The Brightest Star

46. King/Leo

King's POV

Leo looked worse with each day that passed. The bright light I saw in him looked gone as he stared out the window. I could see Jess making an effort into trying to bring it back as she tried talking with him about whatever she could think of, but it didn't seem to do anything to bring a smile to his face.

Over this last week, more people started standing closer to him and sitting more around him at lunch. They didn't talk much to him, but the few that did were met with silence, which they deceived after the way they treated him not long ago.

I wanted to comfort him badly, but he didn't even look at me. Giving him the space he wanted proved much harder than I imagined. It just wasn't something I wanted, but he needed it, so I needed to respect that.

I should have been there more for him in person instead of over the phone, but I was working on getting the basement cleaned and remodeled for when Kiki got out of the hospital when I wasn't there with her. She nearly cried when she came home and saw it. Of course, she couldn't use the room down there just yet since the stairs were a bit of a challenge, but once she was healed, the room was ready.

My uncle wasn't too happy with me either. He wasn't mad that we left to save Leo, though I could hear his frustration when talking about it. He was livid that I dragged Kiki there, and she almost bled to death.

"Leo's birthday is Monday," Jess tore through my thoughts as we sat in the lunch room. It was too cold outside for our usual spot in the courtyard. "I was thinking of asking him to go with me to Jay's party. Maybe get him out of the house and distract him from life for a night. Do you think that's a good idea? You think he would want to do something like that?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Wouldn't hurt to ask."

"Are you gonna come with us if he does?"

I nearly laughed as I looked over at her. "I'm not really the party type. Plus, Leo wants me to stay away for a while, so I need to give him that and wait for him to come to me when he's ready. You two go and have fun. I trust you'll keep an eye on him at all times?" My words came out as a question to the last sentence, even though I knew she would.

"Of course, I would. Better yet, I'll tie a string around our wrists so he didn't try sneaking off." Jess smiled a little, but it faded as she looked at him. Leo sat alone, looking out the window. Sometimes he would have a tray of food but never ate. Today it didn't seem like he bothered going through the stress of the lunch line. "I hate this so much." She put her head down on the table with a pout. "I miss Leo here with us."

"Yeah. Me too," I told Jess truthfully and patted her head. "Just keep trying. I know he appreciates your efforts. Believe it or not, it's helping him in ways you can't see right now."

"I hope so. I'd do anything to get the happy sunshine Leo back."

Me too, which was why I was going through the suffering task of staying away from him like he wanted.

Leo's POV

"Umm, I don't know, Jess," I said, looking down at my feet. A party? Was that even a good idea at this point?

"I'll be with you the whole time. We'll have fun, maybe have a few drinks, dance in the hot as hell living room with everyone else, forget the world outside for a few hours, and then leave. I'm just asking for a few hours," she tried to convince me.

I made the mistake of looking up and saw her pleading smile. I didn't want to upset my one and only friend right now, and she had been trying so hard to show she cared. I guess going would make her happy.

"Okay. If that's what you want to do," I told Jess, giving her a small fake smile and hoping she thought it was real.

She all but squealed in excitement. "Oh! Thank you, Leo! I hate going alone to those things."