The Brightest Star

31. Leo

Leo's POV

"Have you eaten anything today?" King asked as he pulled down the blinds in the living room.

I hadn't thought about food all day. I felt too sick. Now, knowing King knew the truth about how disgusting I really was, I didn't think I could eat anything. "I'm not hungry," I said, looking at my hands as I sat on the couch.

"Well, I am. I'm going to make us some dinner because it's late, and you need to eat something." He walked into the kitchen and started going through the cabinets.

I walked in slowly, holding myself and looking around like someone else could overhear me. "I'm..., I'm not gay," I said suddenly, making King turn around and look me in the eyes in questioning.

I stopped in my tracks and looked at the ground quickly.

"Well, I'm not either," he answered, turning around to grab some stuff out of the refrigerator. "But, if we are going to have this conversation right now, I'm, uh, not fully straight either. I'm bisexual. I've been with a guy or two before, but I've mainly been with women," he confessed.

"I've never been with anyone..." I looked down in shame. I guess I couldn't hide it anymore. "Well, besides that," I told him and held myself even tighter.

King must have seen my discomfort because he stopped what he was doing and walked over to me quickly, putting a hand on my arm.

"What happened was not your fault, Leo. You tried to stop it. You fought back, and that was really brave of you. That guy is just fucked up in the head. It doesn't mean your gay or anything," he reassured me. "That's something that will always be yours if you are or not. That doesn't make you gay or bisexual because of what he did. Do you understand me?"

I nodded my head a little.

"Good. Now go sit down. It's okay. I'll get you when it's ready."

I sat down on the couch. The tv was on, but I wasn't sure what was on the channel as I sat there for a minute. I decided to walk upstairs instead and left King alone to make food for us while I did everything I needed to do for my mom since I'd been neglecting her all day. She was asleep, but Winter decided to come downstairs with me when I finished.

"Damn. I forgot you said you had a cat," King smiled as she rubbed against his leg. He quickly leaned down and started playing with her. "Dinner is ready, by the way."

I looked down at a display of food I didn't even know we had. In front of me were a big, fluffy omelet with cheese, white gravy, ham slices, and homemade biscuits. I couldn't believe he cooked all that food.

"Holy shit. I didn't know you could cook," I said in awe.

"Yeah. I hate mornings, but breakfast is my favorite kind of food." He smiled down at the food with pride.

I sat down, and he poured the white gravy over the omelets. I looked up at him in question, but he nodded down at it, waiting for me to tease it.

"Oh my god," I said with my mouth full of food. It was surprisingly good. "Where did you learn to cook?"

"My dad. He always let me in the kitchen to help him cook when I was younger. Breakfast is his favorite too. He taught me everything I know," he said before digging into his food.

"What happened to him?" I asked without thinking. Then I regretted it immediately. "Oh, I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that if you don't want to," I quickly said. That was something he should be able to tell me on his own. Not something I should ask about.

He started to laugh. "It's okay, Leo. He's been locked up for ten years now. We still talk all the time in letters. I used to see him all the time, but he's 3 hours away now, so it's kinda hard to get out there with work and school, but it's okay."