Good Intentions

12

"Yeah, yeah," Leo said and pushed Nick's hands away. "You wouldn't leave me even if I asked you to anyway."

"Correct."

"I figured."

"Why don't we take a walk outside? This will be your home for now on, so it's best to familiarize yourself with the whole property."

"Sure. Why not." Leo would've disagreed just to piss him off but he realized that the better he knew his surroundings, the more prepared he would be once he planned an escape. He had to learn of any blindspots or good areas to run.

Nick smiled sweetly at him. "Okay. I'll go get you a coat. Come along now."

Leo hated how dependent Nick made him feel, but he also couldn't blame him. He tried to escape before, and it was only natural that Nick would want him by his side all the time. This would make things more difficult but if he gained enough trust, he was certain that he could earn some free time to himself.

After Nick lent him a coat from his own closet, which Leo almost declined because of how expensive it felt and looked, he guided him outside through the kitchen's backdoor. It wasn't what Leo was expecting because Nick was French, but the backyard of his property consisted of a traditional rock garden and a gazebo. It was a tranquil and soothing scene. When Leo listened closely, the sounds of trickling water entered his ears and reduced him to calmness.

"You seem to be a fan of Japanese styled things, huh," Leo pointed out.

"Well, it's basically my second home. How could I not?"

Leo envied him for living so lavishly, to be able to afford a nice backyard and to customize it any way he wanted it to be. The closest he had been to having a backyard was the cramped balcony with potted plants in one of his earlier homes, and he considered that pushing  it in terms of money. If there was anything Leo hated more than those who murdered his sister, it was rich people.

Leo noticed that there was an absence of security cameras in this area. This surprised him.

"Aren't you scared of anyone breaking in through the backyard? I'm sure your guards are good but wouldn't it be best to have recorded evidence?"

"I didn't want it to ruin the garden ambience," Nick answered simply after a short pause. "They would've stood out."

"I see."

"Why don't we head back inside now? I'll make you something to eat."

---

Leo had never felt so unproductive. After having a small snack, Nick finally showed him how he was supposed to do his new job, which consisted of answering phone calls, organizing important documents and creating his schedules. Nick was laid back so he didn't have much to do most days which would make the job for Leo even easier. He couldn't believe Nick was giving him this much trust for such an important role. Even so, he was going to make an attempt to run away tonight now that he knew the garden definitely didn't have any cameras. There would be guards, but Leo was confident he'd be able to run away from them again.

After dinner that evening, Leo informed Nick that he was feeling tired and would be going to sleep early. Little did he know was that he stayed wide awake and stayed up until the ripe time of 3am. Leo remembered that Adeline said there were guards outside the window, so he noted not to take that route. The other guards would be outside the entrance, so he wouldn't have to worry about bumping into anyone on his way to the backyard. The backyard entrance connected to the kitchen, where no one would be there at such a late hour. It was almost too easy.

Leo decided that he would strike at the ripe time of two in the morning so that he wasn't too tired. He didn't rest or get one wink of sleep. He was far too excited to able to head out and do his own thing again.

As quietly as he could, he opened his door with ease and crept his way downstairs with the softest footsteps. The moonlight was pouring from the windows of the entrance of the house and painted the wood with a hue of blue. Leo would've found it beautiful if he wasn't trying to run away. It was a long journey to the kitchen, but even so he didn't rush his steps and stayed patient. Being quiet was cruciel here. He knew that Nick's bodyguards would be on him the second he let out the smallest of noise. Even more silenced than before, he swung the door to the backyard and eagerly let himself out.

The cool breeze of the night hit him lightly across the fac and if near freedom had a sensation, this what it would be it. He stood there for a few moments, finally admiring the dazzling moonlight. He snapped himself out of the brief trance when he remembered that the sooner he moved, the sooner he'd be out of there. Instead of taking things slow, he made a mad sprint towards one of the fences, which wasn't too high, but he still had to climb on top of a decorative rock to make his way onto the other side.

Adreneline pumped through his body like a hundred drums, his hands were clamy and his heartbeat was threatening to jump out of his chest. There was nothing over the fence except for trees, there seemed to be no neighbour in site. He wasn't going to let this discourage him though. He didn't want to tell anyone in risk of them telling Nick, because he know that Nick would probably blackmail them into revealing what happened.

Leo began to sprint again, and for a moment all he could feel was pure bliss and liberty. It wasn't long since he landed himself in the mansion, but it was enough for him to want to stay as far from Nick as possible. He didn't look like it, but Nick was an intimidating and almost scary man. It was hard to tell what he was ever feeling.

The cold air bit into his ears and nose and he continued to make a mad dash towards the thick foliage of the forest. Leo, full of energy, began to smile and laugh to himself as he breathed hard through is mouth. He was too distracted by the temporary feeling of euphoria when he felt something knock him from the side onto the ground and kicking all the air from his lungs. He let out a startled huff and whipped his head to the side to view no one other but one of Nick's bodyguards. Leo let out a scream of defeat.

"Let go of me, you deranged ape!" he shouted.

"Master Nick is not going to be happy with this."

"I don't care what your stupid master thinks! Just let go of me!"

"You know I can't do that," the bodyguard said calmly.

Leo thrashed and kicked under the bodyguard's grip and could feel tears welling up in his eyes. He was so frustrated with how close he was to making it out. If only he had been more careful and did more looking around then perhaps he would've made it out successfully.

"We better get back then."

"I don't fucking want to."

"If you behave nicely then there's a chance the master won't be as hard on you. You're making this difficult for all of us and you being stubborn isn't helping at all."

"Your master can go fuck himself," Leo snapped. "Aren't you sick of his irritating self too?"

"Okay, we're leaving," the bodyguard said and picked Leo up without much effort. Leo thumped at the man's back in response. It wasn't going to do anything, but he decided that being stubborn was a lot better than submitting.

He felt a small tear roll down onto his cheek as he watched the forest grow smaller and smaller with each step.