Forced Affection

Leo began to leave the office, expecting Rae to leave as well-or at least walk away. That was a lie, he knew she wouldn’t from reading her mind...he just wish she had. It would have been easier that way.
‘Wait Leo we need to talk’ Rae started.
‘We need to talk? That is the worst phrase ever said. Honestly it only brings hassles’ Leo snapped attempting to walk out of the office, hoping for it to be that simple-at that moment he didn’t want to deal with any stupid friend of Hallie’s.
‘Listen. Sit-we are talking and don’t you dare try to walk out of here’ Rae snapped closing the door and pushing Leo back to the desk-he looked taken back, he wasn’t sure how to react to this girl pushing him around. He sat without any protest; Rae gingerly took the other seat facing him.
‘What is this about Lopez?’ he asked leaning back on the seat and rubbing the bridge of his nose.
‘Hallie, are you not concerned for her safety?’ Rae asked straight away.
‘What of course I am! What do you think I was trying to talk to her about?’ Leo snapped sitting straight up-he had never been this concerned for another being in his entire life.
‘Well there are a few things you should know. Hallie has always been crazy and angry but she is free falling worse than ever before-she can’t handle her emotions’ Rae said as if she had just became the biggest traitor ever.
‘Rae, I’m honestly trying my hardest-but she is pushing me away more than ever. I can’t talk to her without her yelling at me. Believe me I know what is happening I see it as well and everyone else thinks she is coping but she is so far from coping it is not funny’ Leo whispered as if he didn’t want anyone to know.
‘Leo, you don’t even realise but you are the only person that can reach out to her at the moment. Seriously she wants you more than anything else-but she is being weak and denying her feelings and pushing you away’ Rae said back knowing this conversation would end with someone being hurt.
‘Rae I don’t think you realise I’m trying as much as I can. She wants nothing to do with me. When we first got here I was the only she would turn to and then she pushed me away after the hospital, the funeral and tonight’ Leo said knowing Rae would understand.
‘Leo she is doing it because of how you make her feel. Believe me she has never had a real boyfriend, she hasn’t been a whore either but she was only ever for the pickups nothing else. Seriously Lachlan was her closest thing to a boyfriend and as soon as he started getting serious she pushed him away’ Rae began seeing Leo flinch ‘I know you don’t like him and well to be perfectly honest you have to know if you want to help her’.
‘I was willing to be civil to him, he was the one that couldn’t’ Leo defended himself.
‘Leo she didn’t love him, they had to spend a weekend together on a trip-they slept in the same bed and kissed once. Hallie wouldn’t go any further and Lachlan said he loved her. She left and nearly got herself killed just to avoid facing those emotions. Being around her almost kills him, especially when she is happy without him-wether she is single or with someone else. She has never been in love and never needed someone more than ever. But she has never seen true love, her parents are only together because of the power and neither wants to lose it-they tolerate each other not love each other. She assumed your marriage would be the same-tolerance or a business transaction. She thought she would easily kill you and forget it-she wasn’t expecting to feel something for you’ Rae said looking at her feet. Leo sat there silent but had heard everything.
‘What? I’m confused’ Leo said for once not able to understand what he was being told, reading Rae’s thoughts weren’t even helping.
‘Leo she doesn’t believe in love. She left Lachlan. She has never seen love work. She never expected it to happen to her. She is no angel-but she deserves love, and she has this idea in her head that she doesn’t. Believe me she is winding down this horrible darkness and she can’t keep going like this. Mason’s death, Alex’s comma and Billie’s problem are all just excuses for her. She will hold this for as long as she can-she wants you to hurt her and let her go so she doesn’t have to feel responsible’ Rae tried to clear up.
‘Why would she feel responsible?’ Leo asked as the pieces began to fall into place.
‘Because Leo she loves you and is afraid of you hurting her-she wants this to not work because she doesn’t want the pain that she is expecting to happen. She loves you and she can’t deal with the emotions. She has never loved anyone before and well she is most scared that you don’t feel the same way as her, that is why she is lashing out’ Rae finally said feeling dirty for telling Leo the only secret she promised Hallie never to tell a soul.
‘I would never want to hurt her’ Leo gulped feeling he had said too much.
‘Wow. Leo you, wow I really wasn’t expecting that’ Rae said realising that she was wrong no one would get hurt from this conversation.
‘Expecting what?’ Leo said turning a green colour and no doubt beginning to feel sick.
‘You...’ Rae began as she trailed off.
‘Love her? Yep that’s me-the idiot that fell for her’ Leo said as an emotion flashed into his eyes that Rae had never seen before.
‘Wow I didn’t think you loved her. That’s why you asked permission from Jack, that’s why you haven’t given her the ring yet, that’s why you are here and didn’t send her by herself to deal with this pain’ Rae gulped knowing she was probably pushing her luck.
‘Because to me this is a real wedding, I wouldn’t want it with anyone else-I hate thinking of it as a business transaction because I love her and I have never loved anyone else but myself. And believe me it scares me, but it scares me more when I think of how she is behaving and it makes me sick just thinking that I might lose her. Believe me I care about her and would never intentionally hurt her because by doing so every time I see her cry I die just a little bit more and with all her pain I am hurting on the inside, because she is all I want and I don’t want anyone to know the hold she has over me because I never want anyone to hurt her because I love her’ Leo rambled but still Rae’s face lit up. Her friend had no idea how lucky she was, and Leo certainly had no idea what he had just gotten himself into.
‘I want you to take her away from here. Otherwise she will never get out of this pain. Everything here reminds her of how it used to be she needs to find a new safety, a new place, she needs just you’ Rae said hoping not to scare Leo away.
‘We are flying out tomorrow. She doesn’t know yet but the tickets are already booked, Jack got them this morning at my request’ Leo said hiding all his emotions again.
‘Thank you’ Rae said getting up and leaving, everything that needed to be discussed had.
‘Wait. Lopez, how did you know I asked Jack permission to marry Hallie’ Leo asked not letting Rae leave just yet.
‘He was concerned when I got here this afternoon and he asked me what I thought of it. He said he had given you permission even though Maria would never have’ Rae answered her hand on the handle ready to leave.
‘What did you say to him? What was your response?’ Leo whispered but knew Rae had heard.
‘At the time I thought it was a mistake, but I still said that Hallie appears happier around you and well it is probably best. At the time I wasn’t entirely sure I should have agreed with Craig’s decision-but now I know it was the right one’ Rae replied glancing at Leo who was smiling.
‘Thank you’ Leo responded knowing it was enough.

‘Wake up Cortez’ Leo mumbled from next to me in my bed. Last night was very different to the previous nights. There was no contact at all. In fact after Billie left I went to bed. Leo came to bed later and he stayed to his side and when I got too close he moved away. I gave up in the end. The contact I wanted, I was not going to get from him.
‘Why? What has happened?’ I ask sitting straight up expecting the worse.
‘We are leaving soon’ Leo said walking away from me. I jumped out of bed and followed him towards the door.
‘Since when?’ I snapped grabbing his shoulder and stopping him.
‘Since I decided, I told you we wouldn’t be here too long. You saw your brother, you went to a funeral, and you killed a rogue leader. It is time to return to the real world. We are going back to Xalan’ Leo answered staring at me emotionlessly. I could hear a tinge of the bored tone and understood he was doing this just to hurt me.
‘But we only just got here. This is my home’ I snap knowing I didn’t feel what I was saying but I didn’t want to leave just yet.
‘This is not your home. We are leaving today at 11 am so be ready. You have an hour and half to get ready’ Leo said going to leave the room.
‘No Parker. Don’t do this. I need to spend time with Luka and Calvin’ I tried hoping that would convince him.
‘You did enough at the funeral. I think it is best we leave’ Leo said again this time with the bored tone more obvious.
‘You’re doing this to punish me because of last night. Because I killed Rossini, because I worried you, because you had no control’ I snap wanting anything but to leave.
‘I’m not punishing you and believe me you were far from being in control last night, if I had not been there you and all your friends would be dead. I thought I was walking into a suicide mission with Nathan; we were only planning on scouting the meeting out and maybe make a few threats. You were a complete idiot. You nearly cost all your friends their lives just because you were gung ho on the idea of killing someone. To try and get rid or at least subside the pain you feel inside-but you keep ignoring’ Leo said to me coldly. I stood there dumbfounded and wanted nothing than to have a go at Leo. I began to feel weak and I knew I would lash out sooner or later.
‘But I want to visit Alex again’ I mumble resorting to something that I never wanted to do by myself again.
‘Why so you can try and kill him again?’ Leo snapped as if he had lost all patience with me.
‘I would never do that. I want to make sure he is ok, I want to stay here until he wakes up’ I snap back feeling the anger return-Parker had no right to talk about my brother like that.
‘Face it Cortez, he isn’t going to wake up and there is no point waiting. Alex isn’t going to wake up-nobody here is going to rescue you anymore’ Leo pushed me too far. I slapped him hard across the face. It took all my force, the tears were welling up on my eyes and I wanted nothing more than to hurt him. All my anger was there.
‘Don’t talk about my brother like that. You have no right to?!’ I snapped glaring at him, fighting back the tears.
‘I have more right than you; at least I didn’t almost kill him. Seriously Hallie you’re pretty fucked up’ Leo said icily to me. That was it. The pain was too real for me to ignore it. With my fist closed I punched Leo in the chest. At first he seemed shocked. He stumbled back and frowned. I ignored him and punched him again. Over and over I laid into him. Punching him, until the tears fall, I collapsed as his arms wrapped around me and held me closely to his chest. Holding me, patting me on the back letting my now freely flowing tears soak his shirt. My running nose going everywhere and the pain being let go. I sobbed and sobbed just letting everything all out.
Leo didn’t once push me away or offer me any words of advice and to be perfectly honest I was appreciative of that. He gave me the chance to let everything go and by him merely holding me was more than enough.

‘This feels weird’ I mumble to Leo as we board the plane. People were staring at us and when we arrived the media would not leave us alone. At the entrance they had shouted questions to us about everything, believing that this was a sham they made me feel inadequate and I began to wonder about everything Leo and I were doing. It was much worse than usual and I was actually pretty shocked at the amount of coverage we were getting.
‘You get use to it’ Leo answered sitting down on his seat and stretching out making himself comfortable.
‘You do?’ I quizzed glancing at him as I take my seat and feel the anxiety return. I still couldn’t believe I had opened up to him and cried like that. But the pain it was real and I had to deal with it away from here, where everything reminded me of what happened. Xalan felt like a place I could run to and ignore everything-just give me time to grieve and accept my uncle’s death and my brother’s comatose body that I wish I had never seen.
‘Sure do. Seriously I have grown up with the media-they get bored with you. There will be something bigger and better come along soon and we will be forgotten’ Leo said calmly, eyes closed and attempting to sleep even though it was only midday.
‘Yeah well I wish that would hurry up and come along!’ I snapped not being able to sit still. I felt terrible about everything I had done, I was hurting a lot and I regretted arguing with Rae the most-I loved her so much.
‘Sit still or go to sleep’ Leo tried to make me.
‘I can’t, I’m anxious. I should have spoken to Rae. I should have begged for forgiveness’ I say playing with my bracelet.
‘Please she will get over it and you can do that stupid girly make up later. Besides she will soon feel guilty. You girls are predictable’ Leo muttered as I smiled but didn't have the energy to argue.

‘Leo’ I heard shouted early in the morning. I awoke to find myself wrapped in Leo’s arms, my body next to his warm naked torso. I enjoyed him being warm and being able to snuggle. I felt safe and knew from the screech that Craig was not happy. Leo moved and pulled me closer. We had gone to bed in Xalan, wrapped in each other’s arms. I knew he was doing it because he thought I was fragile and going to break down at any moment but I didn’t mind, if this contact only came out of sympathy I would still rather have it than nothing at all.
Before Leo let go of me or got out of bed the door flew open. Craig flew straight in looking furiously before stopping abruptly.
‘Wow I was not expecting that’ he gulped seeing mine and Leo’s body intertwined.
‘What is it?’ Leo asked letting go of me this time and sitting up. I was fully clothed and Leo had on trackies, nothing had happened-we hadn’t even kissed last night.
‘We need to talk. All three of us’ Craig growled again, as he had his back to us. I sat up wondering what might have pissed him off this early in the morning. I climbed out of bed in an old pair of gym pants and a black singlet. I didn’t bother checking my hair-it would have been dreadful; let’s face it no one wakes up with amazing locks in the morning.
‘Office now’ Craig said walking out of the door. I grabbed a jumper from the floor and followed, Leo stood patiently shaking his head, I guess he had read Craig’s mind and knew exactly what was going on.
‘Well, sit’ Craig said indicating for Leo and I to take a seat.
‘We didn’t think anyone would find out. Seriously I was so stealthy about it. Believe me nobody should know about that either. That happened behind closed doors and I have my reasons’ Leo snapped the last part.
‘Guys I can’t read minds. Please include me in this’ I say still tired. Craig throws down the newspaper from his hand and I gasp. Leo and I were on the front cover with the heading-Slaying hearts or treaties?
‘There is a six page spread on you and Leo. Dedicated to the fainting at the funeral, the break down in the hospital, the organised killing of Rossini and the emotional argument in the house before you left. Believe me they know every single detail’ Craig informed me as I sat there shocked.
‘Already there is public backlash-people are having their say about this marriage, sham and everything. Please tell me-how do they know everything and how did I not know any of this? Especially Rossini’ Craig snapped.
‘You should see the opinion polls’ he finished as I turned pale white.
‘I don’t know anything’ I mumble.
‘Leo?’ Craig questioned, something in his voice made me realise how serious this was.
‘It is simple. I didn’t tell you. Nathan told me of Rossini and the hostility. Hallie and I made a plan and took care of everything. I got the control and dealt with the issue as quickly and promptly as a leader should’ Leo answered Craig, with his voice sounding smug and disrespectful.
‘You boy are not the leader yet, I am still in control and I should have been informed of any hostile takeovers’ Craig snapped back with his alpha tone. I knew not to speak and remained quiet, thankful Leo had said we had planned Rossini’s death and that it wasn’t my fault.
‘Yeah well when I am the leaders, things will be different’ Leo snapped back.
‘If Leo, not when. The people must first accept this marriage and well to be honest there must be a marriage in the first place! Which makes me wonder why does Cortez not have her engagement ring? People already believe this is a sham! We should be reassuring them that this is a go ahead as much as possible!’ Craig snapped putting Leo back in his place.
‘Oh the people? They have to accept the marriage? How come we didn’t get that choice? How come we were forced into it? I say fuck the people, this isn’t a democracy, this is a monarchy. I will be leader and Hallie will be mine, therefore they will get over it and follow like they always have!’ Leo lashed out as he hit the desk. I jumped at the loud noise and didn’t say anything. A month ago I would have corrected him on saying I would be his, but I didn’t. I knew this was neither the time nor the place.
‘Well if you are so caught up on her being yours where is the damn engagement ring? Why are people questioning you two?’ Craig snapped with just as much force, of course holding his ground.
‘There is no damn ring on her finger yet because I don’t want there to be. It will be there in good time but until then so be it. The people should learn their place and stop questioning us; it isn’t their place after all!’ Leo snapped back. I took a deep breath and thought it was time to join this argument-but was unsure of how it would go me back up Craig? Me back up Leo? Or me backing myself like I normally would?
‘Stop’ I begin as they both turn and face me.
‘We should not be fighting. Seriously the media was always going to hate me, they don’t want a slayer anywhere near their all powerful Leo Parker, besides they don’t think they can trust me. And they have every right to feel that, I don’t expect their trust or respect until I have earned it and by killing Rossini I didn’t come close. By not playing a happy couple in public is another, but not formally asking them to accept me will all be another thing to put the blame on me. They love Leo, they hate me and well let’s face it-love doesn’t conquer all’ I say hoping they wouldn’t kill me.
‘So what is it you are suggesting? How are we supposed to turn this 6 page spread of disgrace into something good for us?’ Craig snapped.
‘We can’t change that, it has been done and believe me it was all going to come out eventually. I don’t know how they got hold of the emotional breakdown-but like that was going to be hard to predict. The best we can do is form a united front and make it public that Leo and I are happy together. That this was our choice that we want this and it isn’t a sham’ I snap as if it was the most obvious thing to do.
‘Well good luck with that’ Craig snapped realising it was the best thing to do. ‘But how can we trust you, you have done nothing be disrespect us. The lashing out, the attempted murder of a leader, the hostility towards us especially in public and anything else the media can get a hold of?’ Craig questioned. I should have expected it, but I had no way of answering that I would not do anything like that anymore because I wanted Leo, because I never wanted to disappoint him again.
‘She has changed, we both have’ Leo said calmly, not looking at me and staring at Craig. Apparently that was enough. Craig nodded and took a deep breath.
‘Fine, just get it turned around. I want positive media now’ Craig said indicating to the door that Leo and I should leave. We did.