It Haunts Us Once Again

XIV

Hi. I'm back(ish) lol.

Don't have a note at the moment. Besides the fact that it does get a bit gory. I hope you are all doing well. Let me know if there are any questions you may have :) This is going to be a long chapter.

Hope you enjoy as always.

-Q

...

Five Years Ago September, Leo
Part 2

Usually waking up to the smell of food in the morning gets a person excited.

It made Leo want to punch a hole through the wall.

The only thing keeping him sane was the fact that they were all foods that he liked. He wasn't home most of the week but when he was, he tried talking his way out of him being there for dinner at the least. But his mom wasn't taking any of his excuses. Now that the dreaded day was finally here, he didn't think he was going to make it.

"Come on Skye. You gotta help me out here," he practically begged over the phone. He called her to ask if she would come to the dinner again. Not for his mom or Jett, but for himself. "Trust me, I wish I could be there with you but I just can't. I have to get to work soon and then I'm running a couple of errands with my dad after. He insists this is the only day he has to do them. I'm sorry Leo," she said, sounding a bit rushed. He took a deep breath. He really didn't want to be alone tonight but it couldn't be helped. "It's okay. I understand," he finally said. "I'm a text message away. If anything pops off you let me know," she said and he nodded, even though he knew she couldn't see it. "Got it. Tell your dad I said hi."
"Of course. I gotta go now. I'll talk to you later," she said and they exchanged goodbyes and hung up.

Alright. He thought. New plan.

He made his way downstairs for the first time that morning. The kitchen was empty, but there were a couple of pots on the stovetop. He walked over to one of them and lifted the lid, moving back so the steam didn't hit his face. Even if it was just prep, it smelled heavenly and it made his mouth instantly water.

"Good morning Leo," he heard his dad say as he came up behind him. He jumped at the sudden voice, but it wasn't noticeable. "Good morning dad," He said, closing the lid back on the pot. "I'm sure you slept well. You were knocked out when I got home from work last night," his dad said as he took a mug out of the cabinet for his coffee. "Yeah, I went to sleep after studying for the rest of the day," Leo said dismissively. He didn't really feel like talking to his dad at the moment. He already wasn't in a good mood and he could sense that his dad was almost just as excited as his mom to see Jett today and to hear about all of his achievements. He kept himself from rolling his eyes before walking away. "I'm going to go shower and change," he said, suddenly wanting to be anywhere but there. "Oh, are you going out today? Could you run an errand for me," his dad asked. Anything to get out of the house I guess. "Sure." He stood in the doorway as his dad went to get something out of his work bag, which was in a chair under the dining table, and he pulled out an envelope.

"There's gas money included in this, but can you go and pick out something nice as a present," he asked as he handed the envelope to Leo. He took it, blocking all the instant thoughts from escaping his mouth. "Sure," was all he let out. "Thank you, I appreciate it. Since you guys know each other better you probably know what he likes. I'm going to stay here and help your mom out today, so stay out as long as you want. Just be back for dinner, yeah?" He couldn't tell if his dad was lowkey helping him out or not. He doubted it, but that's what it felt like. He never knew what was going through his dad's head most of the time. "Alright, I'll leave in a bit. Thank you by the way."
"Of course son."