Levi's POV:

I have the box with the ring clenched tightly in my fist. Obviously, right now I should be thinking about my proposal to my long time girlfriend, but I cannot get my mind off of the two men in the jewelry store. My neck is still burning where the one man, Elijah, touched me.

The further I seem to get from the jeweler's, the worse the pain seems to get. It is most likely just paranoia on my end because I have a lot of fear around men who have a clear advantage of strength around me. If I had more confidence, I would complain about what I experienced within the jewelry store, but for now I just want to forget it.

I do not like being touched in general, let alone by strangers. Even with Maggie it is hard for me to be intimate... we have been together for four years now, but we have only had sex a handful of times and I don't remember enjoying any of them. It is not her fault... it is really hard to enjoy sex when the demons of your past are always haunting you.

My text to Maggie about the offer to take her out to a fancy dinner went unanswered, but I cannot just wait. I need to take some initiative in this relationship for once since we got together.

When I get to Maggie's apartment, I see her car in its normal parking space. With her unit, she gets two parking spots, and there is an unfamiliar truck parked beside her car. Unease pools in my gut, since it is not either of her parents' cars. Her dad doesn't like the gas mileage in trucks and her mom doesn't drive at all.

I shakily walk up the stairs and knock on the door, trying to calm down.

It's just paranoia... besides, if it is the scenario that is living in my brain, I deserve it.

Please be wrong.

A man with tanned skin, short black hair, and almond eyes answers the door. There is a brief second where I freeze and stare, as he is not a bad looking guy and he is only wearing underwear right now. Once I get a grip on myself, I step back from the door, knowing that there is really only one explanation for a man in his underwear to be in my girlfriend's apartment.

He says something, but my head is throbbing and my ears feel stuffy and are ringing.

"What?" I ask in a crackly voice, too overwhelmed to cry or yell or do anything.

"Uber Eats?" the guy asks, looking down at my hands and raising an eyebrow. "Well... I don't see any food, so is there something you need?"

I grip the box even tighter in my hand. "Who are you?"

"I could ask you the same thing," the guy responds.

"Who's at the door?" I hear Maggie call, and I see her emerge from behind the guy.

I cannot say I am too surprised that this is happening, but it still feels like I got punched in the gut.

"Levi, what the hell are you doing here?!" Maggie asks in shock, looking at the man who seems to be trying to work out who I am. "Marcus, would you mind waiting inside for a second?"

The guy, Marcus, shakes his head. "No, I think I'll stay here," he says as he gives me a once over. "Do you need some water, man? You look like you're going to pass out."

"You would too if you found out your girlfriend of four years was cheating on you!" I shout, throwing the box with the ring on the ground. "And how can you be surprised that I'm here?! Is your boyfriend not allowed to visit?!"

Marcus looks down at the jewelry box and picks it up. He opens it up and both he and Maggie gape at the ring.

"I came here to propose," I whisper, finally feeling the tears build up.

There are a few seconds of tense silence between Maggie and I while Marcus seems to find the wood on the door frame to be really intriguing.

Maggie shakes her head, closing the box and handing it back to me. "I would have said no," she says, and I see remorse in her eyes and there is regret in her tone. "Levi, I broke up with you three weeks ago!"

I'm frozen in place, staring at her. "What?"

"I went to your apartment after you called me and you were drunk as all hell. I told you I wanted to break up, but apparently you were in a worse state than I thought," she says sadly. "Levi, you were with me for four years and you couldn't even tell me you loved me! I told you that you needed to get help and instead you would get drunk or shut yourself up for weeks on end in your apartment! I can't sit around for my whole life waiting for you to decide to get better or to make an effort, but I thought you would at least remember me breaking up with you."

I feel the first tears fall down my cheeks and I look down at the jewelry box.

"If it makes you feel better, I know a really good pawn shop where you could probably get back half of what you paid for that ring," Marcus says, nodding at the box that is sitting in my sweaty palm.

I stare at him in disbelief and Maggie scowls at him.

"I'm sorry, Levi," Maggie says softly. "I really am."

I turn away from the door and walk toward the stairs to her apartment complex and trudge down them, my mind blank. I have no idea how I end up in a bar in the city, but soon I have a drink that I can't remember the name of sitting in front of me, the jewelry box right beside it.

I drink from the glass, the flavor and the smell making me feel nauseous.

My foster father, the one who I was placed with as a teenager, seemed so perfect at first. However, once he got a few drinks in him with a similar scent to this one, he did things to me that I have tried so hard to forget.

I guess that the thought when I was younger that I would never have a sip of alcohol is long gone now. I drink way too much for one person because it usually numbs the pain and the memories. God, why didn't I just jump off that damn bridge?

I down the drink and order another, trying to appear more upbeat and in focus than I feel. I really want the mental pain to go away and there is no way that I am going to self harm in the bathroom of a bar that I don't even know the name of.

After my fourth drink, everything starts to go fuzzy, and I am sure my own mental battle has a lot to do with it. Usually my tolerance is a lot higher.

"Are you okay?" I hear someone ask.

I turn to my left and see a strong looking Asian man with black hair that has dye-red streaks is staring at me. "Have you been here the whole time?" I ask, picking up the jewelry box with the ring and playing with the hinge.

"The whole time being the last forty minutes in which you have finished four drinks while I have been on one? Yes, I have been here," he responds, sipping his short glass with amber liquid.

"Stop nursing your drink then," I say, rolling my eyes. "And yes, I am perfectly fucking fine."

The asshole rolls his eyes. "I have not seen someone as sad as you in a while."

"You must not go to bars a lot."

He chuckles. "Not often, no. Usually I stay home to have a drink, but I was in a celebratory mood. Well, until you came and ruined it."

I scowl. "Fuck you."

The guy rolls his eyes once again and then pauses, looking at my neck. If I was a bit less tipsy, maybe I'd know what that look of realization in his eyes is, but I'm way too out of it to really care.

"Is there a burn there?" I ask, showing him the jewelry box. "Some guy grabbed me today and burnt my neck but some other guy said there was no mark."

"May I see that?" the man asks, holding out his hand and taking the jewelry box. "Huh. Interesting."

"Don't steal it, my ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend said he'd give me the name of a pawn shop," I say with a bubbly laugh. "What's your name?"

The guy hands me the box back. "Winston. And you bought this ring... to propose to your ex? Forgive me, you are making very little sense."

"Well, I was going to propose, but she had another guy over and apparently she broke up with me already but I was too drunk to remember... so she didn't really cheat on me. So, yes, I tried to propose to my ex, realized she was my ex, realized that I am literally going nowhere in life, so I am going to drink until I'm blackout drunk and then jump in front of a bus. Maybe a train... which one will kill me quicker, you think?"

Winston gives me a bewildered look. "Most likely a train, but you are not going to do that," he grumbles, coming across as annoyed as he takes out his phone and starts typing.

I wave the bartender over. "Well, strange man, you cannot stop me. I want another one of these!"

The bartender shakes his head. "I'm not serving you another drink unless it's water."

"Water with alcohol sounds nice."

Winston puts his hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll call him a cab and get him home."

The bartender looks skeptical. "Do you even know him?"

"Yes."

I laugh in amazement. "Yeah, we met ten minutes ago! Old friends, obviously!"

The bartender looks hesitant before I see a strange red coloration overtake his eyes. "Fine, get the fuck out of here and don't bother coming back! I don't need you two taking up space when you're going to nurse your drink and you are going to make me look like an idiot who doesn't cut people off!" he shouts, slamming my receipt and card onto the table.

"How much do I tip?" I ask Winston, but he just hands me my card and grabs my arm. "That guy was bipolar."

Winston sighs. "No, he was just under a demon's influence," he grumbles, making me sit down on a bench outside. "Just... sit here and try not to throw up."

"I'm not going to throw up."

Winston hands me a bag of potato chips. "Try to eat these."

I shake my head. "Where's my cab? I want to go home where I can't be cut off."

"Fuck, if I was either of your idiot soulmates, you'd be chained to a fucking desk so you couldn't go get yourself into trouble," Winston grumbles as a sleek, black car pulls up to the curb.

I have no clue what he means by soulmates, but I don't have a chance to respond since the door to the car opens. I may not be fully sober, but it's hard not to recognize the two men from this morning. Especially since one of them sold me a discounted ring and the other grabbed my neck like a fucking weirdo.

"I cannot believe you sold him a wedding ring so he could propose to someone else," Winston says, pulling me to my feet and pushing me forward so I stumble into Greyson's chest. "And you're using my car?!"

Elijah shrugs. "You told us that he was drunk and your car smells worse than ours anyway, so if he pukes it won't change much."

"It doesn't smell that bad," Winston grumbles, getting into the driver's seat.

Greyson pulls me toward the car. "Come on, get in."

I shake my head, feeling a wave of anxiety and nausea overtake me. "No," I whine, trying to pull away. "I don't know you and he touched me earlier!"

"Yeah, so no one else would touch you," Elijah mumbles from behind me. "We're going home."

"I can call my own cab," I say, trying to pull away and stumbling, falling onto the ground. "Don't touch me!"

Greyson backs away, but Elijah kneels beside me.

"Levi, please come with us," he begs, thankfully not touching me because I don't know how I would react in this moment. "We won't hurt you, I promise."

I stare at him, feeling fear build up inside of me.

No, not fear.

Definitely vomit.

I barely have time to get away from Elijah before I throw up all over myself and the sidewalk. As soon as I expel all of the contents of my stomach, my mind goes fuzzier than before and I pass out, falling onto the concrete beneath me.