The Evergreen Lion

☀️Juniper: 1

"Again?" The curious boy questions me.

I nod sadly and I don't look into the boys kind green eyes. I know they would only be filled with judgement and misunderstanding, but he doesn't get it. He doesn't get why I keep going back.

"Leo I-"

"No." He interrupts me. "I don't want to hear it anymore." His fist are clenched and pressed against his side. I can already tell he's struggling with a lot of emotions right now. But I am too. I hug the over sized bomber jacket that was draped over my shoulders, and shiver in the cold. There was no sun outside since it was about two in the morning. The whole neighborhood was asleep, and it was only us outside. The only thing that moved was the leaves on the trees due to the light wind, and the light that flickered from the light post on the sidewalk.

I stand outside his door for a few more seconds without saying anything. Only the shifting of my feet in my sperry's  "So I can't come in?" I pester.

He groans. "Of course you can come in. I'll always let you in."

He opens the door wider, and I step out of the night sky and into the dim lit house. The beige carpet and the smell of newly painted walls surrounds, me and it feels like home. The walls of Leo's house are decorated with pictures of family, friends, old pets, new pets, and me.

Leo stays silent as I walk deeper into his house, gazing at the memories that have been framed. I let out a small chuckle after looking at a picture with both of us in it.

"Third grade." I mumble.

"What?" He ask behind me, while he closes the front door.

I give a small smile. "Third grade. That's when this picture was taken." The picture depicted a younger version of myself stuffing some sand into his trunks, on a younger version of Leo at the beach.

I reluctantly turn my head away from the heart warming picture, and continue my journey deeper into the house.

"You can use some of my sisters make up to cover the uh, to hide the um..." He sighs. "You know."

"Yeah I do." I say softly. "Please don't tell anyone." I beg my best friend.

"Juny! You know I have to!"

For the first time since I limped my way to his house, I looked Leo in the eyes. "You can't take him away! I'm nothing without him! Absolute nothing! No one can help." I yell at him as much as I could, but my voice was already to sore from screaming earlier.

"But you have me!" Leo takes a couple steps closer to me. "You have me, Juniper." He reaches his hand to touch me, but I flinch.

"Will you tell or not?" I snap at him.

He's always been a good kid. Always. And I know asking him to do this for me is a lot, but I need it. He can't possibly understand, no matter how hard he may try.

"Whatever." He mutters and walks away from me, leaving me to stand in the hallway alone.

He's mad at me.

"Leo I'm-"

"Shut it!" He snaps. "I don't want to hear it!" I hear his footsteps march up his wooden steps and hear his bedroom door slam shut. Before I know it, tears start to brim the edges of my eyes, and I can't seem to stop them. I'm not usually a girl who cries, but I just can't help it.

And as soon as I start to cry I hear the same footsteps stomping down the stairs, leading all the way back to me. I peer through my tears, and see that Leo has his family's first aid kit in hand.

"I may be pissed at you, but I would never leave you like this." He takes his thumb and wipes some tears off my face, staining his thumb with some of my blood. Leo chuckles bitterly. "Sometimes I can't stand you."

"But you can't live without me." I whisper hoping that he wouldn't deny it.

"True, and you can't live without me."

I scoff. "I can too!"

Now it was his turn to scoff. "Oh really? You think you can cook for yourself? Or drive yourself to and from work? Or manage these wounds?" Leo teases me, but we both know it's true.

"Totally. They say women can do anything."

"But the word men makes up most of the word women."

"That's a stupid comeback." I softly push him and he chuckles. He's right. I can't live without him. He leads me to the kitchen, and I take a seat on one of the barstools. I watch him as disinfects my wounds to the face and arms, it hurts like hell, but it's necessary.

"Anywhere else?" He ask.

I bite my lip in contemplation. Should I tell him? I know he's just going to freak out when he see it, but he'll figure it out eventually. I take off my battered shirt, and expose multiple bruises and cuts to my abdomen. Instead of flipping out like I thought he would, he just continues to disinfect the cuts that I have.

We don't talk while this happens, so to pass the time I decided to bother him with questions I already know the answer to. It's better than bringing up a new subject that will only lead back to the situation we are dealing with now.

"Why don't you just become a doctor like your dad?"

"Because my dad's an asshole. Doctors are assholes."

"But doctors save life's."

"I don't care."

"Why won't you take Rachel Yoin to homecoming?"

He rolls his eyes. "Because she tried to steal my car last year! Remember?!"

Oh yeah. I forgot about that.