by Emma Vikes
Jared looked at me with amusement dancing in his eyes as he shook his head. “I wish I was because if it was me, I wouldn’t have let go of that kid. Or Eleanor.”
I looked at him straight in the eyes. “I love her. Even then.”
“And yet then, you chose to break her heart,” Jared replied nonchalantly. He looked at me and through gritted teeth, added, “I was there when you broke her heart, Leo. I was there to pick up the pieces you’ve shattered and clean up the mess you’ve made. If it wasn’t for Max, she would’ve killed herself.”
“I’m not gonna hurt her again,” I said quietly, my hands clenched into fists. “I’m going to be a better man for her and I’ll be the father that Max never had.”
“I don’t know what’s running in Eleanor’s mind. I don’t know why she wanted to give what you had with her another shot. All I know is that she shouldn’t risk her heart again for an asshole like you.” His words made me narrow my eyes and I had to use every ounce of self-control not to punch him. Jared must’ve noticed my struggle because he smirked but after a moment he sighed. “I don’t like you for her, Leo. You’ve hurt her once and it scares me that you might do it again. The last thing that Elle needs is to get her heart broken. She’s been through so much. But...,”
The pain in Jared’s eyes were clear as day and I waited for what he was going to say next, “she may not have said this to you yet, she still loves you. Seven years weren’t long enough for her to fall in love with someone else, even with me when I’ve always been by her side.”
The next words that he said struck me deep in the heart. “Maybe it’s always just been you, Leo, no matter how callously you’ve broken her heart. I can only hope that in this second chance that she’s given you, you won’t do the same thing again because Eleanor doesn’t deserve to get her heart broken the same way, by the same guy.”
CHAPTER 17
Eleanor
It seemed as if the moment September rolled by, we were all too busy with so many things. The cases I had at the firm continued to pile up and most of the time, I’d end up coming home too late and even working overtime on the weekend which forced Max to spend the weekends with his Grandma. Jared was still on his vacation leave so he had been an extra help for me around the house. Max had school events and school works that kept him busy and also the basketball game that he had on the 14th that he was looking forward to play with Leo.
And Leo...
I’d rarely seen him since the trip to the ocean park. I knew he came to the house every morning to practice with Max and on weekends too but it was only for an hour. He hadn’t dropped Max off to school nor had he picked Max up too since the first week of September. Leo seemed to be just as busy as everyone else and actually, even more so than us. It seemed like clients booked him for shoots every single day of the week. Jared had been the one taking care of Max.
We all hadn’t spent even an hour together since.
“More cases to review?” I asked Elsa as she slipped inside my office. The moment September rolled by, it felt as if the cases that were sent to our firm piled up. This must’ve been what it would feel like if I took the offer of being a public defender. I would be swamped with even more work.
Elsa smiled at me kindly and shook her head, a cup of hot tea in her hand. She set it on my desk gently. “Jared called and asked how you were doing. He was worried since you haven’t answered his call.”
I opened my drawer and turned on my phone, waiting for it to load and then it began ringing with notifications, messages and missed calls. Most of them were from Jared. One from Megan, asking me how I was settling in Irving. One from Mom. And there was none from Leo. A pang ran straight to my heart, the unwarranted thought of Leo slowly slipping out of my life again materializing in my mind.
But I shrugged the thought away.
“What did you tell him?” I asked, picking up the small cup and sipping the hot tea, closing my eyes as I tasted chamomile, relishing the goodness of it and the warmth of the tea that seemed to spread from my chest throughout the rest of my body, calming my stressing nerves.
“You’re busy reviewing cases. He said that you should call him. He has something important to tell you,” Elsa said and then with another kind smile, slipped quietly out of my office.
I picked up my phone and then pressed the number 3 on speed dial and my phone instantly called Jared’s number. Within three rings, he answered. “I’ve been trying to call you all day.”
Rolling my eyes, I pushed my chair away slightly from the table and leaned back, rolling my neck to remove the kinks. “I’m working, Red. I’ve told you how busy and hectic it’s been.”
“Imogen called. She was wondering if Max could stay with her tonight. She wanted to bake muffins for the game tomorrow and wanted him to give her a hand.”
My eyebrows rose. Mom never did that for us. Well, given how we rarely played sports when we were younger. Still, Mom wasn’t the baker mom kind. “I don’t think it’s wise to let him stay up if he’s going to play tomorrow.”
“The game’s not until 2 PM, Elle. And Max found out what his grandmother wanted to do and is really excited to help her out.” Jared tried to reason with me and I had a feeling that Max was just beside him, listening in on the conversation but keeping his mouth close yet praying I let him.
With a sigh, I leaned my head on my chair and stared at the ceiling. “He better make sure that he’s asleep by his bedtime, on the dot. No buts or ifs or whatever and I will be checking.”
There was an excited squeal and a flurry of stuttering ‘thank yous’ coming from Max and I laughed but Jared didn’t put him on the phone. I glanced at the clock. School was over but I knew that Max stayed behind to practice basketball. He was really into the game and it reminded me of Leo back in college, when he played for his department and girls went crazy for number 12. Including me.
“Listen, Elle, there’s something else I want to talk about,” Jared said, his voice turning onto a serious note.
Eyebrows furrowed, I swivelled my chair around. “Is something wrong?”
“Before Max and I left the house earlier, there was this guy who came by with an invitation addressed to you. I know you don’t like when I’m being nosy but I initially thought that it was from your dad. It was for this photo gallery auction thing.”
That didn’t make sense. “You sure it’s addressed to me and not Leo?”
As far as I knew, Leo and I still remained in the same label. We weren’t exclusive. We weren’t dating. But Leo had promised me that it would only be me and me alone and although I was only holding on to a verbal promise, I really wanted to believe that Leo was sincere with what he felt about me. Because I was falling too fast and too hard for the first guy to ever steal my heart.
“Eleanor Black is written in bold letters on the envelope. I’m certain it’s for you.” There was quiet pause on Jared’s end. “You think that it might be a grand gesture from Leo?”
Jared still wasn’t a fan of Leo’s. He remained weary with Leo’s intention to me and he always had this smug look on his face whenever he told me that Leo didn’t come by at the house and had another excuse that he was too busy. But what Jared didn’t know was that Leo texted me every night just to tell me that he had arrived home in the penthouse, or that he was awake for an early photoshoot with a client. Sometimes he would call me too if he found the time. It was the little things that often went unnoticed but had made me realize how serious Leo was about the whole thing. It was just that he had some things that needed his immediate attention which was why he was so incredibly busy.
But as for the invitation...
Leo was the kind to throw a grand gesture but he wouldn’t do it slyly. If he wanted to pull off a surprise, he would be the one to bring me to the surprise. But then again, that was the Leo I knew in college. The one that I was with now seemed to be different. “I’m not sure if he would do that. Doesn’t it say anything more?”
“It just says that
there’s a photo gallery by Steve Maddock and company. Under the company, Leo’s name is listed.”
Steve Maddock. The moment the name flew out of Jared’s lips, it was as if I was sucker-punched in the gut by the cold harsh truth of the past. Leo had chosen Steve Maddock, the bright future for his career that Maddock had offered, over whatever it was that he had with me. Granted, Leo was young and career-driven then and he was the Casanova who wanted to play with girls’ hearts and wanted to deny the feelings he had for me. Well, at least that was what he claimed to me.
And he also claimed that he had resigned from Maddock, that he had left Maddock’s team with his pride and dignity and a whole bunch of cash- his words, not mine- and that he had no intention of being a part of Maddock’s team again. He told me that Maddock had stolen his pictures and had won prizes for the shots that Leo took and since he was nothing but a member in Maddock’s team, he didn’t really have much of a say in the matter and he didn’t want to have a say in the matter.
So what was Leo doing, being a part of Maddock’s team?
“So are you going to this thing tonight?” Jared’s voice brought me back to reality and snapped me out of the daze that I was in.
I chewed on my bottom lip. I was dying to know why Leo was working with Maddock again after all the crap that he said about the guy. “No. I’m not going, Red. Whatever Leo’s keeping from me, it’s his call to keep it hidden. After all, we’re not even officially together.”
Jared was quiet and then I heard him let out a soft sigh. “Okay, Elle. I won’t be coming to the house tonight so don’t wait up for me. After I drop Max off to Imogen’s, I’ll be driving to the next town right after.”
He had mentioned that he would be meeting up with some of his friends from college and that they were going to the next town since there was a better spot for fishing there. I hung up from Jared and resisted the urge to call Leo. I picked up my phone and looked at the messages that I’d exchanged with Leo recently and let out a sigh.
Leo’s been so good in the last few months and weeks and although he had been busy recently, he never failed to tell me goodnight every night, even when the text was sent at around dawn. I didn’t want to go to the gallery and ruin whatever progress we’d made but at the same time, I didn’t want to suffer the same damage I did the first time around.
When work ended, I went straight home and lounged around, wanting to relax but my mind kept coming back to the invitation that Jared had mentioned. It didn’t help that he had left it lying around the kitchen counter where I could see it. I couldn’t resist the urge to open it and read, see if there was anything that would tip me off that the invitation came from Leo.
I picked up my phone and dialled his number. He answered on the third ring. There seemed to be a crowd murmuring in the background. “Hey, love.”
My eyes fluttered close as I heard his voice. “Hi. Still busy?”
“Yes,” he replied in a heartbeat and I heard someone calling his name in the background, “there’s this photoshoot again.”
Something gnawed in my stomach at his answer. “Can you wrap it up early? Max is staying at Mom’s and Jared’s out of town. Keep me company?” I paused, hesitating for a moment before adding, “I’ve missed you.”
There seemed to be a strangled noise that came from Leo and it made me chuckle but then the laughter died from my lips when he responded, sounding apologetic, “I’m not sure if I can wrap it up early. It’s a VIP client, babe.”
I remembered when he told me that he was willing to drop anything for me when he was trying to get another shot with me. But I couldn’t really hold that argument against him. It wouldn’t be fair and it would make me sound desperate. “Oh. That’s okay.”
Leo sighed. “I’ll head right to your house after, I promise. I still have a key. I have to go. Don’t wait up for me but I promise I’ll come home to you, Ellie. I’ll always come home to you.”
He hung up right after that and I sighed, pulling my hair out of the ponytail I had put it in. Purposely heading to my bedroom, knowing that to finally put an end to the outrageous thoughts in my mind- no matter how sincere he had sounded on the phone- I just needed to know for sure that Leo was in a photoshoot and not in that gallery that Maddock was holding.
And what if he was? Why would it be such a big deal for Leo to team-up with Maddock again for a gallery? It was not like he was leaving you again.
I was already dressed and on my way to the location of the gallery before I could think of what I could reason myself out of it. I wasn’t even sure why I was hell-bent on going. I wanted to trust Leo but there was this gnawing thoughts in the back of my mind, the fear that was always there, put in the backseat and now was climbing its way to the front, no longer wanting to be ignored.
What if Leo leaves again? What then?
There was a crowd inside the gallery and so many people milled around to look at photographs that were expertly taken by people like Leo, who had such a passion for taking pictures and keeping that moment frozen forever. Everyone seemed to converse with themselves as they look at a photograph that took their attention. I was busy trying to look for Leo when a picture caught my attention, a grainy image that was hard to distinguish if you didn’t look at it closely. It was the only image that stood out among arrays of clear photographs that were all breathtakingly good, of moments frozen forever on canvas.
The image was a swirl and blur of colors but the shade of orange was most striking. It was as if the orange was the only color that anyone could see. Everything else blurred in the background, even the dim yellow lights of the street lamps that could only be distinguished if you looked close enough. The orange was brought off by the dress that the girl in the picture wore and she had her head buried in her arms. She was crying.
The girl in the orange dress, it was titled.
With a jolt, I realized that girl was me.
It was the day that Leo and I first met.
“It’s beautiful but kind of sad too. I asked him why he wanted to put something like that in his session but he keeps telling me that it’s the best picture he had ever taken, even if it was on a crappy phone during 2011.”
I turned to look at the man talking. He was tall and well-built, his hair was shaved at the side but was long on top and was tied in a man-bun, in the same way that Leo’s was except this guy was blonde. His face was wrinkled with lines but age seemed to have been treating him well. “Who put up this picture?”
But he didn’t seem inclined to answer my question. He offered me a hand to shake. “Eleanor Black, right? I’m thrilled you accepted my invitation.”
And just like that, I remembered where I first saw him, at the first gallery that Leo was featured back in college, the one sponsored by our school, the one where Steve Maddock discovered him. The reason why I knew that Leo was offered a spot on Maddock’s team was because Maddock himself told me and he wanted me to urge Leo to take the offer. But Leo didn’t even need my encouragement. He had already made up his mind and didn’t even bother discussing it with me.
“So it was you,” I said, peering at him closely, “why?”
He bowed his head, as if waiting for me to applaud him. “Leo didn’t invite an audience. Quite a modest guy but he deserved someone cheering him on. Especially with the big announcement.”
“Ellie?”
I turned around and saw Leo. He was decked in black pants, a dark green dress shirt with three or four buttons opened on top, giving me a peek of his broad and well-defined chest. He had a black suit jacket on too and he had cut his black hair short and it wasn’t long enough to be tied in a small ponytail but he had probably put wax on it and had brushed it up, giving me a clearer view of his face, his gray eyes clear as daylight. I felt like I hadn’t seen him in a hundred years because he looked so different from the Leo that I’d been spending time with.
He looked like the Leo I first fell in love with and it brought a strange sensation to my heart and tears prickled my
eyes. I held them back.
I tried to flash him a smile and then nodded at the arrayed photographs on the wall. “They’re beautiful.”
Leo looked unsure if he should approach me. Hell, he seemed unsure if he could even say something. But I didn’t walk away or make any movement that would make him think that I was mad. I was mildly disappointed that he wouldn’t share this kind of news with me. Maddock was a sore subject for the both of us but that didn’t mean that I wouldn’t support him on joining his old employer for a gallery.
I mean, it was only just a gallery, right?
Gingerly, Leo placed a hand on my arm and I stepped closer to him, leaning onto him as he wrapped his arms around me and he kissed the side of my head affectionately. “How did you know?”
I motioned at Maddock who stood in front of us, an amused smile on his face. “He sent me an invitation.”
Leo eyed Maddock with narrow eyes but if he was upset that I was invited without his knowing, he didn’t seem to show. His face was hard and stoic and only softened whenever his gaze was on me. Maddock cleared his throat, snapping both our attention back to him. “I never thought I’d see the day that Leo Hudson would be wrapped around a woman’s finger but I’ve always known you were special to him, Eleanor. Even then.”
Leo looked between Maddock and I but I said nothing, my mouth set in a grim line. I had a feeling that it was because I was in the same room as Maddock and even before, he gave me an unsettling feeling. “Excuse me though, I have a big announcement.”
We stayed behind as he moved through the crowd, disappearing up front. I pulled away from Leo and looked into his gray eyes. He opened his mouth, ready to launch into an explanation but I held up a hand to stop him from saying anything. “Why did you lie?”
He gulped and looked down. “I didn’t want to do this but there was a promise for sponsors and even if I couldn’t get some, then I could sell some of my pieces. I just need the money for...”