I promise
I promise
Amara also came out of the house at the same time, after speaking with Chloe and panicked when she saw Benjamin heading towards them. It seemed like he had not gone very far because he arrived in less than 5 minutes.
The look on Benjamin's face turned to one of surprise when he saw the man beside his sister was actually Leo. Why was he...
He received his answer immediately Leo approached him and threw a punch which landed at his jaw, making him fall to the ground.
There was no reason for Leo to do this to him unless it involved Mia. So he instantly understood what was going on.
Amara gasped loudly and used her hands to cover her mouth as she watched the scene unfold.
"What is the meaning of this?" Kelvin who had left the car approached quickly and tried to intervene but Leo picked Ben up by the collar and looked him squarely in the eyes.
"Seeing how you aren't confused or asking questions about this, I'm sure you must know the reason I'm doing this already."
Benjamin looked at him with a dour expression. He made no attempt to fight back with Leo.
"What the hell were you thinking doing that?" Leo asked in a calm voice, still grappling his shirt's collar.
"It was just a kiss. Why are you making a big deal out of it? She isn't even your girlfriend. I'm sure you've also kissed her before. Did anyone fight you? Why can't I kiss a girl I like?" Benjamin asked without remorse as he looked at Leo's angry eyes.
It seemed like Benjamin's words added fuel to Leo's burning rage.
Maybe Mia wasn't his girlfriend yet, but saying 'it was just a kiss' like it didn't matter, made Leo a lot angrier.
He was bigger and older than Benjamin so it wasn't much of a hassle throwing him to the floor. He had chosen to come here instead, hoping it would make him control his temper since this was the Stark's residence, but it wasn't working.
Amara was already beside him, almost at the verge of tears, begging him to stop while Leo punched Benjamin a couple of times more.
Kelvin also tried to stop Leo but he didn't stop until he was sure he had given Benjamin the kind of beating he would never forget in his life.
By the time Leo left Benjamin, there was blood on his mouth and bruises on his face.
"Maybe she can decide to let this go, but I won't. The next time you do this to her or to anyone else who isn't willing and I find out about it, I am going to find you and make sure I throw you in prison. And when I mean to do that, even your family would not be able to save you. It's a promise." Leo said to Benjamin who hissed in pain and spat out blood from his mouth.
He wasn't the young and quiet Benjamin Leo knew back then. He wondered who must have corrupted him this much. He didn't even look remorseful at all. It was as if it was a normal thing for him to do.
Amara hurried to help her brother up while glaring at Leo. "What is wrong with you? How could you do this to him?" She asked angrily. "Do you know I could call the cops on you?" She threatened.
Kelvin had been quiet as he watched the scene unfold. He had only tried to pull Leo away from Benjamin. He recognized Leo as Chloe's brother and didn't want to get into a fight with him since he was still envisaging a future to be a part of the King's family by marrying Chloe.
"You are stooping so low to fight Benjamin?" Amara continued. Benjamin wasn't only younger, but he was a college student and still a but immature unlike Leo. So she was mad at Leo for doing this.
"I wasn't fighting him, Amara. I was teaching him a lesson. If you love your brother, you should talk to him because I won't be this nice the next time."
Leo locked eyes with Benjamin who smirked at him before cleaning his lips with the back of his hands. "I'm okay, stop whining." Benjamin told Amara who looked very worried.
As Leo turned to leave, they saw another car come into view.
As the car got nearer and nearer, Leo was able to make out Mia's face inside.
Her eyes slowly widened when their eyes locked and immediately James stopped the car, she opened the door and ran towards them.
Amara looked slightly confused seeing a girl running towards them but soon recognized her as the girl Louis had kissed at Benjamin's party since she had watched the whole thing with Chloe. She could guess this was the girl her brother had kissed.
Mia looked shocked when she saw Benjamin's bruised face and bloody lips.
"Maybe not to rational but that's not bad." James said from behind remembering he had said something about Leo being rational and wouldn't hurt Benjamin.
"What are you doing here?" Leo asked in surprise, moving closer to Mia so she wouldn't see Ben's face even though it was already too late for that.
Kelvin was surprised to see Mia there. She was his smart classmate and Jeremy's friend, he remembered. Was she probably the reason Leo had beaten Ben up? But he had no idea Benjamin had a thing with her. She was...
(Kelvin looked her up and down) pretty, but way out of their league.
Benjamin's gaze turned a bit soft when he saw Mia looking past Leo to see his face.
She didn't know how to react at all but it was already too late for her to say or do anything, Leo had already done all he wanted to do to him, it seemed.
"Mia... are you pissed?" Leo asked her softly. She looked away from Benjamin and looked at his face.
His facial expression had turned soft and his eyes looked sad. Maybe he had overreacted? Was that why she wasn't saying anything? He wondered.
"...." Mia said nothing.
"I'm sorry. Don't be mad." Leo said again.
James could understand how Mia felt. He also didn't know how to react he moved closer to Leo and touched his shoulder.
"Thank you for doing this. I really would have killed him if I met him first." James said to Leo before looking at Benjamin with a dark glare.
Mia began to blink as she felt tears gather in her eyes. Her phone began to ring, she had wanted to just ignore it but she checked to see it was a call from Jeremy. Remembering he was sick and still at the hospital, she answered the call immediately, hoping he was okay.
"Mia? Where are you? How are you?" He asked with worry evident in his voice.
Mia tried to talk but she couldn't. Different emotions flooded her as she just stood there with her eyes going round and round.
"Mia? Are you there? Have you heard from Leo? I'm on my way to Benjamin's house right now. You don't have to—" Mia hung up abruptly as tears began to drop from her eyes. She then turned around and ran away. No one could tell what she was thinking, no one knew what was wrong with her, only her knew.
James and Leo called after her at the same time while Benjamin just watched her back sadly.
Leo ran after her immediately. Was she mad because he had beaten Benjamin up? He had no idea so he ran after her until he caught up with her and saw her face which was already filled with tears.
"Mia please.. I am sorry. I do not know what came over me." He held her hand as he apologized.
Mia tried to hide her face from him while she shook her head, but he didn't know what she was shaking her head for.
"Please talk to me..." He said with a pleading voice before pulling her into a hug while she began to sob really loudly in his embrace.
"This whole thing... it's new to me." She confessed between sobs.
"I've never had so many people worried about me or trying to fight for me." She sniffled. Even her family hadn't.
"I... have been handling every--thing on my own ...and when I know I can't win, I... just let it go and cry myself to sleep hoping I would be okay..." She cried even more as she spoke.
"It makes me feel so scared that all of this love and care is going to stop one day and I'd have to face the world all by myself again. It's so scary to imagine." She sobbed even louder while he hugged her tightly and rubbed her back to comfort her.
Although her words broke his heart, he was a bit happy and relieved that she wasn't actually sad because of what he had done to Benjamin but because she was overwhelmed by the kindness she was receiving from everyone at the same time.
"You don't have to face the world alone Mia Lucas. I... will always be here for you. I promise." He assured her softly before pulling away from the hug to cup her face. Her face was wet with tears while her eyes were red and still very teary.
"I'll be here for you, I promise." He repeated.
"I love you, Mia Lucas."