Is This Enough ||MxM || Lgbtq+

Chapter 3

Leonardo's P.O.V

Was I DEAD?

Oh, please don't let me be. I was so close to catching up on all my favourite shows. My body felt weightless, as if I were floating, drifting further from the clamour of voices and into an eerie, peaceful silence. As I stirred, a chair swayed in my periphery, creating a gentle disturbance.

A man seated at a worn, creaky desk, his fingers drumming absentmindedly against its surface. He hadn't noticed me yet. I cleared my throat, a small, deliberate cough meant to get his attention.

He spun around so fast the chair nearly tipped over, "Oh, thank God you're alive!" The mysterious stranger looked relieved before remarking, "I was beginning to think you were a goner!"

My eyes roved, drinking in the sight of the place; Papers were stacked haphazardly, and a single flickering lightbulb cast uneasy shadows across the walls. It was obvious that this room was in dire need of a makeover, but that was the least of my worries.

The stranger leaned back in his chair, gesturing lazily. "Well, welcome to my humble abode. I..."
"Hold on a second." I interjected into his speech. "Who the fuck are you and where am I?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed with annoyance, as if I were boring him. "If you'd allow me to finish," he said, his voice laced with irritation, "I was about to tell you that, you're in Bleyfield."

My stomach twisted. "And where the hell is that?! I want answers."

"In Ironcliff," he spoke with condescension.

I jumped out of bed, my heart thumping and I looked out the window to find myself surrounded by a multitude of trees with broad, leafy canopies, their bare branches stretching out towards the sky.

A single road spread out before me, mysterious and beckoning, its destination unknown. I couldn't afford to stay here—not if I wanted to keep an eye on Acrima. How was I supposed to do that while trapped in this room, wasting precious time? Every second spent here was a second lost. "How long have I been out?" I asked.

"Four days, give or take."

I stared at him, my patience thinning. Four days? That was practically an eternity given the circumstances. I needed to get moving—now.

"I can't be here right now." My skull throbbed as I frantically looked for my shoes, then a stab of pain jarred me to reality, and I realised I had a huge adhesive bandage affixed to my abdomen.

I pointed to the bandage, "Did you do this? Did you get your grubby hands on me?" I questioned in a hostile voice.

He was incredulous, eyes narrowing, "Maybe I should have just left you out there to be eaten alive!"

The urge to flip him off was unbearable. What was I even doing here? Who was this person and what did he want from me?  "Look," I snapped, "I still don't know who you are! Who am I even talking to? And why the hell am I here?" My questions were met with a deafening silence, only fuelling my irritation.

And finally he threw up his hands, "Christ on a bike, just chill!" he gave me an urgent look of reassurance.

He leaned back, casually crossing one leg over the other like he was in some kind of job interview, "Names Vinnie, and I brought you here."

I let out a moan of annoyance, looking up to the heavens as I said, "I'm Leonardo. What do you mean you brought me here? I'm not exactly light, you know!"

"I bumped into you close to my cabin while a storm was rolling in and I didn't want to leave you out in the cold."

I remarked, "You must be the saintly type," I proceeded to question, "So, is it just you living in this place?"