Terrified

Part 5

I stormed out of Donnie's lab to find Leo. He was considered a leader, maybe he would understand. Maybe he would get my hints. Or maybe I could convince him it was a waste of their time to see me home. Maybe-

"Oomph."

"Whoa there, Y/n," he set his hands on my shoulders, steadying me. I looked up through teary, frustrated eyes to find the very brother I had been looking for and launched, wrapping my arms around his neck as the tears silently flowed. He continued to hold me, rubbing gentle circles on my back as he cooed about how everything was going to be okay before I finally loosened my hold. He kept me in a loose embrace, looking down at me with worried eyes like any big brother would. I had always felt that brotherly pull toward all of them, except Raph; who made me feel warm and embarrassed and safe and frustrated.

"S-sorry," I sniffled, rubbing the tears off my damp cheeks as my sight fell to our surroundings. Anything but him.

"Hey," he leaned down to my eye level, shaking me gently to grab my attention. "Hey hey hey. There's no need for apologies. Why don't you tell me what happened so I can pummel who did this to you. Was it Raph?"

"Wha- Raph- Why?" I shook my head and met his ocean blues with a determined gaze. "That doesn't matter- I think you guys should stop following me home-"

"Wha-"

"It's not worth your time-"

"That's not-"

"All of you have better things to do than make sure I get home safe-"

"Y/n," Leo demanded my attention once more. "What brought this on? We want to make sure you get home safe. It's not any trouble or a waste of time. We would do anything for you."

"But-"

"You mean everything to-" He cleared his throat and towered above me, shifting on his feet. "Uh... to us. You're like a sister to us. And we don't let anybody hurt family."

"Oh," I breathed out, not feeling quite so burdensome. "Then maybe don't force Raph to-"

"Raph? He's the one who-"

"Yo! Dudette!" Mikey called from the couch just on the other side of the room. "When are we gonna race!?"

"Coming!" I answered with a tight laugh before looking back up at Leo. "Are my eyes red? You think anyone will notice?"

"No," Leo smiled down at me. "Especially not Mikey."

"Good," I tiptoed up to peck his cheek with a quick thanks and skipped off to the couch, spirits lifted.

~~~~~~~~~~

Leo found Raph sitting against a wall in the darkened dojo, looking dejected.

"She asked for us to stop accompanying her home," Leo told him, voice quiet in hopes of not upsetting his brother.

Silence reigned, so he tried again as he sat next to Raph.

"She thinks we have better things to do than keep her safe."

"Fine," Raph sounded rough, defeated, hopeless.

"It's not fine, Raph. She thinks she's a burden," Leo dragged his brother off the cold floor and slammed him against the wall.

"I heard ya, Fearless," Raph growled out, shoving Leo out of his space. "Just like I heard her beggin ya not to force me-" he choked out.

So this was your problem. Nobody got to you in the subway, except yourself. You didn't want him and his brothers watching out for you anymore. You thought you weren't worth their time- his time. Worst of all, he was the one that made you feel this way. Somehow he made you think you weren't worth his time. That you weren't good enough for him.