Missing [ST]

Twenty Five

A/N

Hola amigos!

I couldn't resist posting again because I honestly think this is one of my favourite chapters. I do have a clear favourite coming up and I'll do another little A/N to explain why it means so much to me then, but for now enjoy some more tense content!

Anyway, read on!! ❤️

<>

Steven used to have a good poker face. He used to be good at burying secrets, live on endless lies, but he couldn't do it anymore.

The relentless days he had tried to keep his hope alive were getting longer, and the end was slipping further out of reach. The searching flame had finally burned out, and in the darkness that followed, he had sparked an undeniable recognition with a single touch.

"I-I need to leave," Leah announced shakily. She had an arm around the back of her seat, angling her body to the side, and there was tentativeness sliding her feet to the floor. "Right now."

Being sober should have helped, but Steven found it took longer to register everything, and it was because he was forced to think in his right mind.

Watching her leave, knowing he should just let her go because he had no right to stop her, conflicted harshly with the strings of longing he was hanging onto.

Steven was convinced Leah had the power to crush his sleepless nights into dust and help him find his daughter, and he couldn't let that go. It was selfish and wrong, but he might become broken beyond repair if he let her go.

"Wait!" Steven called out, almost tripping over his own feet trying to stand up. "Wait!"

He was skidding on his socks, and strides close to a jog, he managed to muscle an arm across the width of the front door, blocking the exit.

"Where are you going to go?" Steven asked, keeping his breathing in a steady stream out his nose, despite the rush of panic. "You have no shoes, no transport, and y-you're...weak."

He regretted his choice of wording immediately.

Logistics and consideration was what he was trying to point out, but it couldn't have been more patronising if he tried. And judging by the exasperated press of her mouth to pronounce the lines around her chin, Leah didn't exactly appreciate it either.

"I'm a lot stronger than you. Now, get out of my way."

Despite her confidence, Steven stood his ground with a single shake of his head.

"I can't do that."

She stared at him, hard. "Yes, you will."

And he did. Not instantly, but Steven couldn't be subject to the pure hatred that rimmed her eyes for much longer. It just made him uneasy and flustered being so close to her.

He relaxed his arm, and stepped aside. The v-shape between his thumb and index finger gravitated over his brow bone to escape the clash of cymbals in his head.

"I'm going to the police," Leah said, giving him a side glance when he reluctantly appeared in view.

"You don't have a phone!" Steven remarked flippantly, with a desperate shrug.

"Then I'll find one. Or, you know, a station."

He fought with a muted groan in his throat as Leah turned away from him.

It was cold out again, the sun low in the sky and the breeze whipped through the rolled sleeves of his shirt, which meant she couldn't have been much warmer with just a thin black jacket covering her slim frame.