Leo took several deep breaths willing himself not to scream at Minerva who took that moment to notice Alex. “Who’s this?”
taking a few more breaths Leo felt himself calm down enough to speak in his usual voice again. “My boyfriend. The only reason I’m here is because of him.”
Minerva’s eyes narrowed. “Take your filthy hands off my son’s bed.”
Alex blinked but took a step backwards, allowing his hands; which had been resting on the side of the bed, to fall to his sides. “S…sorry.”
Minerva stiffed again. “Sorry? You think sorry makes up for touching my son’s bed with your filthy hands?!”
Minerva strode forward shoving Alex out of her way as she began to straighten the section of blanket he’d been touching. Leo growled at Minerva who looked up at him. “DON'T TALK TO HIM LIKE THAT.”
Minerva rolled her eyes. “Oh shut up. He should know better than to touch things with his disgusting hands. God knows where they’ve been and what they’ve touched. ”
Taking several breaths again Leo spoke. “Alex. Come over here.”
Alex did as he was told, moving around the bed and away from Minerva who glared at him as he moved. Taking another breath Leo spoke. “Minerva…..look at me.”
when she didn’t, Leo growled and raised his voice. “LOOK AT ME.”
he watched as she rolled her eyes but lifted her head to look at him. “What?”
remaining silent for a moment Leo did his best to push down the anger that was rippling through his. “You will not speak to my boyfriend like that. Speak to me like that but you will NOT speak to the person I love, like that. Understand?”
across from him Minerva rolled her eyes. “Then you shouldn’t have brought him here. I’ll speak to him however I feel he should be spoken to; he’s in my son’s hospital room after all.”
Leo felt more anger dump into his system making his skin itch and burn as his fists became tighter and tighter. “No you won’t. Speak to me however you want. But do not speak to him like he’s a piece of garbage.”
Minerva glared at him for a full minute before responding. “I do not think he’s a piece of trash.”
Leo took a deep breath. “Tha-”
But Minerva cut him off, her voice cold. “no, I think he and his kind are blights on this world that should be wiped out.”
Anger flooded through Leo’s body making him growl and gnash his teeth together. “Fuck you.”
Minerva’s eyes narrowed in anger. “It’s the truth.”
Leo snarled and gripped Alex’s hand. “We’re leaving. I’ll come back tomorrow. YOU-” he pointed at Minerva. “WON’T BE HERE.”
With that he began pulling Alex towards the door, half dragging the smaller turtle. His hand had barely touched the doorknob when Minerva spoke behind him. “Running away again Leo? You really are your mother’s son. She was a coward too.”
Instantly he froze, a cold rage settling in his stomach. Time seemed to slow down. He was painfully aware of how hard his heart was beating, making his blood pump through his veins, carrying with it rage and fury. In his hand the doorknob felt hot to touch. In his other hand Alex’s skin felt warm but not hot. He felt Alex gently squeeze his hand, silently pleading with Leo to not take the bait, to be strong and simply walk out of the room.
But he wasn't strong, not in the way Alex pleaded with him to be. Slowly he turned to face Minerva his sides shaking with rage that he hadn’t felt since the day he’d left home. “DON'T……DON'T YOU EVER TALK ABOUT MY MOTHER. SHE WAS A BETTER PERSON THEN YOU’LL EVER BE.”
His voice shook with barely controlled rage. He skin felt like it was on fire, and he could feel adrenaline pumping into his system filling him with jittery energy. His eyes narrowed as he watched Minerva straighten up and smirk at him. “Obviously she wasn't or god wouldn’t have struck her down like the blasphemous whore she was.”
It took Leo a full 10 seconds to process what Minerva had said. In that time Minerva continued to speak. “She got one look at my perfect son and she did everything she could to get her claws into hi-”
but the rest of her words were cut off as Leo let out a roar of rage. His vision flashed red as he snapped, his hand let go of Alex’s hand, as it balled into a fist while his other hand grabbed at the nearest object he could find; a lamp sitting on a small table next to the door. He didn’t know what he was doing and he didn’t care. He grabbed the lamp yanking ripping the chord out of the wall before throwing it at Minerva’s face. Minerva let out a shriek and ducked, the lamp sailing over her head before crashing against the wall making a loud shattering sound as the light bulb exploded.
A second later Leo was screaming at the top of his lungs. “SAY ANYTHING ABOUT MY MOTHER AND I’LL SMEAR THE WALLS WITH YOU BITCH!”
a moment later Minerva was screaming back at him. “ASSAULT! ASSAULT!”
Alex yelped in fear as the door behind Leo crashed open, a man in a simple grey and brown uniform entering the room. “Hey! What’s going on in he-”
as the man spoke he reached out, touching Leo’s shoulder. Instantly Leo spun around grabbing the man’s wrist. Alex flinched as a sickening crack echoed through the room followed a moment later by the sound of the man screaming in pain as his wrist dislocated. The man staggered away as Leo turned back to Minerva his sides heaving with rage while his face twisted into a snarl. “SAY SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT MY MOTHER! I FUCKING DARE YOU! SHE WAS PERFECT! AND I WILL NOT LET YOU SPEAK ABOUT HER!”
Across the room Minerva screamed back at him. “YOU UNGRATFUL SINNFUL LITTLE BASTARD! I WANT YOU ARRESTED! I’LL SEE YOU AND YOUR ‘BOYFRIEND’,” she spat the word like it was coated in poison. “IN JAIL!”
Alex moved, rushing forward to grab Leo’s hand as Leo took several steps towards her; screaming as he moved. “LEO NO!”
he gripped Leo’s wrist, doing his best to hold Leo back. Behind him he could hear people outside the room shouting, calling for security. But if Leo heard those shouts he ignored them, instead snarling again at Minerva. “I’LL KILL YOU!”
Alex struggled to hold Leo back. Leo’s skin felt hot to the touch. Alex let out a yelp of fear as Leo turned to glare at him. Gone was the kind, gently Leo he’d fallen in love with. This Leo was filled with rage, his face hard and cold with fury. For a split second fear lanced through Alex’s mind as Leo snarled at him; would Leo hurt him? His eyes jerked to the security guard Leo had injured. The man’s wrist hung limply at an awkward angle, while the man struggled to fight back tears. Alex bit his lip, waiting for Leo to hit him or shove him away. Leo’s mind was a whirlwind.
He’d never been this angry in his life, not even when he and his father had in each other’s faces screaming at the top of their lungs. Never before had he felt his muscles and skin burn like this. The urge to attack Minerva was almost overwhelming. He wanted nothing more than to grab her by the face and break every bone in her body for daring to talk badly about his mother. At the same time in the back of his mind he could feel Alex holding him back; could hear Alex pleading with him to stop.
He spun around, the anger taking over his mind. He wanted to shove Alex away. He spun around, snarling at Alex to try and make the younger turtle let go of his wrist. He watched as Alex recoiled from his snarl, his eyes closing while his body tensed up expecting to be struck. The snarl died in his throat as he found that Alex didn’t let go of him but instead clung to him tighter, despite his obvious fear. Something in Leo changed; he’d done this. He’d made Alex the one person he loved beyond anything else, recoil in fear. His throat tightened as he let out a choked sob; sadness instantly replacing his anger. He’d done this to Alex. He’d promised to always protect and love Alex and yet he’d made him recoil in fear. He felt his heart clench as Alex continued to hold onto him.
Behind him he could hear Minerva still screaming, calling for security to come and arrest him, but he ignored her. He felt his legs buckle out from under him, dropping him to his knees. “A…A….Alex…..”
Slowly Alex’s looked at Leo, his eyes still filled with fear. Leo reached out, pulling Alex against his body. “I’m sorry Alex. I’m sor-”
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?”
Leo jumped slightly at the harsh tone of this new voice. Looking at the door Leo found that 3 security officers and a doctor had moved into the room. It took Leo a split second to recognize the doctor; a white bunny as one of the few friends he had in school, Tommy Cater. He watched as Tommy looked around the room, behind them Minerva fell silent as Tommy spoke. “Guards, please escort Leo and his guest to their car.”
Leo opened his mouth to protest but was cut off by Tommy. “Then escort Ms. Baker I to her car.”
Behind them Minerva started yelling. “I WANT HIM ARRESTED! HE ASSAULTED ME!”
Tommy glared at her. "If you say one more word I'll arrest YOU for disrupting the peace. This is a place of healing, and your shouting is disrupting the other patients. Guards, please remove them from the property. And if they try to come back in the next 24 hours arrest them."
Leo looked up at the guards, a pair of large tigers and a wolf before standing up. "That......." he fell silent for a moment as Tommy turned to look at him.”...won’t be necessary. We’re leaving."
He slowly stood up, doing his best to keep his head down and not look at anyone in the room. He was painful aware that everyone, even people outside the room were watching him. He felt Alex shift; their grip on each other changing to one of reassurance as Alex slowly led him from the room and through the hallways. He kept his mouth shut, unable to speak as the sight of Alex’s scared face stuck in his mind.
He’d done that to Alex. In his anger he’d lashed out, he’d become that other person; that person he’d sworn he’d never be again. Turning a corner in the hallway Leo froze as he found that they were not alone. The guard he’d attacked was there with a doctor who was examining his wrist, which still hung at an awkward angle. He slowed down, painfully aware that the guards escorting them tensed, waiting for him to attack or lash out. He forced himself to look up and speak, “I’m…….I’m sorry I dislocated your wrist.”
The guard looked at him for a moment before speaking; his voice was kind but cold. “Thanks for not breaking it.”
Leo smiled weakly, beginning to move again when one of the guars escorting him and Alex told him to keep moving. Marching through the lobby Leo gripped Alex’s hand tighter as they stepped out of the building and into the parking lot. Moving through the parking lot Leo let go of Alex’s hand and after walking around the car go in, before turning on the engine and pulling out of the parking spot.
For a full 15 seconds Leo paused, trying to figure out what to do next; only one thought came to mind. He sighed and began to drive, pulling out of the parking lot and driving down a side road, away from the hospital. He could feel Alex watching him, silently asking him if he was ok. He didn’t speak, he couldn't; every time he opened his mouth to speak his throat would tighten up and his mouth would go dry. So he drove, following the roads he had walked and then driven on so many times in his past. “Where…….where are we going?”
Alex’s voice was weak as he spoke. Leo took several deep breaths before speaking. “I……I want to show you something.”
he wasn't able to say more than that as his throat closed up and his mouth went dry again. So he drove, passing through the outskirts of the city before turning onto a dusty side road that led away from the town and ran parallel to the river near town. Behind them the sun was high in the sky, an indication that it was almost noon. For over an hour they drove in silence. The entire hour Leo struggled to speak, to reassure Alex that he wasn’t angry anymore, that……that he was sorry for scaring him. Yet no matter how many times he opened his mouth to speak no words came out. He slowed down, pulling off the road and into a small patch of dirt next to the river. He shut off the engine, leaning forward to put his forehead against the steering wheel for a moment. “Leo? Are you……ok?”
Leo took another deep breath before forcing himself to speak, despite the dry feeling of sandpaper scratching his throat. “Foll……follow me.”
he got out of the car waiting for Alex to do the same before walking away, following a small dirt trail that he knew by heart. Pushing through the bushes and brush Leo glanced back to make sure Alex was following him, before turning back to the path and continuing on. A few minutes down the trail Leo turned right, smiling weakly as he found himself back in his sanctuary. In front of him the trees and bushes parted, creating a beach clearing hidden by trees that over looked the water that slowly flowed past them. He felt something like…..calmness wash over him as he slowly sat down on a fallen log and began pulling off his shoes. Behind him he could feel Alex watching watch him as he tugged off his shoes and socks before resting his feet on the cool sand.
Setting them to the side Leo smiled weakly at Alex who smiled weakly back at him. “I…….” His throat tightened and became dry again, but he forced himself to speak. “I……I used to come here……..when I’d……..when I’d had enough. I……I……..” Leo broke off as he took several deep breaths. He put his head in his hands, willing himself to keep talking. “I…….I used to imagine…….that everything was fine. That……..that my mother wasn't dead……that my father loved me……that I wasn't……..that I wasn't being abused. That……that I was happy.”
He broke off as his sides began to shake. He flinched slightly as he felt Alex sit down next to him. He felt Alex touch his hand, an action that made him let out a choked sob. Suddenly it all became too much. He felt like his world was spinning. He closed his eyes, willing himself to not be sick as wave after wave of nausea washed through him. His had tightened, gripping Alex’s hand; the one bit of support he had right now. He forced himself to open his eyes and look at Alex, who was watching him. Taking another breath Leo spoke. “I’m…….I’m sorry. I’m so sorry Alex. I…..I never meant……I’m……”
he was starting to cry, tears blurring his vision as he tried to keep himself from breaking down. He could see it, Alex’s fear filled face swam in his head, the look of panic and fear so evident on his young face. The memory almost pushed him over the edge. He clung to Alex’s hand desperate to make Alex understand. “I…..I...…”
he broke off as Alex moved, squeezing his hand while moving to touch his arm. “Leo…..I know you didn’t mean it. I know.”
All at once it became too much. He didn’t deserve Alex’s forgiveness; his understanding. He wanted Alex to yell, to get angry. To shout at him that he was a bastard who betrayed his trust. That he was no different from his father or Minerva. “A…A…Alex…..”
He felt tears well up in his eyes as Alex smiled at him, before reaching up to stroke his face. “It’s ok Leo. Everything is gunna be ok.”
He snapped, he buried his face against Alex’s shoulders as he began to sob, his sides shaking and heaving as he cried. It was his fault. He was supposed to be in control, he was supposed to keep his anger under control. Yet it had gotten the better of him, Minerva’s words had made him lash out, allowing his anger to take control and………and……… Leo sobbed even harder as what he had done came crashing down on him. He’d hurt the guard, assaulted his father’s mother, and worst of all…….he’s made Alex afraid of him.
He’d betrayed the trust he’d worked so hard to build to Alex. He could feel Alex moving, rubbing the back of his neck and shell trying to calm him down as he cried. He clung to Alex desperate to keep the young turtle there with him. If Alex left, if he got up and walked out of Leo’s life…..the thought made Leo shake and sob even harder. He spoke, keeping his face buried against Alex’s shoulder. “Please…..please don't leave me. Please……stay with me.”
He felt Alex move, wrapping his arms around Leo’s shoulders. “Shhhhh, shhhhh. It’s ok Leo. I’m here. I’m right here. Just hold me.”
Leo did as Alex asked, clinging to him for who knows how long. As he held Alex, Alex spoke. “I’m right here Leo. I’ll always be
right here. Ok?”
Leo nodded, trying to bring himself back under control. Now was not the time to freak out. Now he needed to be strong. He took deep breaths slowly pulling away from Alex and forcing himself to look at the water that slowly flowed passed them. After several minutes of breathing and watching the water he felt slightly better. This place had always been calming to him. He felt ‘removed’ here, like the rest of the world didn’t exist and he was completely alone; except he wasn't alone now, Alex was here with him, and although the small turtle was doing his best to reassure Leo, Leo could tell that Alex needed answers and the sooner the better. Taking several more moments to gather his thoughts Leo spoke. “I’m……I’m sorry you saw that. I……..I NEVER wanted you to see me like that.”
Alex nodded and squeezed his hand gently. “Are you…..ok now?”
Leo sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing his eyelids for a moment before responding. “I don't know. Part of me……..part of me knows that what she said is horrible. Beyond disgusting…… but………but another part of me is still a child, being told that I’m a disappointment to my family and……..and I can't just shake that off.”
Alex squeezed his hand again. “She’s wrong.”
Leo nodded. “I….I know.”
After another moment of silence Alex spoke. “Was it her comments about your mother what sent you over the edge?”
Leo nodded slowly. “Yes……she……my mother died when I was 11. I….I don't have a lot of memories of her. Her death……it was devastating to me. I didn’t eat, barely spoke. I just…..I withdrew from the world. I just……couldn’t handle it.”
Alex was silent for a moment before speaking softly. “Tell me about her.”
Leo closed his eyes, pulling the memories to the front of his mind. “She……she was perfect. She was a few shades lighter green then me. Her shell was always smooth. She loved the colors blue and orange. She…..she always smelled like peaches. And I don't think she disliked anyone. She always……”
The Lives We Lead (A Student In Need Book 2) Page 13