Prompt: A prompt about what happened after chapter 25 of The Only Faith when Leon's mom and sister found him and took him home??
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Mom held me close to her side, the rain beating down around us as Beckett's car disappeared from sight. Mom turned to me and pushed my hands away, zipping the jacket up and fixing the hood for me.
"You're soaking wet," she said, and pulled me into a tight hug. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be okay," I said, feeling like I was standing on the edge. I wouldn't be okay. Not once Brennan was gone and everything went to hell.
I looked up as another car pulled up. Dad and Adam got out, coming over to us.
"Is he okay?" Adam asked.
Mom kept her arm around me. "He's not hurt."
"He shouldn't have run off," Adam said. "He could've been hurt all because he was throwing a temper tantrum."
"Adam, not now," mom said, patience snapping. "George, get in that car, drop Adam off, and come straight home."
Dad eyed me and nodded, not arguing with mom. He knew when her anger wasn't to be messed with. He led Adam back to the car.
Mom led me to her car and I got in the passenger's seat as Caroline went to her car. Mom turned the heat in the car on as I curled up against the window.
We pulled into the driveway and she reached out, squeezing my shoulder. She looked at me with the gentle expression she got when she was worried.
"I love you, Leon," she said. "I love you no matter who you date or what decisions you make. Your father loves you, too. But he was raised to put that damn Academy ahead of everything and sometimes he makes mistakes because of it. Tell me what happened. Tell me why you ran away."
So I did. I told her everything. I told her about me and Brennan, I told her about dad's punishments, I told her about me being sent to a new school. I told her everything and felt my exasperation draining into exhaustion as I spoke.
When I was done talking, dad's car was pulling into the driveway. Mom shut the car off and we got out together, heading inside. Caroline was waiting and I took her jacket off.
"I'm sorry," I said, holding it out to her.
"You better be apologizing for making me worry," she said, snatching the wet jacket from me and tossing it onto the bench in the hallway.
She led me to the living room, and mom and dad entered a few moments later. Dad had my vest in his hands, and he laid it over the back of a chair as he entered.
"Leon, that was immature of you to run off. You could've been hurt. You could've had a panic attack. I had no idea where you went," he said, giving me a stern look. "No one on campus had seen you, Beckett's car was missing, and your mother said you weren't home."
"George Timothy Constance, you shut your mouth this instance!" mom said, and dad shut his mouth with a surprised expression. "Leon told me everything. Let me ask you something, George, did that boy come out of your body? No? Then I guess you're not the only one making decisions about what's right for him. You might be his father, but I'm his mother and I get a say in how we raise our son. You are not sending Leon to a new school in the middle of his senior year."
