The Brightest Star

24. Leo

Leo's POV

I walked down the street staring at the ground. King wasn't in school Friday, but I couldn't help wondering if he did that to avoid me. Would he be in school today? What would his excuse be for not showing up? Would he even talk to me to give me one?

I hoped he was okay, but I couldn't stop all these negative thoughts that ran through my mind. I hated thinking King would be that kind of person, but it's what everyone else did, so why not him?

I thought I knew Charlie back then too, but I didn't know who he was inside. I just knew the mask he wore in front of me for so long.

Maybe this was the part when King took off his mark and showed me his real side too.

"Hey puppy," I heard a woman's voice say and looked around to see a woman with long straight black hair getting out of a familiar blacked-out car.

I looked around me, trying to figure out if she was talking to me or not.

"Yes, you, Leo," she said, walking over, but she didn't have much emotion on her face, so I couldn't tell what this was about.

"Oh, sorry. No one's ever called me a puppy before. Umm, you're Kiki, King's cousin, right?"

"That would be me. King asked me to come to see you. He's-"

"You're joking, right?" I asked, smiling at the unbelievable cowardliness as she stopped talking, giving me a weird look. "If he didn't want to be my friend, he could tell me himself. Not send his cousin to do it," I laughed. Honestly, I wanted to cry but laughing was all I could do at the moment to stop the tears. "It's okay. You don't have to say anything. You can tell him I got the hint and won't talk to him again since he can't do it himself like a coward," I told her and turned around.

I did lose him as a friend. My heart hurt as I grabbed my shirt over my chest and squeezed to try to stop the tears that clouded my vision. Was it because I held his finger on the bus? I mean, it wasn't like we were holding hands.

Was I maybe too much of a burden for him, and he finally realized it? Did I somehow offend him in some way? I guess I'll never know now, and it hurt. My thoughts were going everywhere.

Kiki quickly stepped in front of me, making me jump back as a tear fell down my cheek. Without time to react, she covered my mouth with her hand while grabbing my face quickly. A few more tears fell but stopped by her pointer finger and thumb. She squeezed my cheeks between her fingers and my teeth, making my lips pucker against the palm of her hand.

"I guess I'll just be blunt about this instead of being nice, so shut your damn mouth. King is in the hospital, and his phone is broken. All because he was in such a rush to see you that night. He just woke up last night and has been asking about you since, so if I were you, I would shut up and let people finish talking before you jump to conclusions all on your own," she hissed, giving me a death stare that sent a shiver down my spine before letting me go roughly.

My heart stopped as I looked at her, rubbing my mouth where her fingers were. "Wh- what? What happened?" I asked as she started walking back to her car.

"If you want to know so badly, then go ask him yourself," she yelled back at me, throwing the driver-side door open.

I quickly ran over and opened the door to the passenger side as she gave me a weird look. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Going to go ask him what happened like you said," I told her, sitting in the seat and shutting the door.

"What makes you think I'm going to see him right now?" She asked, getting in and starting the engine. "And what makes you think I want to take you with me?"