Drives me insane, that smile. Makes me want to. I don’t even know. Do something? Say something? Just. Something. Smack a bit of reality into him. Curl myself around him and put a bullet in the back of reality’s skull. Two for luck.
Apart from the obvious, Leo’s mum doesn’t remind me of him at all.
Considering how sad and broken-down she made her son sound a moment ago, I’m almost glad she doesn’t seem able to express the same shining light from within. It feels like that sort of thing should be specially reserved for people like Leo. It isn’t for the likes of her, and it’s certainly not for the likes of me. All we know how to do is wield shadows and broken things.
Leo’s mum doesn’t scream or shout when the bathroom door slams open, and I fill the doorway. She looks up at me and raises both eyebrows, not seeming in the least bit concerned or intimidated by the show of force.
She looks terrible. Mascara tracks thick on her cheeks, her bright-red lipstick smeared. She’s wearing a tiny red dress, which would fit in better at a nightclub, stains marking it in several different spots. Her black hair looks matted and dirty, like a wig someone found in the bottom of a bin.
Overall, she’s as much a mess as downstairs.
Frome her position lying down in the claw-foot tub, she frowns at me in obvious annoyance.
“Who the hell are you, then?”
I don’t answer, giving her the same blank stare I offer most of the FISA agents.
Leo pushes at my back, and I move further into the bathroom, allowing him to get in. Thankfully, the bathroom itself is rather large, so there’s plenty of space for both of us. We don’t need to touch, which is good. I’m starting to think any extended amount of contact between Leo and me would be a bad idea, leading to only disastrous things.
Leo’s mum turns attention to her son, her expression morphing from mildly irritated to incensed to exasperated so fast it gives me whiplash.
“For goodness’ sake, Leo, I told you to go!”
“Yeah,” Leo says, tone heavy with feigned boredom. “And I ignored you. I’m a fuckin’ rebel, you know that about me.”
He sounds so done, it’s unreal.
“Your boyfriend broke Teddy’s door,” his mum responds, apparently unwilling to get into another sparring match with Leo over his choice to disregard her demands.
Leo throws me a quick glance, looking apologetic again. He doesn’t bother correcting his mum about the boyfriend thing. Either because he knows it won’t matter what he says, or because he finds the idea too ridiculous to take seriously in any capacity.
Meanwhile, I’m standing here feeling all twisty inside at the thought it could be the latter. There is something severely wrong with that.
“Consider it your revenge against Teddy,” Leo says dryly. He goes to his mum and offers his hand to her.
She scowls at it, but his comment about Teddy seems to inspire her. She takes his hand and attempts to stand up. Halfway through the act, her shaky legs give way, and she almost goes crashing down into the bath again. Leo catches her, pulling her against his chest and swooping her up into a bridal carry in one swift movement.
She doesn’t struggle against him, allowing herself to be carried without complaint. She looks over Leo’s shoulder at me.
“What’s your name, then?” She looks curious now, her gaze raking me over with uncomfortable thoroughness.
“Mum, leave him alone,” Leo warns. He catches my gaze and jerks his head at the door, indicating that we should leave.
I nod in agreement, and Leo turns back around, striding out of the bathroom at a fast pace, clearly eager to get out of this house.
Once again, I follow closely after him.
“My name’s Alicia,” Leo’s mum says, still catching my eyes over her son’s shoulder as we go down the stairs. She puts emphasis on her name, pointedly expecting reciprocation.
I keep silent, deeming it the safer option.
Unfortunately for us, Teddy is waiting at the bottom of the stairs, and the moment Alicia catches sight of him, she starts yelling. Her voice becomes high and reedy with genuine anger. She calls him a “cheating piece of shit” and a “dickless excuse for a man” and on and on.
Teddy doesn’t do himself any favours, shouting back at her with equal vehemence. His main argument against all her accusations seems to be, “I was drunk, though.”
I don’t know about anyone else, but I am not convinced by this tried-and-tested defence strategy, historically fool-proof as it may be.
Alicia squirms around in Leo’s arms, attempting to free herself from his hold, presumably so she can deliver some form of assault on Teddy. I can’t entirely blame her for the urge.
