Heart and Desire (boyxboy)

Chapter Seventeen

Oli's POV

"The sun is very orange this morning." Silas commented in an attempt to prompt a conversation. He was gazing longingly out of the car window as we drove to Leo's house.

"Orange like a carrot." Vince agreed thoughtfully, nodding slowly. Vince, Silas and I were sitting in the back seat, with me in the middle.

"I like carrots," Silas smiled. Vince nodded in agreement, then both boys looked to me, "Do you like carrots?"

I pretended to be deep in thought, stroking my imaginary beard. I shook my head decidedly, "No. Carrot rhymes with Garrett and Garrett sucks." I pouted childishly, squinting into the sun that hovered in a halo over Si's head.

"Does Garrett suck carrots?" Vince winked, smirking. Silas tried to keep a straight face, but his eyes were laughing.

"Garrett sucked my boyfriend's carrot." I answered, a slight grin touching my lips. Instantly, I realised my mistake when both Vince and Silas' expressions saddened. Vince scratched his temple as he scrambled for the right words to say. I mentally kicked myself, cursing under my breath. Trying to rescue us from the awkward silence we'd plunged into, I attempted to bring up the mood with a lighthearted chuckle, but Vince and Silas were still frowning
sympathetically. Rick cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, Oli." Rick said solemnly, glancing over his shoulder at me briefly before returning his eyes to the road. We were only a few minutes from Leo's house but the traffic was slow-moving.

I only shrugged, "Shit happens."

Despite my best efforts, I couldn't think of a better response.

The remainder of the car journey dragged from seconds into minutes. Seemingly never-ending. Other than the static of the radio, a poignant silence seeped into the car. My skin crawled in the prickling tension. Eventually - thank God - the traffic dispersed and we arrived in front of Leo's house. Rick pulled over and I wasted no time scrambling over Vince so I could fling myself from the suffocating car. I was desperate to escape the intensity. Rick and the boys shouted goodbye as I left, Silas yelling a much-needed "good luck." I gave them a quick thumbs up and a hurried wave before they drove away.

I hesitated at the front door, strangely - yet unsurprisingly - wary of confronting Leo. It was very uncharacteristic of him to lash out in the way he did yesterday, especially for him to hurt Kara. I'd spoken to Kara on the phone last night and she'd been crying down the phone, convinced that Leo hadn't meant to hurt her. In all fairness, I believed it too.

Taking a deep breath, I raised my trembling fist. Just as I was about to knock, I stopped myself. Stalling, I whispered a silent prayer then raised my fist again, gathering the courage to knock. Balled fist inches away from the thick wooden door, my eyes widened in surprise as said door swung open to reveal a very sorrowful Emilio, tears dripping down his cheeks.

Wordlessly, he pulled me into an embrace and breathed heavily into my shoulder as he sobbed. My arms circled themselves around Leo as I held him, feeling him tremble softly, tears drenching my t-shirt. We stayed like that for the longest time until eventually, fighting back his tears, Leo pulled away and stepped aside so I could enter the house. He wiped his eyes on the sleeves of his jumper before his parents noticed he had been crying. Mr and Mrs De Luca, who were in the kitchen, had heard me enter and were calling to me; there was no avoiding them now. Ambling past Leo, trying to portray indifference, I pushed through the kitchen door where I was greeted by the smiling, yet concerned, couple.

"Oli, you're back. Darling, I've been worried about you staying out with that strange man." Mrs De Luca fussed, arms outstretched for a hug. I allowed her to hug me, chuckling lightly at her genuine care for my safety.