Chapter 146: (Hundred) Forty Five: Father

" Happy Birthday, my son." Lorenzo smiled at Leo, his beloved son— his successor, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. Leo smiled as well, feeling compelled. He was turning thirteen. His father said it's the age boys take the first step in becoming men. His father also said that someday, he would inherit everything, starting from their big house, down to grandfather's business.

Leo didn't exactly know how his grandfather's business operated, all he knew was it was tough and could only be managed by an even tougher man. His father was tough, so was his uncle but with a more prominent sense of humor. However, his grandfather, Salvador, was different. He was tougher, he was resilient, he was frigid. He was difficult. He had a gaze that could mangle a person to bits.

He had expectations.

Seated at a table that stretched long and wide, seated next to Lorenzo, Leo's gaze wandered to the chair next to his, the one that belonged to his sister. It had been a year since her death yet he still felt her presence. He still heard her bubbly laughter whenever he went into her room, always engulfing himself in the melodic sound as he laid on her soft bed, waiting. Waiting for something— a miracle. Leo watched her casket get lowered to the ground but part of him chose to believe it was all a bad dream, that he would wake up and see his sister running around the house just like she always did. Part of him still wanted to hope.

Steamy meals were served to them in elegant plates but Leo didn't touch his food, let alone even bother to glance at it. His eyes were still glued to Amelia's chair. He had gotten so accustomed to celebrating his birthdays with her, it made his attempts to do otherwise, seem strange. Incomplete. Even the cake couldn't faze him.

Lorenzo did his best to seal the void Amelia's death caused in Leo's life. But in the end, his best wasn't enough. Claudia's absence indeed brought Leo a sliver of peace. She stopped considering him her son and though it took a while but Leo too ceased to consider her his mother. 

Mothers don't call their sons monsters. 

It was just him and his father against the world.

" What's wrong, son? Don't you like the food? They are all your favorite." Lorenzo's voice broke Leo out of his trance.

His shoulders slumped. " It just feels different." 

Everything felt different.

Lorenzo picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth with it. " Then let's do something that doesn't feel different. How does pizza sound?" 

Going out to get pizza was something Leo and his father enjoyed doing together, it was their thing— their special time to bond. Amelia always stayed home while the duo went out for pizza so going out now without her wouldn't feel different. There would be a sense of normalcy, contrary to how his everyday life had been lately.

Their meals were abandoned as soon as Leo said yes. To escape the depressing atmosphere of their house, they left for one of the best pizzerias in New York to get Leo's favorite and tour the city a bit. All to cheer Leo up but it didn't work. The aroma of freshly made dishes and the sight of places he had seen time and time again, wouldn't be able to alleviate the rooted emptiness galling him day in and day out. Nothing could.

On their way back, they stopped at a gas station to fill up their car's tank. They parked next to a fuel dispenser and Lorenzo got out, took hold of the handle, hauling out the hose. 

Leo stared out the window, it had already gotten dark. Another day was almost gone yet he still felt nothing. He was numbed.

Then another car drove into the gas station, a black pickup truck, and seconds after, a man stepped out. Dressed in all black, the man's steps seemingly echoed in the desolate clads of night. His hands were in his pockets as he neared their car, as he neared Lorenzo. The clanging of shoes against concrete, plugged Leo back into reality. He snapped his gaze to his father who, for a moment, got distracted by the task at hand. 

It all happened so fast. The man kept advancing to attain a closer range. His hand slipped out of his pocket, along with it, a shiny metal. Affray, Leo's heart lurched at the sight of the gun being drawn but before he got the chance to alert his father, before Lorenzo could even draw out his own weapon, bullets were fired— three directly at his chest. 

Leo was awashed with dread as he watched his father hit the ground with a thud. The gunman stepped closer and jabbed Lorenzo's body with his leather boot as if trying to confirm whether the job was a success or not, before turning to look at Leo who sat fidgeting in the car. The man's face was covered with a ski mask, only his eyes— dark swirls of ink— were visible. Leo's lungs froze as he peered into the bleak abyss in the man's eyes, his soul a barren wasteland. The next thing Leo knew, the same gun that was used to shoot his father, was now being pointed at him. His eyes flitted from the man's eyes to the gun and back, heart pounding so hard, he feared it would kill him before the bullet did.

Seconds crept by painfully, the gunman's finger was already curling around the trigger. Leo didn't know if it was his imagination or the fact that fear was lacerating him to shreds but he could have sworn the man's hands were shaking as if hesitant to shoot. He didn't have a problem killing a grown man in cold blood but now that he had to do the same to a defenseless child, his conscience suddenly jerked back to life.

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How heroic.

The man let out a sigh, dropping the gun to his side.

" What are you doing? He's just a kid."

Leo heard the man whisper to himself before striding back to his pickup truck and speeding off. As soon as the car zoomed off, Leo hustled out of the passenger's seat, halting in his tracks when he set eyes on the bloody mess his father had become. Crimson spewed out of him onto his clothes, the ground— forming a pool of blood where he now laid.

" Father?" Leo called out as he took tentative steps closer to Lorenzo's motionless body, the stiffness of his chest threatening to suffocate him. Tears burnt his eyes as he fell to his knees beside his father.

" Father?" He sobbed as he nudged Lorenzo, trying to shake him awake. " Please wake up. The pizza, I can't eat it alone." His lips quivered as he spoke.

After all his attempts to wake Lorenzo up failed, Leo broke into tears.

" Don't leave me." But it was too late, his father couldn't hear him anymore. His father couldn't protect him. Leo didn't have his father to love him anymore.

He was all alone.

Leo jerked awake, chest heaving as his breath came out in jagged pants. Fifteen years gone yet the memories of that night still haunted him as one of his frequently occurring nightmares. Nightmares that never seemed to want to grant him peace.

The tension of his body eased a bit as he veered his gaze to Becca. She laid beside him, sleeping ever so soundly without the memories of the past creeping onto the surface. He yearned for her ability to sleep with ease. Most nights when he battled with his subconscious, his yearning turned to envy. He envied her peace of mind. But despite that, he hated when Becca felt distressed. That was why he became so unhinged when she started having nightmares after the assassination attempt on her life.

It was one thing for him to be disturbed, he could handle that. What he couldn't take was when she was just as troubled as him. 

Leo's thoughts were snapped in half by the sound of Becca stirring in her sleep. She moaned softly, pressing her naked body closer to his, and compelled by habit, Leo's hand went behind her back, soothing her. Seconds later, she relaxed, allowing herself to melt in the warmth Leo's body provided. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and her cheek then on her lips.

He sighed, still gazing at her. When will he ever find peace?

***

The sun rose, Johnny's rage along with it, and by the time he got to the base, his temper was already soaring. He kicked open the door to the cell Martino said Leo was in. Just as expected, Leo stood in front of one of Raphael's men who was now dangling on chains from the ceiling. He planned to slaughter them one after the other while he saved Raphael for last. He would show that wretched Dante what happens to people who crossed him— unite him with his worthless father.

Leo twirled a knife between his fingers, blood tinged on it. He didn't even look startled by the bang on the door.

" You're late so I decided to start this one off for you," Leo said and turned to face Johnny. The smile on his face, simmered Johnny's blood even more.

He lunged forward, grabbed Leo by the collar, and slammed his back on the brick wall.. But regardless, the smile on Leo's lips remained intact, his grip tightening around the knife.

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