“Open the message?” I reply. I can feel Leo watching us. I know that Leo wants me and Jackson to get on well and I’m trying.
We spend another hour going through the phone even though we both know that I had got it all about twenty minutes into this, but I think Jackson just wanted to continue talking to me.
“Thank you for helping me," I say bringing all the dishes together to clean up. As I place everything into the sink, I see a drop of blood.Not again.
I still remember the first time this happened to me, I was so scared. It was that first time I went to the doctors and found out that I have Lupus.
That was a lot of information to have all in one day; to find I have an illness which was going to be a long and painful one and to go through it alone. Then the nosebleeds started. Now that was a whole new story. I was told that because of the fewer red cells I have it's easier for me to bruise and bleed. I always find that when I start my period the first two days are the worst for me. I've not had a nosebleed in a very long time, so I was scared the other day when it started.
Grabbing the towel I put it under some water and place it to my nose.
"Let me." I jump feeling Leo’s hand on my lower back, it’s the first time I didn’t hear him walking close to me. Leo starts cleaning my nose. "Jackson’s happy you spoke to him."
“If he’s here all the time, I have to start, right?" I say looking behind Leo at Jackson sitting at the table.
"I'm happy you did." Leo takes a step back when Jackson starts shouting at him.
“Leo, found something, will tell you in the car,” Jackson says leaving the house quickly.
“I won’t be long.”
“Try not to get too bloody," I say making Leo laugh.
I’m never going to ask where he goes or what he does; I have a feeling all this has to do with the man that took him.
* * *
I hear the front door closing, and I wait a moment to see if Leo comes upstairs. Nothing. Standing up, I head downstairs to see if I can see him. Walking past the sitting room, he's not there, nor in the dining room.
Feeling a cold breeze, I turn to look at the yard, and I see Leo sitting on a deck chair. I can't really see his face, but I take some water and a towel with me in case he needs to be cleaned up.
As I make my way toward him, the outside light comes on. I sit on the chair beside him.
No blood. That’s good.
"Are you crazy? It's cold outside," Leo says starting to stand up, but I stop him.
“I was hot," I say getting him to sit back down. The breeze feels nice.
"You have two minutes out here in the cold." He leans forward as the cigarette hangs from his mouth. His hands rest on my legs, and his eyes move to the bowl of water to my left. "I stayed clean."
I smile at his words and run my fingers through his hair before moving my hand down to his cheek. Taking the cigarette out of his mouth and before he can let the smoke escape, I kiss him. I have no idea where the courage came from. All I know is that I wanted to kiss him, so I did.
His hand moves to the back of my neck, and he pulls me in closer. I enjoy the taste of him as his tongue dances with mine.
When I pull away from him he says, "Nice to know you want to kiss me too." He smiles and leans back a little to inhale from his cigarette.
"Jackson coming over for dinner?" I ask before I say something I shouldn't about kissing him.
“No, he’ll be over in the morning.” I feel his eyes move over me. "Your two minutes outside are up." Leo pulls me up to stand up with him. I bump into his body as I stand and his hand wraps around my back to steady me. As he looks down at me, I just gaze into his eyes.
Suddenly I take a step back from him; the air around us has changed, and I don't know what it is.
He frowns and rubs the back of his neck. “I’m going to get in the shower. I’m not hungry so don’t worry about food," Leo tells me and walks into the house. After a few seconds, I follow him in.
It seems like Leo felt the electricity too, as his attitude has changed a little.
What’s happening? I’ve never had that strange air around me before.