Chapter 102 - (hundred) One: Crimson

Reaching home, Leo carried Becca upstairs, ignoring the stares of his staff. His clothes were tattered, his hair was messy, and had blood spilling out from the deep cuts on his shoulder but he didn't care. The pain from his wound didn't hurt at that moment.

His workers all had worried looks on their faces as they watched him bolt into the house with Becca in his hands but he didn't give a fuck about them at that point, all that mattered was the woman in his arms.

Leo took Becca to their room and rested her on the bed where he noticed the blood on her knees and hands. He didn't see them before because of how chaotic his thoughts were. 

He got on the bed and slightly raised Becca's knee to examine it, recalling that she crawled through broken glass to get to her Raquel.

He gazed at her as she laid unconscious, knowing that she would remain that way for a while. Knocking people out cold was a skill he learned while he still worked for his grandfather. It was a necessary skill that always came in handy, especially with the dangerous jobs he indulged in.

He touched her cheek and wiped off the bloodstain on it, thankful that it was his blood and not hers.

Leo heaved a sigh and lifted Becca again, striding to the bathroom. Gently, he lowered her into the bathtub.

" I swear, I never wanted this to happen to you, my love," Leo muttered as he carefully took off her clothes, leaving her bare, and filled the tub up with water. 

He took the first aid kit and began cleaning her wounds. Shards of glass were still in her knees and a pang shot through his chest as he took them out, piece by piece. He had never hated himself the way he did at that moment, he hated that she got injured.

This wasn't supposed to happen, and it was all his fault.

He cleaned her up delicately, afraid the pain would wake her up if he applied too much pressure, using the whole day until he made sure she was good as new, at least her body.

Leo lifted her from the tub and carried her back to the bedroom where he drooped one of his shirts over her head, wearing it on her before putting bandages on her nastiest cuts.

Once he was done, he covered her with the duvet and sat on the couch, staring at her. Watching her. It was a habit he had developed, one he didn't know if he could quit. One he knew he would never get tired of.

This was the second time he almost lost her and it was all his fault. He caused all this. Everything. His Becca got hurt and it was all because of him.

Leo clutched his hair with his hands and tore his gaze away from Becca to stare at the ground, the voices in his head not granting him the luxury of a clear conscience.

It's all your fault, you cause this.

You did this to her.

You are a monster.

He shut his eyes, the memory of what happened that day replaying in his mind like a film. Then after reliving that horror show, his twisted head decided to torture him some more by resurfacing memories of the day his sister dead.

The day of dread as Leo would call it. The day he lost his sister, the same day his mother officially disowned him.

"Leo, your mother and I are attending an event out of town and we will be gone all day. You are in charge so look after your sister. You two can play around the compound but don't cross the gate." Leo remembered his father instructing him that day. He was no more than twelve and his sister was six.

He nodded to his father's words and ran to find his sister. He was used to his parents leaving all day to attend lavish events, their absence never bothered him. In fact, he liked it when they were away, at least then he wouldn't have to hear them fight.

Thanks to his parent's massive house, Leo and Amelia had more than enough space to run away but children being the children that they were, they played carelessly and accidentally knocked over their mother's vase.

The two little delinquents stared at each other then at their fuming nanny as she chased them outside before they spoiled something else, Laughing as they ran from the raging woman. Well, at least Amelia was laughing while Leo was thinking about what his mother would do to him concerning her broken vase but he soon shoved the thought aside. He had more than enough time to brace himself for it.

They left the house, their chests heaved as they tried to catch their breaths.

" Leo, I want to play with the ball," Amelia said, pulling Leo's arm— it was her way of always getting him to agree to her requests— and just as expected, Leo yielded. 

The ball was his, a gift from his father. Their father tried his best to make him feel cared for since Claudia didn't really care. Lorenzo treated Leo as his favorite, his successor while Amelia was their mother's precious child. Her favorite and Claudia didn't hide it, she always made it clear that she favored Amelia over him and Leo would be a horrible liar if he said that his mother's favoritism never bothered him. It did, always but he still stomached it. He still shared his things with Amelia, the golden child who already had everything. After all, it wasn't her fault that their parents were assholes.

He knew why his mother was so harsh towards him. She harbored a deep hatred for her husband, the hatred she was always forced to bottle in when they were out in public for the sake of being a model wife so instead, she chose to vent out her frustrations on him, being Lorenzo's child. His spawn.

Leo was so young yet he understood all of this, he didn't like it but he still understood. What he couldn't wrap his head around was the fact that it was only him who always got the shorter end of the stick and why it was only Amelia his mother seemed to love.

Weren't both of them Lorenzo's children so why were things still that way?

Leo's answer always came whenever he stared at his reflection in the mirror. While his sister looked more like his mother with bright blue eyes resembling Damien's, but his case was different. Leo was the spitting image of his father and perhaps it was why his mother abhorred his mere presence, maybe it was because he looked so much like her mortal enemy physically, whereas people would argue that he acted more like Dominic.

Leo quickly shook his head, shoving away any thought that was relating to Dominic. He rather reminisce the memories of his mother's cruelty towards him than being reminded about that man.

Leo's eyes stayed shut as he allowed the thoughts of his little sister to flood his mind, torturing himself with them.

He gave her the ball, playing with her and just as he always did, he let her win every single round until she was fed up with all the free wins and started complaining.

" Smettila! I know you are just letting me win, Leo." Amelia puffed her cheeks and Leo grinned, picking up the ball as it rolled in his direction.

" Me? Why would I even do that?" Leo asked feigning innocence in front of her even though his grin exposed him.

" Perche you don't think I could win against you on my own." 

Leo chuckled at the angry face his sister was making. " That is because you can't." 

" Leo!" She glared at him. " Well, thanks for believing so much in me." 

" Hey, I'm just being realistic. I am both twice your age and size, how can you possibly outrun me?" Leo asked and Amelia's eyes narrowed harder at him. " Okay, fine. I won't go easy on you anymore but don't cry if you don't win."

Leo warned before passing the ball to her, only to dribble it away from her seconds later. Scoring two goals before she could even understand what was going on.

It soon went from a football match to a game of chase with Amelia running around the house chasing him but still couldn't catch up.

" Okay, you were right. Please pass me the ball." Amelia panted, chasing after Leo, and he chuckled then passed the ball to her.

Amelia grinned as the ball charged towards her and she too ran towards it and channeled all her might to her legs as she kicked it, projecting the ball straight out of the compound.

Leo's jaw dropped, amazed that her short legs were able to kick that high.

" How did you even kick it that high?" Leo asked, picking his jaw up from the floor and Amelia ran towards the gate with her dainty legs, giggling.

" I'll get it," Amelia said as she ran past him, moving towards the gate and their father's instructions instantly flashed through Leo's head and he immediately went after her.

" Amelia, stop. Where are you even going?" Leo asked as he went after her but she didn't stop. She was too enthusiastic about getting the ball to even obey him.

"To get the ball, silly." With that, Amelia went out of the gate and Leo hurried his pace and went out as well, feeling the adrenaline pumping into him as he saw Amelia crossing the road to get the ball at the other side of it. His heart rate tripled when he looked to his left and saw a car charging towards her.

He broke into a sprint. " Amelia, get out of the—" 

The words died in his throat as he watched the car run his sister over and she fell on the floor, bleeding. The driver of the vehicle didn't even have the decency to stop.

For a second, Leo's heart stopped beating. His pulse throbbing in his temples, muffling the other sounds around him. It happened so fast, one minute she was running and the next he knew she was laying in a pool of crimson.

He ran to his sister and fell on his knees next to her.

" A—Amelia?" Leo stammered as he called out. It was the first time he had held a bloody body.

" Amelia?" He called out again but still no answer.

A dreadful feeling swirled in him as he tried listening to her heartbeat. There was barely any to listen to. 

Leo's legs wobbled as he hoisted her off the ground, numbed from the adrenaline rush. He dashed into the house, shouting.

" Miss Sarah! Miss Sarah!" Leo yelled his nanny's name and she rushed to see what he wanted, stopping dead in her tracks when she laid eyes on the bloody mess that Amelia had become and the tears gushing out of Leo's eyes.

The next thing he knew, he was in a car with his nanny, driving to the hospital. He sat Amelia on his lap, refusing to let go of her.

They reached the hospital and Leo could barely make out anything there with how messed up his mind was. The memory of his sister's accident just kept on replaying in his head over and over again.

She was running on the road then in a blink of an eye, she was on the floor. Her clothes painted red with blood.

Leo stared at the doctors as they rolled Amelia away on a stretcher. After a while of waiting, he turned to the entrance door as he heard it being pushed open and saw his parents storming in.

" Mother. Father." Leo called out, stepping closer to them but stopped when his mother raised her hand and landed it on his cheek.

A slap.

" Claudia!" Lorenzo said in a reprimanding tone but all she did was glare at him and then at Leo who had his hand on his face, soothing the pain of the slap.

His mother grabbed him by the collar. " Look here you little brat—" 

" Enough, Claudia!" Lorenzo warned and dragged her harshly to his side, away from Leo before she could really hurt him.

Just then, the room where the doctors took Amelia opened and a doctor stepped out. Leo remembered the man having the gravest look on his face.

Leo stepped away from his parents and went closer to the doctor.

" How is my sister, sir?" Leo asked, his eyes begging the doctor for good news but all the doctor did was pat him on the shoulder and mutter seven words Leo knew he would never be able to forget in his life.

" I am truly sorry for your loss."