Chapter 29 | The captors

Ever since they'd first brought Leo home, Cara had been dreaming of the time he'd love them. Now that it finally happened, though, she wasn't quite content.

Why wasn't she his favorite?

"Daddy," Leo mumbled. In the playroom, sitting on the floor with coloring books scattered in front of him (their baby seemed obsessed with coloring. He had a reason, but they couldn't catch it), Leo stretched his torso and reached for Dominic the moment he stepped into the room.

Cara carefully watched Dominic as he bent down just enough so he'd lift him to his chest. Spine straight and eyes aligned with Leo's, Dominic smiled, mumbling, "Morning, baby."

"Morning." Leo's hand found Dom's jaw, absently running a fingertip over the stubble whilst frowning at it. His free hand curled around his neck.

Cara held an arm up, towards Dom. "Give me my baby."

Dominic's expression froze on the smile like a paused video. He glanced at Cara, the way he was still holding Leo implying that he didn't want to leave him.

"Hello? My baby?" Cara shifted in her seat. The edge to her voice threatened without the need for a glare.

Dominic sighed and moved towards her, slowly letting Leo down on her lap. Leo whined first. He gripped Dom's neck tighter, other hand grappling for his sleeve.

"Come on, baby. Don't you miss Mommy?" Dominic encouraged as he pried Leo's fingers off him. After a short harmless battle, Leo settled on Cara's lap.

Cara smiled at Leo. "There's my baby." Palm along his cheek, fingertips in his hair, pushing them aside, she stared at his face. Leo mirrored her expression. He leant closer and looked into her eyes, head tilted.

"Trees," Leo finally said. Over the months, Dom had been teaching him everything his brain could encompass. The learning process had eased after Leo'd finally caught manners—the fact that he'd replied morning this time would've been an impossibility before.

Cara knew he associated the color of her eyes to the color of trees. He had the simplest comparisons, level of his knowledge, and it was more endearing than she'd expected. To see him learn.

Her free hand attacked Leo's side, eliciting a pitched squeal, a hearty giggle and a jerk. Leo grasped her shoulder to keep himself stable on her lap and finally looked at her again with his mouth ajar and teeth displayed.

It was in this moment, seeing Leo so close to her, watching the vivacity in his eyes and the liveliness in his smile, that her motherly instinct took control of her. Cara wasn't quite thinking when slipped a hand to the back of his head, chin tilted down so she'd peck his lips.

Another mistake. Her lips coming close to Leo's hit him with a wave of memories, a lost boy under a train. He tensed and pulled back. His brows dropped. Blue eyes furious. Then vulnerable. Then sad. Then glossy—

"No! Don't!" Lou barreled in like he'd tripped rather than walked, and quickly gripped Leo and pulled him off Cara. Leo hung onto him, facing his neck as if purposely avoiding Cara. Lou didn't look at her. He just held Leo close.

Cara was too shocked at the reaction to even understand what happened. It'd been more than a year. Leo had gotten used to her touching him. Sure she wasn't his favorite, but he didn't hate her anymore. "I just wanted a peck like a mom. Nothing—"

"I know," Lou breathed. "I know what you want and what you intend but he doesn't." Like Leo, over the time Lou had succumbed to their teachings, to their insanity. To his insanity. It was a coping mechanism more than anything. A desperate attempt to feel like a king not a slave. "Just don't do that. We don't know what he's been through exactly. If the kiss is gonna bother him, then I won't let you."

Cara didn't know what to take from this: whether how great it was that Lou had a hundred-precent donned his role as an uncle, or that he was bossing her around and telling her how to interact with her baby.

It was the collective love for Leo that made them steer past the impending argument. Lou didn't speak. Cara coaxed, "Alright. You're right." She stood with a sigh, eyes on Leo.

He was shirtless, as always. He hated wearing a top. He felt hot a bit too much. They let him. And for once, she appreciated it, because now she noticed that the ridges of his spine no longer protruded as hard as before.

The edge of her lips twitched. One good thing. She only realized she was deep in thought when she saw Leo cough against Lou. When she brushed a hand along Leo's back as she passed by Lou, he flinched slightly.

"I'm gonna have to go to a pharmacy. He needs a coughing medicine or something. He's been coughing for a while."

Lou nodded. Dominic came just in time to say, "I'll go with you."

"No. Stay with Lou and Leo. I'll go on my own. It won't take long."

*_*_*_*_*

The weather did not call for sunglasses, but here Cara was, viewing the world through black-tinted lenses. She hoped it made her less recognizable.

She'd tried going to a pharmacy a little further away from their old house, somewhere chances of bumping into people she'd known before were little.

The bold ELLIS PHARMACY hanging onto the store's awning caught Cara's vision all the way from the head of the road. Good enough, she decided.

Just as Cara swerved the car into the parking lot, another vehicle cut her off and recklessly raced past her into the empty space. Cara's hand subconsciously went down to slam the horn but she quickly stopped herself and parked in.

The person who'd cut her off parked between the marked linings opposite her. Cara stayed in her seat and watched him, and only then did she realize there was a young boy in the passenger seat.

As soon as the man stepped out, she pretended to be busy with her phone. He rounded the car's front to the passenger seat. Cara watched the boy fiddle with the seat-buckle (or more like annoyedly wrestle with it. He was clearly pissed).

The man opened the passenger door, earning himself quite the scowl from the boy. He gripped the handle himself and pushed the door further open then carefully and awkwardly—for some reason—slipped off the seat.

As soon as the boy's feet touched the ground, his face twisted and he hunched. Maybe his knee had curved out. Cara couldn't tell. Part of him was hidden behind the door until the man finally slammed it shut.

The boy obviously had a problem with his foot, or his ankle. But he forced himself to walk on his own. Two steps and the man gripped his elbow, a bit too hard to serve as support, and steadied him.

A heated exchange of words. Probably bickering. The boy clearly wasn't enjoying this. He continued on his own, crossing the car until he stood right in front of it, side facing Cara. She sank in her seat, tried camouflaging. His back and stomach seemed touching each other. Unhealthily skinny.

The man hadn't noticed her. He followed the boy and grasped his upper arm this time, then pulled him closer, noses just about bumping.

Cara pushed the sunglasses a little further down the bridge of her nose, no longer shielding her eyes, and the world was splashed with color again.

The boy's eyes, now true color like a secret unfolded, glimmered a metallic grey that reflected against the older copies opposite them. She could only see one dark brow, and it was slanted. Disapproving.

The disdain in his expression made Cara vaguely want to hug him. Or calm him down. Or anything to see him smile; she'd bet it'd be a beautiful thing on him.

She hadn't realized she'd pulled out her phone until she took a picture of them in that position. She'd show Dom. When the two males argued, older callous hand constraining young thin flesh, she stepped out of the car.

"Is anything wrong?"

Both the boy and the man flinched like someone had suddenly thrown bright spotlight on them. They turned to face her but the boy groaned, hand holding his knee even though it was his ankle that hurt. He straightened again.

"Nothing," the man said. "Why—"

"I was talking about the boy's ankle, or foot." She pointed down. "Might wanna go to a doctor. Pharmacy won't help."

"Don't worry about me." The boy couldn't even hold eye-contact. All Cara could see was his downcast lashes.

"I'm a nurse. Can I have a look? I'll tell you if it's a sprain or just sore."

"No, you can't—"

The man gave the boy a look. "Aaron." He forced a smile and touched Aaron's hair. Aaron seemed just about to flinch but controlled himself. "Excuse him, he's just grumpy like that. Thanks but no need. We'll just see the doctor."

Cara nodded. "Alright then. Good luck." Her eyes locked on Aaron. Aaron's eyes locked on the pavement beneath his feet. She chuckled and pinched his cheek then turned and continued her way into the pharmacy.

She only realized she'd felt a connection towards Aaron similar to the one with Leo when she departed from him. As she waited for the pharmacist to fetch the medicine, she glanced back, hoping she'd see him again. But no one. Her chest tightened.

She'd left him upset, sad, angry. Such a delicate little boy to be left like that. Why couldn't his father take care of him right? Why would he keep him suffering? Cara looked down at her fingers where the feel of his skin lingered. So young, so innocent, so pained.

Her poor baby.

"There you go," the pharmacist said and placed the medicine on the counter. His voice startled Cara out of her thoughts. She paid then left the pharmacy.

On the way here, she'd been empty-minded. Nothing to think of except Leo. On the way back, Leo had a potential brother. Fate. Certainly this was fate. Her baby boy had been waiting here so she'd find him.

And now she wasn't leaving him.

The ride home could've been a ride to Cara's grave. She almost crashed twice. All she could think of was her new baby. Dom had to love him. He had to. He would. Of course he would. Why wouldn't he?

When she made it to the woods and parked, she hurried inside with purpose in her steps, smile on her lips. The same adrenaline that she'd felt the first time she saw Leo pumped in her blood.

Cara crashed into the living room where Lou and Dom were watching TV. Brothers. Now Leo would have one too.

Lou lazily turned his neck to look at her. He raised a brow. "Why so happy?"

"Dom," she said, voice breathless. Excitement almost equated physical effort. She threw herself beside Dom, who scooted over for her, startled, and almost knocked Lou off the couch. "You won't believe it."

"What?"

"I found my baby. Leo's brother. Look!"

Lou almost choked on air. "Not this again."

Cara had been in the middle of pulling out her phone to show the picture when she heard him. She frowned and looked at Lou. "Excuse me?"

Lou settled again. Cara gradually relaxed and showed Dom the screen with Aaron and his father.

Dom only stared first, frowning. Then he took the phone and focused more: on Aaron's eyes, tip of his nose aligned with tip of his father's. The situation rang a bell in his head. This exchange of anger. The grip on the upper-arm and a father's authoritative: do what I say.

Cara pushed, "He seemed so sad and angry at the same time. We can't leave my baby, right, Dom? Right? We're gonna bring him home. Because he's my baby. I can feel it."

Dom ignored her. He leant forwards, crossing an arm over in front of Cara until the phone was near Lou. "Have a look, Lou. Tell me if you notice anything."

Lou squinted at the picture. First look was owned by the boy and his father's eyes. But then, he noticed something else: the disdain and the restricted anger. The hatred. It was a chord. The same as Dom's chord. Similar to Leo's.

Lou felt it. Felt Aaron. Felt Dom. He looked at his brother. The moment their eyes met, they laughed bitterly. They understood. The familiarity of a father and son stuck in a pothole, forced to interact, but feeling nothing and saying nothing. They were all under the same roof.

Dom finally gave the verdict. "I need him here as fast as possible." His voice lowered, and he stared at the phone, eyes softening. "My baby."

"Should we tell Leo?"

Cara frowned for a second. She subconsciously glanced in the staircase's direction. She said, "No. It's gonna take some time until we can bring Aaron home. We'll tell Leo around three months before we actually get him. Now is a bit too early."

*_*_*_*_*_*

that last line is super important. I hope you still remember TB so you can connect what that line means lol.

also, i posted a new psychological thriller called The Play. You can find it on my profile rn!! tell me watcha think of it bc i'm excited to start it.

Thank you for reading/voting/commenting. It means so much <3 chances of getting TB back are dwindling but i'm gonna keep trying regardlessly.