If Leo could leave one price of advice before he would die , it'd be this; Don't dwell on the things you feel a twinge of of regret over. The regret soon turns to guilt and that guilt will suffocate you. Make you feel like you're drowning.
Don't dwell because everything happens for a reason, even if you can't see it right now. Don't let regret swallow you whole, no one can live like that. Let things go and focus on what you want instead of what you wanted.
Leo wished he had been told this when he was younger , but he wasn't. And so he spent everyday if his life regretting things, even now. Especially now as he stood in his family's kitchen, his father screaming at him about a plate he broke by accident.
"Why can't you be more like you sister?!" His father shouted, his fists clenched, face red with anger , which didn't go with his perfectly fixed military cropped hair that was graying at the sides, unlike Leo's blonde hair that was to his shoulder and unruly. He really hated being compared to his sister, Jane "I've-never-done-anything-wrong-in-my-life-And-is-absolutely-perfect" Wells. It was obvious that his parents lived Jane more. She was quiet, always getting good grades,and was all around perfect. Leo was none of those. He was loud, out spoken, never afraid to state his opinions (unless it was to his father) , always was at a C average. And always made mistakes. He had flaws, enough for both Jane and himself.
"At this rate, you'll never find a girlfriend , let alone a wife!" His father said, looking down at Leo like he was nothing but a pest, like a rat or something of the sort. That was another thing. Girls. Girls were like the curtains his mother always had up. Leo didn't care much for curtains.
"Clean this mess up." His father said, before leaving the kitchen. Leo was , to say honestly, surprised. His father never cut a lecture short, the only probable cause was that his father was about to be late for work. His father is an , to put into simple words, and angry man. There was never a time where he didn't have a perpetual scowl on his face. Never a time where he wouldn't criticize Leo about how he looked or how he dressed, mostly in black mind you, or about his grades. With him around, it made it hard for Leo to not Regret things.
He cleaned up the plate , dripping it into the trash, careful to not cut himself with the sharp edges. He knew better than to get another plate for food, his father still in the house, at the door, probably watching him. If Leo was completely honest, he was afraid of his father. He knew that children shouldn't be afraid of their parents, but here Leo was , terrified of his father.
His mother was a different story. He loved his mother, hence the key word loved. He used to cling to his mother , but not anymore, not since she took her husbands side about Leo. Leo suspected that she to is afraid, but just won't admit it to anyone, not like Leo is admitting his fear to anyone either. He would never do that, he didn't trust anyone that much.
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Leo actually enjoyed going to school, his school life being better than his home life , even if just a little. He had two best friends , Clara and Jake(who happened to be dating). Leo thought of them more as family than his own family. Especially right now, watching the two of them talk to each other excitedly, holding hands on one of the tables in the cafeteria, love struck looks in their eyes. If you asked Leo how his friends got together, he'd lie and say he didn't know, but that wasn't true. In fact, he was the one who got them together, playing matchmaker. It was a very long process that gave him multiple headaches, but he honestly didn't care,seeing his friends so in love. He cleared his throat, getting their attention , about to ask about the homework in math from yesterday when the cafeteria doors banged open, the sound traveling through the room, causing everyone to go quiet and look over.
Leo could feel his stomach drop , the dread building up, a cold sweat breaking out on the back of his neck as he stared at a person he thought he'd never see again, his childhood friend and former bully Jesse Anderson , who had been gone for two years, and his gang.
Rumor has it that he was in jail , others say that he went abroad with his family. Leo didn't know which was the truth and honestly he didn't want to know. He caught Jesse staring at him before grinning his signature smile that spelled trouble for Leo. "Leo, Run!" Clara whispered , Leo taking not time to hesitate as he grabbed his bag and ran out the back cafeteria doors in toy court yard , already hearing Jesse and his gang giving chase.
Leo was honestly surprised to having got as far as the parking lot when Jesse caught him, though by the look in the males eyes, Jesse let him run that far. "How ya' been Leo? Miss me~?" Jesse asked in his stupid southern drawl , being from Georgia or Alabama or whatever. Leo didn't care. What he currently cared about was finding a way out from being pinned between a wall and the person he hates, not as much as his father, but still.
He opened his mouth before he heard someone clear their throat. He turned his head and standing there was Mrs.Bea, Leo's math teacher. "What's going on here?" She asked, though by the face she was making , she knew exactly what was going on. Before Leo could answer, Jesse had his arm around his shoulder."Nothin' Mrs.B , just saying Hello to an old friend here." He said ,his grip around Leo tightening , practically cutting off the males oxygen supply.
She looked at Jesse and then at Leo before sighing, "whatever, get to class, the bell rang ten minutes ago." She said, watching them ,along with Jesse's lackeys, go back into the school building. It was until they were all inside that Jesse let go of Leo, the male practically falling to the floor, sucking in air fulls, his throat and neck hurting, tears stinging his eyes. "See you in Science Wells." Jesses said before laughing with his gang as they walked away , leaving Leo there in the hallway, tears slipping down his cheeks, wondering why fate hated him like this.
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Teen Fiction"His expression was serious, but I liked how it softened just slightly when he looked at me. Like how the way he looked at me was different then how he looked at everyone else."
