Tessa
"Leo, how am I supposed to tell my dad? What will I tell them? That I got shot!?" I said pulling at the roots of my hair.
I told my dad the truth about where I was after I woke up since I couldn't keep using the excuse that Serenity told him for more than a few hours and he was currently on his way and worried as fuck.
"Don't worry, I'll handle it" He said full of confidence and kissed my cheek.
How can he be so calm about meeting my father?
"What!? No way!" I said shoving him away, "You won't say a thing. I'll talk to him. You'll go to your room until he leaves" I said firmly.
"No, you don't need to get stressed over this. I'm responsible for what happened"
"I chose to get involved" I said glaring at him.
"I got you involved in the first place"
"I was already involved"
"Tessa" He said as if he was warning me.
"Leo" I said using the same tone.
"What's going on here?" I heard a familiar voice I had missed so much. Normally I would be happy about it, but it wasn't a good moment for him to come in.
I gulped, "Dad, hi" I said and moved away from Leo quickly.
"Hello sir" Leo said calmly.
"Who are you and what happened? Is he the one who hurt you!? Why are you even here!?" He asked getting worried by the second.
"Dad, calm down. He didn't hurt me" I said.
"Then what happened?"
Leo and I looked at each other and Leo gave me a reassuring smile before turning back to my dad. I didn't know why but it helped me calm down and I was almost sure I could trust him.
"Tessa was shot, sir" He said making both my dad and I gasp.
Why did he say that!?
Maybe because it's the truth.
But that was exactly the reason why he wasn't supposed to say it!
"What!?" My dad asked. He rushed to me and took my hands in his face, "Does it hurt a lot? did you lose a lot of blood?"
"I'm okay now, don't worry" I smiled at him.
I really don't want to worry him.
"How can I not worry? How did this even happen!?" he asked in panic.
"She was attacked by a group of men when she was going home last night. My friends and I heard her yelling and we ran to help. Unfortunately we weren't fast enough so prevent her from getting hurt" He said looking down sadly, "I'm really sorry I wasn't fast enough, sir"
My dad turned to me, his face a mix of disbelief and wordy, "Is this true?" He asked me and I nodded, "Why did they attack you?" His voice cracked.
"They thought I was someone else. I'm guessing they were really dangerous people"
"They thought you were someone else!? That's their excuse!?" I could see he was getting really angry but he sighed and tried to manage his anger.
Having to raise three daughters after their mom and the love of your life died must need a lot of patience.
"What happened to them?" He asked.
"They've been taken care of" Leo said coldly. The story was made up, but I could see a dark glint in his eyes. I didn't know if he was a really good actor or if he was thinking of something.
I thought his reply would scare my dad, but he seemed satisfied with the answer and didn't ask more questions.
"Thank you so much for saving my daughter, I owe you. You look hurt as well" My dad pointed out.
Leo looked towards the door and nodded smiling for a split second before turning back to my dad. I looked at where he was looking and saw Nate and Vincent out in the hall laughing and being all happy about something.
What's going on?
"It's nothing" Leo told my dad.
"Is everyone else okay?" He asked.
"Yes, don't worry no one was severely injured" Leo said, "I'll leave you two alone for a bit" He said and left the room.
My dad sighed and turned to me, "I was so worried. Please don't walk alone late at night anymore, or at least call me if you see something suspicious" He said, "I thought I'd lose you too" He mumbled.
"Don't worry dad, I'll be more careful from now on, I promise. Where are the girls?" I asked.
"Worry about yourself first" He rolled his eyes but then said, "Their aunt is taking care of them. I didn't want to tell them you got hurt and worry them"
"I'm sorry for worrying you, dad" I said. In reality what I wanted to say was 'I'm sorry for lying to you, dad'.
"That boy. Did he really save you?" He asked. Crossing his arms.
More like we saved each other.
"Yes" I said with a smile.
"Do you like him?" He asked wiggling his eyebrows.
Ugh. Stupid dad.
I looked away feeling my face getting hot.
"No, I don't even know him" I said.
"Hm that's weird" He said thinking, "You two seemed pretty close when I came in. Not to mention the intense staring" He said with a smirk.
"We were just talking about something that we're both very passionate about" I said avoiding his gaze, "I don't even know the guy, I'm just grateful his friends and he saved me" I said crossing my arms.
"Okay, whatever" He said rolling his eyes.
If only you knew how much I love that "guy" and what I'd do for him.
If only that "guy" knew that.
"Well since I know you're okay and you have so much company here. I'll go get the girls and I'll visit you later today, okay?" He said.
"Yes, dad"
He gave me a kiss on the head and left after that saying that he'll see me later. Leo entered a few minutes after my dad had left.
"Hi" I said.
"Hi, how did it go?" He asked walking closer.
"Good. He believed us" I said relieved and closed the distance between us wrapping my arm around him, careful not to move my other shoulder since it hurt.
"See, I told you you didn't have to worry" He said wrapping his strong arms around me gently and nuzzling my neck.
"Leo, about Reid" I started. I felt him go tense in my arms, but he didn't move, "Is he...dead?" I asked hesitantly.
"Yes" He said and let his muscles relax facing me, leaning his forehead on mine, "I'm so sorry you had to do this, Tess. I wish you didn't have to go through all this because of me" he mumbled and pecked my cheek.
I looked down knowing exactly what I wanted to say but feeling a little shy, "I would do it all again for you" I mumbled quietly.
"What?" He asked with a faint smile. His voice was weak and barely audible.
"I said I would do it all again for you" I said a little louder feeling my face get hot and looking at the floor.
He looked at me with disbelief and his smile widened a little, "Don't say such things, Tess" He said lifting my chin up so I would look at him.
"Why?" I chuckled putting my hand on his cheek.
He closed his eyes leaning his face into my hand and then turned and kissed my palm.
Is my heart okay after this? No.
"I don't deserve-Hey!" I interrupted his stupid words with a light slap.
"That's for being dumb"
"It stings, Tessie" He whined, "You have to kiss it better now"
Who is this person pretending to be Leo?
But he looks so happy.
I like it.
"Such a baby" I mumbled holding back a smile, but gave in and kissed his cheek, "You deserve the world" I told him.
He looked down with a sad look on his face. It reminded me of the look he had when I told him he's a murderer.
Oh no, why is he sad now? Is he thinking about what I told him that day? No! Go back to being happy.
"And by the way" I started, "I'm sorry for saying all those things to you. I was just so taken aback and it's a really sensitive topic. I wasn't prepared at all so I overreacted" I said.
"No, no, You didn't overreact. I'm sure anyone in your place would do the same" He said.
"But I hurt you" I said.
"I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt" He said with a bitter chuckle, "I don't want you to hate me, but, I am a dangerous person after all. If hating me means you're safe then-"
"No" I said firmly, "Please stop saying that"
He took in a deep breath and then gave me a smile. I could see it was forced.
I leaned in and pecked his lips. His eyes widened in surprise and I could see a little red on his cheeks when I pulled back.
He inhaled sharply, his face looked as if he was in pain and then he held the back of my neck pulling me in and pushing his lips against mine.
"I missed this" He mumbled against my lips, "So, so much"
"You don't have to miss it anymore" I said and smiled at him.
There was a small smile on his face, but why did he look so sad?
"Yes" He murmured staring at my lips as he gently twirled a curl on my hair. "I'll go see Nate and then I'll come back, okay?" He said after breaking out of his trance.
I nodded and then leaned in and kissed his cheek. He smiled more brightly this time walking backwards towards the door, "See you in a bit, Tess" He said before turning and walking out of the room before closing the door.
I sighed and fell back on my bed carefully not to hurt myself.
It wasn't a while before I heard a knock on the door.
I sat up and said, "Come in"
I saw Serenity peeking inside with a happy smile on her face, "Someone's here to see you" She said sweetly.
Before I could say anything I saw Jane push her to the side and hurrying to me, "Thank God you're okay! I was so worried!" She said holding my face.
"I told you she's fine" Serenity murmured rolling her eyes.
"It doesn't matter! You were still severely hurt. I couldn't believe what I was hearing when Serenity told me. I came here as fast as I could" She said, worry and panic clear in her eyes.
"Jane, it's okay. I'm fine" I said holding one of her hands that was on my face and giving her a smile.
"How could you put yourself in danger like that? Both of you actually" She said crossing her arms and looking at both me and Serenity.
Serenity smiled awkwardly and rubbed her forearm.
"A-about that-" Serenity said to me, "I kind of—told her everything. I asked Ares first, of course" She said making me gasp.
"I can't believe you both are involved in these things and didn't say a thing" She said and then turned to me, "Mafia men?" She asked in disbelief.
"Hey, I just found out, like, two days ago" I said lifting my hands up in defense.
She sighed, "I should've guessed that it was like this. I mean they both seemed very mysterious and just—weird" She rolled her eyes and then glared at the door, "If I knew how dangerous these two were I wouldn't even let them get close to you"
Serenity and I laughed.
She's so cute.
"You couldn't have known" Serenity said touching her shoulder, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner"
Jane sighed, "No, I understand. It's a serious matter after all"
"I'm sorry for not telling you about Ares as well, Tessa" She said clearly feeling guilty.
Serenity told me about everything during the time we spent together here. I knew I had heard the name Ares somewhere when Nate mentioned the name, but my mind was too focused on Leo to connect the pieces.
I was also shocked that so many things had happened without me knowing and that Leo was involved. I was kind of mad at him for not telling me as well, but she calmed me down saying Leo wasn't allowed to say anything.
"No point in that now. At least everyone is safe" I said.
"Don't ever put yourself in danger again, stupid girl" Jane said patting my head, "You too" She said turning to Serenity, "Who knew you could be this bold"
Serenity giggled nervously, "Well I guess love changes people" She said, "Isn't that right, Tessa?" She asked.
Love.
I hadn't thought of it, at all but I was sure I loved him without a doubt. I just couldn't tell him. It didn't seem to want to come out of my mouth yet.
I nodded hesitantly, "I guess so"
The following days passed by really quick. I stayed there for as long as I had to, to recover a bit. The girls visited me whenever they could while my dad and Leo visited me daily. Well, Leo was basically there all day. I was worried because sometimes he would sneak in even when it wasn't during visiting hours, but he always laughed it off and said it was fine.
I still hadn't seen my sisters. I'd missed them like crazy but dad and I agreed that they shouldn't see me in that state or else they would start asking too many questions.
When it was the day for me to leave. Leo was there to help me get ready and my dad was waiting to pick me up.
"How are you feeling?" Leo asked.
"Amazing. I can finally go outside" I said with a sigh of relief.
"And you're finally free from everything that was bothering you" He said with a weak smile.
Why does his face look sad?
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Oh, nothing. Where's your dad?" He asked changing the topic.
"He will be here in a bit why are you trying to change the topic?" I asked not letting it go. I didn't want any secrecy between us anymore. I was tired of it.
He gulped, "I didn't"
"You're such a bad liar" I said narrowing my eyes, "When are you going to be honest with me?" I asked.
I was hurt that even after everything he was holding back.
"Let's not ruin our mood now, okay? We can talk about it tomorrow. Today is a happy day. You'll get to go home again and see your sisters" He said smiling a little more now.
I sighed.
He's right.
"We'll talk tomorrow" I said as I saw my dad's car in the distance.
"Yes" He murmured and leaned in to kiss me. I stopped him putting my fingers on his lips.
"My dad shouldn't see this. He doesn't know we're together" I said.
He smirked and kissed my fingertips that were on his lips and then leaned in quickly and pecked my lips, "See you tomorrow, Tess" were his last words.
I didn't know if I was more excited about today or tomorrow.