They both must have been out in the waiting room for a while—their clothes looked rumpled and slept-in, and dark circles bruised the skin beneath their eyes. Leo’s curly hair was a wild tangle, the kind he got whenever he ran his hands through it too much. Dameon studied Winter with his familiar, quiet look.
Leo let out a long breath. “The nurse said you just woke up,” he said.
He pushed away from the doorframe, but one of Winter’s guards immediately stepped forward, straightening his intimidating frame. He gave Leo a warning glare.
“Easy, boy,” he said.
Then Winter saw the tracking device on Leo’s ankle. He had definitely been arrested. Guilt flooded Winter’s veins.
“It’s okay,” Winter said to the security guard. The man nodded, settling back against the wall, his eyes still locked on Leo.
Leo held his hands up. “Sorry, sorry,” he murmured. “No sudden movements, right. I just… Claire said that if Winter woke up today, I could talk to him as long as security was in the room.” He turned his eyes toward Winter. “As long as I kept it brief.”
Dameon nodded, and Winter was relieved to see the boy put a reassuring hand on Leo’s shoulder. At least they were okay. “We won’t stay long,” Dameon said. “I know you still need to rest.”
“Thank you,” Winter murmured at them as they came over to the side of his bed. “For being here.”
For a moment, the three just stared at each other.
Then Leo whispered, “How are you?”
Winter hesitated, not sure how to respond. “Okay, I guess,” he replied. “A little sore.” He met his friend’s eyes. “I’m more worried about you.”
Leo shook his head, closed his eyes, and looked down. A long moment of silence passed before he could speak again.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. God, Winter—I—”
He cut off, not trusting the steadiness of his voice anymore, and started to cry.
It was a low, mournful sound. Winter didn’t try to stop him. He just took his friend’s hand and pulled him gently forward, then leaned against his shoulder in a quiet embrace. Dameon waited in silence, letting them have their moment.
After a long while, Leo collected himself. His body shuddered as he leaned away enough to speak again. “My flight back to the US is later tonight,” he murmured, almost to himself. “But I needed to tell you in person what happened. I have to let you know that I never meant any of it, I never wanted—”
Winter held up a hand at the boy’s rising panic. “Hey,” he said quietly. “I’m here. You’re here. And we’re going to be okay.” Then he met his friend’s eyes steadily. “Take your time.”
Leo swallowed hard. His hands fiddled at his sides before tucking back into his pockets.
“They—” he said hoarsely, “they threatened my family—”
He broke off again, and Winter felt a rush of guilt and shame. So it had been blackmail, after all. He pictured Leo’s family, all his sisters and aunts, his parents. He pictured Leo terrified.
“Claire said the police are investigating a supposed plot to extort you,” Dameon filled in when Leo fell silent to compose himself. “Apparently, the extortion group had installed one of their own among the security guards at the concert.”
Leo nodded quietly, and Dameon stopped to let him speak.
“He told me he knew who I was,” Leo said in a small voice. “He knew the names of my mom and dad, my older sisters. He knew my home address.” He looked stricken. “I don’t know. He said it was just going to be a sleep draft, that they were just going to rob the safe at your house and leave you and Ashley unconscious. I didn’t know what to do. I—”
“It’s okay,” Winter said softly.
Leo shook his head rapidly, not listening. “They told me they wouldn’t hurt you. They just wanted to steal from your apartment. But that shouldn’t have mattered, Winter. I’m sorry. I was just so afraid. How did they know so much? I just—”
Winter reached out and held up a hand. “Hey,” he said. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”
Leo cut off midsentence, his eyes swollen from crying. Winter knew he was thinking back on the moment before their first stadium concert, where he’d said the same thing to him in that closet.
Winter had done this to his friend. Had put him in a position where he couldn’t help but commit a crime. And now Leo would face the consequences for it. He never should have brought them here, for something that he had only wanted to do by himself.Forhimself. Why couldn’t he have refused to let them come along? He could have dealt with Claire’s suspicions and spared Leo all this trauma.
He should have gone through this alone.
