Fifty Reasons to Stay (Book Three)

Chapter Thirty Eight- Soul

(Leo's POV)

I could see her, him.. it was happening all over again...
Donnie knew I tossed and turned in my sleep, but he never asked me to talk about it. It never bothered him when he spent the night, he just turned and faced the other way, holding onto my blanket tightly in case I'd try to hog it. But that night, the memories got just a little too bad. Too... real. And I'd started crying in my sleep. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, poking my side. "Leo..? Are you awake?" Yeah, he knew it was a stupid question, but it was still safe to ask. We hadn't been back together long enough for him to know how often this happened, and most nights I dealt with my nightmares alone. Upon receiving no answer, he scooted closer to me and laid his head on my chest, listening to the rapid heartbeat. "You're safe now... nothing bad is ever going to happen to you again, not while I'm here to protect you. I promise...."
I stirred upon realizing he'd heard my cries. "God.. was I... did I wake you up?" I wiped my eyes quickly, exhaling. Donnie shook his head, reaching for my hand. "If you ever want to talk about it... I'm here.. this is what I'm here for. You know that, don't you?" He smiled gently, pecking a kiss on my lips. He expected me to pour my heart about my childhood abuse, but I would never be ready.
"I'm fine.. I'll just go back to sleep." I said quietly, rolling onto my side to face him. Donnie's eyes were a bit hurt as he felt like I didn't trust him, but he understood. He knew he would have to wait. We'd only been dating again for a few weeks now. "Okay... I love you. Don't forget that."

I opened my eyes once more in the cold basement where I'd been stuck for several days. He wasn't here for me now. He wasn't ready to comfort me. He was still in New York, likely not even knowing I was missing. My mother said I had two choices, and neither of them involved going home. I had to contemplate which choice was a better option. Should I: accept death and let her kill the sleeping toddler beside me, or
Tell the police I framed her and I was the one involved in the crimes, likely getting charged with a dozen counts of murder and put on a sex offender list and never see outside a jail cell ever again? And even if I got out of jail, there's no way I'd ever see my kids again. But if I died, that meant my daughter would die too. And she was only three years old.

Akira wanted a cleared name and all my inheritance, and this was the sickest way to get it.
"Have you made up your mind yet, Leonardo?" She twirled a loaded gun around her hand, curious on which death I would choose.
"It's a bit difficult to decide, don't you think? Besides... don't you think it's a bit.. weird for me to kidnapping and killing infants when I too was an infant at the time they died?" I smirked up at her. "Your first kill happened when I was one year old. That's highly unbelievable for police, you know that?"

Her smile turned to a huge frown. Oh no.
"So you accept me shooting that baby in the face then? What–what would your Donnie think about that, hm?"
"You're sick." I spat at her.
"I know that. I've always known that. But once you get blood on your hands... it's like an addiction. You want more. I love killing children. Simply love it." Akira paced around the dark basement, closing the curtains and then put a silencer on her gun. "She wasn't your daughter anyway. You know that."
"Please don't..." Leo's voice squeaked as he backed up against the wall, ready to shield the toddler when the time came. "She's just a baby.. you can't do this to her..."
"And why not?" Her eyes were curious. "She isn't yours, she's just a slobbery tax deduction. I hate every single person you associate yourself with. I should've killed Donatello when I had the chance. You see.. I was at the hospital when he first woke up. He didn't understand what I was doing to him, much like you didn't, only he's not a child and you were. Why'd I waste my time? I could've just put a knife in his throat." She smiled at the memory. "And then the boy. I could've killed him on the trail, but I didn't. Know why? Because I wanted you to choose when you were ready to die too. So you could all go together." She was stunned upon finding me, the tough, head of the family Leonardo, to actually be crying. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I scooped up my poor daughter. "You can kill me, but you can't hurt her.. I'll do whatever you want.."