Teenage Baby

Chapter 33

Chapter 33:

Aaron laughed.

He leant his head back against the wall and laughed; it was short and forced, coming in low, dry bursts from his throat. As if his brain closed on itself after all that happened, and it refused to comprehend any further information properly-a part of what Leo had said made it past those barriers and almost set him in panic mode, but Aaron didn't want to register it. He felt drunk.

"Good one, Leo. You made me laugh even though I'm not in the mood at all." Aaron patted Leo's knee. "That's what brothers are for."

Leo looked at him, blinking multiple times unsurely. "Aar? That wasn't a joke."

"Yes it was a joke, Leo, okay? I've been through enough shit today. One more thing and I'm probably going to throw myself down the window."

"But it wasn't a joke. I'm serious."

"You're serious? You know that you're fifteen?"

Leo nodded, sighing. "Yes, Aar. I told you I know."

Aaron looked away, sighing. His eyes found the ceiling, then they dropped down to the ground and he pursed his lips. He thought of what Leo'd said again but not a thing in him changed. He didn't know what to think, how to react to the fact that Leo wouldn't joke about something so serious right midst the worst point they'd come to in the situation.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Aaron moved, pushing himself up to his feet.

Leo grasped Aaron's arm, stopping him. "Aar? Where are you going?"

Aaron shrugged nonchalantly. "I just want to go throw myself out of the window."

"You can't, Aar. It has bars."

"Well then let me just bang my head into them because I can't handle anymore shit."

"Sit," Leo said as he forced Aaron back down. "Please."

Aaron sighed again; closed his eyes as he tried to compose himself and not let the sudden confrontation bring out all his anger over Leo's head-he could feel it swarming in his chest, yet awaiting to burst out among his words. But he controlled himself, because he knew all the sudden anger was an outcome of everything, not only this. "Leo, please tell me why in the world you'd lie to me like that? What was the point?"

"I never lied to you," Leo mumbled. "I never told you that I'm not fifteen. You can't say I lied. I just didn't exactly tell you. Because I thought it wasn't important."

"You thought it wasn't important?" Aaron stared at Leo with disbelieving incredulity arching his brows. He almost couldn't believe how chill Leo appeared in comparison to the confrontation he'd just dropped. "Leo, don't let me lose my mind. How is it not important? I agree you never lied about your age. You just didn't mention it. Alright. But what about everything else? That makes everything you did, everything you said a lie. Fake."

"Wait, wait." Leo held his hand out, confused. "How does that make everything a lie, Aar?"

"You just said that you know you're fifteen, Leo. That means you know you're not a baby, and that means you're not brainwashed like I thought!" Aaron's heart was pricked with something: sadness at the thought that innocent little Leo was just a lie, an act-or whatever it had been. A part of him expected that now after Leo had said it himself, innocence in his face and the guileless child-like looks would disintegrate into nothing just like the act he'd apparently put up had. But it didn't happen. He still had the look of purity; his innocence was still there.

Aaron continued, "It means that you know the sun isn't a lamp and nobody turns it off at night. And that cats don't get married like people. I mean, what was the point? Did you have to make them all up? And you know how to read and write? You were lying all the time? I actually believed you couldn't write well. I was trying to teach you how to write my name properly, did you already know or what-"