THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT IF YOU ARE GOING TO UNDERSTAND THIS CHAPTER: Leo is having a flashback that is merging with the present. Almost every other line is a part of a flashback. The italicized sections are flashbacks to the day Chance died. The normal text is present day. Hopefully, you'll be able to follow it because I've never written a chapter that did that before, so hopefully, I did a good job.
Disclaimer: I own nothing
WifeofJaceHerondale: is this update soon enough? Most of the chapters are already pre-written, and I just have to edit them, so you're in luck with this story
NightShapeShifter: Thank you for review! I'm glad you like the story.
GF1920 (Guest): Thank you for the review. It really made my day!
Awesome (Guest): I agree with what you're saying, but here is why I showed a more vulnerable, OC Leo.
1. Some things people can't put a wall around. Leo is strong, but even he has his breaking points. Sexual assault would lead to PTSD. That's why Leo never simply brushed off any questions about this foster him with a joke. He said he always ran when the memories resurfaced.
2. The detectives could send him back to social services if he didn't answer their questions, which was Leo's main reason for going through the interrogation.
Thank you for the review. You did bring up a good point.
I hope I got everyone, but I'm doing this off of my email, so sorry if I forgot one of the reviews.
WARNINGS: MEMORIES OF RAPE AND MURDER. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
It was a Saturday night when It happened.
Tonight was Saturday.
Leo, Chad, and Chance sat trembling on the couch, clutching each other like life lines.
Leo reached out and gripped the hand of Chance the Hallucination. Even if he wasn't real, it felt good to have something to hold onto.
He beckoned to Leo.
Chance tugged Leo along.
"Stand, boy," he commanded.
"Be brave, Leo," Chance murmured.
He always acted so stiff and strict before, but while he was hurting them, he melted. The harsh exterior melted away, but they were more scared of the interior than what lay on the outside.
Leo was sure that He hadn't changed. Leo could only pray that he only experienced the exterior tonight. Assuming, He was still alive
On shaking legs, Leo stood and walked to the center of the living room.
On trembling legs, Leo stumbled through the hallway.
This was a normal occurrence for them. And he hated it.
He still felt shudders run up and down his back as though the frigid hands were still rubbing over his skin.
"Strip."
Leo clutched his jacket around his body. Even passing through the living room reminded him of the humiliation that came with being seen without clothes by three people he barely knew.
Leo slipped off his jacket first before sliding his shirt over his head. Tremors ran through his fingers as he unbuttoned his pants and slipped them and his boxers off.
Leo could barely breathe as memories crashed over him.
Speck lightly touched his fingers to Leo's shoulder and dragged his frigid fingertips over Leo's skin barely grazing it.
Leo felt those fingertips touch his shoulder, and he spun around. Of course, no one was there.
Leo knew better than to speak. Leo knew what He could do to him, should he open his mouth or move unless instructed.
Leo kept silent, and it wasn't just because of the fear that came with venturing into the house. It was as though he were still afraid of getting punished if he uttered a single word without permission.
A hand ran down his back before He shoved him forward, causing Leo to tumble, his knees and palms harshly banging against the hard wood floor.
Leo placed a hand on the wall to steady himself. He would not pass out. He had to keep going. For Chad. For Chance. For himself.
Leo was raped right there on the floor while a video camera rolled, and his foster siblings were forced to watch.
Leo sobbed, silently. He glanced around, searching for the red light of the video camera, finding it in the air vent. There were cameras in every room; they were used to catch every Special Moment- as He called them- with the boys.
When He was done, He helped Leo stand and dressed him, watching as Leo slowly sat on the couch, biting his lip to stop himself from crying out in pain.
Leo cringed. Phantom pains were running through his body, and he stabbed his teeth so hard into his lower lip, he drew blood.
Speck dragged Chance to his feet and gestured for him to strip.
"It's okay," Chance the Hallucination mumbled.
Chance shook his head.
"It'll all be okay," Chance repeated.
"Now," He growled.
Except it wouldn't be.
Chance shook his head.
"Be brave," Chance instructed.
Speck grabbed Chance and shoved him into a wall.
Leo ran his hand over said wall. Speck had forced Chance and Leo to repaint the area and cover the blood that night. Once it was dry, he'd called the police and set the plan into action. The police hadn't looked twice at the wall.
Leo heard the CRACK! from where he sat.
That awful sound still rang in his ears.
Chance slumped forward.
Chance's grip on Leo's hand tightened.
Speck panicked. He raced across the floor and started shaking Chance, but Chance refused to wake up.
They were nearing the bedroom. Most of the Special Moments (notice the bitterness here) had taken place there.
Speck took Chance's pulse and cursed.
Leo felt sick.
"Get up!" He growled before dragging Chance off, ensuring that no blood got on the floor.
Leo stumbled, and Chance grabbed the back of his shirt to help steady him.
Leo and Chad obediently leapt to their feet, crying silent tears as their brother's body was taken away.
One more hallway to walk through, and he'd be in the bedroom.
Speck returned with paint cans and instructions to paint over the blood on the wall before He raced back to His bedroom.
One step, two step, three step...
Leo and Chad did what He asked, afraid of being next.
He could do this...
After Leo and Chad were done, He tossed the paint cans in the dumpster three blocks from the building.
No, he couldn't...
When He returned, He grabbed Leo's wrist and injected something into Leo's arm.
A few more steps...
The next three hours were a whirl of colors, noises, and lights, but Leo didn't comprehend any of it. For a few hours, he even forgot Chance was dead. That was the only good part about being drugged.
Leo had to stop. One more step, and he'd get sick.
When the world cleared up and the drug wore off, Leo realized what had happened.
"Keep going," Chance urged, gently. "For me. For Chad."
He'd witnessed his brother's death, helped to cover up a murder, and now, he and Chad would have to return to that monster. And someday, He'd kill them, too. Leo knew it.
Leo took another step.
Leo didn't even realize what he was doing. Next thing he knew, he was out of his hospital gown, in his old clothes, and leaping out of the first story of a hospital.
Three more steps, and he'd be in the true danger zone.
Every time the memories threatened to creep back in, he'd run. He'd run from them, but he couldn't run from them forever. That was why he had to do this.
One step forward.
He couldn't run anymore. He was tired of it.
Two steps.
He would never be ready.
Three steps. He was at the door.
"Be brave," Chance whispered.
He opened the bedroom door.
"Chad," he called.
Chad and Speck turned to face him.
"Chad," Leo repeated. "Put the gun down."
I know the chapter was kind of graphic, but I had to include the memory to tie up any loose ends.
Review!