Care For Me ✔️

9

L E O

I stare at her, my eyes blurring as they take in every inch of her face— my face. I can't focus, my breathing turns erratic and I try my hardest to hold back the whimper that's lingering at the back of my throat.

Is this her? Is this my Lily?

It can't be a coincidence... right? She looks like me. Her curls match mine in colour only they're longer, falling down her shoulders in messy tangles. She has my eyes, my nose, her name.

Where did she come from and how does the new boy know her?

As the burn builds in my eyes, I can barely make out her face anymore.

"Le..." I think it's Emilio who says my name, but it's fuzzy in my ears. I can barely hear him.

In a state of shock, I take a step back and another and another, whispering her name under my breath as I try to make sense of this in my mind.

My hands shake as I curl my fingers against the cuffs of my white sleeves. The burn of tears is becoming harder to hold back the longer my stare holds hers.

The shrill of the bell snaps me out of my daze. My eyes move from hers, to Emilio's before finding Callan's. He's staring at me, his hands raising as if he's desperate to pull me into his embrace. Feeling the bile rise in my throat, I don't give him the chance to pounce.

Swiftly twisting my heels, I bolt out of the cafeteria just as the first tear falls.

—

The doors to the boys toilets slam open seconds after I enter.

I can't look up, too busy hunched over the toilet bowl in the small white cubicle as I throw up my breakfast. Before I can blink, the cubicle door is burst open and I feel a hand rubbing my back in a soothing manner that just screams Callan.

I wipe my mouth on a piece of toilet paper, pressing the flusher before turning to face him. He stares at me, eyes sympathetic as he takes in the red tear trails surrounding the apples of my cheeks.

The tears come back in full force and before I know it I'm sobbing. Callan reacts as if it's second nature to him, pulling my body to his in an instant as his hand caresses my nape.

"You're okay," he soothes, pressing his cheek against my hair. "I've got you, bambino."

Callan holds me until the sobs subside. It isn't until I lift my head from his chest that I see the rest of our brothers. They're more or less lined around the bathroom as if they own the place.

Alex stands in the corner of the room examining me with a look I can't quite place, not touching a single thing as his hands rest firmly in his front pockets. Ace and Carter lean against the wall with almost identical worried expressions, both avoiding my eyes. And then there's the twins, Kaden and Killian. They're standing a few steps behind Cal, their own cheeks flushed and damp. Killian's more so than Kade's which isn't surprising, he's the most sensitive of all my brothers, seeing me cry has no doubt made him emotional.

"Leo?" Callan cups my cheeks, pulling my gaze back to his as he wipes my under eyes with the pads of his thumbs. "Talk to me. How are you feeling?"