Teenage Baby

Chapter 7

"Family gathering without me?" Lou mocked as he stepped into the room, gasping inaudibly and imperceptibly-he hoped-when he registered how Aaron was squeezed between everyone. He loved that they were bonding with him, but still, the way he looked so tense hit a raw nerve in him. Lou didn't like the adapting process, he just wanted to skip to the blissful part, the one where Aaron would become happy and acceptant.

"They forgot me too, Uncle Lou," Leo said, lifting his head from where it had been laying on Aaron's shoulder, his thin lips formed into an apologetic pout. "That's not nice of Mommy and Daddy."

Weren't they going to punish Leo for saying that? Insulting them? Aaron didn't want them to punish him, but he just still didn't quite get how the rules worked, or what they were at that.

"Somebody's grumpy today." Mommy reached out to ruffle Leo's hair, but Leo whined and tilted away from her touch. Aaron caught the subtle playful grin on his lips, though. "Maybe you're hungry. I'm sure Aaron is; he barely ate anything. I'm gonna start with lunch earlier today, how about that?"

No definite answer. Still, she tickled her boys' waists then slid off the bed, brushing past Lou as she headed out.

Once this burden vanished, Aaron felt his throat open up, fresh air finally gracing his lungs again. It felt so much better with just Mommy gone, and he desperately willed Daddy to move away as well.

Lou saw it, felt it, how his baby was pleading somebody to help him out of the situation, and it burnt his heart to ashes. When was he going to adapt? He sighed. "Well, the boys look like they don't wanna cuddle with us. I'll have to take Daddy for a little, is that okay?"

Daddy shot Lou a questioning stare, but Lou mouthed just a minute in response. Scooting off the bed, Daddy kissed his babies on the crown of their heads then followed Lou out.

Aaron let out a long and shuddering breath. Every tense muscle in him relaxed. When he felt himself calm down completely again, he carefully pried Leo's arm off him and pulled himself into a sitting position; the action made Leo huff.

Aaron frowned for a second, then whispered, "Leo, I just need to ask you some questions, but you can't tell anyone. Secret, okay?"

"No," Leo mumbled, leaning against Aaron's chest again. "Cuddle."

The captors weren't there. Couldn't he at least stop acting? This meant two things: either he wasn't acting, or he was aware of some sort of monitor.

"Leo, answer me first," Aaron tried as he forced Leo away from him then gripped his arms to keep his back straight. Leo whined with childish annoyance, staring at him through his thick lashes, brown brows brought together in a distraught frown. Aaron felt horrible for bringing distress to him, but he had to. "Do you know where we are? Like where we're living right now?"

Leo looked quite apprehensive for a moment, but then he tilted his head unsurely. "Mommy and Daddy's house?"

It took every inch of Aaron's power to keep control of his reflexes and refrain from face-palming. Was Leo messing, or was he actually oblivious? But then again, Aaron breathed and calmed his nerves, silently chiding himself for even expecting an answer. What kind of captor would tell the victim where they were? "Okay, never mind. Do you know what Mommy and Daddy's names are?"

This time, Leo didn't even waste a second to think, choosing to stare at Aaron like he was an idiot instead. He giggled. "Silly, Aaron! You just said them. They're called Mommy and Daddy."

Aaron sighed, eyelids fluttering shut with the strained attempt to keep himself calm and collected. He wasn't exactly mad at Leo; he was just frustrated with how nothing was working out correctly for him. He reminded himself that captors wouldn't tell their names either, but why was Lou the only one with half of his name revealed?

"Uncle Lou, do you know his name? It has to be Lewis or-" Aaron was cut short when Leo scrambled onto his lap, arms curling around his neck and face snuggling into the crook of his neck, whispering along want t'cuddle almost incomprehensibly.

Sighing, Aaron let Leo cuddle with him a little in case he wanted to whisper something to him. He leant towards Leo's ear, angling his mouth in a way he hoped a camera couldn't catch. "Do you wanna tell me something?

Leo shook his head. "Nothing."

There went this possibility. Aaron pushed Leo off a bit, heart sinking at his disappointed expression. "Please, think for me then we'll cuddle as much as you want-"

"Meanie!" Leo roared, his angry voice marred with distinctive vulnerability. He managed to maintain a frown for a second, but then his bottom lip quivered and his eyes welled, his thick lashes suddenly long and defined as tears began shedding. Aaron briefly wondered how he could even produce tears so quickly, but then again he had a bigger problem: too much noise. "Meanie."

Leo's voice cracked the second time he spoke, tense shoulders dropping, hands pressing against his face as sobs tore his throat and echoed through the silence. Aaron was frozen for a second, but then he quickly spread his arms around Leo's trembling frame and brought him to his chest, desperately wishing that he'd calm down. Alas, that didn't work; Leo only struggled helplessly against his grip. "Shh, Leo, forget about it, you can cuddle with me, just please stop-"

The door flung open and three sets of eyes watched, but Aaron didn't even have time to comprehend whether their stares were filled with anger or shock, because his own vision blurred with fear of how wrongly the scene could be grasped, and how horrendous the consequences could possibly be.

"I'm- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset him. I just- I'm really sorry."