Chapter Four


"Why such a gloomy Gus?" Sliding into the booth across from his sister, Leonard took in her forlorn expression with a sigh. It'd been a few days since their little heart to heart on the roof, and it seemed he'd been overly optimistic she would be back to her normal self.

"I really don't wanna talk." Dipping a soggy fry into clumpy pool of gravy over and over, Lisa refused to meet his gaze head on.

"We both know that's not possible." Leaning back, he kept his eyes trained on her face. "You've never been able to keep your mouth shut longer than an hour. I should know, I've timed you."

"Will you just go away?" Dropping her fry, Lisa picked up her napkin and wiped her greasy fingers on it before tossing it on top of her plate.

Pinching his lips together, taking a deep breath, he tapped his finger on the vinyl booth a few times, contemplating his next words.

"Seriously Lenny." Pushing her plate back she grabbed her drink and downed it. "I'm in a headspace you'll only mock and ridicule. Not all of us can be cold hearted like you."

It was just like Lisa to attack head on, with claws when she felt pain. He should be used to it by now, but her words still felt like a punch in a gut. "Is this about Pops?"

A look of disgust crossed Lisa's face. "Seriously?"

"You can't still be pouting over Tegan." Seeing her stone-cold expression told him he was treading on thin ice. One misstep and he'd be cleaning up a Lisa sized mess. He knew better than to push her buttons when it came to certain things, and Tegan was a button he'd been avoiding for years.

"Like I said Lenny, not in the mood to talk." Grabbing her purse, she tried to scoot out of her side of the booth, only to have his booted foot block her way out.

"Lisa, let it go." Her eyes flashed back at him in annoyance.

"Lenny, leave me alone." Lisa hissed, as she leaned forward. "She may have meant nothing to you, but she was my best friend, my only friend. So, go do whatever it is you do, and I'll go do what I have to do. When I'm able to pretend not to have emotions again, I'll come find you."

Not removing his foot, Leonard ground his back teeth. Perhaps he'd miscalculated the impact of letting Tegan go would have on Lisa. He'd assumed his little sister would get over it after a little while, and most of the time she was just peachy. But once in a great while, something would trigger her memories, and he'd have to put up with some bitchiness for a few days. This time, it was a little different. Lisa had crawled off to lick her wounds, and that was entirely different game altogether.

The two siblings sat glaring at one another, until Lisa finally lost her patience and knocked his foot out of her way. "It's not just that I miss Tegan. But I miss what you were like when she was around."

"Don't."

"I mean you were still an ass most of the time." Lisa pushed, a sly look of satisfaction crossing her face. "But, when you didn't think anyone was watching, I saw you Lenny, and I know. So don't sit there, acting like you've got your shit pulled together, while your silly pathetic sister pouts over hurt feelings."

"I never said you were pathetic." Leaning forward, Leonard pinned her with a glare. "This repetitive conversation on the other hand . . ."

Closing her eyes, Lisa fidgeted. "I went to check on her." The words flew out of her mouth, as though they had a life of their own. And for the life of him, Leonard could swear he could feel his heart skip a few beats within his chest.

"You did what?" His blood ran cold, as he reached out and grabbed onto her arm.

"Calm down." Wrenching out of his grasp, she rubbed at her arm while glaring daggers his way. "I said I saw her, she didn't see me."

"Do you have any idea the damage you could've done?" He ground out, while forcing himself to not over react by doing something equally as stupid.

"I don't care." Lisa tossed back viscously, her small fists balled tightly on top of the table. "I know what you said, and yes, I know why you want us to stay clear. But after what happened . . . I had to make sure. So, I'm freaking sorry, okay?"

He wanted to tell her he wasn't close to being okay. That she'd taken a gamble and was lucky she hadn't outed herself, or Tegan in the process. It explained why Lisa was such emotional basket case. Who wouldn't be after picking at an emotional scar like she had?

"You have to stay away from her." Watching as she gracefully exited the table, Leonard watched as she schooled her features back into cold indifference. "Lisa?"

"Fine." Lips pinched into a thin line, her hands barely trembling, Lisa flipped her hair over her shoulder. "But if anything happens to her, I will make your life hell." About to turn around, a cruel smile spread over her painted lips. "And Lenny? Between you and me, I know you've been carrying her picture around in your pocket since that night. So, don't you ever lecture me, or judge me because I have emotions." With her final words, she headed toward the door, leaving Leonard simmering in a pool of uncertainty.

It wasn't until his fifth drink – well perhaps his sixth or seventh – was delivered, that Leonard finally gave into the inevitable. It didn't mean he took the loss of his internal struggle gracefully or didn't believe he was right on the subject. Several creative and loathsome comments filtered through his mind on his overall pathetic weakness, and astounding girl-like behavior.

It wasn't like him, getting all emotional . . .

Crap, this didn't mean Lisa was right.

With a dry chuckle and a shake of his head, he pulled the damned picture out of his pocket, and placed it face down on the table in front of him and glared at it with irritation. The stupid thing had been burning a hole in his pocket for over a week, and within that time he'd only looked at it three times.

The first time was when he'd lifted it off his old man, and the impact of seeing Tegan's face, and the two of them together, had – if he was going to be honest, which he tried hard never to be – slightly put him off his game. Knowing that piece of filth had been in possession of it had almost turned out very badly. Instead, he'd quickly clamped down on his unwanted - and absolutely pointless – emotions and pressed on, jumping through the hoops until the bomb had been removed from Lisa's head. When he had the all clear, knowing his baby sister was going to be fine, his darling father's number had been up.

The second time, was when he pulled it out for Lisa to see. That time he'd been marginally more prepared for the emotional ass kicking – just not the fallout of Lisa's recent life crisis - with the added fuel of a walk down memory lane. Coincidence had never been, nor would ever be his friend. It seemed fate was mocking him, setting him up before spewing vomit all over his life. He should've anticipated, should've known Lisa wasn't prepared. But he'd been weak, and felt compelled to show and tell, which now seemed quiet girly.

Eff him.

And the third time? Well it seemed the third time was in the here and now, at the local waterhole of Saints and Sinners, surrounded by day drunks who were hiding away from their lives. Typically, he occasionally dropped by for their tenders and fries, with a mediocre gin and tonic on the side. It didn't escape his notice as he stared down at white backside of the phot paper, contemplating whether to turn it over - or simply tear the damned thing in a few hundred pieces - he was hiding too.

But unlike the other losers . . .

No, there was no need to lie, not to himself. Lisa had been right. Him playing it all calm and cool, showing no signs of being affected by the recent events, had all been just an act. An extremely orchestrated and delivered act.

Either Lisa knew him better than he thought, or he was slipping. Neither made him feel fantastic, or like the badass the rest of the underworld thought he was.

The first time he'd met Tegan Eloise Wentworth, his instincts demanded that he turn his ass right around, cause all she was going to be was a big ole bag of trouble. The kind of trouble that would give him blinding headaches, due to excess drinking, but also the kind which would throw his comfortable existence out of whack. It had been a foreboding feeling, one that tickled at the back of his skull, and made his gut tell him to leave her at the nuthouse.

But he'd forged on - like the devoted older brother he was – while silently telling himself he was only bringing Tegan along because of Lisa's Chernobyl sized tantrum she had been throwing in the van parked at the back exit. He'd be a big fat liar if he were to say that the petite blonde shared the same name with the wealthiest family in Central City hadn't been an added perk. Plus, the slight possibility of tainting Lisa's new little friend had made him a little giddy.

Now, years later he wondered who tainted who?

When he'd gotten to the room, he'd been mostly irritated by how his perfectly executed plan had been blown to smithereens. They'd been mere seconds from getting off the hospital grounds, with Mick behind the wheel, him in the passenger seat, and Lisa – well she should've been singing his praises. Gushing over what a great older brother he was. Instead she was kicking at the back door, swearing she was going to unman him if Mick didn't turn the van around so they could go back for her gal pal.

So, excuse the hell out of him for being a little . . . abrasive when he'd reached Tegan's room.

"Rise and shine, you little blonde pain in my ass, it's time to bust out of this joint." Leaning over the younger woman's bed, Leonard lips stretched into a sinister smirk when the girl's eyes shot open. With a startled yelp, she quickly spun away from him and just as quickly got caught up in her sheets as she struggled to flee her bed. All she accomplished was falling into an ungraceful heap on the ground, making him feel slightly vindicated over Lisa's blatant annihilation of his carefully crafted plans.

It didn't take her long to untangle herself from the institutional sheets, and when she stood up in in a storm of blonde curls and outrage, he couldn't keep the smug smirk from tugging at his lips.

"Get out, or I swear I'll scream my head off." Where he could see the conviction of her words written all over her face, he could almost smell her fear oozing from her pours on the other side of the bed.

She was exactly what he'd expected to find in a pampered little rich girl. Golden blonde curls, large green cat shaped eyes with a pert little nose he would've bet was bought and paid for by Mommy and Daddy. She had all the earmarks of a Country Club princess, but he knew his sister, and there was no way in hell Lisa would befriend a brainless little twit from Windsor Heights, not unless she possessed several redeeming qualities. If in a day or so he didn't see these qualities for himself, he was cutting the little princess free.

"What are you . . ." Snapping her mouth shut, she studied him silently through narrowed eyes, while she made sure he stayed on his other side of the bed. He actually found it endearing how she assumed a twin sized bed would keep him safely away from her as she took in his appearance. It took only a tick of a second before understanding began to flicker across her face, and her fear evaporated into an expression of mistrust. "You're Lisa's older brother, Leonard."

"Not the hardest conclusion to come to, but I'll give you points for not, "screaming" your head off." Seeing how she wasn't moving, and any moment someone was going to realize Lisa was not tucked snuggly in her bed - or the strange van parked outback - he needed to get them out of there fast. "Now be a good little girl and get your stuff, we have under a minute to blow this joint."

His words did nothing to entice her into complying. Still not moving, she eyed the closed door before shifting her attention back to him. "Why?"

"Fifty-five seconds."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me why." Crossing her arms over her chest, she almost seemed confident, but her eyes skipping to the door gave her away.

He was going to tell her that he didn't give two fucks if she went or stayed, but at the last second her eyes narrowed in challenge. He hated to lose, and something told him if he turned around and left her there, he would've lost some sort of a battle of the wills. "Fifty seconds, and you're coming if I have to drag you out of here myself."

"My parents won't pay you a dime in ransom." Though her tone was bland, he could see she was testing him, expecting him to ditch her, but he also heard the truth in her words.

It was good to know, and a better thing he hadn't been banking on a huge payout. "Forty-seven."

"Will you stop that?"

Keeping his face blank, he fought the urge to snicker at her obvious frustration. "Yes, if you'd just start packing, forty-five."

"I don't want to put Lisa in danger." Seeing she wasn't going to move anytime soon, and remembering Lisa's vow, he moved the five feet to her closet and was pleased to find a duffle bag on the top shelf. Making himself busy by shoving the clothing hanging there into the bag, he made his way to where she was blocking the dresser.

"What are you doing?"

"Here's the thing." Seeing she wasn't moving from her spot anytime soon, he let out a sigh before nudging her to the right. "We have an extremely small window of opportunity here, and if I don't drag your scrawny little butt back to where my darling sister is not so patiently waiting I will never hear the end of it." Opening the first drawer, he couldn't help but smirk. "Very nice."

Fishing out a pair of black lace panties he let out a snort of laughter when her surprisingly fast reflexes had them out of his grasp and shoving them back where they came from. "Tell Lisa she's a gem, but I can't go."

Frowning, Leonard was torn between wanting to salute her a swift goodbye, and wanting to force her to shut up and get her butt in gear, he took a quick glance at his watch and reopened the drawer. "I don't get it, is it the finger painting or the all you can eat Jell-O that makes you want to stay?"

"None of the above." She snapped as he finished with the last two drawers. "You don't get it."

"No, I don't." Slinging the bag over his shoulder. "Mostly cause I don't care." With that he bent down quickly and had her over his shoulder before she had the common sense to fight back. "Now if you care about Lisa and don't want her getting in any trouble, I suggest you keep that big mouth of yours shut."

"Put me down." Feeling her brace her hands on his lower back, he predicted her move of trying to push herself out of his grasp and countered it by clamping down on her legs.

"Stop moving." Adjusting her more securely, he moved to the door. "I suggest shutting up now, or I could gag you, which doesn't sound like that bad of an idea."

"To do that you'd have to put me down." Her smug response came from behind him, and her logic nearly made him miss a step. "On second thought, that sounds like a wonderful idea. Let's do that."

"Why can't you be a good little rich girl? Simper a little, beg for your life? You do realize most people find me scary?" Opening the door, he scanned the hallway, before exiting her room.

"I'm sure they do, but between you and me, you're liberating me from the crazy house? My decision-making skills aren't really all that sound. There's also a slight question of my sanity, so there's that to consider as well." At least she'd stopped fidgeting on his shoulder, and he could pay attention to his surroundings.

"Tell me, does your little mental condition keep you from shutting up?"

"Sometimes." She replied quickly. "Other times I have these fits of uncontrollable yelling."

"Interesting." Hearing her threat in her words, Leonard clenched his jaw. If she was anything like Lisa she wouldn't hesitate to scream her head off just to spite him. "I have control issues as well. Mine are a little more hands on, and sometimes painful."

"Perhaps I get off on that kind of thing." This time his feet paused on their own, a smile genuine smile on his lips. "I can walk you know."

Right, probably in the opposite direction. "Where I am impressed, walking is such an amazing talent, I think this is preferable."

"Seriously, this is only going to end badly." Feeling her tiny hands grip onto his jacket, he waited for her to try and escape him again. "My parents might not pay to get me back, but they hate having their things taken."

"Good to know."

"They won't give you money to get me back, but they'd absolutely pay a few crooked cops and other less desirables to come and get me."

"I'm getting you out of here and all you can do is insult me? For the record, I'm the less desirable one, they're just lackeys." His words effectively shut her up, though he was pretty sure he heard her mutter something about him being the most aggravating and stubborn jerk.

Hurrying down the dimly lit hallway, he slowed his pace when voices from a nearby room reached his ears. The bundle on his shoulder seemed to hear them too, and miracle of all miracles she suddenly went silent. Deciding to move on, he rushed past the room and to the staircase at the back of the floor.

His feet flew down the steps and he barely considered the jarring impact on the girl's stomach. With another glance at his watch, his pace never slowing, his teeth ground together in aggravation. He shouldn't still be in this damned hospital, he should be sitting down at the nearest pancake house, celebrating Lisa's newly acquired freedom. But instead of patting himself on the back, he was carrying what he was starting to feel was a very bad decision back to the van.

"Put me down." Tegan's breathless words were just above a whisper, but he'd been so engulfed in calculating their chances of getting out, her voice was more like a gunshot.

"Sure thing Princess." With a mocking smack across her bottom, his mood lifted significantly at her squeaked outrage. "As soon as we're at the van."

The rest of the escape went with relative ease, his bundle seemed to be fuming, which gave him the silence he needed as he slipped though the shadows of the hallway leading to the laundry room, where he earlier had taped over the latch to keep it from locking. From there he moved to the service door and was relieved to see the back doors of the van already open and waiting.

"Your chariot awaits." Dumping her unceremoniously onto the floor of the van, he was totally caught off guard when the heel of her foot connected with nose. "What the . . . !?"

All at once he could hear Lisa's voice, Mick's bark of laughter, and the sound of the smaller girl's body struggling to her knees and quickly put as much space between them. Through tear filled eyes, his hand snaked out and latched onto her ankle, yanking her harshly back. Before she could kick him again, he threw his body on top of hers, using his much longer and thicker frame to keep her in place.

"Okay, I'm done playing nice." Wrapping his fingers around her delicate wrists, Leonard placed his mouth next to her ear. "This is how its gonna work. You're coming with us because Lisa seems to have made you her very first friend and wouldn't stop kicking dents into my getaway vehicle. But when I get tired of you, which is getting dangerously close, I'm in charge. What I say goes."

"And if I refuse?" Tegan grunted into the metal.

"Then I will need to teach you how to listen. Not so much fun for you, tremendous amount of fun for me."

"Lenny." Lisa snapped, from nearby, and he could feel the betrayal radiating off her.

"Unlike our patriarch, there are ways to instill good behavior without using fists." Giving Lisa a look that indicated how much he didn't appreciate her interruption, or misunderstanding, he looked back down waiting to hear something that sounded like they had an understanding.

"So here's the deal. If you stay out of my hair, and be a good little girl, everything will be peachy. You'll be fed, you'll have clothes and I will make sure you're safe. In exchange, you'll need to pull your weight, nothing too strenuous of course. On the off chance, you decide not to stay out of my hair, and be a good little girl, everything won't be so peachy, and you'll find I can be a very resourceful guy when it comes to being defied."

"Please Tegan." Lisa begged. "I swear we'll keep you safe."

The second her body relaxed, her fight had deflated, meaning he'd won that round. "Good girl."

She'd been an absolute pain in his ass, but not always the unwanted pain he predicted. He'd been convinced she'd be crying by the end of the week, begging to go home. Proving to Lisa once and for all, that her new pal didn't fit into their world. Instead, Tegan proved him wrong, probably out of spite, and had done pretty much what he'd asked. She'd stayed out of his hair, and was generally a good little girl, and pulled her weight, typically without complaint.

Letting out a long exhale through his nose, Leonard tapped his finger on the back of the picture before looking around for a wandering waitress. Typical, not one in sight when he wanted mediocre service. Picking up the photograph he scooted out of the booth and strode slowly to the bar. Slipping onto one of the bar stools, he nodded at the bar tender and waited for a refill.

Silently he told himself it was time to man up and stop evading the inevitable. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could cleanse himself of his emotional baggage – hopefully for good this time. With a huff at his own stupidity, he turned the image over and allowed himself a moment to just feel. It'd been years since he'd permitted himself to reflect on anything related to that time of his life.

Well perhaps not the first-time Tegan had been with them, that time had been extremely short lived and filled with the tension of allowing a stranger to infiltrate his controlled existence. It had been the second, longer stay that had screwed with his center and had him behaving uncharacteristically. Or perhaps, predictably.

"Why hello sugar," The words were purred into his left ear, the Southern drawl more drawn out than it had to be, had Leonard swearing under his breath. It would appear his little soul quest was being derailed. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

With a dark scowl, he reached for his fresh drink and slammed it back, before schooling his expression into complete blandness. "I really don't need your special kind of crazy right now Dixie."

"Come on now, is that any way to greet your lover?" The expression of hurt painted her face, not fulling him for one second.

"Please." Twisting enough in his seat to glare over at the tall red head next to him, Leonard swallowed down a sarcastic comment over her head to toe black leather get up. Sure, it was one thing to look one's best while knocking over an art gallery, or uppity jewelry boutique. But leather, in the middle of August? It was a horrible fashion statement. "One time in the sack doesn't make us anything more than passing strangers scratching an itch. An itch I doubt I'll ever have again due to some advanced medication."

"Stop." Batting her eyes, she leaned forward as she twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "You might actually hurt my feelings." Looking over to where the bartender stood waiting for her order she smiled at him coyly. "Bourbon on the rocks handsome."

When he felt the man's attention turn to him, Leonard didn't spare him a glance. "I suddenly no longer feel like drinking."

Dixie's smile dampened slightly but pressed on undeterred. "I'm not gonna let your sourpuss mood spoil our little reunion."

"Dixie, I'm a little low on patience today." Tilting his head to the right, a false smile snaked across his face. "Well – in your case, any day."

"And here I came baring a very profitable business arrangement." Her eyes traveled down his body, making him feel oddly dirty and slightly used with just a look. She was a walking porn cliché and sitting next to her made him feel like taking a shower.

It'd been nearly a year since her last visit to Central City, and he wouldn't have cried had she stayed away for eternity. A guy makes one bad decision and earns himself a stalker for life. He hadn't been exaggerating, it'd been a one-time stand, at a very low time in his life, with a little help from a cheap bottle of tequila.

"At the moment, my portfolio is just dandy." Throwing a couple of bills onto the countertop, he went to slip Tegan's picture back in his jacket when Dixie's claw like fingernails plucked it from his grasp. Controlling the urge to inflict serious damage, he balled his hand into a fist at his side and forced himself to stay unaffected.

"Who's the tart?" Unaware how close she was from having him break his stupid promise to Barry-I'm-a-buzz-kill-Flash, Leonard snatched back the photograph and tucked it away.

"As fun as these creepy little run-ins are with you, I've got things to do, people to terrorize." Watching in sick fascination as anger twisted Dixie's face very unbecomingly, leaving her complexion slightly blotched, he knew from experience he'd pushed the crazy button too hard, and likely would have to deal with some twisted kind of retaliation.

Giving her one last scowl, not liking the calculating gleam in her eye, Leonard turned on his heel, cursing his bad luck.