Care For Me ✔️

59

L I L Y

After calling Zac, Grey and I drove around the neighbourhood in search of our brother. To say Zac was pissed would be an understatement. I could hear the sheer anger in his voice as he spoke with Grey, who that anger was directed to is unclear.

Thankfully the ice cream parlour was less than ten minutes from our house, which meant Leo knew how to get home, unlike our New York City adventure.

The rain had started to pour lightly, a dull tapping noise sounding as the water droplets hit the windshield, the soft glow from the moon and street lamps being the only source of light in the dark neighbourhood streets. I shrank back into my seat, unable to contain the worry that I felt. If Leo wasn't home then he'd be cold and wet and sad...

And it was all my fault.

"Maybe he went home?" I mumbled hopefully to Grey, straining my eyes whilst looking out the passenger window.

"Na, I think Zac would've called." He replied, tapping his finger tips on the steering wheel anxiously. "We can go check and if he's not there, you can stay home and I'll head back out."

"No, I'll come back out with you."

"Lil, it's getting late. I'll look for Leo, all of this...it's my fault. I need to fix it." He mumbled guiltily, running his tattooed hand through his hair for the third time.

"It was my fault too." I whispered, chewing on my finger nails once again. If I hadn't of pushed Leo to breaking point, Grey wouldn't have snapped back. I'm as much to blame as him, maybe even more.

"You were only trying to help, bambina." He sympathised, squeezing my shoulder lightly. So were you.

Grey quickly pulled the car into our long drive way. Both of us were quick to exit, rushing into the house with the naive hopes that Leo had came home. Reaching the kitchen, the worried faces of Zac, Callan and Carter came into view.

"Is he home?" I asked impatiently, staring between my three brothers.

"Not yet, Lil." Carter sighed, forcing a smile when my hopeful expression shattered. "Don't worry, he text Zac saying he'll be home later."

"Later?" Grey shrieked, hand twisting in his hair once more. He began pacing, wet shoes squelching against the tiles. "It's already after eight. How much later is later?"

"He wasn't exactly forthcoming with that information, Grey." Zac narrowed his eyes, his piercing blue gaze solely locked on Grey. "Now," he tapped his fingers to his stubble coated chin and leant back against the marble counter top. "What happened? I want to know everything."

"It was my fault." I quickly cut in, the growing tension in the room doing nothing to soothe my anxiety. "I pushed him too far. Grey didn't mean to scold him, we both made a mistake." I mumbled, staring down at my converse covered feet in fear of their reactions.

"What do you mean by pushed him too far?" Callan questioned, hooking his pointer finger below my chin. He tilted my head back till my eyes met his and I withheld the overwhelming need to flinch. Eye contact was still a struggle sometimes, especially in situations such as this. 

"He seemed really... down? After his therapy appointment, I was worried. I tried to get him to talk to me but he told me to leave it, said he didn't want to talk about it and I kept pushing." My voice was trembling, riddled with guilt. I twisted my neck, Callan's fingers falling from my skin. "Grey came back to the table just as Leo snapped at me and instead of finding out what happened Grey snapped back."