Treason
Treason
"Me?" She asked and sat down on the seat he gestured to her to sit on.
"I'm... fine.. I guess." She said in confusion, not knowing why exactly he was asking her that question.
"You look awful." He noted bluntly which made her self conscious. She touched her face before looking down.
"I'm trying to survive."
"Trying? You are always trying to survive. Why can't you just survive?" He asked seriously with his gaze never leaving her.
She laughed a bit. It was a dry laugh with no iota of happiness on it. "It's difficult."
"Talk to me. What is wrong?" Leo asked.
It was always easy to open up to Leo. She didn't know how it happened. Maybe he had hypnotised her once upon a time? She didn't know.
An unexpected tear slid down her face. Truthfully, she could not really tell what was wrong with her. She was depressed. But she had to settle those things eating her up.
"I feel like I do not have my own life. Everything is being controlled." She confessed.
Leo didn't interrupt. He only nodded to encourage her to trust him and open up.
"I do not know why I feel like I owe mum and dad my life. Maybe because of how they've always stood by me and how they helped and encouraged me after the incident with Adrian. I just... feel like I cannot disobey them." She used both hands to cover her face and sobbed quietly.
Everyone had a problem.
Everyone did.
Leo wished he could take away the pain of these women he loved dearly. But he could only try to understand their pain and make them realise he understood them. He couldn't completely take it away. But he would try.
"What would you rather do? How would you rather live?"
"I don't know!" She said amidst tears. "That's the problem. Even having such thoughts feels like treason to me."
"I feel like I'm in bondage and I cannot breathe. I want to breathe Leo. I really want to."
Leo sat up on the bed and looked at her quietly. Now, she was looking at him with her teary eyes which seemed like they were pleading with him to give her a solution.
"Now... let's commit treason. I am in the same team with you and whatever befalls you, befalls me. But I promise you, I will protect you and won't let the emperor slay you. So... let's talk about that thing you really want to do." He said with an encouraging smile.
***********
Chloe drove back to school, with Jeremy sitting on the passenger's seat. She was awfully quiet and he didn't like it. Even though she hadn't been really chatty on the drive to Leo's place, she had at least said a thing or two to him unlike now where she wasn't saying a thing at all.
This would have been less awkward had Mia agreed to go with them to school but she didn't look like she was in her right mind to go to school besides, she had said she caught a flu and didn't want to spread it.
"Are you ignoring me because I hinted that your brother may or may not be a serial killer?" He asked cautiously.
Chloe turned to look at him before shaking her head in amusement. "That's not it."
There was another round of silence before he spoke again. "I would have asked you why you cried and suddenly look sad, but I'm not sure you may want to tell me about it. But I hope it's nothing serious."
"You are very observant, aren't you?" She asked and smirked at him.
"Not with everybody." He said in a quiet voice.
She looked at her reflection on the rearview mirror just before her car got closer to the school's gate, and stopped the car.
"How many minutes more before the next class?" She asked him.
"19" He raised his head from his wristwatch to answer.
"Why?" He asked quickly and held his seatbelt tightly when she suddenly reversed the car.
"I need to get rid of this look. This isn't my style." She said and winked at Jeremy.
Jeremy blinked a few times in disbelief. He didn't even know when she drove away from the school premises.
"Did you... just wink at me?" He asked slowly. "What happened to you in your brother's house!?"
She laughed loudly at his reaction and turned up the music instead of giving an answer. It was a nice blues playing on the radio.
She drove quietly with a little smile on her face.
Jeremy watched her with confused eyes. First, she had laughed so freely and happily. It was the first time he was seeing and hearing her laugh that way. And now, she was driving with a smile on her face.
The car didn't go far before it stopped. "What are we doing here?" Jeremy asked as he looked at the shopping centre through the window.
"Everyone's been looking at me strangely today. I need to get a new dress." She said before turning off the ignition.
"Coming?" She asked when he made no effort to take off his seatbelt.
"I... don't know. I've never followed a girl shopping before." He said shyly.
"Today's your lucky day then." She cocked her head at the direction of the building before stepping down from the car.
"I just want to be free. Be different for one day." She had said to Leo back then at his apartment.
"To laugh more, smile more, make last minute plans, go shopping out of the blue without anyone beside me, picking out the clothes they believed suited me more." She didn't have to mention a name, Leo knew she was talking about their mother.
"You are sure we are going to arrive early for the next class?" Jeremy asked before checking his phone for the time. They had only 13 minutes.
"The more reason we should be hurrying." She reminded him. "And do not worry, I do not like to miss classes either." She said with a smile before walking ahead.
Jeremy would have been happy she was smiling at him and was free with him, but for some reason, he was having a bad vibe about this whole thing. It was as if she had been possessed by something. If whatever had possessed her left her, she was definitely going to return to being her normal self.
"I guess I have to enjoy this while it lasts." He said to himself before following her.