every week but last night was different. I just felt so guilty for rejecting you both and then my mind was telling me that you two only wanted me for sex because you already had each other."

Greyson and Elijah didn't say anything, both hugging Levi tight and pressing tiny kisses to his shoulders and forehead. They weren't meant to be an initiation for anything else, they were there to provide comfort and it was working.

Levi sniffed. "I guess you know why I'm so messed up now."

"No," Greyson said, wrapping his arms around Elijah's back so he could pull both Levi and Elijah closer to him, as Elijah was still spooning Levi. "You're not messed up. You're hurting and you've been through some shit, but trust that we're going to care for you and protect you because we were made for you as you were made for us."

Levi smiled and wiped his eyes, squirming out of the grasp of the two. "Thank you," he said, sliding off the bed. "I'm... I need some time to process, so I'll be back in a while."

Elijah didn't seem like he wanted Levi to go, but Greyson grabbed Elijah in his arms and nodded at Levi, giving him the okay to walk.

Levi wandered out of the bedroom with one thought in his mind.

"Maybe they can show me that not all love is bad."