LATER THAT NIGHT, lenny waited until the boys in her room fell asleep before jumping out of bed and shrugging her coat on. she placed a soft kiss on charlie's forehead, whispering a sweet 'i love you' and grabbing her torch. she rushed out of the school building, setting off in a sprint down the street.
she knew by heart the way to neil's house, she'd been there plenty of times it was practically her second home. when she arrived there, she climbed her usual tree, her foot slipping on the first branch as it usually did, throwing her onto the grass of neil's backyard.
she climbed the tree, her torch in her mouth and her palms sweaty with nerves. she didn't know how the boy would react to seeing her at such an hour, but she hoped he'd be happy to see a friendly face in the midst of the pain his father caused him.
his window was wide open, which was unusual seeing as it was winter, and it was extremely cold. she knew that neil got cold easily, and definitely wouldn't have left his window open. when she made it to the window, she found his head piece from the show on the windowsill, and neil nowhere to be seen.
she climbed through the window, landing on his floor with a soft thud. she heard a small commotion from downstairs, rushing as fast as her short legs would carry her. when she made it into the room, she found neil with a gun pressed to his head, and tears slipping down his cheeks.
she silently rushed towards him, holding in her sobs and pushing the gun away from him just as he pulled the trigger. she shot fired into the ceiling, and lenny sighed with relief. she didn't know what possessed her to go him that night, but she was glad she did.
she pushed the gun out of his hand, throwing it across the room and wrapping her arms around the fragile boy. they sunk to the floor, his hands clutching at her large coat, desperate to hold onto something. she whispered soothing words in his ear, stroking his hair and letting him cry into her body.
his parents rushed into the room upon hearing the gunshot, confused as to why their son was crying into lenny's shoulders. she subtly gestured towards the gun, mimicking what he was trying to do with her hands. she moved away from the boy, allowing his parents to wrap their arms around him gently.
mr perry nodded his head in her direction, and she silently made her way out of the house. she walked slowly back to welton, her mind running over the thought of what would've happened if she wasn't there. she could've lost one of her best friends that night, all because he wanted to act.
when she arrived back to her room, charlie was pacing back and forth, muttering to himself about whether or not he should find the girl. when he saw that she was back, he began to ramble about where she'd been and why she was out so late. she let out a choked sob, rushing into his arms and crying into his chest.
"promise me you'll never leave me charlie. promise me." he nodded gently, kissing the top of her head and pulling her coat off. he dragged her into his bed, wrapping his arms tightly around her body and letting her fall asleep in his chest. he knew something bad had happened that night, and he didn't have the nerve to ask what it was.
"i promise."
☆彡
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
