1A/N: and here's chapter 12! This took a lot longer than I wanted for it to, but I hope it was worth the wait. It's starting to get to some of the thicker parts of the plot, so be ready for a bumpy ride XD oh, and remember back when I said Lottie wasn't going to be a main character? Yeah...I was way wrong LOL
Once again, trigger warning for suicidal content.
oh, and I changed a portion of the last chapter, so I'd recommend re-reading that before reading this chapter. (the portion with Leo and Glen).
"Leo please! Answer your damn phone!"
Elliot sped along the road, gripping the steering wheel tight enough to turn his knuckles white. Every few minutes, he glanced down at his phone, his heart beating faster as the voicemail tone continuously sounded.
He was grateful that Leo had texted him his address, since now he was in desperate need of it. After what felt like an eternity, he pulled into Leo's neighborhood, screeching to a halt in front of the right house. He yanked open his car door, just as the front door opened, and Lottie rushed out, stopping for a moment to face back towards it.
"Glen, I'm going to look for him!" She turned away from the door, freezing when she saw Elliot. "What're you doing here?" Her cheeks were streaked with tears, which were still running down her face. "I thought that you…..."
Elliot shook his head, unable to keep a lump from rising in his throat as he responded, "I don't care about what Vincent said right now. He…...he called me. I thought….." He hesitated, then continued painfully, "I thought he was going to kill himself."
Lottie's eyes widened, and she glanced back at Leo's window, still opened. "As far as I know, he just left. I'm going to look for him." She stepped past Elliot, unlocking her car.
"I'll help." Elliot offered quickly, "But here, give me your number first." He pulled out his phone and handed it to Lottie.
"Good idea." Lottie agreed, taking his phone and inputting her number. "Call me if you find him, and I'll do the same. Good luck."
"Yeah, same to you." Elliot could barely contain his anxiety as he drove out of the neighborhood, keeping an eye out for any sign of Leo. "Think, Elliot. If you were Leo, where would you go?"
He tried desperately to remember anything he had ever heard about runaways, which admittedly wasn't very much. "He can't have gone very far, unless he got a taxi or something. Crap…."
"Leo, where the hell are you?!"
"27…..28…...29…."
29 times. That was the number of times Gilbert had paced back and forth across the floor of the apartment, his mind racing as he debated whether or not to take Vincent to the hospital. He had yet to open his eyes, which worried him, but it also gave him a chance to think.
Finally, making up his mind with a sigh, he pulled out his phone again, calling 911. His hands shook, barely able to press the buttons.
"911, what is your emergency?"
Gilbert took a steadying breath, and answered,"Medical emergency." Gilbert glanced over at Vincent, who had yet to open his eyes. "My brother passed out and hasn't regained consciousness. He was in extreme stress prior to passing out and-"
"Gil?…." Vincent stirred, reaching a hand up to his forehead. His eyes fluttered open, blinking from the sudden intake of light. "Gil?"
"Well, he's awake now." Gilbert corrected himself, "Should I still have him taken in?"
"What were his symptoms prior to falling unconscious?"
"Gil!" Vincent pushed up from the couch, staring at Gilbert in shock. "No, don't!"
Gilbert felt his heart wrench, knowing that this was for the best, but feeling that it was hurting Vincent despite the necessity. "He couldn't see, and….." He trailed off, squeezing his free hand into a fist. "And he….."
"Gil!" Vincent once again protested, but before he could say anything else, fatigue overtook him, and he crashed back to the couch, closing his eyes.
"And?" The emergency responder prompted.
"And….he was suicidal." Gilbert spoke in a strained voice, "He was in the middle of an attempt when I came home. We fought for a while, and then he passed out. He just fell back on the couch, I don't think he can move."
"Alright, help will be on the way. If you could please give me some more information, and stay on the line."
Gilbert gave his phone number, address, and a physical description of both Vincent and himself. While he was speaking, Vincent once again opened his eyes, but this time stayed laying on the couch.
"Gil, please…..don't….." He whispered, panicked. "I…...I can't go back there….."
Gilbert felt his heart stop, and he gaped in shock. "You…...you what?!"
Vincent's eyes widened, and he shook his head, sputtering out hastily, "No, I…..I didn't mean it like that!" He winced in pain, his head throbbing.
"Then what did you mean it like?!" Gilbert demanded, "And for once, for the love of all things on this earth, tell me the truth!" He had momentarily forgotten about the 911 dispatcher, and when he remembered, he added into the phone, "Sorry, he woke up again, and said something that shocked me. I'll…..I'll try to keep my cool."
"Do you remember….when you went to stay with the Vessalius family?" Vincent questioned, leaning farther back back against the couch, his expression unreadable.
"Y…..yes." Gilbert nodded, "I remember that. We were both still young…."
"I…..I attempted back then. And father….he couldn't bare to lose face of his precious public image, so he covered it up. Shipped me off to a hospital, which was hell, by the way, and of course he had to get you out of the picture, keep you blissfully ignorant….if only for his own benefit." Vincent scoffed, a disdainful sneer crossing his face. "All he cared about was himself, no concern that his own son, if I could even be called such, had just tried to kill himself."
"All these years, and I never even knew…." Gilbert looked down, unable to fully comprehend what was being told to him. "I never even realized…...that you've felt this way….."
"I never wanted you to know." Vincent laughed as much as he could, a self-loathing, broken, hollow laugh. "All I ever wanted was for you to live the life you deserved, without me in the way."
"Vince…." Gilbert shook his head, his black locks falling against his face. "I'll say it as many times as I need to, until you will believe me. I don't want you to die. I love you, and I don't blame you for anything, alright?"
"But you should." Vincent countered, "You don't realize it, but you should hate me, loath me, you should wish that I was dead, just as much as I wish for it myself. You should…..."
Before Gilbert could respond, a harsh knock sounded from the door behind him. He glanced back, then spoke gently to Vincent. "I'm sorry, really I am. I didn't want to do this. But I love you too much to let you do that to yourself. Will you try, for me?"
"I can't promise anything." Vincent whispered, turning his head away. "But I don't really have a choice, do I?"
"No, not really." Gilbert slowly, carefully backed up towards the door, never taking his eyes off of Vincent. He reached back and unlocked the door, stepping forward to allow the EMTs and police inside.
Leo brought his steps down to a normal pace, to avoid seeming suspicious to the people around him. He pulled tight a hoodie he had quickly bought at a gas station convenience store, and glanced at the time on his watch. "8 o'clock. It's been 40 minutes. Lottie's probably figured it out by now, I've probably been reported missing, as usual. And Elliot…." Shaking his head, Leo kept an eye on the people around him as he made his way down the sidewalk.
As he passed by one building, he glanced at the sign on the wall, and stopped for a moment, curiosity rising despite his situation. "Is this where Elliot was going?" He wondered, before moving on, or trying to anyways. Before he could get very far, a hand tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey kid, saw you looking in. You curious?" A masculine voice asked, a playful, teasing tone to his words.
"Ah, no, not really." Leo shrugged him off, shaking his head. "I've got somewhere else to be, I just have never seen anyone fencing before."
"Aww, too busy to stop and smell the roses?" The owner of the voice stepped in front of Leo, grinning lightly. "Where could a kid like you be going in such a rush?"
"I have to run down to the pharmacy, my sister is sick and my dad is the only one home." Leo lied, pointing ahead of him to a pharmacy not far off. "So if you'll excuse me-"
"Hmm, nope, you're lying." He inspected Leo's attire and demeanor, along with the backpack slung over his shoulder. "Running away, are we?"
"No, I already told you, my sister is sick." Leo gritted his teeth, silently begging for the man to just hurry up and leave him alone. "I really need to get going now." He tried to sidestep away, and rolled his eyes in frustration as the man followed his steps.
"C'mon kid, surely you don't think that you're being discreet, do you? I know a runaway when I see one, and you fit the bill perfectly."
"Please, for the last time, just leave me alone. If I don't hurry then my sister is going to-"
"Catch up with you." The man finished for him, "It's OK, you don't have to lie. You'd be surprised, really, by the amount of things I've seen around here. Runaways, drunkards, and trust me, things you don't want me repeating to a kid like you. The name's Break, by the way. Yours?"
Leo groaned, holding his hands out in defeat. "Fine, whatever. You're right. But I'm not going back. Just pretend you didn't see me. You don't even know my name, so there's nothing you can do about it."
"Hmm, that's true enough, but as I've said, I've seen a lot." The playful grin once donning his lips was replaced by a serious line. "Listen kid, I don't know your situation, but running away from your problems isn't the answer."
"You're right, you don't know my situation." Leo agreed, "So just shut up and let me be."
Before either of them could speak another word, a car pulled into the parking lot, and the owner dashed over to the two of them. "Leo!"
"Crap." Leo muttered, but then he jolted upon realizing who it was. "No, oh no. Crap."
"Ah, so this is the infamous Leo." Break thought, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "Hi, Elliot!" He spoke in a sing-song voice, waving to his student. "Leo and I have been having a nice little chat!"
"Leo, what the hell?!" Elliot demanded, storming up to Leo directly. "How could you do that?! I thought…...I really thought….."
Leo stepped back, looking down. "You what? Listen, I never meant for you-"
"I thought you were going to kill yourself, you idiot!" Elliot cried, "What else was I supposed to think?! Calling me and saying goodbye, while you were crying like crazy?!"
"I wasn't going to kill myself!" Leo shot back, "I'm not that desperate!"
"Well how was I supposed to know!?" Elliot grasped Leo's collar, pulling him closer. "I was so scared of what you might do to yourself! I never want to hear you say goodbye again! How could you just run away, after everything we've been through?!" His fingers brushed against Leo's pendant, and he only felt angrier at the sight of it.
"Ah, I'm afraid you've got things wrong." Break cut in, and both of the boys turned to stare at him in surprise. "Leo here wasn't running away." He patted Elliot on the shoulder, and added, "He just needed a minute to cool down and gather his thoughts."
Elliot glanced at Leo, then back to Break. "Wait…...what?!" He released Leo's collar, his arms dropping by his sides.
Leo was just as shocked, and all he could do was shake his head. "I…."
"You know, haven't you ever needed a minute to breathe, Elliot? I'm sure you have, if I remember correctly then you've-"
"We don't need to talk about that!" Elliot interrupted, "That doesn't explain why you said goodbye!" He directed that statement towards Leo, glaring at him.
"That's because I-!"
"Oh come now, haven't you said things in the heat of the moment, Elliot?" Break once again cut in, "If I recall then you did say that-"
"Break, please just shut up!" Elliot turned on Break, "I know what I said, but that still doesn't explain what he said!"
"Because I didn't want to tear your family apart!" Leo screamed, his hands shaking. "I didn't want to…." He whispered, "I've done it so much already. And that's to people I didn't even care about! Listen, Elliot, I care about you! And you clearly care about your brother, so I don't want you to get involved anymore!"
Elliot felt his heart drop, hearing Leo's passionate words. And it was only made worse by the fact that something had happened, that Vincent had attempted suicide after their interaction. But he couldn't tell Leo that, not right now. He had to keep it to himself, or everything he had just done would be for nothing. "Leo…...you won't tear us apart. Don't worry about what Vincent said. I promise, he won't try to keep us apart." That much was true at least, despite the fact that it was for a reason he wished that it wasn't.
"I still don't want you to get involved anymore…..." Leo whispered, "I don't want to hurt you…."
"I'm not giving up on you!" Elliot insisted, "Not now, not ever! We've been through too much together for me to even think about turning my back on you! And if you even dare think that it will be best for both of us, then you are wrong!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out his car keys. "Now come on, I'm taking you back."
"What, so the police can have a nice little talk with me?" Leo scoffed, crossing his arms.
"No, he hasn't reported you missing yet. Lottie insisted that he give us 30 minutes. 30 minutes, by the way, is almost up. So I'd better text Lottie real quick." Elliot pulled out his phone, and opened his messaging app.
Leo, on the other hand, could only just stare for several moments. Finally he managed to say, "He could get in a lot of trouble for that."
"I know, and he knows." Elliot finished typing, and looked back up at Leo. "But there's no problem, because you weren't running away, right?"
"R….right." Leo nodded, "You're right. I won't run away anymore."
Elliot glanced over at Leo as he said that, tucking his phone away. "Right, no more running away. Now, let's go." He started towards his car, clicking the automatic button to unlock it.
Leo turned to Break, who was simply watching the interaction between the two. "Why did you cover for me?"
Break shrugged, looking past Leo to Elliot. "Because I know what it's like to lose someone important. Right now he really needs you, and from the looks of it, you need him. I told Elliot this earlier, and I'm going to tell you. Don't turn your back on the people who need you, just because you think it will be easier for everyone. Be there for them."
Leo took a breath to reply, but Elliot called out from the car, "Hey Leo! You coming or what?"
"Coming!" Leo called back, and he quickly answered Break, "I will. I won't run away anymore. I won't."
"I promise."
A/N: and here's chapter 12! This took a lot longer than I wanted for it to, but I hope it was worth the wait. It's starting to get to some of the thicker parts of the plot, so be ready for a bumpy ride XD oh, and remember back when I said Lottie wasn't going to be a main character? Yeah...I was way wrong LOL
Once again, trigger warning for suicidal content.
oh, and I changed a portion of the last chapter, so I'd recommend re-reading that before reading this chapter. (the portion with Leo and Glen).
