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...
I woke up without King next to me in only boxers. Jumping up, I pulled the covers over me tightly and looked around the room. Sighing with relief, it was empty, but I wondered where King was.
The clock on his nightstand said eleven, making me rub my face. I never slept in this late, yet I found myself doing just that since moving here. He had been going to school all week, but today was Saturday. He didn't tell me he was leaving.
Getting dressed after waiting a little while, hoping he would come back, I thought about seeing if he was downstairs with Kiki or in the living room with his uncle.
After using the bathroom, I slowly walked into the living room to find his uncle in the same spot as always. I didn't know how that man functioned being in the same place every day and night.
He peeked away from his screen and gave me a slight smile. "Good morning, Leo. How did you sleep?" he asked in a light tone.
"Okay, I guess. Where is King?" I wrapped my jacket around me tighter while looking around.
"Running some errands for me. He should be back soon." He looked back at the computer screens as I shifted on my feet. "Is there something I can help you with? You seem like you have had something on your mind lately."
"Uh. No, it's okay. I'm just going to bed to watch some TV and wait for him to return," I said, turning around to head back to King's room.
"Okay. Well, just let me know if you do." I heard him start typing away at the keyboard again.
The same thing always stopped me as I looked back down the hall. I couldn't keep avoiding it. Biting the tip of my thumb, I turned around and headed back into the living room.
"Actually, there is something I've been wanting to ask. If you didn't mind?" I started confidently, but worry consumed me as I thought maybe it wasn't a good time to bring it up now. He did seem busy.
Uncle Ben stopped typing and turned his chair to me, giving his full attention. It suddenly made me feel nervous as I picked on my fingers.
"Sit down. What would you like to ask?"
Sitting across from him on the couch, I couldn't help rubbing my thumb and looking everywhere but at him. "Well, uh... So King may have said something about you knowing my mother?"
He smiled as he looked down at the flood, almost like he was remembering something. "Yes. She was a beauty. Very kind and compassionate. We were really close in high school."
I sat up straighter at that with a smile. "She was. How close were you? I mean, what happened?" I asked before it hit me how personal that was and slumped onto the couch again. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that. I was just curious because she had never talked about you before."
He laughed a little, snapping my head up to see his smile wide but eyes looking off again. "Well, me and her used to date back then, so that could be why she didn't talk about it. She was the love of my life."
My eyes grew. "Really? Wow. I have no idea."
"Yes. We were together for two years but friends long before that. However, I walked a path I didn't want her to follow, so we ended things."
"Why? I mean, you loved her so much. Why would you end it?"
His smile softened as he looked back at me. "Because I loved Isabella too much to see her walk down the wrong path. That's what we do for love. We sacrifice everything for them. Just like how King always jumps in to save you. I knew you two would end up together before you both realized it yourselves."
"Is she why you were helping to look for me?"
"I owe it to her to keep you safe, Leo. I made her a promise to find you and bring you home the day of her funeral, and that's what I did. Your mother was everything to me. Even after I had Kiki and she married your father. I was never jealous or ill-minded about it. I was happy for her because she was living the life she deserved. It's funny how the world works, isn't it?"
We stared at each other for some time, and I knew what he meant. My mouth opened to say something, but before I could, the front door opened, and King stepped in shivering, his shoulders covered in snow.
"Okay. Money's all clear. Olivia and Dom are running it now," he said before he looked over to see me sitting on the couch and then at his uncle. "Oh, uh, sorry. Did I interrupt?" he asked, smiling between us as he took off his coat.
"Not at all. Thank you, King. I'll check now." Uncle Ben turned back to his computer screens and began typing again.
"Hey, Leo. How did you sleep?" King asked as he bent down to kiss my forehead. "I was trying to get back before you woke up."
I stood up. "It's okay. I didn't mind," I told him before wrapping my arms around his neck.
"Oh!" He jumped back a little, startling me. "I forgot. Jess was asking about you again."
"Oh. I nearly forgotten about Jess. I feel so bad," I admitted, hiding my face behind my hands. She was asking about me, and the past week, I didn't once ask about her. How horrible of a friend I was.
"It's okay. She wants to stop by later to see you. If you're okay with that?"
"Oh, um. Yeah. That's fine," I answered, but my hand rubbed against the scars on my arm, and I looked away from him. If Jess saw them, would she blame herself?
King was already in the kitchen when I looked back to where he was standing. "Are you hungry? I can make us something for lunch before we leave," he yelled into the fridge. "Or we could get something at the mall. Your choice."
"The mall?" I walked into the kitchen, trying to remember if we made plans today.
"Yeah. Since you're not sick anymore and it's still pretty early, I was thinking about going out to the mall so you could get clothes that fit you better. You want to go?" King asked with a smile that was hard to resist.
I wasn't sure about going back to the city so soon but gave him a nod anyway to see his whole face brighten. "I'll go get dressed then."
"Warm clothes. It's cold out there," King yelled after me as I walked to the bedroom.
My hands felt clammy as I dressed, and the itching in my arms started spreading across my body. The memories of the city's nightlife I lived in for over two months raced through my mind as I tried to block them out.
The turning in my stomach grew worse as we got into the car, but right when I started thinking that maybe we shouldn't go, King reached over, lacing our fingers together as he drove.
'That's right. King would be at my side. I was safe.'
********** Thank you for reading!
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
