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Chapter 24 – Everything

I waited for Leon, alternately slumping on the old study table or anxiously pacing back and forth in my room; trying to make a mental note of every question I wanted to ask.

Leon promised to come by at ten and I tried my best to organize or hide the clutter in my room and took a quick thorough shower, brushed my teeth (twice) and even went through the trouble of blow-drying my long brown hair. I wore my best pair of pajamas; not gowns would give a horribly wrong impression and I was not that desperate.

I hadn’t the slightest idea why I even try since I was bound to look insipid beside him anyway. I must be developing an inclination to category six since I could only acclaim luck for these fortunate events. Now that’s a development.Goodbye, Count Olaf!

Sitting on the floor beside the window, I lifted my eyes as the bolts that fastened Leon’s ladder to my window rustled against the steel ledge giving out an angry chafing sound that made my teeth want to fall off.

In no time at all, Leon’s dark head jutted from the window sill.

I immediately shambled to my feet as he effortlessly vaulted into my room in one smooth move.

Leon wore a navy blue baseball cap over his dark head instead of the beanie and his glasses were safely tucked on thecollar of his shirt, with the long sleeves pulled up to his arms. No braces tonight too.

I was lost in a daze, yet again.

I thought it suited him better though I doubted it mattered. He could wear rags, for all I care and still manage to look like some Greek God. Before I could hyperventilate, my protective side took over me.

“That’s reckless, you know? What if someone sees—“

His lips crashed on mine in a fraction of a second, making me forget whatever it is I was trying to say. I focused on not hyperventilating through the rhythmic thud-thud-thud that intensified with the feel of his soft lips.

He paused to catch his breath then searched for my lips again but I held his face an inch back.

“Was a simple hi-hello not customary anymore?” I whispered in between the ragged breaths.

Chuckling softly, he leaned to kiss my eyes. “With you, it’s hard. Sorry,”

“Well I’m not complaining,” I forced back a smile.

“Well, thanks,” his arms wrapped around me so that my head inclined on his chest.

“For what?”

“Stopping me,” he grinned playfully.

I pulled away abruptly to lift my eyes to his face and threw him a panicky scowl.

Leon was suppressing a smirk as he returned my gaze; I could almost see my reflection on his eyes and was surprised howfascinating I looked in those crystal blue mirrors.

“I promise I’ll be good,” his melodious voice filled the air.

“You better.” My heart kept its hurried pace to the point that I thought I was having a heart attack.

His eyes sauntered the room. “Well something’s changed.”

Blood rushed up to my cheeks. “Yeah well, itwas turning into a batty old lady’s room.”

I caught his hands and led him to sit with me at the edge of the bed which he eagerly declined. Instead,he parked himself stiffly on my study chair. I guessed he didn’t trust his own self-control that much and wondered whatever it was that he saw in me. Perhaps, Becky’s curse spells had the opposite effect.

“So where should we start?” He begun, picking up my hairbrush and holding it under his chin as though it was a microphone.

I would’ve guffawed on that note on any ordinary day but I was too anxious to do so at this point.The millions of questions were so confusing inside my head that though I would’ve loved so much to humor him, I couldn’t.

“Tell me… about L.A.,” I stuttered with the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

His smile faded as he put down the brush quietly. Another few seconds passed before he spoke again. “Gerald called,” he started.

I nodded remembering that day; that phone call before Leon went missing without any word. Sighing, I curled my knees on my chest.

“Said the producers wanted a couple of new songs to carry the album for the concert, but they must be new compositions and had to be recorded before the end of the week. I didn’t have time to say anything to you since it was urgent.” His face was smooth like a statue but there was starkness in his eyes.

“So you flew off without a word,” I said mostly to myself.

“And I’m sorry. I really am.”

“I know.”

“So I had planned to stay there for no more than three days since I already made the two compositions beforehand. But…” His eyes narrowed with dejection. “Something went wrong because of Nathan and I had to shoot the video. I thought you were mad as hell; that you wouldn’t speak to me again so I stayed a couple of days more.”

“Annoyed and worried, really. But not that mad at the least. The trouble with Nathan… What was it about?” I asked still hugging my knees.

His eyes trailed on the window then to me. “Production. Nathan holds some shares.”

I might not have the slightest clue about shares and production but I knew Leon was holding something back. However, I did not probe. There were more pressing matters than stocks and the like.

“Tell me about why you have to be here,” I choked on my words recalling the first day I discovered his true identity and how desperate he was to keep me silent.

“We’ve been doing it for years.” He begun with a sigh. “Moving from one town to another, sometimes to the cities where it was easier to blend in. It started after Elizabeth Grest failed on her claim for my custody. Mrs. Downing, my mother—“ His eyes twitched and narrowed at the mention of the word. “… had begun to use less legal means to get a hold of me and Arthur was right of course. She tried to have me kidnapped when I was eleven — she almost succeeded — but Dad was a step ahead of her and prevented that from happening. He was able to save me.” He paused for a while, and caught my hand, enclosing it in his. Soon, his index finger wrote endless repetitive circles on my palm; a force of habit whenever he was nervous or overly excited.

I lifted my face. I knew he was uncomfortable, terrified even. I could tell by the trembling of his body. I’ve never seen him in such state of mind before. I sat on his feet and wrapped my arms around his waist hoping that it could hopefully provide some relief.

His face lightened a bit when he began to stroke my hair but the fear was still evident.

“Two years later that incident, she had me abducted again, and she sent Frost and two others to do it, only that time, they were more careful with their plans. They tricked Arthur and I was hers,” he gritted through his teeth.

I watched him clench and unclench his fist until his knuckles turned white and the veins became more prominent.My hands smoothed his clasp and interlaced his fingers with mine. One way or another, I could understand how Leon felt. That absolutely vindicated his overwhelming rage towards the deluded man.

“They took me to London, back to their hiding place; the same place where they hid Nathan.  That was when I first met my brother after more than ten years. From the first time we saw each other, I knew something was inexplicablywrong about him. He almost constantly wore a naïve smile but he was extremely labile; so emotionally unstable when he couldn’t get what he wanted. He was a time bomb ready to explode once detonated.

I figured it was Camilla to blame and nobody else. She kept Nathan silently locked by satisfying his every egotistical whim, but she never had given him the only thing Nathan could have wanted—she didn’t love him. Camilla was more absorbed into the sport of getting me back.Nathan hated me too.”

There was bitterness in his voice as he went on. “That night, while Frost and the other two men were drinking away, Nathan came to me as I was tied and gagged in a corner. His expression reminded me of those people watching gold fish in an aquarium. He pored over, asking what mother saw in me that she didn’t see in him. When he finally allowed me to speak, I tried to reason out with him. I told him I never wanted what happened to him; that we are still brothers.”

Leon cleared his throat as if every word was taxing on him. Imagining him all tied up and helpless was quite difficult. Who would’ve imagined that Leon Walden suffered hardships such as those? People would think his life had been a blast from the beginning.

“He didn’t listen at first but I made a compromise with him. Then he helped me escape but not without something in return. After that, we started moving from place to place as Dad homeschooled me. But just a few months ago, someone tipped the social welfare department on my Dad’s credibility to teach and I knew it was her. His revoked teaching license resurfaced and I had to go to a real school as a requirement for probation. But my Dad made amends for the authorities to let me hide my true identity since I’ve been constantly in danger. They agreed and that’s why we’re here.”

My fears worsened. Camilla, Nathan, Larkin.

A few days ago, I believed that those kind of people whoabuse power and influence, withsuch vile intents existed only in soap operas. But, these people were very real as well as the dangers they posed to me and mostly to Leon. I was afraid for him more than myself. He could be perfectly capable and tough but he’s still human.

“And that man, Larkin Frost, what did you do to him?” The shudders rushed to my spine and I tried to push the thoughts to the subconscious before the wave of fear could creep again.

“That time, we couldn’t let anything about the kidnapping surface into the media. That’s one of Nathan’s conditions. We had to let it go,” he grumbled. “And the disguise part is one thing to prevent them from finding us.”

“But after what he did to you? No.” His shoulder shook with rage as he took several lungfuls of air to placate his temper. He stiffened, clenching his fists. Soon, there was not so much as a twitch on his face but his eyes smoldered with a distant gleam.

I kept quiet, my fingers trembling against his but he didn’t seem to notice it.

“I taught him a lesson. I couldn’t break his neck even if I wanted to. So badly. But I couldn’t turn him over to the police either,” he gritted through his teeth.“He’d most likely divulge my secret and maybe Nathan’s, so I had Gerald dispatch him.”

I felt the dreaded feeling creep again. Burying my face on my knees, I struggled to fight the terror that had haunted me in silence for the last few nights. The beady soot-colored eyes, the terrifying snarl, the gnarled bony hands; they all flooded at once, paralyzing my ability to think.

Leon mechanically draped his arms around me; the sinking feeling alleviating in an instant at the touch of his hands as though I was being cradled on a breezy meadow. Only now, did I became aware of the fatigue.

“Don’t worry Sarah, he’s somewhere far.Somewhere he can’t hurt you or anybody else.” His gentle voice hummed like music in the air making my lids heavy.

“You’re tired.” It wasn’t a question.

“I’m not.” I whispered resting my head on his lap.

“Are too…” A smile was trailing on his lips as he scooped me off the floor and laid me gently on my bed.

He sat beside me twirling my hair on his fingers, gazing at me with an amused air about him.

“No. Tell me about your plans,” I said quietly as the weariness started to overwhelm my eyes but I fought it. I wasn’t dozing off without knowing everything. Not without knowing if he’d still be there when I woke up.

His smile widened. It made my chest flutter. “I’m planning to stick with you.”

“Hmm…” My lids fell for a while, but I blinked back to consciousness. “Is that even possible?”

“If there’s a will, there’s a way.” There was something with the saying and in his suddenly hoarse tone that made me giggle. He bent a little to kiss my forehead.

“What if they come back?” I croaked.

“Then we’ll be ready.” He sounded so sure with his words, as though nothing could ever go wrong. And I believed him.

“What if you have to go to L.A. again?” My eyes drifted on his clear blue eyes. They were so deep I could fall asleep in them.

“You’ll come with me,” he proposed. “Will you?”

“Hmm… that would be… good.” I smiled as my lids fell halfway. “Tell me… Is Leonard even your real name?”

“Yep. Leonard Daniel Walden A.K.A. Leon; definitely notLen please, and thank you very much.” His eyes twitched with a wry smile from behind my lashes. He really hated that pet name his Dad gave him. But then, that girl who answered his phone when he was in L.A. called him Len too. They must really be close. Too bad I was too sleepy to ask.

Ugh.

“Hmm… That would be all. Don’t slip… on the… ladder,” I mumbled with a smile, closing my heavy eyes.

“I’ll wait until you’re sound asleep,” he whispered.

“No…” I murmured a lame protest worrying what he’d do when I was asleep. It was curious and scary at the same time.

“I’ll be good,” he promised, seeing my reaction then he hummed the piece he played on his piano earlier that day and lulled me to sleep.

I wondered what that song was. “Good night, Leon.”

“Good night, Sarah.” 

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So if you're reading this then you might really like it! Am I right? Or am I just assuming in a desperate attempt for motivation? Well thank you so much!

I'm thinking of doing a chapter with a Leon POV.. So tell me if you're any where interested at taking a peek through this popstar's head! Please do! XD

I was thinking maybe Nerdy's hugging all the airtime! LOL... and I'm looking to having more than 20 votes for this chapter before I start on the Leon POV chapter which can be really long, I guess... So there! Thanks a lot... and til next time!

xoxo

~shim XD