Everyone was charmed by Leo's bright smile but behind it all, he could barely keep it together inside. From taking care of his sick mother to suffering mental and physical abuse from his father to keeping up his perfect grades in school.
King was th...
I sat in bed with my hands over my face. I wasn't ready for this, but I needed to go. I needed to be there for him, but that didn't make me feel better. I hated these kind of things.
The sound of my door opening made me look up. Uncle Ben stood leaning against the door frame, staring at the floor. "You should start getting ready."
"Any word on Leo yet?" I asked, still holding out some kind of hope.
He shook his head just enough for me to see, and I couldn't stop my eyes from watering, but I blinked them away. "I have a few people in the city keeping an eye out for him, but nothing so far. I'm trying King."
"He needs to know. He could be there today to..." My voice cracked, making me stop talking as I covered my face again. "This isn't right."
"I know. Life isn't fair, but maybe this is for the best," Uncle Ben said, sitting on the bed next to me. "You're doing the right thing going today."
"Are you coming with me?"
He let out a long sigh before laying a hand on my shoulder. "I don't think that would be a good idea if anyone saw me there, but I'll say my goodbyes later. You need to be there to say goodbye for Leo."
"Where the fuck is he?" I yelled, standing up to start pacing the floor. "It's been nearly two months. How can he just disappear? What if he... What if his..." I couldn't finish.
"Remember, Tom said he saw him last week in the city. He's still out there. We'll find him."
A lot could happen in a week. What the hell was taking us so long? I should have been out there looking for him the moment Tom said he saw Leo at some party. He only remembered him because the girl Tom was with that night pointed out of cute he was, and it pissed him off, so he kept an eye on him for a while until they left.
What was Leo doing at that place? At some party. I knew Tom was one to party at some hole-of-the-wall places and sold some heavy stuff there too. That's the last place Leo should be.
"You need to get ready. It starts in an hour," my uncle cut through my thoughts before leaving.
Looking over to my closet door where my black suit was hanging, I closed my eyes, wishing Leo was here.
—---
I didn't think so many people would show up, but it seems like Leo's mother had impacted many people's lives. They all had a story about Isabella and how she helped them somehow before she got sick. She and Leo were so alike in how kind they were.
Walking over to the casket and looking down, she was a truly beautiful woman, even in death. Closing my eyes, I promised her the truth. "I'll find him and bring him home for you. I won't let him be alone, and I'll take care of him for you for as long as he will let me," I told her when no one was around. Taking a moment to breathe and keep myself together, I whispered my goodbyes, thankful that I had a chance to meet her even once before the illness took her.
Turning around, I saw Gray sitting alone, looking at the floor, eyes red and swollen. The last time we were together didn't go well, but I wasn't here for him. Looking around to make sure no one else was making their way over, I sat down next to him.
"Have you heard anything else from Leo?" I asked, low enough for only us to hear.
He didn't look at me once, shaking his head, leg bouncing. "Nothing since the first call. You?"
"We're still looking, and I'm not going to stop until I find him," I told him as I saw his eyes start to water.
"I... wanted him to say goodbye too. I tried to wait longer, but they said..., it wouldn't be wise for..." He looked up for a moment as a tear fell, but he wiped it away and cleared his throat. "Thank you for coming today."
I was about to say something, but everyone started taking their seats as they were about to begin the ceremony. We shook hands one last time before making my way back to Jess and Kiki a few rows away.
"Any news about Leo?" Jess asked, sitting between me and Kiki.
I shook my head. She's been asking nonstop for the past two weeks, biting her fingernails and looking weird. She felt so guilty when he disappeared after they went to that party, but no matter what happened that night, I knew she wasn't the reason he left.
——
I faked left and threw a hard right hook, clocking that prick in the jaw. He dropped like a brick as I hopped around the cage, chewing on my mouthguard. He was out cold, leaving me the win. The crowd cheered, but I was ready for more.
This was my first fight since Leo left, and it felt so good. It's been a few days since Isabella's funeral, and being able to punch out all these frustrations and emotions was just what I needed. I was so pissed we couldn't find him. Pissed that I was here and not looking for him, but for 5 minutes, I could forget all about the outside world.
"Who's next?" I asked the referee standing next to me instead of going to the locker room.
The ref looked around. I knew I caught him off guard. "I have more fighters, but..., you'll need to wait. How about the champion of this next round if he is still good for another fight."
I sighed, taking off the blood-stained tape from my knuckles. The last thing I wanted was to wait around out here, so I walked into the back to the locker room. If I was going to fight the next winner, I didn't care to watch him now. I like figuring them out in the ring. Plus, he didn't watch my fight either, so it was only fair.
Grabbing my phone from the locker, I saw a missed call. Uncle Ben and everyone else important knew I was fighting tonight, so there wasn't a point in caring who it was until I saw a notification for a voicemail.
".... King..." There was a creak in his voice, but I knew who it was as my eyes widened. "King. Please..." Was he..., crying? "Help me. I'm so scared. I'm..., I'm scared. Please." It was Leo, but he didn't sound right. His voice was shaking and raspy. "I... I need you..., so much."
I threw on my sweats and was about ready to hang up the phone to call that phone again but halted when a female voice came yelling over the line.
"Love, what... what you doin' here? Is that a phone? Bro, you can't keep trying to call him. He ain't coming. Here take this. You're tripping, and this will make you feel better soon."
I could hear the phone shuffle before it clicked off, and I immediately called it back. He called only ten minutes ago. I just missed it. Damn it. If I didn't ask for the next fight or if I didn't agree to fight at all tonight, I would have had my phone with me. I would have answered.
"Come on. Leo, answer the phone," I said, biting my thumb. Who the hell was the woman who was feeding him lies? What was wrong with him? Where the fuck is he at?
But no one answered. I called five more times, and the voicemail wasn't set up. So I threw on my coat and called my uncle. Giving him the number and hoping he could track down the location.
"I could have it in a few minutes. Come pick me up," Uncle Ben said, so I headed straight there as the snow began covering the roads.
Fuck that chick. I am coming. I'll find Leo and keep him safe from whatever was scaring him. Please be okay until then, Leo. Please.
.
Thank you so much for reading! We are so close to reaching the goal of 100,000 ink points on Tapas! Reward for this is a commission of Leo and King! Already posted on my Patreon. Also posted was a poll for who to commission for next. May be a sexy one. Vote for who you want on my Cool Beans tier! Ends in two days!
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