Congrats to BigTimeRusher12, Rodrigo, Waterlooroadbrat, vampiregal007, Lady Cougar-Trombone, Labgirl2001, LRW, and Doomforzombies for answering correctly! Leo and Bree used Exo to get rid of the trash that was piling up in the quarters.

Thank you to Guest 2.0, Yuki F. Karasu, xxWasabiWarriorAlertxx ( ;) ), and raenbc (Thanks, Rae!) for the reviews!

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It contains one of my favorite conversations in the Chronicle. It also introduces a certain someone. ;)

Episode Tag to: Forbidden Hero

Chronicle #054

"Jeopardy"

06/29/15

10:56 PM

So, this summer's not off to a good start. Again. Whereas last year, the problem was that I was bored out of my mind because I didn't really have anyone to hang out with, this year, the problem is that it feels like these missions we've been going to are out to get me.

Well, Adam, Bree and Chase, really, but of course I wasn't going to let anything happen to them so it ended up falling on me – no pun intended. The first part of last week, a mission involving an industrial grinder caused me to twist my ankle. A few days after that, an accident at a dock caused me to hit my head hard, which, by the way, probably wasn't a very pretty sight since it involved me (1)passing out, (2)getting very nauseous when I came to and (3)feeling very sick to the point that I started spewing like a sprinkler.

Then, this week, just when things were looking good, a rescue mission at a highway pileup caused me to sprain my foot.

It was like danger gave me a very painful once-over.

Unfortunately, the sprained foot is not as easy to recover from as the twisted ankle. I'm going to have to wait two weeks for it to heal, so until then I'm benched from going on any missions. That wouldn't have been so bad, I guess, if not for the fact that this thing hurts like I don't even know. Walking's definitely out of the question. If I want to go anywhere, I have to hop with my only good leg. Not that I would do it often, of course. This one's bad enough to really keep me off my feet.

I'm just glad Mom is still here. And that this didn't cause her to change her mind again regarding my stay here at la Academia. Last week, I really thought that would be it for me. I mean, I guess it's of my own doing that I almost got sent home. You would think I'd learn from past experiences of disobeying her. Sadly, I didn't. It took a big storm and a near-death experience for her to change her decision.

Honestly, I'm just glad that nothing happened to her. If she had flown off to sea that night, that would have been on me. I wouldn't have known how to live with that.

I guess that's why I've been on obedient cub mode lately, especially after this third accident. I listen (well, I try to listen) to whatever she tells me, and, surprisingly, I did and do most of them. Even when she practically has me on lockdown at the living quarters, leaving me with nothing to do all day but stare out the windows, I do it.

Not gonna lie, to a teenage boy, this is tantamount to torture, but at least she's happy.

Plus, this listening thing is not so bad. Not moving around so much does help, and having more free time has allowed me to catch up on different things that I've been missing lately. And it's not like I have time to get bored; I'm asleep for the most part of the day. I'm not very sure if it's because of the pain medicine. They're not the strong kind, just the generic one. I guess I just react to it that way when I take it because afterwards I'd feel comfortable enough to get decent rest.

At least, that's what Mom said. The night after the highway pileup mission, it kinda freaked me out how groggy the medicine made me feel some minutes after I took it. "And you're probably just tired, honey. We're talking about untangling fifteen cars here, not to mention getting out the many people that was trapped in there," she added, sitting by me while I was lying down on the couch. "Who wouldn't feel tired after dealing with that?"

"Yeah, you're right," I said, or mumbled, or maybe thought. I didn't really know. I was half-awake, half-asleep at that point.

Mom and I had a pretty good conversation that night. I knew, because Mom was smiling the next day and was more affectionate than she already was like I had said something good. I just couldn't remember what it was. I had to access the video feed in the quarters to really know what happened.

As it turned out, I really did say that I agreed with what she said.

After I had said what I said, she chuckled. "You also ate a big meal tonight. That probably doesn't help."

"But the food was so good, Mom," I replied blearily.

"Well, thank you. I'm glad you, Chase and Bree liked it."

"Don't worry about Adam. He's just really funny when it comes to what he eats," I said.

Mom just smiled as she looked at me. After a sigh, she said, "I'll be going back home in a few days. Are you sure you're going to be alright here by yourself?"

"Mm-hmm," I said with a slow nod.

Her smile shrunk a bit before she asked, "You don't want to come back with me? Even for just a week?"

"Mm-mm," I said, shaking my head.

She nodded. "Okay."

I must've noticed that something was wrong, because after looking at her for some time, I asked, "Why do you look so sad, Mom?"

She smiled, but I could see that she only did that so I wouldn't worry. "It's nothing," she said.

"Mom…"

She sighed with a weak grin. "It's just that I realized you're grown up now, that's all," she said. "You probably don't need me anymore."

I stared at her a while, probably because her words were taking time to register. When it did, I said, "That's not true. I'll always need you, whether I'm seventeen or seventy." I smiled. "You're my mom."

"Aw, baby, it's okay," she said as she placed a hand on the side of my face. "You don't have to make me feel better. It's just how things are. I've known since the day you were born that there will come a time when you will have to leave me. I did the same, when I was old enough. You just did it earlier than I did. I just need to get used to the idea that you've flown off the nest. Really, it's okay. All I ask is that you're safe and happy, and, here, you look like you are. Right?"

"Yes."

"Good. Then I'm happy."

And she did look like she was really happy for me. It did bother me, though, to see that she was still hurting. She missed me, and she seemed like she really wanted me back home, but it also looked like she knew that the island is where I needed to be. So, honestly, I told her, "I didn't leave you, you know. When I moved out of the house, I took you with me. I carry you right here." I pointed to my chest. Looking down, I realized that it was anatomically incorrect, so I lowered down my finger to where my heart should be then said, "Well, actually, you're more, like, right here."

Mom laughed, and I hoped that that meant that she knew what I was saying was true.

"I'll always have you with me, Mom."

"Yeah. You will," she said. "You've had my heart with you since day one."

"I'll keep it safe," I promised.

She smiled. Probably realizing how sleepy I was getting, she just gave me a kiss on the cheek then said, "Goodnight, baby."

"Hm."

Then, I was off like a light after that.

Like I said, Mom was happier the next day, and after seeing the recording everything made sense to me. It also made me want to really just enjoy spending time with her. Just imagine, in the course of nearly four years, we went from just being by ourselves to being in a house full of people (well, seven people) to being in two different places. That's a lot, all things considering, especially to her. I just don't want her to ever think that I'll exclude her from my life.

I mean, really, what kind of kid would want good parents out of their lives?

I want her to know that she'll be involved even as I get older. One day, she'll probably wish that I'd quit bothering her, but, hey, she'd be with me when it counts.

That's actually the reason why I decided to let her be the first in my family to know of a recent development. She already knew about what happened with me and Janelle, and some days I still wonder if it had been a good idea to tell her because that really upset her. She also knows about the new friends, and she was happy to meet them. They were excited to meet her.

Both of those, she found out while I was talking to her through a video call.

This one, when I told her, it was in person.

Yesterday, she had stepped out of the quarters for a bit because of a workmate called her. When she came back, I wasn't alone; Amaranth was sitting with me, the two of us playing Fruit Ninja on our tablets. We were so into our little competition that we didn't know she was standing there until she cleared her throat.

"Oh. Sorry, Mom. We were just playing this game and – we got distracted," I said.

"That's okay," she said with a smile. Turning to Amaranth, she said, "I don't think I've met you before. I'm Tasha, Leo's mom."

Amaranth shook the hand she was holding out. "Hello, Mrs. Davenport. I'm Amaranth," she said. "It's really nice to meet you. Leo tells us about you all the time."

"Ah, does he?" Mom said with a look at me, and it was the kind that made me want to squirm. "So, are you one of his new friends, too?"

Amaranth looked at me uncomfortably, not quite sure what to tell my mother.

I scratched my head with a nervous chuckle. "Uh, actually, Mom? Amaranth's…my girlfriend," I said, unsure how she would react to it.

A knowing smile came to her face. "Oh."

"Yeah."

"And how long have you two been dating?"

"Well, technically, we haven't gone on a real date yet because of trainings, but we've been together for three weeks."

"Really." Mom turned to Amaranth, her brows hitched. "And you're okay with him calling you his girlfriend that fast?"

Amaranth smiled excitedly, probably because that was really the first time I introduced her that way. "Yes, ma'am," she said.

Mom seemed to scan Amaranth from head to toe and back, and for a minute I started thinking that she would be against us being together. But then she just grinned. "Okay. Just checking," she said. Sitting down on one of the available seats, she asked me, "Am I the last to know about this, Leo Francis Dooley?"

"Mom!"

"Your middle name is Francis?" Amaranth asked, chuckling. "That's…that's adorable!"

"Well? Am I?" Mom asked.

I sighed. "No," I said sulkily. "You're the first. I haven't told Big D or Adam, Bree and Chase because Amaranth and I wanted to see how long it would take for them to figure it out."

"Why?"

I shrugged. "Just a little social experiment."

Mom thought about it. She then shrugged. "As long as you told me, I guess that's fine," she said. She turned next to Amaranth. "You said your name is Amaranth, right? How old exactly are you?"

"I'm sixteen," Amaranth said.

"And how did you and my son meet?"

"Mom, please—please don't interrogate her," I said.

Mom just looked at me.

Amaranth nudged me. "Leo, it's cool. Your mom just wants to know. It's okay," she said.

Mom looked impressed. "Huh. I like her," she told me, and it made Amaranth grin.

Those are the women in my life for you. They tag-team me.

Well, at least they get along fine. It seems like Mom does really like her. She asks questions about her, about us. She gives me relationship advices out of the blue – thankfully when no one's around. From time to time, she vanishes, too, and I have a strong feeling that it's because she's trying to really get to know Amaranth.

I would worry, but Amaranth's a pretty chill girl. Plus, from what I've seen and heard, she seems to actually like spending time with my mom, which is great. I guess.

Now, if this foot would just heal faster, I'd get to spend time with them, too. I really would like to enjoy the start of summer with my family, my friends, and my girl outside the confines of the quarters.

Signed,

Leo Francis Dooley

06/30/15

1:01 PM

The Chase Chronicles

In Forbidden Hero, what was the gift Bob was trying to give Bree but ended up giving it to Caitlin instead? Reviews and answers are appreciated!

By the way, if you'd like to "meet" Amaranth, a chapter image of her is posted on my profile. It also includes a list of stories where she had appeared and would appear. :)