Long note before the chapter, you guys. Here we go...
First of all, the shout-outs for the following people who had left me reviews for last chapter! AllAmericanSlurp, Fogfire, Lady Cougar-Trombone, Glee Clue Rock 1251, an unnamed guest (who may or may not be Swiftie22), AlienGhostWizard14, xxWasabiWarriorAlertxx, paquiot899, AngelGoneDevil69 and Jillie chan - thank you, thank you! I appreciate all of your feedbacks!
Second, it's been suggested that a timeline be included in the story, which is a great idea. Regretfully, I won't be able to edit in one in a chapter without interrupting the flow. So, I'll include it here in the notes instead!
The story timeline, with the corresponding chapters, is as follows:
TRIAL AND ERROR TIMELINE
Thursday afternoon, est. 4:21 PM; Chapter One
- Leo receives the letter (time left: 3d, 7h, 29m, 12s)
Thursday night, around 11:28 PM; Chapter Three
- Leo meets Blue Swan, Bree gets poisoned (time left: 3d, 22m)
Friday afternoon, est. between 5-6 PM; Chapter Six
- At Bree's temporary room, Tasha receives information about Jessi Evelyn Nash (time left: 2d, 6/5h, 50m)
Friday night, around 9 PM; Chapter Seven
- At Leo's workplace, Adam pushes Leo out of the way, gets hit by the car (time left: 2d, 2h, 50m)
Saturday morning, est. 12-1 AM; Chapter Eight
- Leo formulates a plan to investigate, Donald says he and Chase will come (time left: 1d, 23/22h, 50m)
Saturday afternoon, around 2:37 PM; Chapter Nine
- Donald, Chase and Leo at the Nash's residence (time left: 1d, 9h, 13m)
Saturday evening, est. 11:45 PM; Chapter Ten
- Chase and Tasha talk about Chase's decision (time left: 1d, 5m)
Sunday morning, est. 10:30 AM; Chapter Eleven
- Leo hangs out with Kerry, plans to tell her goodbye (time left: 13h, 20m)
Sunday night, around 6:38 PM; Chapter Twelve
- Leo in the lab with Eddy (time left: 5h, 12m)
So there's that.
Third, I would just like to say that should you kindly choose to comment after this chapter, I would please love to know what questions you need answers to. Like, who's X? You know, things like that, because in the following chapters after this you'll find what you guys have been looking for, and I just wanted to used those to check if the bases that need to be covered have been covered. ;)
Finally, just a brief warning for this chapter. It involves a sensitive topic, specifically a death of a loved one.
Thirteen.
Adam's room was painfully silent. Besides the clicks and whirs of the machines positioned adjacent to his bed and the subtle beeping that signified his steady vitals, the only sound that resonated was the teenage boy's peaceful breathing. Occasionally, muffled, subtle commotions from outside—like dishes being stacked inside the cupboards, someone walking past the hallway, and a phone ringing—interrupted the rhythm that replayed over and over again within the four walls. Yet with the absence of those, it would seem as if time had gradually come into a stop and had fallen into an endless loop.
Leo exhausted a breath, acknowledging how he was increasingly becoming an anomaly in that order. He consulted his watch nervously before rubbing his palms against his pajamas. He felt the jeans that it hid underneath. Thankfully, no one had noticed that he was suddenly bulky when he walked out of his room in his sleepwear not too long ago. He guessed it was due to the fact that his family was drained, which worked well to his advantage. He planned to leave soon, but he decided to make one last important stop before he walked away permanently from the home and the people that he loved.
He had spent as much time as he could with the other members of his family. He played table tennis with Chase earlier in the day, he helped his stepfather with mission strategies, he watched a few episodes of Bree's favorite teen show with her, and he helped his mother clear out the dishes then clean out the dining room after they finished eating. He didn't think those were enough. He had so many things to say, but it was all he could afford.
He had made a decision. There was no going back.
The preceding day had revealed many things to him. Their inability to locate anything on Jessi Evelyn Nash should have been the most disappointing, but it was not. What clung to his memory like asphalt were Douglas' accusations. Statements, he should say, because none of them were false. He knew his family wouldn't approve of him agreeing with his step-uncle, but the man was a scientist that mostly dealt with facts, and facts were what he needed to make a pragmatic approach to such an issue that had put his and his family's lives at stake.
Bree was still weak from the chemical she ingested. The terrible pains that constantly gripped her had restricted her into the confines of a strange room. Even a simple task like walking by herself had been taken away from her. The incident at the party had afterwards abandoned her to the mercy of the other people in her family. He knew she attempted to make the best out of it, but he could see in those instances when she thought no one could see that she was not the same.
Her goal of protecting him had rendered her immobile and dependent. If Owen had not come to visit her, she would have continued to be unhappy.
Adam still slept undisturbed in that room, but the cuts and bruises throughout his body had become more pronounced and obvious. Leo was glad that he was too inundated with medication that he couldn't feel anything. He was unaware, and that was for the better. Nonetheless, the absence of that smirk that often comes upon his lips when he had told a joke or played a prank or that soft frown when he was considering a seemingly trivial matter like which color gummy bear would go great with his cheese pizza made him almost a stranger.
The accident in the parking lot had robbed him of every ounce of his strength and had locked away his refreshing cheerfulness—everything that made him who he was.
Their parents had sacrificed of themselves greatly, too. His stepfather seemed to have put his business on hold. The answering machine had been backed up with calls from upset investors who had mistakenly read his failure to show up at important meetings as a view of what was to come. Leo had overheard him confide to his mother once that two chief clients had backed out of their deal because he missed a deadline.
Donald had joked that those clients could go fly a kite, but Leo knew losing them was a blow. His stepfather had fought hard to earn those businesses for years, and to lose them just as he had gained them was difficult.
His mother had completely pushed her life on the backseat since it all started. He doubted she had even had enough sleep. She had been too keen to watch over her unwell children, her other two children and her husband that she had no time for herself. She often smiled to encourage them, hugged them all to show her support, but she was tired.
She was very tired, but Leo knew she would refuse to acknowledge it.
Chase had given up his hopes for the future. His older brother's long-term, almost set in stone goals were what made him who he was. Attending that university had always been on his list of things to do. He had fallen in love with it ever since he was introduced to it. However, his strong sense of responsibility and his unbelievable loyalty to his family had crossed it out of the picture. He was willing to break his own heart in half just to make sure his little brother was safe.
Leo wasn't sure he could forgive himself for that.
When he got back to his room after their fruitless and arduous trip the previous night, he found that the Blue Swan had left him another message. She didn't leave any notes, just the object in the middle of his study desk. The seashell from Fresno was unassuming and ordinary. Curious, he examined it. When he shook it, the shell spewed out a few sunflower seeds.
He had known it was her by then.
It had triggered much frustration at first. Yet, the more he stared at it, the more he understood its meaning, and soon he found the clarity that he had been desperately looking for.
From that point on, he knew what to do.
He recalled one particular conversation that had taken place ten years ago. It was at a hospital. He could still remember the unpleasant odor emanating from the disinfectants and cleaning chemicals that were used to mop the floors. Several times, it had forced him to wrinkle his nose and complain out loud to his embarrassed mother. Though, he immediately ignored it as soon as he saw his father. His only aim then would be to climb the bed, if he was allowed, and ask his father how he was feeling.
That day, at that point in time, he knew that unlike several times before, his father was not going to get better. 'The monsters inside the body,' a euphemism his father used to explain the cancer eating him up from within, had overpowered him into the point of defeat. His father was smiling, but he could tell from the agony and the exhaustion lying underneath that he was not okay.
His father bravely acknowledged what was coming, but he held on as much as he could just to get a glimpse of what he soon would miss. What are you going to be when you grow up, Leo?, he had asked. The question differed in angle from why teachers or other grown-ups would normally ask that question. Whereas others did so to find out his thoughts or for plain amusement, his father had a different reason.
His father had asked because his answer would be as close as he could get to see what his son would become years after he was gone.
Somehow, despite being young, he sensed that.
I'm going to be a superhero, Daddy, he had told him. I'm going to save people.
His father tried to chuckle, but it came out as hollow huffs of breaths. He weakly ruffled his hand on his son's fresh new haircut, and it made evident the tremors running through his body. I know you will. You will be the best superhero there is, he said confidently.
The visit lasted for an hour, and then he and his mother went home. At four o'clock the following morning, his mother had woken him up, her eyes wet with tears, and prepared him for what was going to happen.
At eight o'clock that morning, half an hour after he told his father he loved him, his father died.
Leo understood the weight of what he had promised his father. His family had suffered enough. Douglas was right; eluding the threat that was meant for him was selfish. He had to come out from under their protection and stand up on his own. Hiding would not be an option. He would not be a coward.
He stood up from his seat in the corner and heaved up the guitar case sitting next to him. He put as much effort as he could to transport the heavy item, careful that he does not drop it so that the brand new instrument inside would not break. When he reached the bed, he laid the case to the ground and then pushed it underneath where no one could see it for some time.
Leo smiled sadly, regretting that he would never get the chance to see the reaction on his brother's face when he received the graduation gift he bought for him a month prior. "Tell Chase I said you're welcome," he told his slumbering brother quietly.
Adam didn't stir.
Leo blinked. He headed back to the closet at the opposite side of the room and then retrieved his backpack and the invisibility cloak, both of which he skillfully stored there earlier that morning when mostly everybody was asleep. While there, he pulled out his pajamas—leaving him in his jeans, shirt, and jacket—and then stuffed it in his bag. He closed the door silently after he stepped out then came back to the side of Adam's bed. He stared at his brother for a full minute. Then, he sighed. "I'm sorry I couldn't wait for you, man," he said. He tapped Adam's shoulder awkwardly, hoping that the act would communicate his sincerity.
He slipped into the cloak afterwards, his breath rattling when he blew a breath. He pulled the hood over his head before pushing the button. He vanished from sight immediately.
Leo strengthened his resolve. There should not be any room for doubts.
Tonight, he would courageously face his death.
to be continued.