Chapter 21: Heartbeat

"You will always protect me. You remember everything you told me back then, right?" Leo smiled gently. The look in his eyes caught firmly into Lucia's soul.

"Really? I don't remember saying that?" Lucia pretended to forget to shake off the increasingly intimate atmosphere.

"You're pretending to forget, aren't you? I know you're just faking it! After all, you promised me, how can you just deny it?" Leo protested. His referring face was adorable, making Lucia unable to help pinching his cheeks.

"Hahaha... it was just a child's promise, Leo! Besides, you're much stronger now to take care of yourself, right?" Lucia said while pinching Leo's cheek.

Leo stared at her for a moment, he knew Lucia would say something like that and he wouldn't lose a way to make Lucia keep her promise either.

Leo wore the black t-shirt he was wearing, revealing his burly body which took Lucia by surprise.

"Hey, why did you take off your clothes? What do you want-" She hadn't even finished her sentence yet. The sight before her eyes left her at a loss for words.

Leo's body was covered with scars. Long scratches and stitches. Lucia realized that it wasn't a wound he got as a child.

"You're wrong, Lucia! I can't take care of myself. Without you, I can't control myself!"

"What happened to you? What's with these wounds?" Lucia's hands were shaking, trying to touch Leo's body. Her chest felt tight because this really took her by surprise.

Leo smiled gently at her, as if to say that he was fine and that what had happened to him was nothing to worry about.

"When you're not by my side, I feel so screwed up. You know that you're the one I've leaned on all this time. But instead you left, without saying goodbye. You made me suffer because I had to learn to get used to being without you. But your gone also made me strong and face it pain is alone. You are a very bad friend!"

"Aren't there Pierre, Bryan and Chris? They must always help you, right? Aren't they?"

"Yes, they are always by my side. But Lucia, all that would be meaningless without you!"

Lucia's tears flowed, she didn't know what sadness Leo had experienced during these 12 years. Since then, Leo has been in a lot of pain and even now it doesn't seem to change.

Leo wiped Lucia's tears and rested his head on her shoulder. Leo asked Lucia to hug him.

"You are so warm, like a mother! I want you to take care of me again like that time. I want you to remind me to eat, remind me to wear a jacket when I go out, I want you to bring an umbrella for me when I am stuck in the rain like that time. I want you to rub my head and make me feel better like that time. Save me! Only you can do that!" Leo's shoulders trembled. He wanted Lucia to know that he needed her more than anything.

Lucia didn't realize that she had cared for and looked after Leo like that. All she knew was that she always hit Leo when Leo made a mistake or when she was annoyed.

"When we met again that day, I wouldn't have thought that you'd still be this spoiled. You used to always make jokes and get into trouble. Now that you're old enough to take care of yourself, you don't need me anymore!"

"No...! I don't want to! You have to take care of me! You have to keep your promise!"

"You're not aware, aren't you? Your body is much bigger than mine! How could you ask a woman like me to take care of you? You idiot!"

"A woman like you who kicks a customer in the face on the first day of work? You should be the one who should be aware-"

Punch...

One punch landed on Leo's face, forcing him to stop saying something stupid.

"Aagh... why did you hit me?" Leo shouted while touching his face.

"You deserve to be beaten! You damn it! It's annoying!"

"Why are you angry? I'm only telling the truth! You're so strong, that's why-"

"If you talk stupid again, I'll just go home!" She said as she got up and opened the door. But the wind actually brought rainwater into the tree house.

Lucia immediately closed the door again when she realized that her clothes were soaked in the rain.

"Why? Not going home?" Leo tried to tease her with a question that irritated Lucia even more.

"You have to take me home when the rain stops!" She said while wiping her wet hair with a handkerchief.

"There might be a storm! It's raining so hard!"

"If it's a storm, maybe this tree will fall!"

"This tree is so strong! It won't fall that easily! Do you want to keep the wet clothes on?"

"It can't be helped, I didn't bring any dry clothes!"

"Open it, if you continue like that you will catch a cold and have a fever!"

"How can I undress in front of you, idiot!"

"Why? You have to undress in front of Pierre, right? Why don't you want it in front of me?" Leo asked with a cold smile. Lucia lowered her head, she really felt very embarrassed by the craziness she did last night.

"I was drunk last night, so-"

"So?"

"Never mind! Don't ask that again!"

"Do you like Pierre?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"I just wants to know! Because you always rely on him!"

"I count on Pierre because he is the calmest and wisest. You are a trouble maker and always joke, Bryan is very arrogant and annoying, Chris is very shy and also a crybaby. I can't help but wish Pierre was all I could hope for!"

"Is that so? That's why you feel more comfortable around him?"

"Jeez, Leo! What's wrong with you? You're acting like a jealous guy, you idiot!"

"You're right! I'm jealous!" Said Leo. Lucia raised her face and looked at Leo who was sitting across from her.

Lucia didn't want to interpret Leo's jealousy as a romantic feeling. After all, she knew very well that neither of them had had such feelings for her in the past. They never thought of her as a woman worthy of love.

"What are you talking about? You idiot!"

Leo pulled Lucia's body into his arms and kissed her aggressively. Lucia tried to resist, but Leo's strength was far greater than she had imagined. Lucia couldn't help but accept the kiss until Leo let go.

As soon as the kiss ended, they opened their eyes and looked at each other. Lucia could hear the sound of her heart and Leo's heartbeat. She was afraid it would end like the night before.

"Take off your clothes! You can wear mine! If you keep this up, you'll get sick!" Leo put the black shirt he was originally wearing into Lucia's hands and then turned his back on Lucia.

Lucia wanted to cry, looking at Leo's back which showed that now he was no longer a weak and helpless Leo, now he was a strong man who could face the cruelty of this world alone.

Lucia took off her wet shirt and underwear and put on Leo's T-shirt which when she put it on reached her groin. This shirt is big and loose enough for her.

"I've changed! You can turn now!"

"Really? All right!" Leo said as he turned around to face Lucia who felt very awkward and tried to cover her thighs.

"What did you see?"

"Nothing! I think you look really sexy in that t-shirt!" Leo said it without thinking about how Lucia was feeling now that she had to wear the T-shirt that her friend used to wear, while she wasn't wearing any underwear at all.

Seeing Lucia's reaction to being silent with a flushed face made Leo feel guilty for saying such a thing.

"Sorry, my words were too much! You must be uncomfortable, right? Okay, how about we sleep? I'll turn my back on you! You can cover your thighs with my jacket!" Leo said. While Lucia just nodded in agreement because she couldn't do anything now.

They lay next to each other, while Leo lay with his back to Lucia. The lights of this room are getting dim and starting to run out of power because it uses batteries. Lucia was worried that this room would become very dark.

"Leo!"

"Yes? You need something?"

"That, looks like the lights will go out soon. How about this?"

"Leave it alone! Just close your eyes and sleep!"

"But-"

"Are you scared?"

"That's me-"

The lights were completely off and it made the room very dark. Lucia felt so scared, this darkness made her feel uncomfortable.

"Leo, the lights are out. How's it going?"

"Okay, looks like there's a flashlight here! I hope it can still be turned on!" He said. But it seems they have to be patient because the flashlight can't be turned on at all.

"It's broken, huh?"

"The battery runs out!"

"Oh my God, it's so dark! I can't see anything!"

"What can we do? Let's just sleep!"

"Okay!" They said as they lay back down.

Strong winds began to seep through the cracks in the door, making the temperature in the small room even colder.

"Leo, aren't you cold?"

"A little!"

"You're not wearing clothes. You could catch a cold!"

"It's okay! I'm fine! Don't think about me!"

"How could that be? Uhm...Leo!"

"Hmm? Yes?"

"Are you asleep?"

"Not yet!"

"I'm cold, can you hug me?"

"What? Hugging you? Are you crazy?"

"Why? Cats sleep next to each other when it's cold!"

"But we're not cats! What if I think bad things about hugging you?"

"What are you going to think about?"

"Nothing! Forget it!"

"So, you don't want to hug me?"

"Okay, but don't blame me if anything happens to you!"

"You can't control yourself, can you?"

"Of course! I'm a man!"

Lucia chuckled at Leo's rambling. But the room was very dark, so they didn't have to see each other. Just hugging each other is enough so that this cold feeling can be reduced a little.

They hug tightly and it seems they miscalculated. Just because they don't look at each other, doesn't mean that desire doesn't arise. Scent, body temperature and touch are much more powerful than sight.

The room was filled with the sound of their heartbeats. The warmth of Leo's embrace made Lucia's heart begin to weaken, but she tried to ignore it and closed her eyes, so she could fall asleep.

"Leo!"

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay! I'm so messed up right now!"

***