Chapter 23: I hate you (Claire's POV)

I sat on the couch, Aesha sitting between me and Flynn while my leg bounced up and down and I bit my nails out of anxiety. Leo left to go grocery shopping a little past noon, it's currently eight pm and he still isn't home. 

We have no idea where he was and I was horrified at the thought of him going to see Seth again. All we had was a text he sent to Flynn saying he saw Theo. Which only made me more nervous and extremely pissed off because why the hell hasn't he put his number in my phone?! 

"I'm sure he's fine, Claire," Flynn reassured. 

"Did you see the way he came home last night?" 

He sighed in defeat and leaned back, trying to call him again. "He'll be back in no time, Claire," Aesha said, patting my knee. I let out a sigh and leaned back, my anxiety going through the roof. 

The front door beeped and then opened, revealing Leo with grocery bags. "Hey," he said, closing the door and locking it behind him, setting all the bags down. I shot up and walked over to him. "What? I'm fine, he couldn't even touch me," he smirked. 

I hugged him tightly. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you," I breathed out. 

"I hate you too," he chuckled, hugging me back, slightly rocking us back and forth. 

"Dude, seriously where the hell were you? What the fuck were you doing?" Flynn asked. 

"I was grocery shopping," he shrugged, still not letting me go. 

"With Theo?" Flynn deadpanned. 

I looked up at him while he shook his head. "He came there with some guys, probably followed me. He tried for a long time to get me to say where you were," he looked down at me, "Obviously, I didn't tell him. Then I started asking him about how Seth organized the whole deal with the other guy." 

I was slightly surprised he was trying to get information out rather than punching it out of him. 

"Your dad technically doesn't owe Seth anything. The other guy does. And your dad already paid him off but now nobody knows where he went." 

What the absolute fuck? This guy just took money from my dad, didn't pay the people he owed, and then ran? Leaving his debt for my dad? "How did the debt even go to my dad?" I asked. 

"Apparently, if Theo is telling the truth, the guy told Seth that your dad will be paying his debt off on his behalf. And now, Seth doesn't care. What he wants is his money." 

"So, what do we do?" Aesha asked. 

"I hate to say it, but Seth is right in his place. He needs his back one way or another. We just don't have too much time," Flynn sighed. 

"I don't understand why my dad won't just pay him? It's not like he doesn't have the money," I huffed. 

"It's not about your dad paying him and getting rid of him. Your dad will lose twice as much money as he should have. That's not right," Leo said. 

"I think everyone's safety overpowers the money he has," I argued, "We're all involved. If Seth finds out then-" 

"He won't. I promise," Leo cut me off. 

"Leo-" 

"He won't," he repeated. I sighed in defeat and well all fell into silence. "Right um- I got Taco Bell. Anyone hungry?" Leo asked, holding up the bag. 

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Flynn locked the door behind him. He was going to drop Aesha back home. I stood up and stretched from my spot on the couch but Leo pulled me right back down. I clicked my tongue in frustration. This is the third time he's doing this. 

"You know you can get up and move your ass, right? We can just go upstairs," I said. I stood back up and he groaned. "Get up, don't get lazy," I said. He sighed and pulled himself up. I pushed him to the stairs and kept my hands on his shoulders, pushing him till we reached his room. "I'm going to change, I will be right back." 

He grabbed his pajamas while I left. I changed into my pajamas and brushed my teeth before going back there. He came out of the bathroom while pulling a shirt on. "I'm not sleepy yet though," he sighed while lying down. 

"Me neither," I replied. 

"Oh, shit," he stood back up, "I got you something." I raised my eyebrows while laughing. He pulled out a box of... 

"Uno cards?" I laughed. 

"Yeah, last time you wanted to play, I didn't have any. So, I bought a pack," he shrugged, lying back down on his stomach this time. 

"And we're going to play?" I questioned. He nodded in response while opening the box. "Okay, give them out and we'll play," I sighed. 

"I have to shuffle them, they're color-wise," he laughed. I watched, mesmerized while he shuffled the cards flawlessly. 

"How the hell do you know how to do that?" I asked. 

"What? This?" he chuckled, doing it again. He shuffled like a freaking dealer. 

"I have never been so fascinated by cards, how the hell do you do that?" I laughed. 

He shrugged, "My mom taught me." I smiled while he split the cards, seven each. 

"I hope you win," I cleared my throat. 

"Let's test my luck," he shrugged. And he did win. Three times. I just chose to ignore the fact that I let him. I think twice at least, I intentionally put down the wrong card so I had to pick up more and he won. "Yes!" he cheered, throwing his last card down. "You suck," he chuckled. 

I nodded while laughing. He collected all the cards and shuffled them a few times before putting them on his nightstand. "That was fun." He lay on his side, his head in his head. 

"See, Uno is fun," I laughed, mirroring his position. 

"Yeah," he nodded, "Especially when someone lets you win." I smiled at him sheepishly. "Why'd you do that?" He narrowed his eyes at me. 

"No reason," I shrugged. 

"Claire," he said, poking me. 

I lay down on my stomach and hid my head in my arms. "To see you smile." I looked at him, resting my cheek on my arms. 

"I have been smiling." 

"You wouldn't be if you lost," I shrugged. 

"That's not true," he scoffed. 

"Okay, let's play one last round then," I challenged. 

"Okay," he shrugged and grabbed the cards, shuffling, and then distributing them. 

He's not winning this time. 

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I bit back a laugh and let out a sigh instead. "Leo," I tugged at his arm. I know him pretty well by now and I know that he hates losing. Which was exactly why I was letting him win. Now that he's lost one game out of the four that we've played in total, he's throwing a fit. 

"Leo, come on. I- you won't three times!" I chuckled. 

"I'm sleepy," he huffed. 

I sighed and threw my head on the pillow. I threw the covers off and walked over to his side, kneeling beside the bed. He closed his eyes tightly and acted like I wasn't there. "Hello," I sang, tracing the outlines of his face with a feather's touch. That's how lightly I was touching him. I rested my chin on my arms along the edge of the bed. 

"Leo," I mumbled before leaning forward and kissing his cheek a few times. "Hello," I whispered, staring at him. He finally opened his eyes and looked at me. "Kiss," I pouted. He put his hand over my mouth, biting back a laugh. I pushed it off before squeezing his cheeks so his lips were puckered before kissing him. 

I pulled away and stood up. He lay on his back while looking up at me. I sighed before climbing over him and lying down on top of him, my chin resting on his chest. He rested his arms around my waist while looking up at me. 

This felt unreal. I didn't think I would first of all, ever be with someone after Theo. you know how after the break-up you sort of just lose faith in relationships and just think that was it. That was your one shot. 

And then second of all, with him. It's no secret I've always thought he was amazing, but the thing is, my opinion didn't falter when I started dating Theo at the end of junior year. We were basically together for a year, and neither of us said I love you. Hence, we didn't love each other. 

I'm now sitting here with Leo, who you can say I've liked since junior year. On and off. And I'm not just sitting here with him, I'm kissing him, hugging him, and I'm seeing him smile. It's so weird how it happened and the circumstances we're in, and it's even weirder how quickly we're moving forward. 

But no one said anything about dating and I don't want to be the one to rush it. 

"I hate you," he sighed. 

I smiled before leaning down and kissing him and he kissed me back. "Don't worry, feeling's mutual."

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Chapter twenty-three

I'm sick of imagining my Leo, I want one for real.

next chapter: max

hint: woof woof

I just ruined it whatever