Page 12 of Jonathon, After All

“Well…” Leo paused, considering. “I became the head of our family when I was seventeen, when we lost our parents.”

“Oh, God. I’m so sorry,” Jonathon said and Leo waved it off, never one to discuss his own grief or acknowledge any loneliness he might have experienced.

“As a result, I can be rather strict and impatient. I have three younger brothers and I am not exaggerating when I tell you my soul and my sanity have been tested,” he said with a heavy sigh, making Jonathon laugh.

“They couldn’t have been that bad!”

Leo widened his eyes, haunted by the memories. “They were. And they continue to try my patience in every possible way. They think I’m a controlling stick in the mud, but I just want to keep them out of jail and the tabloids.”

“That seems reasonable and understandable, but from all I’ve heard, it isn’t in a little brother’s nature to make his older brother's life easier,” Jonathon countered.

“Never,” Leo confirmed wearily. “I love them with all my heart, unfortunately, and would do anything for them.”

“I think they’re very lucky, your brothers. No one’s ever cared about me enough to be strict,” Jonathon said and Leo noted the way his eyes glittered as he studied the bottle of oil soap in his hands. “I went to boarding school for a year—it was all my father could afford before he quit keeping up appearances—and I liked how strict most of the teachers and staff were. It was the only time I felt safe before I went to live with Muriel.”

“I’m very sorry,” Leo said sincerely. “I have a brother who’s younger than you and I worry about him constantly and I regret that I can’t be there for him like I was for the other two. Eli is also the one who tests me the most. I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” he added with a wince. “I know my other brothers better and we have far less conflict because they understand me in ways Elio never will. Theo’s looked after him since he was a small child because I was away at university. He’s the only one Elio will listen to. He thinks I just want to control him.”

“He’ll come around,” Jonathon said, his nose wrinkling again. “I used to get so annoyed with Muriel until I realized it wasn’t normal for a child to be left alone and to fend for themselves. Meddling and pestering is how Muriel shows she cares. It’s her love language,” he added and chuckled as he shook his head. “You’re controlling because you care. Elio will learn to appreciate that once he’s seen what it’s like to be on his own in the real world.”

“Possibly,” Leo said and shook his head. “I’ll never outgrow the instinct to insulate him from reality, for better or for worse,” he confessed.

Jonathon sighed as he clutched his chest. “Oh, to be loved like that,” he said, laughing. He noticed that Leo’s gaze had lingered on the hand curving over Jonathon’s bare, paint-flecked pec. “Sorry! I forgot! I’m so used to working like this,” he said in a rush and darted past Leo to get his shirt off the bed.

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Leo stated firmly, heading for the door. He’d made the moment awkward and made Jonathon uncomfortable by staring like a creep. “I want you to make yourself at home while you’re at Schönbühel and I don’t care what you do while you’re painting. Who am I to question a genius?”

That had earned a bemused snort from Jonathon, but Leo had been utterly sincere. He would come to regret that in the coming days, though. Instead of preparing for the upcoming ceremony in Vienna and his new responsibilities as Margrave, Leo began to track time by light and wandered the castle in hopes of catching a peek at Jonathon while he worked.

“His work!” Leo gasped, snatching the memory away and forcing himself back to the present. “What happened to his art?” The whole world should have known Jonathon’s name by now and Leo should have seen his work in magazines and on billboards.

It looked like Leo had another reason to talk to Muriel: he was suddenly keen to find out how so much potential could have gone to waste.

“Where are you, Jonathon, and what the hell happened?”

Five

Jonathon’s first morning as his old self was off to a dubious start. He had awoken to the smell of bacon and was treated to the sight of a happy, normal couple teasing each other as they enjoyed breakfast in their pajamas. It was both encouraging to know that real, healthy love existed, but also very tiring.

Good for them for finding true love and living happily ever after, Jonathon supposed. Did they have to do it right in front of his French toast? His life was in flames and Jonathon was grieving. He had dreamt of happy weekend mornings with Leo, making out and feeding each other breakfast, but it was looking more and more likely that he’d die alone. And childless, thank goodness.

“Oh! I almost forgot!” Riley pulled himself away from Giles’s eyes and adoring smiles, wincing at Jonathon. “Just a heads up: Luna’s on her way back. Her uncles are dropping her off so you might want to hide while Penn and Morris are here.”

“We’ll explain everything to Luna and she’ll be cool. She’s scared of your aunt too,” Giles said.

Jonathon hid his panic by humming into his mug as he drank. “Right. You have the other…littler one.” He looked around, surprised at the orderliness of 8B. “I was wondering where you kept her.”

“Kept her?” Giles asked with a concerned furrow to his brow.

“Well…” Jonathon rolled a hand vaguely. “I was mostly kept in the nursery until Aunt Muriel sent for me. I occasionally went to the park or the library if I had a nanny, but my parents couldn’t always afford one so I usually just stayed in the nursery. I thought you might have one somewhere here,” he explained and Riley looked ill as he reached for Jonathon.

“What you’re describing is neglect, Jonathon,” he said sadly. “I’m so sorry.”

“It does seem like it, when I look back…” Jonathon admitted slowly. “But I was a rather solitary child and I had a vivid imagination so I found ways to pass the time. I loved to read and I watched old TV shows and movies when I couldn’t sleep.”

Giles nodded in understanding. “My parents had no interest in me either, and I never minded because I wanted to be left alone. It helps if you have terrible parents.”

“I never missed mine,” Jonathon agreed. “I was scared when Muriel sent for me. But she let me have the run of the place as long as I stayed out of Tilly’s way and didn’t disturb Muriel when she was napping.”

“That’s…better,” Riley said with a grimace. “Luna has her own room but we don’t keep her in there. We like having her with us and she’s an active six-year-old, so she might follow you for a while and ask a lot of questions.”

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