Everyone was charmed by Leo's bright smile but behind it all, he could barely keep it together inside. From taking care of his sick mother to suffering mental and physical abuse from his father to keeping up his perfect grades in school.
King was th...
Looking at my phone for the hundredth time made me anxious. Leo should have gotten ahold of me by now. I should have told him about his mother so I could have been there for him, but it was best it came from his dad in case Leo had questions that only he could answer.
Leo needed someone there for him. Isabella and him were so close..., but what if he was mad at me for keeping it from him all that time? I needed to explain my side before Leo cut me out again or ran away. Fuck, I hope he didn't take off.
I hurried out of the house and into my truck at the thought of him doing that. I needed to make sure he was okay.
His father answered the door, reeking of alcohol and clothes a mess. It wasn't my first time seeing this side of him, but my worry for Leo grew more. "Where is Leo? Can I come in?"
"What are ya in lov... love with my son or... or somethin?" he slurred.
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I am. Now, where is he?" He was starting to get on my nerves. I looked past him to see Leo's coat hanging off the side of the couch. The doctor warned me to ease him into everything so he didn't relapse, but seeing his coat let me breathe again.
"Ha. Figures. Whatever. He's gone," Gray said, making my breath catch as I stared at him. The asshole tried closing the door on my face, but I kicked the bottom of the door and pushed it back open. Like hell was I done talking about this.
"Where did he go?" I demand. "It's freezing outside, and his coat is here."
"Who fucken cares? Good riddance. That ungrateful junky should have stayed where he was. Trash like him belongs in the garbage."
I couldn't believe Leo's dad would say that about his son. The anger exploded inside me. Without saying a word, I shoved the drunk out of my way to walk straight into Leo's room, finding it empty and seemed untouched.
Walking back into the kitchen, a broken kitchen chair, and glass smashed around on the floor caught my attention. Then my eyes stopped when I saw blood covering a broken-off chair leg.
I turned to Gray and watched as he gulped his whiskey again. "What did you do?" I asked, stunned by what I was seeing.
The man chuckled. "He got what he deserved. Ungrateful trash belongs outback with the rest," he laughed again, slamming the rest of his drink down.
I saw red. My fist slammed into his jaw. He fell to the ground, his glass cup shattered, and I grabbed his shirt collar to hold him up as I stood over him. "Where is he? What did you do to him?" I yelled, punching his face a few more times. I wanted to kill him.
Fuck this. I didn't have time to waste here. "You better pray I find Leo, or I'll fucken kill you next time we met," I threatened before letting him go as he spit blood on the floor. Grabbing Leo's coat, I rushed out the back door to see if he was there.
Immediately, I saw more blood in the snow, making my stomach turn. Footprints staggered away from the house leading to the park. I ran back to my truck and drove it over there, looking everywhere for any signs of Leo.
Leaving the truck running and putting the heat on full blast, I grabbed the keyfob and locked the door as I took off around the park on foot. No one else was around as I ran toward the trail, looking for any more blood, but found one pair of footprints leading in the same direction as the Wolf's River. I took off faster. Leo spoke about him and his mom stopping on the bridge often when he was younger. Maybe I'll be in luck, and he made his way there.
The bridge came into sight as I slowed down. My lungs burned from the cold air as I panted, but I could see something on the bridge so I kept going without stopping. The closer I got the more it became clear a person was sitting against the railing, wearing the same clothes Leo was when he felt the hospital.
"Leo! Leo, come on," I stopped in front of him, seeing the dry blood staining his long-sleeved shirt. He sat with his knees up and head buried in his arms. He wasn't moving as I dropped down on my knees. His hand was freezing to the touch, so I ripped off my coat and threw it around him. "I got you, Leo. Let's go home."
Picking him up, he inhaled sharply and jolted as his eyes opened. They were bloodshot and puffy from crying too much. He was shaking violently, and his lips were turning blue. I walked back to my truck as fast as I could while he began crying into my neck.
"I know. I'm sorry. I'm taking you to my house. You'll stay there from now on," I told him, holding him as tight as I could to my body. I wanted to go back to his house and kill that fucker. Beating Leo like this. He could have killed him. Leo should have frozen to death out there, and no one would have known until it was too late.
I sat him in the passenger seat with the vents pointed at him and grabbed his coat to wrap around his legs before getting into the driver's seat and rushing home.
***
Leo looked out the front window with a blank stare as I pulled up to my uncle's house. "It's going to be okay, Leo. We'll get you warmed up, and you can stay with me from now on."
"Why... why can't you just let me die already?" Leo mumbled through his trembling lips as I shut off the engine.
It felt like a stab in the heart, but I didn't answer him. Instead, I got out and walked over to his side. Opening the door, I could see how badly he was still shaking, but he hissed in pain as soon as I touched his back to try to pick him up.
"I'm sorry. Do you think you can walk?"
Leo nodded, but I didn't let go from around his waist as we walked into the house.
Uncle Ben turned around, about to say something, but as his eyes fell on Leo, he sat there without a word.
"I'll be back to talk to you, but Leo will be staying here from now on."
"Uhm.. yeah. Okay. That's fine," Uncle Ben answered as I felt him watch us walk down the hallway. I could hear the confusion and worry as he spoke like he didn't know what to say.
***
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