CHAPTER TWENTY: LEO
Austin and I met in the parking lot at the end of the school day to drive to my apartment for our school project. He kept staring at me as we walked to my truck, as if he was trying to figure me out.
"Okay I will bite, why are you staring at me like that?".
"Like what?"
"Like um some puzzle you are trying to figure out but it is not going too well for you".
"Yeah, I am trying to figure you out, because dude, I don't get you, Diana just told you why I went to jail, and you're still taking me to your house, why?"
"Listen, if I saw you as a threat, we wouldn't be here right now, Austin; it's not that I trust you or something, but you seem like a good guy, and I'm a very good judge of character, so don't get your knickers in a twist about why."
"You might be as crazy as I am, and dude, I'm batshit crazy," he said, puzzled.
"You're not the first person to call me crazy."
"Well, since you hold me in such high regard and are so determined to be my friend, I owe you an explanation." He said
"If you say so," I shrugged.
"It was two and a half years ago, I was babysitting one of my mother's friend's child, her name is Summer
"Summer is Miss Anne's child?"
Yes, that is why she was saying sorry and thank you this morning, but you seem to have connected the dots" he said.
"I'm smart like that," I replied, and he rolled his eyes at me.
"She tried everything she could to reduce my sentence, which is why I only got two years."
"So, what happened?" I asked.
"My mum brings home the worst guys you could ever think of, unfortunately, that night she brought home a paedophile, he liked his women very young, so he became obsessed with her," Austin explained.
"Hmm, so he tried to hurt summer" I added, "Not at first, he stalked her and took pictures for a while, then Miss Anne called me one-night saying summer called her and she sounded really scared."
"So he went to her house that night?" I asked.
"Yes, so I went to check on her after the call. As soon as I entered the house, I heard her screaming and immediately ran up to see the jackass taking pictures of her while she was still in her underwear"
"That's messed up, Fuck"
"I know right, lost it and started beating the crap out of him, but I stopped when Summer yelled my name because I was blinded by rage, I didn't notice how scared she was"
"Damn"
"After I made sure she was okay and got her something to wear, I called the cops. They arrested me along with the guy and took me to the local prescient,"
"What happened to the bastard?" I asked, hoping the son of a bitch was no longer alive.
"He was rushed to the hospital that night and was in a coma for a few weeks, the fucker didn't die unlike the rumours going around in this fucked up town"
"Would it be bad if I was happy at the thought of the fucker being dead?"
"Trust me, I considered going to finish the job because the detectives discovered that Summer wasn't the only teen girl he had harassed, and it wasn't the first time, he would raped and kill his victims after taking pictures, he had killed and raped 5 girls before summer," Austin explained
"Fuck, that's so screwed up."
"He was on the run when he came to Anwood, he got sloppy and was caught by me, which also contributed to my sentence being reduced to two years instead of five, and now you know what happened."
"You did a good thing, bro; I would have done the same thing, if not worse; I would have killed that fucker, how is Summer?"
"She is great, she and Anne came to see me once in a while while I was in jail, Miss Anne always says thank you and apologizes whenever she sees me, even if I tell her every time It was okay she never stopped"
"Any mother would be grateful, what you did should have earned you a fucking medal, not jail time, I wish we had more guys who could do what you did"
"Yeah, that's what the guys in juvie said too, I don't regret it even if I lost two years of my life, I don't even know if I could go to college with the grades I have, so coming back to wasn't first on my list"
"Hey, dude, you sound like a wimp, stop talking like that, i will help you out no worries, what are friends for" When we arrived at Shane's school, he was sitting on the bench with the girl I met when he was suspended.
"Austin," the little girl ran and engulfed Austin in a big hug,
"You've grown so big, Summer, how have you been?"
"Great Austin, mum said you were out but I didn't know until she told me today," Summer smiled,
"Yeah Summer, I see you know Shane here," "yeah he's my very best friend," Summer said, and my little brother was staring at her like some lovesick puppy.
Summer smiled as she turned to face me, "Hey Leo, nice to see you again."
"Same here Summer and thank you for looking out for Shane, Summer."
"It's the other way around, Shane is the one protecting me, I just keep him out of trouble," she said, laughing at Shane's embarrassed expression.
"It was good to see you again, Summer; I'll come visit someday; when is your mother coming?"
"She said she'd be there soon."
"Do you want us to wait for her to come get you, Summer?" When I asked Summer the question, I saw gratitude in Austin's eyes.
"I don't want to bother you, you must be busy," I said.
"It's not a problem, Summer, we can wait." Austin and I reassured her, and she smiled at us before pulling Shane back to the bench where they had been sitting.
Miss Anne arrived an hour later to pick up Summer; she thanked the three of us before getting into her car and driving away. Before we got into the truck, I drew Austin back and told him about Shane's muteness
"What's up, dude?"
"I have something to tell you before this friendship moves on, my brother is different "
"What do you mean?" he asked, his face puzzled.
"Shane was in an accident a few years ago, and he lost his ability to speak, so I hope you don't mind."
"Why would I? No wait, why would anyone have a problem with a kid being mute? He seems like a good kid."
"All right, thanks for understanding; I was just trying to protect him."
"It's cool, dude; I'd do the same thing, but seriously, how can anyone be a jerk to that little dude?"
"People can be cruel Austin"
"I see well I've no problem with him, Leo"
We all got into the truck and drove home, stopping at the grocery store to get supplies for the house before heading home. Because Austin didn't understand sign language, Shane used his phone to communicate with him throughout the ride home and they hit it off.
It turns out Shane and Austin love playing the same type of video games, seeing them get along made me really happy.
Shane went to freshen up when we got home. Before Austin and I went to work, I made some sandwiches for lunch.
While we worked, Shane completed his homework. By 9:00 p.m., we had completed half of the work, so I suggested we continue tomorrow since we were almost done with the project.
While I was preparing dinner, Austin and Shane were playing with his Nintendo. Austin offered to help with dinner, but I preferred that he keep Shane company, which he did without complaint.
Austin entered the kitchen a few minutes later and sat in one of the dining table chairs. "That kid adores you."
"I don't always believe I deserve the love he gives me."
"Dude, if he loves you this much, it means you're doing something right, so don't overthink it."
"What happened to your parents? You are not obligated to answer if you do not want to."
"It's okay, my shithead of a father got drunk and decided to drive, they were returning from a meeting at Shane's school, and he lost control and crashed the car, my parents were killed on impact and Shane barely got out but he is a fighter, he got through it but the doctors were unable to repair his larynx, he lost the ability to speak" I explained
"Wow, that little dude has been through so much and still smiles, that's fucking awesome."
"Yeah, but I think he's just trying to be strong for me; he's one of the few things that's kept me sane in this fucked up world we live in."
"Yes, we do live in a messed up world."
"And what about your parents?" I asked, wanting to get to know him better because we were going to be friends.
"My dad was a navy officer, he died when he was deployed in Afghanistan, and my mum doesn't give a shit about me, she didn't even come to visit me in jail, can you believe that all she cares about is getting high,"
"From someone who grew up with shitty parents, just know you have us now Austin, we have your back, and you can't even leave because Shane already has his claws in you and won't let you go," I explained as I returned to the stove to mix the pasta.
"Leo," Austin said,
"Yeah, dude,"
"Thank you for not judging me,"
"No problem now, let's stop with the sentimental nonsense, we sound like wimps," Austin laughed, returning to play with Shane after Shane called his name from the living room.
I called them into the kitchen when dinner was ready, and we ate dinner while Shane told us about his day. After we finished dinner and cleaned up, Shane went to bed, saying goodnight to Austin and me.
"Wow, look at the time, it's really late, I have to get home," Austin said, looking at the kitchen wall clock.
"You can stay if you want, the couch is really comfortable",
"I don't want to intrude, you have done enough",
"Austin we are friends now, you can never be a burden". I reassured him with a smile, but he remained hesitant.
"Nah, it's okay Leo, my mother will need me, so see you at school tomorrow," he picked up his jacket and walked to the door, and I followed him to the door so I could walk him out.
"If you ever need a ride, we always leave at eight o'clock"
"Maybe I'll take you up on that Leo, see you tomorrow," he waved as he walked down the sidewalk; I watched him turn the corner before returning inside to finish up my other assignments before going to bed.