Chapter Seventeen

"Fuck this," Leonard said, his hand dropping to his side. "I don't give a shit about crap like this anymore. Dad, drop me off at the side of the road. I'm heading elsewhere."

Keanu hit the light signals and pulled up by the road. After the car stopped, Leonard left the car, slamming the door behind him. Then he bent down and flashed a middle finger at her. Keanu drove away and the cabin of the car lapsed into dead silence as they made their way back to her place.

She cried in silence, but she wanted to scream and yell. She wanted to sob, but she didn't want to sacrifice anymore for the person who didn't deserve any shred of compassion from her. When they reached, Keanu came over to open the door for her and she stepped out as she blinked her tears away. He held onto her forearm to steady her as she walked and they stepped up to her front door.

"Can I come in for a while?" Keanu asked her.

"Sure," she said, then inserted her keys into the lock and turned it. They walked in and she dropped her tote at some random place in the living area as she dropped to the ground with her head between her knees, her tears still flowing. God, what had she done wrong?

He fell to the space on the ground next to her, his hand resting on her back. "Let it all out."

"I bet you're going to say that I overreacted or something. The last time I confided in you, you ratted me out for Leonard's sake. He's your son, I understand why you'd be on his side."

"Alice…"

"I don't expect you to be on my side. He's your flesh and blood. There's nothing you care more than him, right? You should go, Keanu."

"Alice, believe it or not, I'm actually on your side."

She widened her eyes at him, at a loss for words. "But why?"

"I was on Leonard's side then because I believed he was in the right, but now, it's obvious he's in the wrong. I'm not someone who will give up doing what's right because someone is my best friend, or my son. I'm not like that."

"Oh," she said, finally understanding.

"So I'm on your side, do you understand?"

"Thank you."

"How are you feeling now?"

Her chest heaved. "I- I just don't understand anything. I gave it my all, I didn't give it my all, then I gave it my all again. No matter what I do, I can never get it right."

"It's not your fault, Alice."

"How can it not be? I ruin everything. It's all my fault."

"Leonard is a very good gaslighter, and that's why you think you're to blame, but really, it's not your fault."

She didn't say anything.

"Alice," he said. "I knew from the beginning that you were too good for my son."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember the night we met? You came over after standing outside Taylor Swift's concert and Leonard was passed out drunk on the couch."

"Oh," she said, remembering. "I broke into the alcohol cabinet for him."

"Did you really?"

She looked at him blankly. "What?"

"Why is that after everything Leonard has done to you, you still feel the need to lie and cover for him? To protect him?"

"Wha - But I - "

"I know you didn't break into that alcohol cabinet."

"Then why didn't you say so?"

"I probably shouldn't have but I've always been overly worried about Leonard. That night, I was struck by a moment of fear when I saw you sitting there, such a frail little girl, and realised you were Leonard's girlfriend. I decided right then and there that I wanted to test you. I've never been able to do a good job at hiding objects from Leonard so I knew he had found the keys to the cabinet again. So I pretended that I thought you were the culprit to see what you would do. Would you tell the truth or lie to protect him? If you told the truth, how would you tell it? Would you place all the blame on him, or own up to the part you probably had to play in it? But you chose to lie for him. You telling the truth or lying, either way would've been fine. But when you did what you did, it solidified my belief that you were too good for him. And through the years, you've only proven that to be true."

"I had no idea."

"Shortly after that, wasn't there a time where Mike came into your room to talk to you about how he thought that Leonard wasn't right for you?"

"I remember that too," she said, her lips parting in curiosity. "What about it?"

"I was the one who told Mike to have that chat with you. It was clear to me that he did not deserve you, so I tried to give you a way out. But you wanted to remain with him, and I realised you were serious about Leonard. So I stopped trying to break the two of you apart, and chose to respect your decisions instead."

"Why didn't you ever tell me this?"

"When would I bring it up?" Keanu said, laughing. "There was no right time. Until now. You're blaming yourself for his mistakes again, and it breaks my heart to see you hurt from his indifference. And you think you're alone in this, when you're not. I'm on your side, Alice, I can't express that enough to you."

She cried more as she listened to him speak the soft, heartening words to her. She nodded fervently as she laid her head on his shoulder and he patted the side of her head. She let the tears flow and after she cried her heart out, she lifted her head towards him to see his expression.

He lowered his head to look at her, and in that instant, the heat between their faces connected. She felt the heat of his breath on her lips and she raised her head up, their lips hovering over his. She parted her lips, and neared his face.