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...
Kiki wouldn't stop asking me where I went and what I did when I left two days ago after seeing Mr. Scott's shooting on the News. No one between the cops and the gangs surrounding us had any leads. She was pissed I lost her gun, but I wasn't going to tell her it was at the bottom of Wolf's River in the middle of the city either.
Leo had crashed twice on the first night he was here. I felt like the biggest piece of shit for not being here and leaving Kiki to deal with it alone, but since I'd been here, he was doing better. At least we were safe for now, and he could recover here without us moving him.
I let out a staggered breath, grabbing Leo's hand. It was cold as I slowly linked our fingers together and kissed his knuckles before pressing the back of his hand to my cheek. Hoping it would warm his skin. Kiki had finally left, leaving me alone with Leo for the first time since everything happened. I was so scared to touch him. Frightened, I would hurt him without relieving.
His skin was so pale, his hair flat and still a mess. Most of his torso was covered by bandages, covering his gunshot wounds and others they needed to make from surgeries. It killed me seeing him like this, another reason for us to get out of here once he was healed. Move to a place where no one knows us and start our lives over. He could do whatever he wanted, and I would never have to look over our shoulders—just me and him. That's all I wanted. It was all I wished for after he woke up.
"We're ready to take him back now," one of the nurses said as two walked into the room.
My breath caught in my throat, and my hand squeezed his tighter. I stood before I let myself panic and kissed his cold cheek. "I'll be here when you get back," I whispered against his skin, not knowing if he could hear me. "Whatever happens, I'll always be here for you, with you. I love you so fucken much, Leo. Just please come back to me." I didn't know how I held back my tears until he was out of the room.
They had to remove the bullet from next to his spin now that he was more stable, and I was glad they let me stay in the room because I needed a few minutes to pull myself together before making my way down to the coffee machine. Since the shooting, I hardly got any sleep. Nightmares, stress, worry, and nurses coming and going from the room were all factors. Now, with Leo in surgery again, I knew sleep wouldn't happen for me, even though I sent Kiki home to do just that.
I walked into the waiting room expecting to sit in silence. Let my thoughts run rampant while sipping my first of many coffees, but I froze when I saw Uncle Ben sitting in the back. I hadn't talked to him since we were covered in Leo's blood. Kiki constantly updated him, plus I didn't have a phone anymore. It's most likely at some pawnshop by now since I left it in the cab for whoever to find.
"Figured I would come here and keep you company since Kiki is home," he said while his arms crossed and sloughed back in the chair.
I looked down. "Would have brought two cups with me if I had known."
He held up a to-go cup from home as I made my way to sit next to him. "We found Olivia."
I had to stop myself from jumping back out of the chair. "Where? Is she okay? Is she hurt?"
"Beaten up, but nothing she can't handle. It seems like with Rex now dead and Mr. Scott with a bullet through his head, the group of goons the two formed wants a deal with us and released Olivia in good faith."
My eyes widened at that. "Rex is dead? Are you sure?"
"Conformed by Tank when he picked up Olivia. They handed over Rex's body as well. They want nothing to do with this mess anymore since someone cut off the snake's head." He turned to me, giving me a look of knowing. The urge to shift in my seat uncomfortably took over as I quickly avoided his eyes. "I thought as much after Kiki told me you took off and heard the cop scanners go crazy a few hours later."
"I needed to go outside and get some air. Everything became too much at once," I lied, and I knew he knew better.
"Let's stick with that, but here," he said as he stood and reached into his pocket. "I found this for you. Someone off the street must have stolen it in all the chaos." He held my phone out, and I hesitantly took it.
"Thanks," I mumbled as he sat down again.
"If you need to talk about anything, you'll always know where to find me, King. Sometimes life can become even darker once our hands create demons."
It was his way of telling me he knew I had killed both of them without saying the words. "Demons are far from me, Uncle, but if they catch up, I'll come knocking for coffee."
He nodded to me, and then we sat silently for an hour, letting our thoughts roam, things sink in, and waiting.
"So your father is getting out sooner than planned. Did he happen to tell you his plans when he got out?" He asked, finally breaking it.
"Just that we would be able to spend more time together." My mind was in other places, and I couldn't remember everything we discussed.
He hummed at that before turning back to his second cup of coffee. "I think once he gets out, he could stay in Casper City, at least for a little while, to adjust to the outside world."
"What?" I sat up straight when hearing him say that. My mind was going a hundred different ways. "Why would you say that?"
"Because they have the state's best hospitals and physical therapy programs. It's not too far from here, so you three could come back to visit whenever, or Kiki and I could visit you guys there," he said, taking the breath out of me. I couldn't say anything as I watched him smile into his cup. "You wanted out, and I don't want your father back after I took 10 years from him already, so I'm giving him his out, too. Leo will need the best care we can give him, and that's in Casper."
"I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything. Just take the out and live your life. Take care of Leo, and make sure your dad stays out of trouble, too," he said before standing. "Look into it and call me with an update on Leo." Then he left before I could say anything else.
My heart sank a little. Leaving was the plan to keep Leo safe, but now it didn't just feel like words. Leo loved it there just as much as I did. I took my phone out of my pocket and began looking up Casper.
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4 chapters lift!! Please let me know your thoughts in the comments and don't forget to like!!
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