Chapter 36: Won't be leaving

THIRTY-NINE

LYNETTE

I had gone through every part of the hotel, but I couldn’t find out where Leone was holed in. It was like in this city, people didn’t just turn up when you wanted them to. I sighed in frustration, as I looked around the slightly busy street.

The citizens were night owls too. Well, it was best to head back to the safety of my room. I was a girl, and this was an unfamiliar setting. It was quite possible that they would do something dangerous if given the opportunity, and that was the last thing I wanted.

I turned back to the hotel, trying to rub the evening chill from my arms. Inside, there was literally no-one around, and I was just on my own, which was actually not so healthy, but it was the situation of things at the moment.

I tried to see if I would catch glimpses of Leone, but there was none that had his face. So, I walked into our suite. The whole place was as cold as I had left it. Sighing, I walked deeper into his own side, and saw pieces of broken bottles lying dangerously on the floor. Oh, my goodness! This only made me more worried about Leone.

“Where are you, Leone?” I asked out loud.

I quietly stooped down, and tried to pick the broken pieces, when the door flung open. On impulse, I turned and gasped in horror as Leone staggered into the room, and kicked the door shut. Was he crying?

I couldn’t just move for some reason, even when he literally knelt close to me, and started picking the bottles. All I could do was stare at him. He was crying. It was silent, but like a tornado. His hands shook, and that was all I needed to snap out of the mire I had sunk into.

“Give that to me,” I said softly, taking trying to take the broken bottles from me.

He jerked his hands away. “I’m sorry. I can’t give to you, you would hurt yourself. This is my mess, and I have to fix it because there is no other option. What is broken can’t be melded. But it can be thrown into the thrash, and that is what I need right now,” he mumbled.

I felt like he wasn’t talking to me at all, but something else. Was it his mom? I sighed as I stepped closer to him, ignoring the shards of glass.

“Leone, we would fix things together,” I said, softly.

He shook his head as he looked at the glass in front of us. “Nothing can be fixed,” he said despondently.

“Don’t say that,” I admonished softly.

He got to his feet and tossed the shards in the thrash. “There, they wouldn’t come back to hurt us. This is what we must do to broken things. It can’t be fixed, so it’s best to leave them as it were,” he said darkly.

Damn!

I moved quickly, throwing my portion of glass shards in the thrash, then walked over to him, as I held him from behind. His sniffles seemed to increase, and before long we were sprawled on the floor, and I was cradling him in my hands as he cried.

“What happened Leone?” I asked softly.

He sniffed against my arm. “I wish I could change things, but it’s too late now. There is no way out of this. I have to leave with the fact that I have failed my mother. It’s the best thing for me now. Please, don’t say anything, just hold me,” he said firmly.

I groaned inwardly. This wasn’t right, but I had to respect his wishes. I knew it wouldn’t be so simple to find her, but for his case, I had hoped the universe would have been kinder to him, but that was never meant to happen, so it was best to soothe him instead.

I rocked him softly as he cried.

‘It would be fine with time, Leone,’ I muttered softly as I held him tight.

•••

“Wake up, we are leaving!”

I placed a hand on my eyes. “Huh?”

“Lynn, get up!” Leone said once more.

I sprang out of bed in shock. What was going on? Leone was fully dressed, and he was tapping away on his phone for some reason. I had no idea what was going on right now.

“Leone, what’s going on? I though we were…”

He looked at me despondently. “Please, don’t say another word. I want to leave this place. Get your things. I would be waiting for you out there. Try not to take so much time, ok?” He said softly.

I nodded, and watching him leave. Was he going to just give up like this? I know last night, I had said it wouldn’t be so easy to find his mom, but I didn’t expect him to really take that literally. No, I didn’t tell him. That was in my head.

Fuck!

I should say something?

But, what?

He wanted to leave, so there was no way I could actually wing it. I sighed as I pulled my top up, and went to my bathroom. Sometime in the middle of the night, we had retired to our various rooms. Normally, this type of setting would be a bid to get to know each other, but that had not been the case at all.

In 30 minutes, I was good to go. I pulled my bag out of my room, and noted that Leone was pacing the floor out. He looked completely rugged. There was unshaved line of stubble on his chin, making him look different. He was so young, so sometimes these things jarred me a bit. I sighed. This was not the time to think about Leone’s physical appearance.

“I’m ready,” I said.

He nodded. He came over to me, and helped me with my bag. Leone was forever the gentleman, and I was grateful for that. Though, I wished he wasn’t so moody, and was talking to me. It could help to make him feel less alone.

That was what I wanted so much. I wanted him to feel inclusive, and my outpouring of love. I remembered mom saying that sometimes, we needed to let people be. It would be the best form of love. I wasn’t so sure about that, but I was willing to give it a try.

I and Leone stepped out of the room, and headed towards the lobby. I kept telling myself that Leone knew what he was doing, and it was best to leave him to his thoughts for now. We signed out and slowly walked out of the hotel.

“I’ve called a cab for us,” Leone said softly.

“Ok,” I mumbled.

In ten minutes, the sleek cab arrived, and we juggled inside. The driver claimed that he hadn’t know that we were more than one person, if not, he would have asked for more money. Leone grumbled, but gave him extra money, and then we were on our way.

He looked out of the window, and I couldn’t help but note how sad he was. It was as though he couldn’t even believe that any of these was happening to him. I felt so bad for him. The fact he couldn’t find his mother must hurt so much. He was obviously blaming himself for everything, and I wished he wouldn’t.

A good distance away from the hotel, Leone suddenly jerked on his seat.

“Mr, turn back to the hotel. We wouldn’t be leaving anymore,” he said tersely.

The driver was far from pleased. “Jeez! If you knew you wouldn’t be travelling ,why didn’t you make up your mind before calling the damn cab. What type of nonsense is this?”

I frowned. “Is this how you talk to your passengers? If you have a short fuse, then why don’t you just stay home instead of working.”

The driver grumbled something under his breath.

“Look,” Leone said. “You would be compensated for the stress. Just move it along, already.” He snapped.

I sighed as the driver kept saying something under his breath. He was one of the most annoying workers that I had ever seen. I honestly had the urge to report him to his agency, but Leone had the phone and not me.

Leone, the man I had slept with, was sitting right in front of me, and I couldn’t take his phone. What an irony, but it was what it was, and there was no how to change it.

In another hour, we were back at the hotel, and Leone paid for another suite. The other one had been paid for almost immediately we’ve left. We got to the room, and I was aware of how small it was. And, worse, it had one bed. Wasn’t it supposed to be a suite?

“I need to be left alone for a while,” Leone said suddenly as he jumped on the bed.

I bit my lip slightly, moving to the sofa, but not sitting. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I hope a miracle happens and his mom gets found. And, speaking of moms, I have not called mine for a while now. She must thing the worst of me.