TW: Suividal thoughts (A little)
Leo's POV:
I woke up as I shifted in my bed.
The smell of strawberries flooded my sense and my eyes snapped open.
Aria.
It was the shampoo that she used.
I groaned as I sat up in the bed with a start, my head ached. I winced as I took in my surroundings and realised just where I was.
The golden trimmings on the cream walls, beige carpets and that stupid scent of strawberries. I was in Aria's room.
I made no attempt to move sitting there pathetically, utterly defeated.
Memories from last night re-surfacing.
I had broken every promise that I had made to myself. One by one like a dead man.
I should have known that entering Kyro's room would only make me relapse into that spiral of utter hatred.
That self disgust that I held for myself only grew more and more as time passed, but then there was the fear.
The fear that everyone else around me felt it too.
The door swung open and a very angry looking Paris walked through. His hair was a wreck and so was his attire. I didn't even know what clothes he was wearing until I looked at his top and deemed it to be a polo shirt.
"Is that mine?" I blurted out
Paris scowled anger seething of off him.
"After the shit you pulled yesterday, I don't think you have any right to speak to me like that."
He glowered at me, I could see how much he was trying to hold himself back.
"What do you want me to do Paris?" I sighed.
"I don't want you to anything. But you made a promise to me and you broke it!" He yelled. "You broke your promise over somebody you met just a couple of months ago, over me who has known you, your entire fucking life."
I flinched at that. How dare he. Aria was not just someone.
"How dare you!" I snapped. "Paris you know to me that she is so much more to me than just somebody. You of all people should know that."
He blinked at me, dumbfound that I was arguing with him.
"You really think that I give a FUCK about that right now? You can pick my words out all you like Leo but nothing changed the fact that you broke hat you promised. What the hell were you thinking? " He snapped right back at me.
"I'm sorry for trying to kill myself." I spat
Paris humourlessly laughed.
"Are you though Leo?" He asked with his eyebrows raised
I said nothing, staring at my hands.
"Because I don't think you are. I think that if I hadn't had come to save you in time then you would have actually pulled the trigger." He said in a low voice.
I gritted my teeth and looked up at him finally.
"You act like such a saint, but if Cali was in the same situation, I don't think you would have done anything better. If anything you would have done the same." I forced out.
This seemed to be Paris' breaking point. He made his way over to me and grabbed me by the shoulders.
"No." He hissed. "I wouldn't. Because I know exactly what it would do to those around me. You, Cardan, Venus, Mirae don't deserve that, it would destroy you all. I would know that you've seen enough and everyone else has lost enough and that when I pull that trigger in hands, someone will have to clean up behind me. Be it you or even Cardan I don't want any of you to be scraping parts of my brain of the floor because I was selfish enough or arrogant enough to not ask those around me for help."
He paused looking down at me and finally releasing a hold of my shoulders, as if a weight had been lifted of off him.
"I don't know what you think we are to you Leo, but each and everyone one of us would literally risk our lives for you. We would help you without a second thought." He said quieter now, looking at me, anger disappearing but with a strange sadness that i couldn't figure out.
I don't know why but that look broke something in me and a tear escaped through. Just one rogue tear.
"I don't want her to die Paris. I don't think I can live with myself if I let someone else I loved die." I whispered.
Paris didn't say anything, instead he sat down on the edge of the bed and crossed his arms, listening.
"So what you decided to give up?" he shrugged.
"She- I found out something she didn't want me to. She said she never wanted to see me again and I told her to just stop and think about it, that it wouldn't stop me from loving her, but she refused and then-" My breath caught.
Re-living that moment where I heard that heart machine flatlining.
"She died?" Paris ruthlessly input for me "Is that what you were going to say?"
I glared back at him, the unnecessary inputs were not needed.
"God you are so dramatic." He muttered.
He uncrossed his arms and let them fall to his side. I scoffed, so much for that long winded speech of his.
"Ok what i'm going to tell you next is important, but I need you to promise me something first, you have to promise not to go super crazy." He said wearily.
I looked at him suspiciously. But I nodded. He deserved that at least.
He started but then stopped. Looing at me with an annoyed expression. But then cursed under his breath.
"Aria has been poisoned." He stated.
I felt my stomach drop. I said nothing, but the words were ringing in my ears.
"It isn't bad." He carried on, eyeing me carefully. "I've manged to drain all of it out and she should be waking up soon."
The relief I felt at his words couldn't be put into words.
She was safe.
"But Leo. The poison that were dealing with is very dangerous. It's the same one that killed Vanessa." He sighed. "I've been tracking every known where abouts of the plant but some may have slipped through my hands. There must be-"
"But she's safe though? She isn't hurt or there wont be any lasting effects?" I urged, right now i didn't give a shit about what the poison was or wasn't.
"At the whole yes." He nodded.
"Wha-"
"If you let me finish then I can explain." He shut me up "She already has quite bad arrhythmia and of course with the whole poisoning it may be hard for her to get back on her feet right away but in 1 or 2 months she will be perfectly fine."
I sighed, leaning my head back against the head rest, thank god.
I felt Paris slowly getting of the bed to leave the room. But I stopped him.
"Paris?" I called out
"What." He returned
"Thank you."
He nodded "You can go and-"
"No not for that, for-" I trailed off.
He stopped then and looked at me. A sense of understanding flashed through his eyes as he nodded his head.
"You don't have to thank me for that little brother. It seems to be my job now."
Just like that I watched my older brother walking out of the door and I knew now that I didn't have to do this all alone.
There were people who would help.