CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: LEO

Present day...

It's been a while since Shane was hurt and hospitalized for a minor concussion as a result of the beating he received from Zack and his friends, and I got the video of them beating him up, but I still want to beat the shit out of them, regardless of their age.

I still can't believe they'd do that to anyone. What could have made them so angry as to put Shane in such a state? I'm angry just thinking about it.

No matter how many times Austin and Athena have told me that the accident wasn't my fault and that I shouldn't blame myself, I can't help but wonder and make up reasons why it was my fault he got hurt, and how if I had protected him better, none of this would've happened.

Because Athena was in New York for a family event, Austin and I didn't really have a reason to go to school, so we hung out with Shane most of the time and when visiting time was over, we would go play basketball at the park until we were exhausted, then have dinner and go to bed.

It took some convincing, but Austin agreed to stay with us for the time being until that jackass gets out of his house. I really wanted to go beat that son of a bitch up, but Austin talked me out of it, telling me he wasn't worth the trouble.

So I let it go, but that doesn't mean that asshole was off the hook; he'll have to pay for hurting my best friend someday. Shane was being released from the hospital, and we were also heading to his school for a meeting with his principal about his assault.

Before heading to the hospital, we stopped at Athena's apartment to pick her up. I told her we were going to pick up Shane this morning after I received her message that she had returned from her trip, and she said she would be happy to tag along.

She was carrying a box twice her size when she walked out of the building; she looked so fucking cute; my feelings for her are growing stronger by the day, but I can't act on them because being with me would be a burden, and I can't put her through that.

"What's in the box, Red?" Austin asked, attempting to steal the box from her, but she managed to evade him and stuck her tongue out at him.

"None of your business, you nosy hoodlum," Athena said with a goofy grin, smacking him on the arm.

Then she looked at me and her eyes lit up and her smile deepened, the fact that she was happy to see me was enough to make my heart do backflips

"Hi Leo" she greeted as she got into the passenger seat with a smile on her face, I had to bribe Austin to give up the passenger seat for Athena so I could be near her even if I couldn't touch her or kiss those beautiful lips of hers.

I returned her smile, and she blushed, making my heart skip a beat. She'll be the death of me, I thought as I saw Sophia coming out of the apartment, I guessed she was going to work.

Austin rolled down the window and yelled like a lunatic in a terrible British accent, "Hello Miss Sophia, how are you today?"

"I'm fine, Austin; how are your bruises?" Sophia questioned, laughing at his silliness.

"They're healing nicely thanks to you," Austin said before she turned to face me.

"How are you Leo, I heard Shane is getting released today, tell him I said hello,"

"I'm fine ma, i will do that," I replied.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you can call me Sophia? You're making me feel old "Sophia said, causing everyone in the car to laugh,

"All right, all right, see you later Sophia, Athena will be home by nine because tomorrow is a school night."

"No worries, Leo. I trust you guys, see you later, honey."

"Bye Sophia, have a nice day at work," Athena said as she walked towards her car, Sophia waved at us one last time before getting into her car and driving away.

"So, what's in the box? Princessa "I asked, my gaze drawn to her lovely green eyes as she smiled sheepishly at me.

"It's a surprise, Leo, now drive Shane's waiting to get out of that horrible place," Athena reprimanded, a cute pout on her face.

"Yeah, yeah, sometimes I think you like my little brother more than me," I joked.

"Only if you knew," she said quietly, but she didn't look at me; her gaze was fixed on the road, and I realized she didn't want me to hear what she said. I started the car, thinking about what she said as we drove to the hospital.

When we arrived at Shane's room, he was sitting on the bed, ready to leave. His gaze first fell on Austin and me, and he smiled, but when he saw Athena walk in, he ran to give her a hug.

"What are we? Chopped liver?" Austin and I both said at the same time, making Athena and Shane laugh.

"I see you guys every day; stop whining." Shane signed with a huge grin on his face.

"Shane, I have a surprise for you, close your eyes," Athena said, then went out to the corridor and brought in the large box. "Open your eyes, Shane," she gently said. Shane nodded and gazed expectantly at the box.

"What is it? Athena "Shane asked eagerly, and Austin and I sat silently watching their exchange with smiles on our faces.

"Shane, open it and find out." Athena urged Shane to unwrap the gift, and he went ahead and tore off the wrapping paper; once I saw the content of the gift, I couldn't help but smile; she got him a Lego building block play set; Shane loved building things; I had planned to get it for him for his next birthday, but she beat me to it.

Shane engulfed her in another hug as he stared at her gift, "Thank you so much Athena, I love it so much, thank you, thank you, thank you," Shane signed, hugging the gift close. I watched her smile at him and I felt jealous of my younger brother at the time because she had never smiled at me like that before.

"Are you okay with it?" She whispered as she turned to face me, while Shane was preoccupied with the gift.

All I could say was "Thank you," because there was no way I could tell her that the gift she gave my brother wasn't cool. She gave me a small smile before returning her attention to Shane. Austin smiled as he watched their exchange, then his gaze shifted to mine; I was still staring at her, so I didn't notice.

"Dude, you need to tell her how you feel and stop acting like a fucking lovesick wimp," Austin said to me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, embarrassed that my emotions were so obvious; she must think I'm desperate.

"Dude, you can't stop staring at her every time we hang out, you always have the look you're wearing right now, tell her and save yourself the heartache, she likes you too, if you're too blind to notice," Austin said matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean? She likes me too?" I inquired, giving him a surprised look.

"She stares at you when you're not looking, she blushes at every compliment you give her, and she does everything to make Shane happy because it makes you happy, you idiot," Austin explains, and I swear he was smarter than people gave him credit for and very perceptive, which means it might be true that Athena likes me too, my feelings aren't just one-sided, I thought she was just being nice like any friend.

"Tell her how you feel, she's a really great girl Leo, I'm sure whatever is holding you back, you guys can handle it," Austin advised, "because I can't stand you two moping around for each other, it's annoying."

"What is annoying?" she asked as she walked up to us. I didn't notice when she left Shane's side,

I elbowed Austin in the stomach, and he said "Leo is annoying as usual, so where is my gift? Red," Austin said like a child, causing Athena to smile,

"Maybe next time, Austin."

"I'm going to hold you to that, Athena, and my birthday is February 20, if you want to surprise me," Austin said, drawing a laugh from Athena.

"OK, okay, Austin, sometimes you act like a five-year-old," Athena said.

"But you love me anyway, my little Red," Austin said in a sing-song voice.

"Keep telling yourself that, Austin," Athena replied.

"I'm hurt, Athena, you don't love me anymore, Leo bear Athena doesn't love me anymore." Austin said, pulling me in for a hug with a pout on his face.

"Let me go, you weirdo," I said, pulling away from my insane friend's grip. Shane sat across the room on the bed, laughing his butt off.

"I need to tell you something, we need to stop at Shane's school, the principal called and said I needed to come over to talk about Shane" I said, trying to hide my anger in my voice and Austin's face went from playful to serious in a matter of seconds when I finished talking,

"We will be with you two until the end," Athena said, taking my hand in hers with a sad smile.

"She's right, Leo, we're here, but I'm afraid the idiot's father will cover it up." Austin said, and you could hear the anger in his voice. When I see him in this state, he seems like a completely different person than his playful self.

"Trust me, guys, I'm not going to let that happen, those jerks will pay for hurting Shane," I said, my fist clenched by my side.

Shane jumped out of bed and walked towards us, suddenly and without warning pulled the three of us in for a hug. After a few minutes, he pulled away and signed, "I really don't care what they do, all I care about is that you guys believe me, that's all."

"We never doubted you Shane, I know what it's like for people not to believe you even when you're telling the truth, I didn't have people to believe me, but you have us, and we will not stop until that little brat pays," Athena says, and a toothy grin forms on Shane's face.

"Thank you Athena, I love you guys so much," Shane said, tears welling up in his eyes as he looked at the three of us.

"We love you too, Shane," the three of us say at the same time.

After signing all the necessary documents we packed Shane's stuff and drove to Rudy's for lunch before going to Shane's school to see his principal. As we drove to school, I knew we had the upper hand because three days before his principal called, I received a video from an unknown number, and when I opened it, it was the video of Zack and his friends beating up Shane, and the person sent a text message after the video saying, "I hope you get justice."

I tried calling the number to express my gratitude, but no one answered. I showed Austin the video the next day. I suggested going to the local police, but Austin said they wouldn't do anything, so we kept it a secret so we could use it as a bargaining chip.

When we arrived at Shane's school, the principal was waiting for us outside the main gate. She was with an older man and a boy about Shane's age. He looked familiar, but I couldn't recall where I had seen him before. "He looks familiar," I said to Austin and Athena.

"He's James and Zack's father and the former mayor of this town," Austin explained. When I looked over at Athena, all I saw in her eyes was hatred; it appeared that she wasn't on good terms with the man we were about to meet. I'm curious as to why. Austin, who also noticed a reaction to this man, reached out and took her hand.

She looked up at him, and he smiled, which seemed to calm her down as we got out of the car and walked towards them.

"Welcome Mr Smith, I see you are better Shane, everyone is happy," the principal said with a fake smile; we didn't bother returning her smile because this wasn't a happy meeting; instead, we all stared at her blankly.

"Let's get this over with," Shane said quietly to himself, earning a glare from his principal.

"I suggest you stop staring at him like that, miss, I don't tolerate animosity from stuck up adults very well, Miss Principal," Austin said as he moved to stand in front of Shane, he was already ready to face anyone for Shane and that seriously made me happy, I'm so glad I got to meet the two of them.

"What a rude boy," the principal exclaimed, glaring at Austin, who ignored her, his angry gaze fixed on the brat who had caused all of this.

"Principal, let's get this over with, I have places to be," Mr Sanders grumbled as he looked at his watch; he was already irritating me and the meeting hadn't even begun.

"Yes sir, this is Zack and his father, Mr Sanders; he came to school today to discuss what happened between Zack and Shane," the principal explained.

"We don't care who they are; let's just get this meeting started, Mrs Principal." Austin commented in an uninterested tone, causing the Principal to flush with irritation.

"Stop being rude right now," the Principal scolded.

"That's like telling him to stop breathing," I said, and a smile broke out on Shane's face; I was glad he could smile in this situation.

"How unruly," the Principal exclaimed, and I didn't care what she thought of any of us; she doesn't deserve to be a principal if she can justify what that brat did to Shane.

"I didn't expect to see you here, Mr Sanders; it's not like you care about what your sons do; you'll always cover for them." Athena said and every word she said was imbued with hatred, "Which makes me wonder if you can cover up assault, you can also cover up for them if they kill someone,"

"That's no way to talk to an adult," the principal reprimanded.

"That man isn't an adult; he's Satan's spawn," Athena said, glaring at Mr Sanders, who looked annoyed.

"Oh, please spare us the bullshit and let's get down to the real reason we're here," Austin said, his disgust visible in his tone as he stared at the principal.

"I see you haven't changed, Athena; you're still as rude and feisty as ever, just like your mother," Mr Sander said, earning a glare from Athena. Zack, the main culprit, looked uninterested in this issue, and I wished I could wipe the look of disinterest from Zack's face.

"Mr Smith, if your friends aren't going to act barbaric, I don't think they'll be welcome in this meeting," the principal said, glaring at Athena and Austin.

"Leo they aren't going anywhere" Shane signed as he moved to hold on to Athena and Austin.

"Yeah, I don't think that would be possible, Mrs., because he obviously wants them here, and who am I to say no to him when he wants his family to be present because this meeting sounds more like an execution than a chance for justice?" I explained, and the principal and Mr Sanders just stared at us, irritation visible in their eyes; if they're giving us this type of look now, wait until they see what we've got up our sleeves.