"So." Leonardo leans forward, his hair once again covering his eyes and he uses his palm to sweep it back. "Do you know why you're here?"
I snort and pretend to be relaxed, because I know that as long as I keep him busy, he wouldn't touch my sister. "Wasn't that your plan from the beginning?"
Leo hums innocently and backs away, only to pour himself some wine and sit on his comfortable armchair. "It was. But there were some complications that I didn't think of."
When I don't answer anything, he continues with his monologue, taking sips of wine in between. "Weird, right? Leonardo Sanchez who always thinks about every possibility before making a move...Isn't it strange? The influence you have on me? Even after all?"
My wrists are tightly secured with a rope but if only he continues to talk, if only I have more time...
"You can't escape, Keelian. You don't have to try." He sighs dramatically and takes a longer nervous sip of his glass, "Even if you break free from your bounds, there are still bodyguards surrounding the entire property and making sure that you stay inside."
I look away as I curse in my head. He's indeed just like me. I would've done the same.
"Ah, I know. Now you're cursing at yourself for not finding a way to run away and save your sister." His grin looks distorted by the glass when he takes another sip. Why do all rich people have a problem with drinking? The guy's been drinking for ten minutes and half a bottle is already gone. "We're so alike, Jessica used to say."
At the mention of my sister's name, I try to stand up only to be pinned back with the help of my restraints. I forgot that my ankles are bound to the legs of the chair, as well, and am reminded as the sharp pain strikes me. "Don't you dare say her name, you mental case." I hiss and stare at him with squinted eyes.
"Keelian Samuels, feisty as always." He dares to laugh at my obvious menace. Pointing a finger at me with the same hand that he uses to drink, he almost looks like he's talking to a good old friend, and not a person he's trying to kill, "You know, Keel, I used to love this about you."
"You're sick." I spit out as a response to his romantic statement.
"Yes, love." He stands up on wobbly feet. The bottle is almost empty. Gripping at the handles of the chair I'm bound to, he's so close to me that I can smell how drunk he is. "Swear at me, hate me. It all brings me back to when you were a bitch-" He chuckles. "Oh, wait. You still are. Sorry, forgot." He taps his head with a finger when he says the last word.
As I watch his drunk brain leak the last of his sanity, I can't help but be horrified. Not at him for being this way, but at my own self for making him like this.
Those stormy eyes, that suddenly start to water make my heart ache and I remember the day I destroyed him.
It's a Sunday. But not any Sunday, it's the day I've decided to break up with Leonardo. I don't want to have anything to do with him, or with my sister for the matter. As I get dressed and line my dark eyes with the black pencil I always wear, Jessica starts pounding on my door. I ignore it. I have no time for her to deal with now. She hurt me, that's for sure, but she's still a Samuels. Things will be way harder to deal with when it comes to her. A dark part of me is glad that I'm my mother's favorite daughter.
"Keelian! Keelian open the door! I can explain! It's not my fault, he kissed me!" Jess screams from the other side of the door and I'm mentally thankful that my parents are nowhere to be seen today.
I jerk the door open as Jessica is about to start kicking it and she stares at me with still disheveled hair and dark circles under her eyes. She hasn't slept at all.
"Yeah, he kissed you, alright. So he also told you to confess to him. He also forced you onto the bed-" My breath comes in short huffs and I shove my way past her. There's no way it's only his fault, but he's not innocent either.
—
He waits in that same park we always go to. Propped against the ornamented pond in the middle of all the beauty that surrounds it. He looks thin and frail, sickly with how pale his skin is. As the wind starts playing with his hair, I'm nervous that it might be strong enough to tip him over the edge and into the clear blue water. But it doesn't. He isn't as weak as he looks. If nothing else, then at least I can say with confidence that this kid becomes stronger and stronger every day.
When he senses my presence, his head slowly turns around and even from afar I can see the glint in his eyes and I can't help but think that he gets more and more beautiful every time I see him.
He waits for me on the bridge and I finally stand next to him. He puts an arm around my shoulder and smiles his crooked smile. "Hey Keel."
"Hey." I whisper back and move under his touch. He drops his hand and looks at me questionably. Staring at him now only evokes the events of the day before. Him and my sister in her bedroom, her telling him how much better she would be for him and him leaning in, her sweet-talking him in his ear, and him suddenly throwing himself at her. And me, watching all of this. On my birthday.
"Why are you pushing me away?" He asks and blinks a few times. He knows something isn't right and I'm sure that it won't take long for him to find out that I saw everything. How can he look this innocent even after breaking my heart?
"Leo, let's just end this."
"What do you mean?"
I only stare at him blankly, watching as the realization sinks in. "Keel, please."
"I knew I shouldn't trust you." I start pushing away his hand as he stretches it out to pinch the sleeve of my blouse. "I knew I shouldn't but you seemed so innocent, so interesting...so different."
I start breathing fast because the tears are close and I'm shocked to see that he's already sobbing.
"Don't cry Leonardo. You don't have the right." I turn around ready to go but I feel as he hugs me from behind and drops his head on my shoulder.
"Don't leave me, please. I'm sorry."
"Let go."
"I'm sorry."
"Then explain it to me!" I scream and push him away. He's crying now but he shakes his head. He doesn't want to.
I just nod my head and leave him behind. He can sob, he can cry, he can hurt all he wants but there will be no Keelian to keep him company through those times.
I never knew back then how hard this would hit him.
Now, still staying only mere centimeters away from me, he stares at me with the same pain that he did that day on the bridge and I can't handle it. I glance away first.
"Keel, take a good look at me. I'm so much different now. We can-" His breath touches my face like a feather, "We can maybe try again."
My eyes go wide. How can he even imagine a scenario where I go back to him after all he'd done? Does he even want this, or does the wine he just drank have a mind of it's own?
"I know that I hurt you, Keelian, but I was ashamed. I thought you would hate me if you knew I wasn't rich and the so-called barn was the only roof I had over my head. And you did. You actually hated me for it. I thought if I told you the truth why I slept with your sister, you would take me back but you only said such harsh words that still keep me up at night." He laughs and grabs the nearly empty bottle of wine. "You see that? You did this to me." He tips the bottle and drinks what's left, "I thought that if I get rich I'd be happier. But then I got the money and I still felt sad. I was so infuriated, do you understand?"
As his voice gradually becomes steeper, the bodyguards near the door moves uncomfortably, and I can only listen in horror about the misfortune of this lonely child. All of this hate that he has for me, he had inside of him from way before. Only when he met me and I broke his heart was when he finally snapped. He so badly wanted to have someone to hurt like he had been hurt and it so happened to be no other than me.
"All I got from being rich is a business card and an alcohol addiction," His voice softens and the familiar smirk returns, "Oh and a nice house. It's not a bad house, is it?" He spins around the living room, the grip on his wine bottle deadly.
When he finally sits back down, I start trying to break free from my bounds, terrified. I need to get out of here as fast as possible.
"Why do you want to run away from me so badly?" He says, and crosses his legs in front of him, leaning back in the chair. His suit is already getting wrinkled. The boy is an absolute mess.
"If it's because of your sister, I was bluffing. She's not here."
I suddenly stop and look at him offended and hurt. He used my sister as bait?
"How do you know that I'm searching for her, then?"
"I have connections, Keelian. I know everything that's happening in your messed up family. I know that your mom's mentality is spiraling down a dark path and I know your dad's thinking of a divorce but is too scared your mother will shoot him if he brings it up. So, of course I know about your sister."
"Find yourself a better hobby than stalking me and my family. I heard chess is popular amongst rich people and freaks." I prop my head against the uncomfortable chair and look up at the ceiling, "How convenient that you're both."
He decides to ignore the joke altogether as he goes and grabs another bottle of wine. I roll my eyes.
It will be a long night.
"Tell me now, what exactly happened to your dreadful sister?"
"Didn't you just say that you know everything about my family?"
He looks up at me for a second while still pouring himself some wine.
"I was just trying to strike a conversation."
"Well, try harder."
"How about," he gets up again and starts roaming the room like a wild animal in a small cage. Every step is full of menace. "What's your plan of saving her?"
"I don't like to discuss my future endeavors with my enemies, thanks for asking, still."
His grin grows larger, "Are you always such an ass when you're obviously in no position to be one?"
"Do you always propose to someone to be your girlfriend while they're still bound to a chair?"
"Sometimes."
"You're unbelievable, Leonardo."
"Many women have said this before," he winks, "in bed."
"Gross."
He shrugs his shoulders innocently and I want to punch him in the nose. Bet he won't be as charming to the ladies with a crooked nose. Or maybe he'll look even better. Oh, gosh.
Leonardo makes a gesture to one of the bodyguards next to the door and the guy comes closer to me. I tense up but then realize that he's removing my bounds. "Why?" I say out loud without thinking.
"Because, my dear, I plan to help you get your sister so we can finally get some truths out of this mouth of hers."
"What happens if she's innocent and you're the lying ass that I think you are?"
Leonardo Sanchez stands in front of me when I'm finally free and smiles sweetly. "You can make me disappear."