Last Time...
After some time in the silence, Leaf had finished her cup of coffee. She now stood by the sink, looking out the window at the storm that was going on.
"Leaf?" Gary asked, figuring he was going to have to push her. She wasn't going to speak on her own.
She turned and looked at him.
"What happened?"
Her eyes darted to the doorway. Gary acted quickly and blocked the doorway and caught her in her attempt to run.
"Leaf, please." he pleaded, his voice cracked.
"Let me go, you ass! Let go, Gary! I don't have to tell you anything!" she screamed, struggling to get free.
She hit his chest as tears fell from her eyes. Gary held her, taking the hits.
"Please, Leaf..."
"I can't..."
Her struggling had ceased. She now had her head down. She was sniffling.
Gary carefully moved one of his hands and lifted her head.
"Leaf, look at me."
She raised her eyes. He gently wiped the tears from her eyes, being careful of the wounds that were on her face.
"I want to help you. I don't want you to live with this burden and pain anymore." he said, speaking softly.
She opened her mouth and closed it.
"It's okay to feel, Leaf."
Hearing those words, Gary saw that her walls broke. She had finally broke and she was about to reveal everything...
Leaf walked into the kitchen as sat down on the floor. She began to trace the tiles, not looking at Gary. Gary sat down in front of her, close, but far enough away so she had her space.
He saw her swallow before taking a breath. She then broke the silence, but refused to look up.
"I moved during ninth grade, just after the new year passed. I moved because my mom needed a change, so she took out a loan. She rented our old house to people, so that if we ever wanted to come back we would have our old house."
"My mom quickly found a job as a bartender and she loved it. We were happy. We were surviving this new journey together. Just the two of us..."
"But then, she started dating this guy. One of her regulars from the bar. She was smitten. A few months later they were married and I had a step-father. This was around summer break, before sophomore year would begin."
"I had a step-father. Life had changed. I had to adjust to having a male figure around again. I had to get to know, Richard."
"Summer ended and sophomore year began. My mom had to take up late shifts. Richard, he worked during the day. My mom worked during the night."
She stopped. She stopped everything. She wasn't speaking and she wasn't tracing the tiles anymore. Gary waited patiently. He had a feeling of where this might be going, but he hoped he was wrong.
"It was maybe around Halloween. Yeah, Halloween night actually. I had gone to a party with my friends, a costume party. I didn't get back to maybe almost eleven..."
She took a shaky breath.
"I got home and ran into Richard. He was drunk that night. I hadn't seen him drunk before and I was scared."
"I tried to just get by and up to my room...but I-"
She choked and her nails were digging into her fists.
"I...It was never the same after...and it didn't stop."
Gary felt anger in his whole body. But he felt his chest hurting at seeing Leaf so broken. Her eyes finally met his. Her eyes were haunted and told what she couldn't say aloud. She was broken and vulnerable.
Now Gary understood why she didn't like being touched without her knowing. Why she seemed so afraid of him on the phone.
"But my mom was so happy. I couldn't bring myself to ruin her happiness. He had her fooled. And I put on a facade."
She took a breath. "Then my mom was gone before I knew it. It was after her shift one night. She was hit by a car while crossing the street. She was gone in the blink of an eye. The culprit was never found since no one really saw the accident."
She stared at the floor.
"With my mom gone...Richard lost himself with alcohol. Everything got worse. I was consumed with grief and hated myself. I buried Leaf the day my mom died. Or really on Halloween and became a shell of myself, until my mom's death. Once she died, I built a new persona to protect myself, but also to forget everything. I had to because I reminded Richard of her. So I changed my looks and my personality."
"I had to become stronger...but I couldn't stop things from continuing."
She began tracing the tile again.
"So to avoid it, I began staying out late. I got mixed up with the wrong crowd. I made a mistake and that's what caused me to end up here again. And this is the last place I ever wanted to come back to because of everything that happened. So much bad had happened to me that I knew I couldn't be the same girl that I was when I left. She was gone. I knew I needed to create a new name for myself here, so I did. But it just became too much, seeing you, Ash, and Dawn constantly. I missed you all and things kept happening. I didn't want to hide anymore and for a while things were okay. Except today, was my mom's anniversary and it picked up again."
She sighed and wiped at her eye. "I just want it all to stop. I'm tired and I can't live like this anymore. I can't do it anymore."
Gary was careful as he moved closer to her.
"Come here," he said, softly.
Leaf crawled over to him and he carefully wrapped his arms around her.
She was shaking and she had just revealed her darkest secrets. To say he was angry was an understatement. Gary was livivd and wanted her stepfather to pay, but right now Leaf was all that mattered. He needed to keep his anger in check and be here for Leaf. She needed the support.
"I don't want to go back. I can't..."
Gary held her tighter and ran his hand along her back as tears shook her body.
"You don't have to, Leaf."
"I-"
"You can stay here." Gary interrupted.
"But-"
"Leaf, look at me."
She pulled her head away from his chest and looked at him. He carefully wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"You don't have to go back there. I'm going to help you get away. I can help you. Let me help you, please."
She was quiet and looked at him.
"Leaf, you are by far the strongest girl I've ever met. I hate seeing you so broken. I'm glad you opened up, but I want to help you move forward from this."
Leaf pulled back from Gary's chest and looked at him. He carefully wiped the tears that were trailing down her cheeks.
"You don't have to go back there. I'm going to help you get away. I can help you. Let me help you, please."
"But..."
"Leaf, you are by far the strongest girl I've ever met. I hate seeing you broken. I'm glad you opened up, but I want to help you move forward from this."
She hugged Gary's neck and buried her head in his shoulder.
"Thank you..."
Gary kissed her hair.
"I'm here for you, Leaf. I always will be."
The two stayed on the floor for a long time. Leaf's crying eventually subsided to sniffles before she went quiet. Gary glanced down and saw that she had fallen asleep. He managed to stand up with Leaf in his arms and headed towards his room. He figured she would be more comfortable on the bed than the couch, plus she needed a decent sleep.
He set her on the bed, gently and looked at her. She looked peaceful in her sleep. No worries or anger or fear was present. She was calm.
Gary couldn't believe everything she had endured in the years she had been gone. What she had suffered through. He really wanted to help her and he was going to.
He sighed softly and stepped away from his bed.
"Gary?"
He looked down at Leaf who had rolled over. Her green eyes were looking at him. They were bloodshot from crying and tiredness and puffy. He knelt down so he was eye level with her and so he could hear her better since her voice was hoarse from crying.
"Stay?"
"Leaf..."
"Please?"
"Okay,"
He removed his shoes and Leaf had kicked her own shoes off and had gotten under the covers. He laid down and Leaf curled up against him, resting her head on his chest and one hand clinging to his t-shirt.
"Thank you..." she muttered.
He kissed her hair and ran his hand through her hair until her breathing evened out.
... ...
Gary jolted awake to a scream. He glanced over and Leaf and she had tears falling down her face.
"Leaf, wake up." he said, shaking her.
She didn't wake. He shook her a little harder and said her name louder. She shot up, knocking her head against Gary's. Gary ignored the pain her felt and looked at Leaf who was breathing heavily and looking terrified.
"You're okay, Leaf. You're safe,"
She was trembling.
"I'm sorry,"
"You have nothing to apologize for." Gary said.
He took her hand and ran his thumb along it.
"You're safe, Leaf."
She took a breath.
"Thank you, Gary."
"Of course, Leafy. You're not alone. You'll never be alone."
Leaf looked at Gary and saw the sincerity in his eyes. The truth behind his words. She felt protected and safe.
Before she knew what she was doing, she was leaning forward and was kissing Gary. He began to kiss her back, but then pulled away.
"Leaf. Wait, stop."
She looked at him.
"After everything that's happened right now, let's not do something you might not be ready for. I don't want to push you."
She smiled at him.
"I-"
"I just don't want you to rush into something with all your emotions. Tonight was emotional."
"I get that. Can I ask you something, Gary?"
He nodded.
"What do you think of me?"
"I think you're by far the strongest girl I've ever met. You've been through so much, but you've never given up. I'm glad we're back to being friends and that you've trusted me to share this secret to."
"Yes, you've said this. But feeling wise?"
"Leaf..."
"Gary, I don't care about the bet. I know I've revealed my deepest, darkest secret. But through everything between the fake relationship and being friends with you again, I've realized something."
A small silence passed through. Gary was waiting for her to speak.
"I like you, Gary and the pass few months haven't felt like a fake relationship. I would like to see what we can be...for real." Leaf said, softly and looking at Gary.
Please R&R