Page 62 of Brutal Captivity

“We will get to that… but first, breakfast.” Leo holds up the bag with a wide smile before handing it to me. He sits down on the bed in front of me, I move my legs to make room for him.

I open the bag carefully, almost afraid of what I will find. I pull out the top container. It says ‘Princess’ in Leo's messy handwriting. I trace the nickname for a second, a small smile playing across my lips. I used to hate it when he called me that, now I hate it when he calls me anything else. When I open the container, I can’t keep the surprise from my expression.

“I think you said something about liking avocado on toast, and I wanted to get you something you like. I asked Evan, and he said that this place had the best in town, so that’s where I went. Your coffee is a caramel latte with almond milk. It sounded like something you’d like,” Leo rushes out. The explanation sounds strung together with duct tape and anxiety.

It's sort of cute that Leo went to all this trouble to make sure I’m satisfied with breakfast. It’s a stark contrast to the first time Leo brought me food. My chest warms and my stomach flutters with butterflies.

“Thank you. This is really sweet. It also looks delicious. You didn’t have to go through all that trouble. I could have made something.” I pick up one of the slices of toast and take a bite.

It's delicious, better than the avocado on toast I used to get from my favorite restaurant. I’d ask him where he got it from, but it doesn't matter. Nothing will be the same by the end of the day. That thought has my heart pausing in my chest, a painful stutter. I blink a few times, forcing myself out of it.

“Daron said everything is fine. He took Nico to the safe house last night. They weren’t tailed or anything. So, you don’t have to worry about your friend.” Leo's voice is chipper, too chipper. It’s forced, and I kind of hate it. I catch his eyes, taking a deep breath.

“That’s good. I’m glad, but Leo, you don’t have to act all positive with me. I know our situation is… well…” I pause on the word.

“Shit?” Leo supplies

“Yeah… it’s shit. I know we may not survive tonight. I’m aware of that. I understand wanting to pretend, but you don’t have to pretend with me. If anyone understands, it’s me. So, can we just spend the day not putting on a show for each other? Like we don’t have to talk about it, but let’s not pretend it’s a normal day. Let’s just try to make the best of what could be our last day on Earth,” I say, my voice soft. Leo doesn’t maintain eye contact, just looks down at his food guiltily.

“Yeah. You’re right. I know that you’re aware of the severity. I just feel like I need to protect you. Like I said yesterday, this whole thing is my fault. Before, I wanted to show you the harshness of the world, but now I want to protect you. You’re so pure, Callisto. I’ve never met anyone like you. I’ve never met anyone that wasn’t jaded. I feel like I’ve taken that innocence away from you.” He still doesn’t meet my gaze, eyes still fixated on his food. My heart flutters at his words. I’m so happy that he doesn't see me as a spoiled brat anymore.

“You don’t need to protect me.” I hook my finger under his chin and tilt his head up, forcing him to meet my eyes. Leo's expression is unreadable, and I find myself wondering, not for the first time, what he’s thinking.

I continue, “I’m actually glad I met you. I know you probably don’t believe me, but I’m glad you’ve shown me the world for what it is. I needed it. I needed to be yanked out of my little bubble. You were right about a lot of it. Before you, I saw the world through a filter, and I avoided anything that made me uncomfortable. I’ve learned that it’s good to be uncomfortable sometimes.”

“I’m glad I kidnapped you,” Leo starts, and I can’t stop myself from laughing at how crazy that sounds. He laughs as well, the tinkle weaving through the rays of sunlight in the bedroom to make everything appear brighter. “No, really, even though you’ve been a pain in my ass, you’ve taught me a lot, too. Like what it means to be selfless and passionate. I’ve never met anyone as passionate as you, or anyone that sees the beauty in the world like you do.”

“I like being a pain in your ass. Maybe I can be a real pain in your ass later,” I joke, looking up at him from underneath my eyelashes. My cheeks heat up with my dirty joke. I don't make sexual innuendos very often, finding them childish, but Leo's presence makes me feel young again. Which is kind of ridiculous since I’m still pretty young, but I’ve never felt like I was allowed to act like a kid. When I’m with him, I find the youth I lost. Like it’s okay to be stupid or immature and not have to worry about being reprimanded for my actions. It’s nice.

“Maybe later. I have a plan for us after we eat,” he responds, a big smile on his face.

“What’s that?” I finally take another bite of my avocado toast. It tastes so good, I moan. He looks at me with a bemused smile, and I quickly drop the food back into the container, grabbing a napkin to cover my mouth as I talk, “I’m sorry. It’s just so good. Tell Evan he has great taste in food.”

“I’m not saying, but you will see soon enough.” He takes a bite of his own meal, expression smug.

We eat in silence for a while, enjoying each other's company. I still feel like there’s a giant elephant in the room, the huge, looming creature taking up every available inch of space, leaving me feeling as though I can’t actually breathe. I try to push the thoughts of later out of my mind, wanting to enjoy what little time we have. We can’t change the inevitable by worrying about it.

“I don’t know how you can eat that. It looks like pulverized grass.” Leo breaks the silence, scrunching his nose at my meal. I laugh at his cute, almost child-like expression.

“Have you ever tried avocados?” I ask, studying him. He stops moving completely, his normal fidgety behavior halting at the question.

“Obviously, I’ve tried it. Genuinely hated it. Disgusting, really.” His voice is almost too sure, lacking any of his normal jest. He averts his eyes with his rambling answer, even though it’s not even a real answer. It was a yes or no question. I didn’t need ten sentences to convince me or words like ‘obviously’ and ‘genuinely’.

“You’re lying. I can tell,” I say, my voice deadpan as I stare Leo down. He opens his mouth to object, but I cut him off, “You stop moving when you lie. It’s like you have to concentrate on making the lie convincing. When you aren’t telling the whole truth, you usually look away or look at your hands, fidgeting a tiny bit. You also make yourself sound too sure. Your tone changes, and you ramble, like you’re trying to convince not only me, but yourself as well.” His mouth drops open in shock.

“You know, you would be very good in my line of work. We could use more people that can spot a lie.” Leo smiles, and I blush at the odd compliment.

I have never thought about how I would perform in a criminal organization. I never had a reason to consider it, but the more I learn, the less judgmental I am about it. Especially since Leo does a lot for people who need it. I could do that. I may even be able to handle some of the violence. I quickly stop that train of thought, pushing it from my mind forever.

“Try it.” I hold up half of my second piece of toast, avocado smeared on top.

“Eww. No thank you.” Leo scrunches his nose again, and it’s so cute I want to cry. He probably doesn’t even realize how cute he is. I’m sitting in bed, eating, with a hardened criminal. A man who has tortured and killed people but scrunches his nose up at some avocado. The situation is almost laughable, but I couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else. If this is my last day on Earth, there is literally nowhere else I would rather be.

“Come on, try it.” I shove the food closer to his face. He shakes his head, so I push out my bottom lip, make my eyes bigger and look up at him through my eyelashes. “Please,” I beg, putting a tiny bit of a whine into my tone for good measure.

“Fine.” Leo rolls his eyes. I grin widely, feeling like I won a battle. Like maybe Leo is developing a soft spot for me like he has for his other friends. Too bad we will never be able to explore it.

Leo reaches for it, but I shake my head, slowly guiding the toast to his lips. He acts like he isn’t going to open his mouth for a split second, but I pout a tiny bit more, and he gives in quickly. I guide the corner inside Leo's open mouth, and he bites off a piece. I pull it away, waiting for his reaction. At first, he looks disgusted, but the more he chews the more pleased he seems. I smirk, my expression very much saying ‘I told you so’.