Page 63 of Fresh Start
My eyes tickled as the tears threatened to stream down my cheeks, and I tried my damn best to keep them inside. But when my Dad gave me a hug and a reassuring pat on the back, they came rushing out.
“Also, he’s Marina’s grandson, so that’s a plus,” Mom added. “Am I right to think he’s famous and rich too?”
I laughed.
“Does that mean you’re gonna have gorgeous, Greek, famous, and rich babies too? Oh, I can’t wait,” she said, and I gave her a hug.
I didn’t know why or how, but I was so grateful that they came out for me. I don’t know if I’d have ever found the guts to do it myself.
“What the hell is going on here? Did someone die?” Leo asked, and I turned to him.
Mom just slapped his face gently, and both she and Dad left us on our own.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I nodded and told him what had just happened.
Leo reached out and wiped the tears from my eyes before he caught hold of himself and pulled his hand away. The funny thing was, I didn’t care that he was touching me in public.
I had no idea if it was because my parents knew now, or because I couldn’t stand being apart from this beautiful man. And I didn’t care to find out. Not at that moment.
“Do you want to go somewhere more private?” I asked, and Leo took my hand and took me down the stairs.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Somewhere without people?” Leo said.
The corridor downstairs was dark, but Leo kept walking, right to the end where there was a little bit of light coming out from a room.
We walked into the media room, and Leo stopped on his tracks. Summer and a bunch of other kids were sitting around the TV. Leo’s nephew, Nathan, and some teenagers were there, too, on their phones.
Summer ran up to us when she saw us and gave us both a shared hug.
“Uncle Leo, Dawson, what are you doing here?” she asked but didn’t let us answer her question. “Dawson, are you going to play another superhero? What about Detective Strong?” she asked.
“What?” Leo asked.
I shook my head and asked her what she was talking about.
“They said it on the TV. You’re going to be playing a hero called Death Knight,” she said. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
I turned to look at Leo, whose glare became intense, as did his frown.
Summer took us closer to the TV and turned the volume up.
“We don’t have a lot of information on the details, but we have spoken to sources close to Dawson Eldred, and they have confirmed that he’s involved in the new production. Sources said he’s in talks about playing the infamous superhero Death Knight, on the first live-action adaptation of the iconic comic book,” the news anchor on the gossip and entertainment channel said, my picture showing up next to her intercut with pictures taken directly from the comic book.
“What the fuck?” Leo shouted.
“Uh-oh. Uncle Leo, you have to put money in the swear-jar,” Summer said.
Leo apologized and walked out of the room. I ran after him.
“Leo, stop,” I said.
“I trusted you, man. Again. What the actual fuck? Were you already involved in the production and didn’t tell me anything, or did you find out about it from me and thought ‘hm, I know what I can do. I can fuck Leo over again.’?”
I tried to stop him from running, but he was a hurricane, and I was just a man.
