A/N: And herein lies a new chapter! I know it's been forever and a half, I had completely lost my muse for a loooong time, which I feel awful about. This chapter has been sitting in my writing docs, I had bits and pieces of it, I just had to kinda sew them together, and now it's done! I hope y'all like it!
Elliot stared at his phone, an annoyed crease in his brow. He had just left fencing practice, and had opened his phone to a text message he knew only one person would send. And so he sent one back, rolling his eyes.
"Stop calling me that. What's going on?"
He waited casually for an answer, leaning against a wall. On days where Vanessa could drive him, they would carpool, since her violin lessons were close by, so he was waiting for her to come pick him up.
"Nope, don't think I will. Anyways, just having a crappy time I guess. Not quite sure why I texted you."
Elliot sighed, and tried to think of a response. He had to admit, that kind of hurt. After all he had done to try and create a friendship with Leo, and that was the thanks he got? Definitely not the warmest of greetings, that's for sure.
"The point being that you did. Need to talk about it?"
He held his breath, only slightly conscious of doing so, his mind wandering as he waited. What was causing Leo distress? Was Lottie teasing him? He could see that getting on Leo's nerves, since the few minutes that he had spent with her was enough to make him annoyed.
"Not really, unless you want to hear me vent for hours about being a freaking foster child, which I don't even really want to do."
"Oh…." Elliot muttered aloud, realization settling in. His finger reached across his phone, and before he could really even process what he was doing, he hit the call button on Leo's contact.
The phone buzzed for several moments, and Elliot was about ready to give up and admit to himself that Leo wasn't going to pick up, until finally the dial tone stopped, and an annoyed, yet slightly muffled voice came through the receiver.
"What? I thought I said I didn't want to talk."
Elliot sighed once again, shaking his head, despite Leo not being able to see it. "Come on, stop trying to act tough. You need someone to talk to, and I'm more than happy to-"
"Shut up." Leo cut him off, his voice husky and thick. "Shut up, stop acting like you already know me! I just had a crappy day, and you think I'd want to tell you about it?!"
"Well, considering how we met, I wouldn't be too surprised." Elliot pointed out, "Considering the fact that-"
"I know that!" Leo snapped, "But that and this are totally different things! And that was your fault! Well, I guess this kind of is too, all things considered, but…..I just don't want to talk about it, OK? I'm just already so sick of this, I hate it…."
"Leo, what happened?" Elliot pressured gently, surprising himself with how calm and kind he was being.
"Like I already said, none of your damn business!" Leo's voice broke down, and finally he whispered, "I just can't take this…..they're….they're so…..."
Elliot leaned forward, his heart racing. He hadn't got a feeling from Lottie about anything being wrong, but if they were doing anything to Leo…."What are they doing? Are they hurting you? I swear if I need to intervene-"
"No, it's nothing like that!" Leo assured, "It's not that…..they're just…..they're so kind." Pain seeped into Leo's words, and a sob escaped before he could stop it.
Elliot tilted his head, confusion etched on his face. "What….what the hell? wouldn't he want them to be kind?" And so he voiced his question aloud, unsure of what response may be waiting. "Don't…..don't you want them to be kind to you?"
"No!" Leo shot back, and there was a moment of heavy silence. "No, I…..I don't. Well, I do…...But I just…..It's complicated, OK? It's really complicated and…."
Hearing Leo so conflicted made Elliot's heart break, and he gripped his phone tightly in anger. What had made him feel like this? "Look, I can't say I understand, because I don't, but I'll still be here for you, OK? I don't care how cheesy and cliche this sounds, but I can't stand to see any one of my friends hurting."
"You're really an idiot, you know that, right Idiot?" Leo muttered, a teasing edge to his words, and Elliot could practically see the smirk returning to his face.
"Yeah, I know. I think it's becoming a bit of a habit." Elliot admitted, for once not getting upset by the nickname. "But what I said was the truth. If you ever need someone to talk to, about anything at all…."
"I'll keep that in mind." Leo whispered, "And…..thanks. I really didn't want to talk, but…...I'm glad I did."
"Glad I could help." Elliot couldn't help but smile, and relief washed over him as he listened to Leo. But before he could say anything else, a bright light came up that made him squint, and he realized it was Vanessa's car. "Hey, I've gotta go, but I'll call you back, alright?"
"Alright." Leo agreed, and a moment later Elliot's phone gave off the tone of an ended call.
"Who were you calling?" Vanessa inquired as Elliot pulled open the passenger side door. She glanced at him inquisitively, but something in her eye hinted that she already knew the answer.
"Leo." Elliot answered honestly, but even though Vanessa had softened to the idea of allowing Elliot to speak with him, he still felt as if he needed to be cautious, in case she somehow changed her mind.
"I see…...how is he doing?"
Elliot hesitated for a moment, trying to decide what to tell her. He took a breath, and responded, "He's doing a bit better, I think. I can't even pretend to know what he's going through…..."
"Of course not." Vanessa sighed, "Listen, I still think this was a bad idea. You're going to get mixed up in all this, and you're going to get your heart broken. Things like this never end well. It'd be for the best if you just walk away now-"
"We already talked about this." Elliot interjected, "And I'm not walking away from him. I promised myself that I wouldn't, and I'm going to keep that. I got him into this situation, I can't just leave him now."
"I really can't change your mind, can I?" Vanessa sighed again, "In that case, just remember that I warned you, things like this never end well."
"I'll remember." Elliot promised.
"And I'll prove you wrong."
"Leo?"
Leo groaned, sitting up in his bed. He'd just gotten off the phone with Elliot a few minutes ago, and he had been trying to go to sleep. "What?" He glared over at Lottie, who was peeking into his room.
"I just came to check on you. Glen…..Glen is worried about you, and so is Lily. And….I am too. I know this is all a change, but-"
"How many times now do I have to tell people to shut up?!" Leo burst out, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. "Stop trying to convince me that things will be alright! Stop trying to play perfect family with me! And tell him that he will never be my father! He can never even come close! Now, just leave me alone!"
"I know that…." Lottie soothed, "But I'm not going anywhere. I want you to know that I'm here for you." She crossed the room, sitting on the edge of Leo's bed.
"What are you, a one-woman support group?" Leo scoffed, "You know, people would tell me that I'm lucky, that I'm not like other foster children. I didn't have to be pulled out of a crappy home because of parents who were unable to take care of them, or who didn't want to take care of them. I don't have to worry about any of that, because….."
"Leo, I understand how you feel, but-"
"No, you don't understand how I feel! You can't understand how I feel!" Leo raged, digging his fingernails into his palms. "Not unless you've been where I've been! To have parents who actually loved you, who made you feel like you had a home, and you believed things would stay like that forever…." He trailed off, tears gathering in his eyes.
"I know our circumstances were different." Lottie whispered, "I know. My parents treated me like I was garbage that they couldn't bother with."
"My father loved me, more than anything." Leo whispered back, as if he couldn't bear to say it aloud. "He loved me, so then why?!" Now his voice raised, despair seeping into his tone. "Why did he leave me like this? I came home to see him dead…."
Lottie raised an eyebrow. She had never heard Leo open up so much, especially about his father's death.
"I didn't understand. I was 10. He left his 10 year old son, and not to mention my mother, and he went and shot himself! Schizophrenia, they told me later. My mom knew all along, but never told me. Then my mom…..."
"What happened?" Lottie asked gently. "Did she…."
"Kill herself too?" Leo was crying now, the tears streaming down his cheeks. "The courts ruled it suicide. I don't believe it though. But…..who would listen to a kid? Especially one without proof?"
Lottie nodded in understanding. "And so you got put into foster care."
"It's been hell." Leo admitted, "I got kicked out on my first night, not even a few hours after being there. And since then…..."
"Since then?"
"You know. You already know, so why bother asking? Look, I don't want to talk anymore." Leo abruptly brushed Lottie off, laying back down and closing his eyes. "I'm tired, OK? Just leave me alone." He reached up to clear the tears away from his face, his eyes stinging.
Lottie frowned, and an idea crossed her mind. "Not quite yet. I know something that you need. Follow me, OK?" She stood up from Leo's bed, beckoning with her hand.
Leo rolled his eyes, but complied, pushing himself up to stand. He felt exhausted, and yet he followed anyways, as Lottie led him into a room across from the kitchen. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see." Lottie teased, "Lily left out a room earlier, we don't use it very much anymore." She pushed open the door, and mentioned Leo to enter. "See? Go on, sit down."
Leo's eyes widened, stepping into the room. Situated in the middle was a gorgeous grand piano, black and sleek, and an equally beautiful piano bench. He glanced back at Lottie, then took a seat at the piano. His fingers brushed hesitantly against the keys, and he played middle C lightly, the tone resonating throughout the room.
"Play something." Lottie urged, "Oh, I know, play that piece you made, you promised you would!"
Leo thought for a moment, memories of the day he had created the song flashing through his mind. It had been a release from his emotions that he had desperately needed. So, making up his mind, he placed his fingers for the first notes of the piece, and took a deep breath.
Lottie stood silently, taking in the beauty of the piece. It rose and fell with emotions that tugged at her heart, pain and anger and sorrow, harsh and intense. It spoke Leo's heart with every note.
Once again, as Leo played, tears slid down his face, hitting softly his arms and his shirt, but not once did his fingers waver, and as he struck the final chord, he turned away from Lottie, reaching up to clean his face. "That was Tempeste."
"That was beautiful…..." Lottie breathed, awestruck. "I've never heard something so-"
"What are you two doing in here?" A voice spoke from behind them, startling the two teens.
"Ah, Glen! I just…..." Lottie faltered, glancing over her shoulder at Leo. "I just wanted him to see it, he's really good! You should listen! Come on Leo, play it again so he can-"
"No." Glen cut her off, a frown crossing his lips. "You two get out of there. Lottie, I want to speak with you, alright?"
"Alright…." Lottie sighed, stepping out of the room. Leo slipped past her, and disappeared into his room.
Lottie shifted on her feet, an uncomfortable silence falling between them as the moments stretched on. Finally she spoke up, "Listen, I just-"
"I know, you've said. But I seem to remember making it explicitly clear that I don't want that room to be opened, it doesn't even exist. Am I understood?"
"Yes Glen….." Lottie looked down, her eyes tracing the tile floor. "I understand…." She bit her lip, working up courage, then added, "But I can't keep pretending anymore! I can't keep that door locked, not when I know that you used to-"
"Those days are over. We won't spoke of them anymore. Am I understood?" Glen spoke sternly, reaching past Lottie to close the door. A small click sounded from the door, and he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small key, which he then inserted into the lock.
"Yes Glen…..I won't talk about it anymore….."
"When will you let us open that door again?"
A/N: I promised y'all would get some answers, and here they are! Well, part of it anyways. And more questions too XD Let me know what y'all think of the chapter, any guesses as to what secrets the characters may be hiding, really just any comments at all are appreciated :)