3rd person.
Trigger Warning;
Mentions of sexual assault.
Leo's eyes stayed focused on the trees that passed by. One tree, two tree, three tree. With the tension in the car as thick as it was, Leo didn't want to risk a glance at Marco, too terrified of what he'd see.
Twenty one trees, twenty two trees, twenty—
Fuck this. Leo couldn't stay silent any longer, he knew his body wouldn't be able to handle what Marco clearly expected. Leo was in too much pain; the bruises that Machine's punches had left were throbbing, adding on whatever Marco had planned, Leo knew he wouldn't be able to cope.
Gathering every once of courage he could find, slowly Leo turned his head towards the older boy. His eyes locked on Marco's fingers as they drummed against the steering wheel, tap tap tap. It was now or never.
"Marc?"
Marco turned to Leo with a soft smile, before his eyes drifted back to the road ahead. "What's up bud?"
Was this fucker bi polar?
"I don't think... I can't do that tonight." Leo admitted, biting his lip as he anxiously waited for a response. Maybe Marco would empathise and leave him be for tonight.
A soft chuckle left Marco's lips, the sound alone sending a shiver down Leo's spine. What on earth was there to laugh about? Any small feeling of hope that Marco would feel any kind of empathy, crumbled right at that moment.
"You're being punished Le. Sorry, but we're doing what I have planned whether you want to or not."
Leo's breath caught in his throat. No.
"But... Marc, I cant."
"Should've thought about that earlier, shouldn't you?"
"Please Marco." Leo could feel the familiar burning sensation of tears make their way to his eyes. "Please, don't."
"Don't beg me right now Le." Marco moved a hand from the steering wheel, resting the limb on Leo's thigh. "You know how much I like it when you beg." He smirked.
"Marco, I tried! I fucking tried!"
"You didn't try hard enough, did you?" Marco's smirk turned to a sneer. "And what the fuck is going on between you and Emilio?"
Leo's eyes widened, "What?" He breathed. What the fuck did he mean?
"Don't play dumb." Marco shook his head, kissing his teeth, he continued. "The flirting Leo, what the fuck was that all about? Are you getting with him too?"
Flirting? That was just how he and Emilio were.
"Of course not!" I don't even want to be 'getting with' you. Came Leo's bitter thoughts.
"Bullshit!" Marco fumed. A sinister smirk appearing on his lips as his eyes blazed with anger. "I'll show you exactly who you belong to soon enough."
"Marco, there's nothing going on between me and Em." Leo reassured. "He's my best friend."
"I want you to stop hanging around with him."
What the fucking fuck?
"No." Leo shook his head. He was sick of Marco, he was so fucking sick and tired of everything. "He's my friend, who're you to tell me who I can and can't hang out with?"
Stop talking Leo, stop fucking taking.
"You force yourself on me every chance you get and now you're trying to, what? Stop me from having friends? What do you want Marco?"
The tires screeched as Marco's foot heavily pressed on the break. Bracing a hand on the dash whilst clutching his seat belt, Leo's body propelled forward before crashing back into the lather seat. He turned to the boy with wide eyes, his chest heaving as he exhaled a heavy panicked breath.
"What the fuck Marco!"
Marco turned to Leo, a fire burning beneath the depths of his amber orbs. Leo knew evil didn't stem from a look, but right now, I'm this moment, Leo's swore that the sight before him was indeed the definition of evil itself.
Leaning over the middle console, Marco wrapped his hand tightly around Leo's throat, forcing the younger against the passenger side window. A sickening crack echoing inside the vehicle as Leo's head connected harshly with the glass.
"Watch who you're talking to Leo." Marco's voice came out darker than Leo had ever heard it before. "You're mine, got it? Who am I to question your friend choices? Simple, I'm your boyfriend. And as your boyfriend, I'm simply making it known that I don't want you around him."
Boyfriend? What the fuck is happening?
"Since when're you my boyfriend, Marc?" Leo wheezed as the pressure on his nape increased. "When the fuck did I agree to that?"
"When do you agree to anything Leo? Better yet, when has that ever stopped me?" Marco smirked, amusement mixed with anger swirling in his gaze.
All Leo's courage died upon those words.
When has that ever stopped me. The boy had a point, nothing stopped Marco. Leo knew that, now he'd gone and made things one hundred times worse.
This night was going to break him further than he could handle.
Further than he thought possible.
And yet again, Leo brought it all on himself.
***
Leo left Marco's house in a daze. With a wince at every given step, Leo's movements slowed. There was no rush after all, Leo had no where to go.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why the fuck did he say he was staying with Emilio?
He couldn't go home, he couldn't go to Em's. Especially not at an hour as late as this, his body now riddled with pain and exhaustion, Leo couldn't even bring himself to pull his phone from his pocket to check the time. Given the darkened sky, the only light being from the moon and street lamps, Leo gave a lucky guess that it had to be deep into the wee hours of the morning.
Definitely too late to go to either.
Leo needed a sense of familiarity, mix that with some sort of comfort and he would make it through the night. Well, he hoped he would.
Without even having to think, Leo's feet led him towards the woods. It was dark, darker than the sidewalk he'd just walked along; given the fact that the woods had no such thing as street-lamps, Leo could only rely on the poor dim light of the mid-February moon to guide him.
The leaves and sticks, crunched and snapped with each and every step. Luckily Leo didn't have to worry about his white Nikey's, given the fact the once slosh like mud had tuned solid due to the cold.
At least that's one less worry.
The minuscule hint of a smile found its way to Leo's lips, as he arrived at his destination. The treehouse. This would do, he would be okay here for a few hours. Everything else could just stay away, then maybe his mind — if it were feeling generous, would throw him a bone, and give him a bit of leeway tonight.
Out of sight, out of mind.
If only it were that easy.
Gripping the old rotten rope between his fingers, Leo hoist himself up with a wince. All he had to do was climb to the top and he'd be safe for the night.
Sounds easy enough—
Ten excruciating minutes later, and Leo had finally managed to get inside. His body was shaking due to the pain, his breathing irregular; coming out in short pants, as he lay on the wooden floor. He simply couldn't will himself to move on to the sofa, let alone turn said sofa into a bed.
This would do.
Surrounded with his and Emilio's childhood memories, Leo's breathing slowed as his eyes began to close, releasing a few tears as they did.
Sleep over-taking him as Leo fell into the darkness of abyss.
***
"Oh fuck." Leo groaned, pulling his aching body into a seating position. His bones cracking with every move he made. Fuck, he was sore.
He truly felt as though he'd been hit by a truck.
Rubbing his eyes, Leo let out a wince as his fingers brushed across his swollen cheek bone. He was going to have a lot of explaining to do once he got home.
Maybe he could tell Zac that he was mugged?
Leo really didn't care if Zac believed his lies or not. Right now, he had more pressing issues at hand.
For one; how could Marco expect him to stay away from Emilio? Better yet, how in the fuck was Marco now his apparent boyfriend? Leo didn't want a boyfriend, and he sure as hell didn't want Marco.
Leo needed to put a stop to this, but he simply didn't know how.
With a heavy sigh, Leo pulled his phone from the pocket of his pants, wincing as the bright screen blinded his vision. As his eyes adjusted, the screen now clear instead of a blurred haze— 10.30AM. For fuck sake, he'd slept much later than he expected.
After another excruciating - now twenty minutes of trying to get down from the treehouse, Leo was finally on his way home. He couldn't understand how it took him less time to get up than it did down; if only his mind would work that way.
It's easier to feel down than it is up.
With the slow and sluggish steps due to his pain. A journey that would usually take Leo twenty minutes, became prolonged to almost an hour. With sweat beads dripping from his forehead, Leo exhaled a breath of relief as his home came into view.
Fucking finally.
Maybe he was getting a little bit over excited here. He shouldn't be this happy about getting home, not with all the explanations and lies he was about to spill. Leo blamed it on the pain and tiredness, yeah that was the cause. It had nothing to do with the fact that just the sight of his brothers and sister would help him in more ways than even he knew.
In this moment, Leo wished he had the strength to submit to their affection.
He could really do with a hug.
But you don't deserve it.
Ah alas, the voice returns reminding Leo of just how pathetic and weak he truly was.
Even if he did deserve it, if they offered it that was, Leo could never follow through with his wishes. His mind simply wouldn't allow him too, one simple hug would manifest into traumatic memories that Leo simply couldn't handle.
Shaking his head to rid of the thoughts, Leo made his way up the small concrete steps, bracing himself for the drama that was surely about to unfold.
***
Twenty seven seconds was all it took.
Leo had made it into the house with no siblings noticing him. That was until he reached the kitchen.
How could Leo forget that it was breakfast time and that his whole family would be sat at the dinning table.
Again, Leo blames it on the painful fatigue.
Without so much as a glance in their direction, Leo opened the door to the fridge, pulling out a nice cool bottle of water. He hadn't drank since the fight ended last night, and boy was he parched.
"Leo, come in here." Zac's voice called out to him.
Complying with his older brothers demands, Leo hesitantly made his way towards the adjoining room. Watching with slight amusement, may he add, as all their eyes grew large when they locked on his bruised and possibly swollen cheek.
"What the fuck happened to your face!?" Carter was up in a flash, his hand reaching out for Leo's chin, that was until the latter flinched away.
"Don't touch me." Leo grumbled, taking a step away from his older brother as he continued to drink his water.
"Don't touch you?" Carter laughed joylessly. Which in itself was terrifying, Carter usually being the carefree joyous type. "Looks like someone done a lot more than simply touch you, Leo."
If only you knew.
"I'm fine." Leo shrugged, "Got into a fight with Emilio's door, that's all."
That sounded like a much better excuse in his mind.
With Carter playing as a distraction, Leo hadn't noticed Zac and Grey's stealthy approach. Both brothers now flanked by Leo's side, Zac's hand griping hold of Leo's chin before he could protest.
Stop touching me.
"Let me go." Leo whimpered weakly. The sheer terror in his tone, causing each of his siblings to become even more worried than they'd already been.
Zac ignored Leo's demand, tilting his younger brothers head upwards as to get a better look at the damage. It was then that Zac noticed the finger print bruises coating his bothers neck.
Feeling his anger rise, Zac took a breath, calming himself— barley at that. His hand gently trailed from Leo's chin to his neck, his fingers grazing over the bruised flesh.
With a pained look in his eye, Zac finally found his voice to speak. "Le, bambino." He all but choked. "Who did this to you?"
"No one did this to me." Leo clenched his fists. Stop touching me. Forcing a laugh, he responded. "I told you, I had a fight with a door." With a shrug of his shoulders, the lie continued.
"A door." Zac hummed, kissing his teeth. "Did that door strangle you too?"
"What?" Callan approached, his eyes zoning in on Leo's neck. His once crystal blues, now a darkened navy as his anger rose. "Leo, talk to us."
"I'm fine." Leo tried and failed to pry himself from Zac's grip. "Please let me go."
"Not until you tell us the truth." Grey ran his hands through Leo's curls, hoping to comfort the boy, when in fact it was doing the complete opposite. "Please bambino."
"There's nothing to tell." Leo closed his eyes.
Please stop touching me.
Marco's hands were on his skin, he was touching him. Leo begged him not to, he pleaded for him to stop, he told him no.
Leo said no.
Why wouldn't he listen?
"Are you listening to me?" Zac's voice cut through the fog in Leo's mind; pulling him from the never-ending flashbacks he always had to relive.
"What?" Leo mumbled, his bottom lip trembling as he inhaled a shaky breath.
"For fuck sake Leo!" Ace was done, he couldn't sit in silence any longer. Why wouldn't Leo just tell them what happened? Then he could go and beat the son of a bitch that lay hands on his baby brother. "Just fucking tell us!"
"Ace!" Alex turned to his brother with a glare. The last thing Leo needed right now was to be yelled at, Alex could see that. "Don't raise your voice at him."
The twins and Lily stayed silent during the whole process, unsure of what to say or how to help.
Lily could tell Leo was becoming overwhelmed, she didn't want to add to his stress. She'd speak with him in private, maybe that way she could get him to open up, she could try and understand how he's feeling.
Jack on the other hand, he stared at Leo with a questioning look. Something just wasn't adding up, it hadn't been for a while now. And Jack was going to make it his mission to find out exactly what was wrong.
"Can we talk about this later?" Leo asked, finally pushing Zac away as he brought his hands to his temples. God was his head killing him right now.
Each of the siblings shared a look of unease. But ultimately complied with Leo's wishes. Zac could see how much pain he was in just by looking at him, his bambino needed to sleep.
"Okay," Zac nodded hesitantly. "Go to bed, I'll bring you up some painkillers."
Without a word, Leo turned and left the room.
What a shit show that was.
***
End of chapter 4
Another update, you lot are getting spoiled.
The sibs are suspicious...
How long until they find out exactly what happened to Leo?
Comment, vote, follow... you know the drill.
❤️.