Chapter 122 - (Hundred) Twenty-one: Bondage

Two days. Leo didn't move for two days. He was alive but still very much unconscious. Becca didn't step out of the house throughout those days, spending most of her time on the second floor. With Leo, watching over him. She wanted to be with him once he finally wakes up so she could get the chance to smack his head and ask him what the fuck he was thinking by getting himself shot.

The doctor did tell her a lot though. It was more of complaining than simply telling. According to the man, Leo has been coming to him for a decade now. The doctor continued his tirade by saying Leo was by far the most unreasonable, reckless patient he had ever met in his entire career but also the luckiest. Leo was still the luckiest. His only fear is that Leo's so-called luck might not always be there to save him in the future. Because Leo's wound weren't given proper attention immediately, he suffered internal bleeding and in order to reduce the pain that came with the bullet wound, Leo had to be medically induced into a coma.

Becca sat on a stool positioned directly next to the bed, holding Leo's hand in hers. She leaned her head on the soft mattress while she took a short nap. Naps— that was the only way she got rest due to her anxiety, the only thing that seemed doable. These past two days made full night sleep seem like a thing of the past.

The walls of the room were filled with nothing but stillness. Silent if not for the beeping of the vital signs monitor. The rhythmic rising and falling of Leo's chest was truly the only thing that kept Becca sane at that moment. He was breathing. Alive.

They both remained static, Leo remained unconscious, an oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth, maximizing the flow of oxygen to his brain while Becca slept next to him. Just a few more touches and the room would look like an actual hospital. Martino did tell her that all those things weren't necessary for Leo to recover but Becca stubbornly insisted that they were, ordering him to make them available. It was either he did, or he took Leo to a real hospital. Martino yielded to her at the end, granted her request. With the way Leo held Becca dearly, the last thing Martino wanted was to be punished for upsetting her.

Suddenly, his hand that was being held captive by Becca, moved. Slowly gripping hers and Becca instantly jerked awake. She glanced at his hand in hers then his face— his eyes were still sealed shut— and she kissed his forehead.

" Don't worry, I will be right here when you wake up." 

***

Darkness. 

The only thing Leo saw. The only thing he could see. Even when he squinted hard to see something else, all he got was more darkness. Pain. 

Unnerved, he tugged at the chains binding him— a captive, a prisoner. The rustling of the chains made the darkness eerier. A gothic hell. Blistering pain piqued every muscle on his body at each tug but he didn't stop, hoping he would somehow adapt to the suffering. No one could.

Soon, it became a vicious cycle.

Tug. Pain. Tug. 

More pain.

All to summon the monster. To challenge him as he had learned to. If he was going to be left here to suffer, he might as well not grant that bastard any peace.

Not too long after that, Leo's courage became miniature in comparison to the throbbing pain his body was experiencing. It was too much. He wanted to give up, to stop his flimsy acts of provocation because deep down he knew it wasn't bravery but stupidity. He would surely get the consequences of his deeds afterward. It would be carved into him with a knife. Engraved. 

Leo stopped tugging at the chains— the symbolism of his bondage— and his head hung low in pain, defeat, and fear. In darkness. 

Just then the door opened and slow, taunting footsteps plodded in. Leo heard them. Being in a room that seemingly rendered his sight ineffective somehow heightened his other senses.

The sound of the footsteps neared in his direction, only stopping right in front of him. Leo vaulted up from the floor and onto his feet in full alert. There was no telling what could happen, all he knew was he wasn't alone in the room anymore.

" Scared. Weak. Just like your father." A voice echoed next to him and he tried his best not to flinch. 

The monster.

" Let me out of here, Dominic." Leo croaked, his throat dry from the screams they managed to elicit out of him.

" Dominic? Just a month ago you used to call me uncle." He said and right after that, bright light surged into Leo's eyes, forcing him to shut them abruptly. " Look at me when I'm talking to you, boy."

Leo didn't listen, deliberately disobeying him but instead of provoking his captor, he made him chuckle. Even worse.

Nothing good ever happened when that man chuckled like that. Leo realized that the hard way.

Leo's eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room, fear jolting him as he peered into Dominic's creepy blue eyes. The brightest shade of blue he had ever seen. Bright but at the same time, clouded with an impenetrable darkness, hate, and greed.

Typical traits of Kanes.

Dominic took intimidating steps forward and the closer he got, the more Leo's fear and anxiety rose. The clear line between fear and pain faded, blending together so much, Leo momentarily forgot that there was ever a difference. Dominic's sinister chuckle died down and he lunged his hand at Leo's throat.

" Non ho fatto niente a te." Leo choked but the pressure on his neck didn't lessen. Instead, it doubled.

" You are so wrong, child. Your mere existence cost me everything. I lost my daughter because of you. I lost your mother and everything I worked hard for to the likes of your pathetic father. Your birth only puts a vivid stamp on that fact."

Light seeped into Leo's vision as his eyes flickered open, chest rising and falling with every breath he took. 

No chains. No pain, just tubes plugged into his wrist and nostrils. He was now laying on a bed and this time, there was no other monster in the room but him. Only him.

The door to the room opened and Becca shuffled in, halting when she saw Leo's eyes open. After being unconscious for five days, he was finally awake.

Her eyes glistened with tears as she scurried to his bed.

" Leo, you're awake. Are you in pain? You have been unconscious for days, I got scared you would never wake up. The doctor did say you would be okay but you know me. Nothing can stop me from worrying. I freaked out and forced Martino to bring you to a real hospital. I hope you don't mind." Becca rapped, tears of joy cascading her cheeks. 

Leo give her no response, not even a reaction.

Becca's brows furrowed at the bleak look in his eyes as he stared at the door. 

" Leo?" She called out, trailing her fingers on the side of his face. " What's wrong?" 

Still no response, he just kept staring at the door as if seeing something Becca couldn't. Something only he could. It was terrifying.

His finger trembled as he struggled to raise it. Every part of his body felt so stiff— weak— from prolonged lack of movement that even he wasn't used to. After multiple failed attempts, he managed to raise his finger and pointed forward.

Becca turned to look at what he was pointing at but couldn't see anything but the door.

" Leo, there's nothing there," Becca said and hauled her gaze away from the door to look at Leo once more but he kept pointing.

His lips quivered open. " D-Dominic."

" Dominic?" Becca repeated the name in confusion and looked at the door again. There was still no one there.

Leo's finger slowly— shakily— moved to point at the wall next to the door.

" Amelia." 

He could see her. She wore the same green dress she had on when she got run over, her blood was still on it. Amelia stood by the wall, her bright eyes identical with the ones of the monster she was next to.

Leo's eyes shifted back to the door— back to the monster who ruined him— and his finger followed in tow.

" Dominic." 

He repeated the action a couple more times, saying those same names.

" Who are they?" Becca asked, trying to soothe him. 

Leo's finger finally moved back to the door, the beeping of the vitals monitor becoming even louder as the throbbing of his pulse quickened. 

" Dominic."

" Who is Dominic?"

" A monster."

The door opened immediately and the doctor dashed towards Leo seeing him awake. The man quickly checked Leo's vital signs— his pulse was going haywire— then injected him with sedatives to calm him down. The effects of the drugs kicked in just seconds after being administered and Leo's hand dropped to his side on the bed. His eyes drooped gradually before drifting off to another induced slumber.

Becca's gaze darted from the doctor to Leo and back, eyes widened in fear.

" What just happened? What is wrong with him?" 

The doctor finished checking Leo's vitals then turned to Becca. " Well, I will have to run more tests on him to find out more but from what I saw, I think he might be experiencing ICU psychosis."

Panic rippled through Becca instantly. " ICU psychosis?"

" Yes, psychosis. A break from reality. A disorder in which patients in an intensive care unit (ICU) or a similar hospital setting may experience anxiety, become paranoid, hear voices, see things that are not there, become severely disoriented in time and place, become very agitated. Has the patient suffered from any form of trauma in the past?" The doctor asked, waiting patiently for a response. An answer, but that was the problem. Becca had no answers, how would she when barely told her anything more about him?

" Uhm, he did say something about growing up with parents who were violent to each other. He also didn't have a good relationship with them. "

The doctor nodded and shot a glance at Leo. " What about the names he was saying, do you know any of those people?"

Anger and sadness tugged at Becca's heart on hearing that question. How was she supposed to know when he never wanted to tell her for the start? 

She swiveled her gaze away from the doctor to stare at Leo as he laid unconscious.. " I have never heard of them but hopefully we will get some answers once he wakes up.