Through the flames *MMG REVISION-COMPLETED✔️*

Chapter Thirty-One: Ice Cream and Little Chefs

There is a semi-mature scene towards the end of the chapter, and even though it seems like it's going somewhere, don't worry, it never will. :)
(I'm saying this because I know some people skip down when they think it's going to get mature.)

There was something oddly enjoyable about having a mental breakdown in the backseat of a really expensive car that still had that new car smell.

True to his word, Leo drove my crying pathetic self to a drive-thru ice cream shop at the edge of town and I stopped my sniveling to order a large chocolate cone topped with M&Ms, and Leo got cookie dough with M&Ms as well.

We sat parked behind the ice cream shop, eating our ice cream in silence. I stayed curled in the corner of the backseat, trying my best to avoid dripping on the seats that looked expensive enough to pay for a college semester.

Leo's phone sat in my lap. It was the only way for him to contact my father, he had explained, so he allowed me to hang onto it to ensure we weren't being followed.

I had mindlessly asked if my father tracked his employee's phones, to which Leo very passionately told me that he did not work for my dad, he worked with him. Apparently he was part of another mob that owed my dad a favor. He really didn't like being told he worked for anyone.

I licked at my ice cream, eyeing Leo's phone in my lap. "Hey, can I text my friend?" I asked.

He eyed me through the rear-view mirror. "Why?"

"Uh, to let her know I'm not dead?"

He shrugged and gave me his password, and I was soon emailing Rachel since I had forgotten her phone number ages ago(thanks, smartphones). I didn't know if Noah was ready to talk yet, and out of all my friends, Rachel would be the first to worry most if I disappeared.

Ignoring everything Leo told me about my friends and choosing to think about it later, I took a selfie with a peace sign and a purposeful-cringe face with the caption: Hey Rach, it's Hanna/Cherry/Hanny (I can't think of any other nicknames that will convince you it's really me). Not dead or kidnapped, idk how much you know about wtf just happened, but we're all taking a breather I guess. I'm okay, I promise. I'll talk soon.

BTW: this is a stranger's phone.

The selfie, I just realized as I hit send, very clearly showed my puffy eyes and tear tracks. Unbothered, I tossed the phone back onto the seat and returned to my ice cream.

Now that Leo's true feelings towards my dad's plan were out in the open (and the fact he bought me ice cream), my tolerance for him had risen just a hairsbreadth, just enough to trust him enough to get in the car in the first place. I didn't think he was lying about anything he said, it all seemed believable thanks to how shitty Hellmington already was.  I still didn't know what I was going to do about all the information he gave me, but for now, I was content with pretending my world only consisted of this backseat and my ice cream.

"Everything you said in the mall and the dinner with my mom," I said, picking at a runaway M&M. "That was all...what, acting?"

"I had an earpiece in that recorded everything I said. Unfortunately, that meant I had to act the part your father wanted me to."

"Straight?"

Leo grimaced. "Yeah."

"And that night at CJ's..." I hesitated, remembering the almost desperate note to his voice.

"I was getting really, really tired of chasing down teenagers," Leo said, "it was almost an insult to my talents."

I shifted, picking at the ice cream cone thoughtfully. "Can I ask you something?"