LOGINAARON'S POVLeon's father's face finally cracked, and it wasn't grief that broke through, it it was relief, so boldly written on his face."She's stable," he said, his voice shaking. "There was some bleeding they had to manage, more than they expected, but they got it under control. She's in recovery now. She's going to be okay, Leon. She's going to be okay."The sound that came out of Leon was half sob, half laugh, and he collapsed forward into his father's arms, both of them shaking, and I felt my own eyes burn watching it, watching a family that had been through absolute hell over the last week finally get one piece of unqualified good news.Rose was crying openly beside me, and I pulled her into a hug, the two of us watching Leon and his father hold onto each other like neither of them planned on letting go anytime soon."Thank God," Rose whispered against my shoulder. "Thank God, thank God."They let us see her a few hours later, groggy but awake, smiling weakly when she saw all
LeonIwatched Aaron's face as he read the messaged, i saw bow the color drain slowly from his cheeks, and my stomach dropped in sympathy before he even say a word."What does it say," I asked carefully.He didn't answer right away. He just stared at the screen, his jaw working, and then, without a word, he turned the phone toward me so I could read it myself.*Aaron ā I've had time to think about everything since our conversation. I won't pretend I've fully come to terms with all of it. But your mother, God rest her, would never have forgiven me for using money as a weapon against you over something like this. I'm continuing to fund your tuition through graduation, no conditions attached beyond the ones that were always there ā keep your grades up, stay out of unnecessary trouble. I hope, in time, we can talk about the rest of it more honestly than we have been. ā Dad*I read it twice, my chest loosening with relief on Aaron's behalf even as he sat frozen beside me, staring at the sc
AARON'S POVThe hospital felt different this time so cold, somehow, despite the same fluorescent lights and the same worn carpet from two nights before.Leon's father met us in the hallway outside his mother's room, his face gray with exhaustion, and something in his expression made my stomach twist before he even said a word."What did they find," Leon asked immediately."They found a blockage," his father said quietly. "In one of the arteries near her heart. The stress event from the other day likely triggered symptoms that were already building. They're saying she needs surgery. Soon. Possibly within the week."Leon went pale beside me, his hand finding mine automatically, gripping tight."Is it serious," he asked, his voice barely holding steady."The doctor said it's manageable if we act quickly," his father said. "But it's not nothing, Leon. I won't lie to you about that."We found his mother sitting up in bed, paler than I remembered but alert, her expression softening the mome
LEON'S POV"He's coming outside," I said, my voice a bit tight,. "Rose, getbehind the car.""No." She stood her ground, though I could see her hands trembling at her sides. "I'm done hiding from him."The front door chimed as Marcus stepped out into the parking lot, still in his work apron, moving with an unsettling calm that made my skin crawl. He stopped a few feet from us, his eyes flicking between all of us before settling on Rose."Rose," he said, and his voice was warmer than I expected, almost gentle, which somehow made it worse. "You look well.""Don't," Rose said, her voice shaking but steady. "Don't act like you're happy to see me. Not after everything."Something flickered across his face ā not quite guilt, but something adjacent to it. "I don't know what you think I didā""Cut it," Aaron said sharply, stepping forward. "We know about Ethan. We know about the messages. We know you two have been working together this whole time."For a long moment, Marcus just stared at us,
Aaron POVI read the message three times before the words fully registered in my mind , and each time they landed much more heavier than the last."What is this secret ," I said, turning to Rose, who had gone completely white. "Rose, what is he talking about?""I don't know," she said, her eyes darting away from mine."Rose." Leon's voice was gentle but firm, the way he does when he already suspected the answer and needed her to say it out loud anyway. "If this involves you being in danger, we need to know everything I mean All of it."She was quiet for a long moment, her hands twisting in her lap, and when she finally spoke, her voice had gone small in a way I'd never heard from her before."Marcus wasn't the first person I met that way," she admitted. "Before him, there was someone else. Online, mostly. It got ā it got complicated, and I never told anyone because I was embarrassed, and I definitely never told your parents, Leon, because I thought they'd send me home if they knew."
LEON'S POVNobody moved even a single tiny inch .The three of us stood frozen on the porch, the engine idling somewhere past the tree line at the edge of the driveway, headlights dark, and every instinct in my body screamed to get inside and lock the door."Get in the house," Aaron said quietly, already positioning himself between us and the driveway. "Both of you. Now.""Aaronn ā""Now, Leon."Rose grabbed my arm and pulled, and for once I didn't argue, stumbling backward through the front door with her while Aaron lingered a moment longer on the porch, watching the dark shape of the car like he could will it into revealing itself.Inside, my hands shook so badly I fumbled the deadbolt twice before it finally clicked into place. Rose was already dialing, her voice tight and fast against the phone."This is Rose Kessler, I need to report a vehicle parked outside a residence, we already have an active police case connected to itā"Aaron slipped in through the door a moment later, lock
LEON'S POV The laptop was a heavy, plastic weight against my ribs, a shield I hoped would hide the fact that my heart was trying to kick its way out of my chest. I stood at the threshold of āBow Denā though the neon sign just looked like a blurry pink smear through my fever. Homosexuality is a si
LEON'S POV Every harsh pump of his hips felt like it was hitting me. I imagined that thick girth piercing me instead, stretching me, filling the ache that several ice baths and self-pleasure always failed to freeze. My breathing became ragged, coming out in a series of short, sharp gasps.Aaron
LEON'S POV After the final bell, I didn't head for the bus. Instead, I slipped through the shadows of the hallway, moving toward the gym.The air here was surprisingly cooler, smelling of damp concrete and decades worth of dusty trophies.After going around and noting down everything I needed, I f
LEON'S POV āAhā¦ā I groaned weakly as I blinked awake at the sound of the alarm beeping. The morning sun seemed a lot harsher than usual as it spilled through the glass windows of my bedroom.āShit,ā I groaned, pressing a shaky hand to my temple.The little throbbing I felt at the back of my head





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