Broken || Little Mix ||

Chapter 13 - E

The cold wind bites at my face as Leoni and I walk down the street, away from the house. I zip up the front of my parka before shoving my hands in its pockets. I'm looking forward to a bit of warmer weather once we get stateside.

"You know I love spending time with you but is there a reason we are walking in near-freezing temperatures?" the teenager beside me asks a bit annoyed.

"I've been talking to your mam," I start.

I'm instantly met with a groan and an eye roll.

"She's just being dramatic. I went out with a couple friends, and we got a bit tipsy. It's not like everyone else doesn't do it. Compared to them, my friends and I are pretty chill when it comes to stuff like that."

I raise my eyebrows at her. "Stuff? What else have you been up to?"

Leoni's eyes sheepishly avert my own as she kicks some of the rocks on the path we walk on, knowing she let slip more than she intended. I let a few moments of silence pass before pressing for more.

"Come on Lee. You know I won't tell Shireen. I'm your aunt. You can confide in me and tell me anything."

"We smoke weed every once in a while, but nothing major," she admits.

I nod my head as we go quiet, allowing an elderly man and his dog to pass us by.

"When did all of this start?" I ask, picking our conversation back up. My teeth chatter as another wind chill hits us full force.

"A few weeks ago."

"Before or after I left?"

"After."

Guilt stabs at me with the realization that me being home probably could've prevented that. We reach the park and find a bench to sit on. Leoni swings her feet while I relax comfortably against the cold wood.

"How have you been doing?"

I look her straight in the eyes, causing her to look away at the ground. Her face falls, telling me all that I need to know. I scoot my body over close to hers and wrap my arm around her shoulder.

"It's hard for me too," I say quietly.

"Yeah, sure," she says shortly.

I sigh, slightly frustrated at her guarded demeanor.

"Are you mad at me or something?" I ask.

Over the last few days, I'd noticed that she'd stopped replying to my texts and she's dodged every call I've made to her. Even at dinner tonight she sat at the other end of the table and barely engaged in any conversation that I had a part in.

"A bit," she admits.

"Why love?"

She doesn't spare me any hard feelings as she unleashes her thoughts.

"Because this has been the hardest thing we've ever had to go through and you just left. I get that it's your job, but you left us. You weren't there. And now you're going around in interviews saying how much easier it's been getting, and how it's great to be surrounded by such supportive people. Meanwhile, I'm stuck here, in a place and a house full of memories and it hurts. It hurts knowing he'll never walk through the door again or sit down and watch a show with me. And now you come back for a few days saying that you've got us and you're here for us but you're going to leave again and we both know it."

Her tone is bitter and resentful and by the time she's done talking she's contorted her body out of my embrace. I frown at the ground, thinking of how to answer her. I decide to be honest.