Chapter Text
There are certain things in this world that are valued far greater than life itself.
- Money
- Relationships
- Beauty
- Materialism
- The Jealousy of One's Peers
The Nohrian family had all of these things. When one has everything that is considered far greater than life itself, what does that make their lives? Leo supposed it something like a little girl's cotton candy dream, wishing they were on silk sheets and pretty enough to be a model, rich enough to have the newest technology, loved by everyone and walking down the red carpet in their designer dress. There was a chance Camilla had worn that dress they were even thinking about.
Their money was old, built up over generations and continuing with various business exploits and companies that the head of each branch would open, it was a sort of instilled greed that stuck with every head of the family until their dying day, a love of money was something they were simply born with.
The relationships came in the form of whatever girl Father would make Xander date for publicity, or whatever man Camilla had attracted the attention of. None of these feelings were returned, and oftentimes Xander and Camilla would even be disgusted by their matches, yet the tabloids toted the couples as if they were meant to be the goals of every reader in the little, commoner world. 'Camilla and So and So, true love?' Her laughs were dry and humorless upon reading the titles.
The beauty was something passed through the generations, pale skin and high cheekbones, dark eyes and soft hair. It was like the money, something each member was born with.
The materialism was simply their 8 cars in the driveway - Leo always wondered why they possibly needed 8, at least 5 would do. It was the designer clothes, it was the big house, the jewelry and the never ending credit cards.
The jealousy was the simplest to understand, the one that hurt the most, as if this had materialized as a dagger that would twist and turn in the wound, until finally they were bled dry, empty and alone. It wasn't as if the 4 siblings could help what they had, it wasn't as if they could make it all poof away and be like the rest of the people. They wouldn't know how if they tried.
Elise was a good natured girl, 16 years old and not interested in going out and partying with other snotty kids. She wasn't like them, and this always earned her a pat on the head from Camilla, who had went out and partied like that at her age. Elise was a good girl, yet she was anything but humble. All her bragging was so innocent that one couldn't even truly be annoyed by it.
Leo was the next one in line, accepting this life as it was given to him. He had his library full of first editions and a general lack of communication with other 19 year olds, which was no great situation to be concerned over as he was quite used to entertaining himself. He liked to consider himself closed off, when it was entirely the opposite, in fact. He was rather impulsive with his words, and could get rather passionate about subjects he felt strongly over. With an arrogant streak, the youngest brother was the one most accustomed to the life they lived.
Next was Camilla, with the big vanity of expensive creams and perfumes, her hair piled atop her head and the soft voice as a product of high society conditioning. She was the front leader for the media production of the family, the face that always made the magazines, the one always doing the interviews. She soaked it all up - yet very few who knew her were aware that her real wish was to simply be a wife and love someone. While Leo and Elise were accepting of this life, Camilla had an underlying film of resent towards it all that could only be seen at her most vulnerable - which was never.
Xander, lastly, was the most humble. He didn't entirely resent the life, he just had no aim in it. Elise wanted to be a doctor - surprising everybody who heard - and Leo wanted to be a Literature Professor at an Ivy League college, Camilla had her future planned out for her in being a celebrity that did nothing at all besides look pretty, all while Xander had his every move controlled by Garon. He was a businessman, he was the convincing one, the mouthpiece of the real money makers. If one watched closely, they could see a sadness and lack of direction in him. He was the eldest, the world resting on his shoulders was the life he had to live up to.
The eldest in question had been avoiding the others like a plague all day, creating a sense of unease that only Camilla and Leo could feel. Elise was entirely oblivious to it as she was engrossed in her game of Animal Crossing on her pink DS, nose scrunched up tight as she leaned in and glued her eyes to the screen. Camilla usually busied herself with something in her room, or out with friends gracing the outside world with her presence, yet today she had chosen to stay home and park herself in a chair with her younger siblings. While she looked languid, Leo could sense her anxiety in her utter lack of business. Camilla was always busy - when she wasn't, there was something entirely wrong.
The youngest brother was simply on his phone reading an article he would use in an essay for class, quickly screenshotting every part that interested him for future reference. He was always such a good boy, always studying, even enduring back problems throughout high school due to the excessive amounts of books he had to carry. Now in his first year of college, the books only grew, almost as high as his competitive spirit had gone. His need to be top in the class was nearly consuming, something Camilla often expressed concern over. He never quite went out, never had much free time to do something he enjoyed, apparently this was 'unhealthy'. Leo wasn't convinced, he felt just fine.
Yet it was obvious Camilla didn't feel as fine. Noticing this, he looked up from his phone to raise a blond brow at her, watching her fingers tap on the side of the chair, "Everything okay?"
"Just fine," She was alert, at least, not entirely lost in her thoughts. She closed her eyes and sighed once more, "Xander's been in his office all day."
Xander's office was on the second floor, 4th door down the left side of the hallway, and always closed. The door was mahogany, dark, and worked as the barrier between him and the rest of the world. Leo wasn't sure if he went into his office to simply work, or to be away from the world. Whatever it was, everybody knew to leave him alone when that door was closed. "He usually doesn't work that much when Father isn't around," He agreed, "I suppose he must've gotten hit with something big."
Camilla shrugged, the side of her loose sweater slipping down her shoulder to reveal several straps underneath. Even when disheveled, she was still pretty. "I'm not sure, I brought him a tray of tea earlier, but Felicia tells me when she came to collect it, everything was untouched."
"He's busy," Leo observed as he turned his attention back to his phone screen, "That's normal."
"Not entirely. This is just odd."
He supposed the general air about the family today was uneasy, besides the ever cheerful Elise. Yet even at one point did she express a bit of concern for Xander not coming out of his office. He hadn't been at breakfast, nor had he been at lunch. Even when entirely too busy, he would set aside time to eat a meal with his siblings. He was distant and stern, yet nobody could ever say he didn't care about them. They wouldn't dare.
There were moments in time that would always be so stark, so clear, imprinted on Leo's memory like a tattoo. It was odd that talking about Xander seemed to finally summon him from his office, yet the rushed and heavy footsteps were starkly clear in his mind as he watched his brother turn the corner from the hallway and enter the den with a tired, agitated face. He would remember this, he would remember the dark circles under his brother's eyes, the impatience in his entire demeanor as he stopped at the head of the room. On the other side of it, Camilla turned her head towards him and lit up with a soft smile as a greeting.
That smile of hers lasted for exactly 2 seconds. "Camilla," Her name was a snap, the crack of a whip. Her eyes cutting across the room at the eldest brother was an equally sharp whip crack in return, a non-verbal warning for Xander to keep it respectful. He received the message and sighed, "I apologize for the attitude. But there's something we must discuss. Now."
If he was announcing something that needed to be discussed in front of the whole family, then it must include the younger siblings as well. To say this in front of them and then refuse to discuss it with them was merely teasing and cruel, at least in their minds. Leo leaned against the arm of the sofa with a balled up fist against his cheekbone, and Elise's eyes shot up from the screen of her DS. Camilla had strewn her long legs over the arm of the chair as she pulled purple hair away from her neck and looked at Xander with impassive eyes, "Then discuss, brother."
This was accompanied by the younger siblings looking at him, eyes watching as if to say 'yes brother, discuss'.
The air grew still. The eldest was hesitating to even say anything, as if he had to consider saying this outloud for the whole family to hear, which in itself was an oddity. Nobody kept secrets here, yet it seemed as if the exception would be made on this sunny, summer day in the den of their childhood home, where the ghosts of this moment would forever haunt the air. Finally, he spoke, "I'm sorry, but this must stay between Camilla and I. It's very important."
"I wanna know!" Elise cried as she shot up from the couch and discarded her portable game. She ran up to Xander and wrapped her stick thin arms around his waist, burying her face into his chest, "You can't keep secrets! We're a family! Family doesn't keep secrets!"
This seemed to make Xander tense. Despite the obvious stiffness in his posture and the shudder of worry that shook him, he pulled lightly on one of her pigtails to catch her attention, smiling down at her comfortingly, "That's right, we are a family, and we must stick together. You'll know in due time."
Leo clicked his phone off and stood up from his chair. He fancied himself Elise's entertainer - though as a baby, he treated her like a nuisance, frequently making her fetch him things like a dog and then hiding when she went off to go get it. Leo always did feel a little more appreciated when he could successfully distract Elise from bothering the older siblings when they were busy. With his hands behind his back as he strode up to Elise, he put a hand on her shoulder, "It's probably just some boring scandal or business deal, let's go for a walk, we can get coffee."
She cried triumphantly as she dislatched herself away from Xander, wrapping her hands around Leo's arm. Xander sent him an appreciative, tired smile, "I promise I'll tell you after Camilla and I are done discussing it."
Leo gave an eye roll, "Yes, I'm just dying to hear how the stocks are doing, brother.
As Camilla walked up, Xander frowned at that. There was a shot of guilt in his heart at his sardonic reaction, yet he ignored it and began to lead Elise, who hung off his arm, away from the two. Leaving the room, he could hear a heavy sigh from the oldest, and a murmur of reassurance from Camilla. It was merely a gut feeling, a shimmer of intuition, but Leo felt entirely uneasy.
He walked out of the house, dodging maids with Elise in tow as they made their way down the long front drive. Behind him, the house was a modern day castle. It was stone, grey and imposing much like Garon. Green ivy crawled up the sides in it's desperate attempt to engulf the building, the world itself. Leo always would wonder if he could climb down the ivy and trellises safely, if he had friends maybe he would use it to sneak out at night, steal away into the darkness and go cause trouble like those 19 year olds on television shows. He didn't know whether to call them stupid, or to be envious.
The driveway was a u-turn, with a small pond resting in the middle of it. As a baby, Elise had to be pulled out of the water several times, she always wanted to dive under it and find any treasures that might reside under it's murky, moss covered depths. Xander reassured her that there were no treasures under that pond, yet behind him Camilla's lips would upturn into a secretive smile. She knew the truth. The pond was a treasure trove of old jewelry, put there by Camilla herself. They were her mother's - Leo caught her throwing them into the water one day, and earned merely an innocent smile and the explanation of, "She needs to sleep with the fishes." He had no idea what that meant, being about 7 years old at the time, with her mother having left Garon over a decade ago. Camilla was always an odd one.
Several cars were parked in the driveway. As Leo and Elise walked by, he reached out a pale hand and drug two fingers over the black hood of his BMW. If he stopped and looked, he could see his reflection staring back at him in the hood. Elise saw the movement and smiled, "I want a pink barbie jeep."
He furrowed his brows, "You don't even like Barbie much."
"Doesn’t mean I don't want one," She puffed out one cheek like a child, "I'll talk to father at dinner tonight and ask for one."
Garon had been gone for a week now. He usually was at every family dinner religiously, an outward show of his dedication to his children, giving absolutely nothing to the maids for them to gossip and titter about. Yet now, the chair at the head of the table was empty, pushed against the surface of it as if it had never been pulled out before. The sight of it unnerved Leo, but he was coming back tonight, and life would restore itself as per usual.
"Don't bother him, he'll probably want to sleep, jet lag always effects him so badly." He sighed.
Elise stuck out her tongue, "Don't boss me around."
Leo certainly would boss her around. Right now, there was no Camilla, and no Xander. He was the boss here, even if it was just for a few minutes as they left their property and walked to the high end coffee shop waiting for them around the corner. They always did know what the siblings wanted, it was often that Xander would rush in and grab breakfast and an unsweetened black coffee before running off to the office. Leo always ordered something sweet, lots of whipped cream and caramel drizzle topping it, but it would be called out as a black coffee by his request - always earning a smirk from the barista or a laugh from Elise as she teased him about covering up his love for sweet, frilly drinks. Yet, to the rest of the world, there was simply a black coffee under that lid.
As the two siblings acquired their drinks and began their trek back to the house, Leo's gut feeling only grew worse. "Do you really think it's just an update on the stock market?" Elise had to ask.
"Probably," He took a breath, "We can't overthink things, Camilla would get onto us for getting anxious over nothing."
"But what if there's a reason to be anxious?"
"Don't let there be one."
"I can't help it! I can't stop the reason!"
That much was true, and Leo couldn't help the bubble of concern in his own stomach. He was silent as the two walked back through the large gates of the driveway, the stone house in front of them looming intimidatingly. Little did they know, the real terror was waiting inside in the form of words rather than a physical entity.
Leo was drinking his coffee as he stepped back into the den to see Camilla with her head in her hands. It was such a weak, vulnerable position, that Leo was startled upon seeing it. Xander had his hand on her shoulder, his eyes raising to look at the two as they entered.
Elise was the first to react, "W-What's wrong?" She set her coffee cup down and rushed over to her elder sister, small hands resting on Camilla's arm in a comforting movement. Xander merely smiled tiredly down at the youngest.
Leo kept his composure, despite being just as anxious at the scene as his younger sister. He gulped, "The stocks are that bad?"
Xander's look was grim, unamused, "This isn't a laughing matter, Leo. Take a seat, we- or, uh, I… Have something to tell you."
"I'm quite fine standing, thank you," Sitting would look weak, vulnerable. People always stood when being told bad news, and judging by the heavy atmosphere of the room, this was very bad news. If Leo had known what was coming, he would've memorized every inch of this scene. He would've appreciated the vase of roses nearby, the grand piano he could only be coaxed to play when he was in a particularly good mood, the clean rugs and the smell of this home, this childhood he lived running through these halls. It was like one of those table tricks, grab the edges of the dining cloth and rip it out from under everything - except this would go terribly wrong, and everything on the table would fall and clatter and crash.
Elise hated the wait, "Just say it, father always says to rip it off like a band-aid." She was pleading, her small hand now tangling with Camilla's as she looked up at Xander.
He returned her look, nodding and smiling in agreement, "That's right, yes, but this is about Father."
Leo's reaction was immediate, "He's died, hasn't he? That cough finally got to him, o-or someone went after him."
"We aren't the mafia," Xander reprimanded, "No, he's alive. He's very alive, don't worry."
Camilla's shoulders shook, "Just tell them already."
It was as if the eldest was putting it all off in an attempt to ease the pain of it, though it only made the anxiety sky rocket with every second passing. This family never kept secrets, they never fought, they never had any problems. Leo knew that normal families did, there were money problems, aldultery, disciplinary issues. They never had these problems, they never were one of those dramatic families on tv and reality shows. He realized, now, that this meant he had no practice or preparation for when the time for hardships would come.
Rip it off like a band-aid. Just like father always said.
"Father has committed several financial crimes," Xander began heavily, "He's taken every fortune of the family's that we do business with, as well as ours. This means no trust funds, no college funds, and no… home. The house isn't ours anymore, we have a day to move out and find somewhere else to live."
The chaos afterwards was entirely called for, and entirely understandable.
Xander was hit with a flurry of delicate fists upon his chest, courtesy of Elise who was gasping and trying to get his attention by this attack. His eyes widened, and he grabbed her wrists with both hands to look down at her. Her voice was choked up, panicked, "Big brother! You can't let this happen! You're father's business partner, you can stop him!"
"I don't know where he is… Nobody knows, he's on the run."
"You can't let us be homeless… You can't let father not love us like this!"
"He doesn't…" That stumped the eldest, "He doesn't not love us. He's merely corrupted by those stupid associates of his. Iago and Hans, they're the ones who put this idea in his head."
Meanwhile, Leo had finally taken a seat. He took a deep breath and leaned his head onto the back of the couch, eyes open as he looked up at the ceiling and attempted to simply think. It wouldn't come to him. He couldn't think. It was merely the fact that his own father had betrayed him, he had ripped out their lives right under them, without anybody even seeing it coming. Just earlier, he was wishing he'd come back. And now? Leo couldn't even go to college, he couldn't even sleep in the bedroom he'd had since he was a child. Did he even appreciate anything he had?
Camilla had finally raised her head and now wrapped an arm around Elise's waist, pulling her away and onto her lap. The youngest was crying, her head in her hands as she attempted to catch her breath with the initial shock of it all. While she was about to have a panic attack, Leo merely locked eyes with Xander.
Xander didn't look back at him. He couldn't keep his gaze, as if the shame of not preventing this was too great. He turned away now, hands laced behind his back as he walked stiffly to the collection of picture frames waiting for him above the fireplace. He grabbed the one of the entire family, the frame black, polished, and the picture one of his favorites. Leo watched him, remembering when it was taken. Just a few years ago, he had been 16, lanky and still growing into himself. It was in front of a black back drop, with Xander standing stiffly in the back and a calm smile radiating towards the camera, Camilla beside him with a manicured hand on his arm, Leo trying to look the part of a fortune heir as he scowled at the camera and stood up straight, and Elise grinning as bright as the sun beside him. That was their family, everything they were displayed in this picture frame for the world to see.
Xander unhooked the back of it and pulled out the photograph, "We can't take much as it's all going to be auctioned off. But anything that's personally ours and that we can carry in our hands, we can take." He folded the photo and slipped it into his pocket, "We'll be okay. I've been looking into some places for us and I have a few in mind. We'll be okay."
Those words echoed in Leo's mind as he watched his older brother. Elise crying and Camilla's coos of comfort were just background noise. He looked at Xander now, and had to take a deep, steadying breath, "We'll be okay."
"We'll be okay," Camilla brushed Elise's hair back and smiled softly.
"We'll be okay," Elise was the last echo. It all seemed to calm down after that, letting the sound of the ticking grandfather clock nearby be their only noise.
They sat together in the silence, no words needed to express their connection, their strength, and how they would come out of this unbroken.
---------------------------------------
Leo had never ridden on a public bus before.
And he never wants to again.
It was commonplace to see him behind the wheel of his BMW, where he wouldn't allow anyone to eat or smoke inside of, and treated ever so gently as if it was a newborn child. Camilla had a photo of him leaning against the hood, just taken earlier this year. He wore a black sweater, his arms crossed across his chest and a pair of wirey aviators on his face as he sent a condescending smirk towards the camera. While he had his car, there was absolutely no reason in the world to ever ride in a dirty, crowded, public bus.
His eyes were stuck to a piece of fresh, pink gum on the floor in the corner of the metallic siding. With every jolt and turn and stop, he felt as if he might drop everything he held in his lap. And everything he held there happened to be everything he owned. Xander sat beside him with an even smaller duffle bag in his own lap, glancing at his younger brother and raising a blonde eyebrow, "Feeling adventurous?"
"Nauseous."
"We'll be okay," He looked out the window, "I just rented out the place last night. It's all ours."
He glanced at his brother, "Where'd you get the money?"
"I have some saved up in an account father never knew about. It isn't much, just enough to pay this month's rent and a few expenses."
Of course Xander would think ahead like that. Leo didn't grace him with a reply, instead turning his head away and looking at his sisters across the aisle, both of them now talking in hushed voices to each other. Girls always seemed to be sharing secrets of some kind, and it always bothered him to not know what they were. In his resent, he turned his gaze back and huffed. Xander was taking care of everyone, as he usually did, Camilla and Elise were each other's comfort, and he was here trying to not get trash and gum stuck to his shoe and desperately craving some form of reassurance. And a bowl of stew, that sounded good too.
He only wished to be strong like Xander. He only wished he could be the shining star, for once, the one that's taking care of everything and not needing the help of anybody else. Maybe in this new life, this one that Xander found on 2230 Popperly Lane, he could finally be someone other than himself.
He wondered what kind of name was 'Popperly Lane'. It was sort of silly, popperly was like some name for a quirky middle aged woman, or something deep fried that was never meant to be deep fried usually found in carnivals and fairs. It almost rhymed with 'poverty', making Leo snort at the thought.
An hour passed. A silent, tense hour where Leo gripped the handles of his duffle bag so tightly the white showed through on his knuckles. People came and went as they reached their destinations, and finally after what seemed like forever, Xander finally said words of saving grace, "This is it."
At that, the girls looked up and out the window. Leo perked up and raised his eyes to see out at his new home - ending up entirely, and disappointingly, unimpressed.
It wasn't even a very nice neighborhood. The streets had potholes that the bus bounced and jerked around with, the trees were rather unpruned, and the gutters were filled with trash. But with so little, he supposed this would have to do. As the bus began to slow down, two girls walking languidly down the sidewalk caught his attention.
"Xander, did you park us in hippie hell?"
The eldest furrowed his brows and gathered up his bags, glancing at his little brother with a confused expression, "Excuse me?"
"Those girls," Leo looked back at him, "They're not wearing shoes, what kind of people don't wear shoes?" To emphasize the point, he looked back out the window. One had the longest hair he had ever seen, soft and blue like the water's waves as it brushed around her thighs and legs. She wore a simple white, lace dress - and no shoes. Her companion was less languid, with white hair that was barely tamed by the black headband she wore. Her outfit was a short, black skirt, and a button up blouse - and again, a stark lack of shoes. He furrowed his brow as he looked away, "They can make their own choices in life, I respect that they choose to not wear shoes, but…"
Xander was entirely amused by this, "But what? Afraid their feet will stink? They're probably not even our neighbors, and I don't think they're… uh, hippies."
"A new brand of hipster perhaps…"
"Calm down," He stood up in his seat as Elise and Camilla filed out before him, "I know you're nervous, but at least try to make friends."
Stubborn as always, Leo merely gripped his duffle bag and muttered, "I prefer my friends to wear shoes."
He quieted down as Xander sent him a warning look. By now, the girls had moved on, away from the bus and still walking in that slow, languid gait down the sidewalk. Leo turned his attention away and began to file out lastly behind his siblings, all the way down the aisle and off the steps of the bus.
Stepping out onto the sidewalk and letting the glass doors slide shut behind him, he took in Popperly Lane in it's full, dirty view.
The houses were generally nice, not falling down upon themselves but desperately needing some organization in the lawn area. One yard would have yellowing grass, while the next was greener. A few of the small houses needed a garden desperately, his new house included. 2230 was small, square, and white. A dirty, eggshell white. The porch needed to be painted, and the siding needed some replacing, but it was still standing, and it was still livable, and this was home now.
There were fences separating each yard, thankfully, but this wasn't enough to keep away nosy neighbors. A white haired, dark skinned man leaned on the peeling fence and grinned as Leo met his eyes. He sent him a polite, shaky smile in return and earned merely a wolfy grin - he suddenly got the feeling that he was a sheep in the den of the enemy. Perhaps that's why this man was here, simply to tell him the truth, remind him that he won't be okay.
Behind the man was a little house, undecorated and a soft blue color with patches of white as if someone had tried to paint over it but gave up immediately. A few small flowers grew in the front, yet they wilted with lack of care, and the front porch had a discarded board game and several pairs of shoes waiting by the door to be claimed. Leo eyed it all, then turned his attention to the house on the other side.
That one was yellow, painted well with a white porch and several wicker chairs sitting on it. There was a small garden, sprinklers keeping them watered as they thrived. It looked clean, simple yet classy. Leo found himself hoping this neighbor wasn't a wolf waiting to devour him, as he got the feeling of the other man being.
He followed his family into his own house, walking up the steps and through the open door. The 4 filed into the small living room while Elise rambled about how she would grow a garden and finally learn to plant, maybe she could have the biggest sunflowers in the neighborhood and everybody would be so jealous of her that they'd all wanna be her friend. Leo had to bite his tongue, resist the urge to tell her that that wasn't how jealousy worked. It was in the middle of Elise's next rambling that Camilla plopped down on the overly soft couch and groaned.
Elise stopped, and every eye landed on Camilla. She merely returned the looks boredly, "I apologize for the attitude, really. I just… Look at this place."
Leo was attempting to avoid doing that. But he had no choice but to look now that he was actually here and it was all real. It was rather cramped, the kitchen being separated from the living by only a counter and some stools, one couch and a small tv in the middle of the room. Right beside the tv was the hallway, with 3 doors exactly. 2 bedrooms, one bath. It wasn't exactly dingy, but just empty. Leo felt clausterphobic, as if the walls would close in on him and start to choke him out and return him back to the home he grew up in. He could only wish.
"Don't be so vain," Xander reprimanded, "We have to make the best of what we have. I know we're used to… roomier accommodations… but we'll make due."
Camilla shook her head softly, "How? None of us have ever truly worked besides you, and I don't think anybody is going to want to hire you with father doing what he did."
Elise sat nearby on the arm of the couch, big eyes glued to the floor sadly. Leo leaned against one of the few tables. It was so empty here, so unfurnished with no personality or proof that anybody was even here in the first place. He felt suffocated.
"So none of us have jobs, so what?" Xander's voice was laced with reassurance, Leo could recognize it as the tone he used when closing a deal with hesitant businessmen, the voice meant to instill confidence in it's listeners and remind them of who exactly they were doing business with, yet he wouldn't be making those deals any longer, "We'll find them. We all may have to share bedrooms, and there's only one bathroom, yes, but as long as we're all together, we can make this a home."
He was supposed to call this home, this dump in a neighborhood where nobody wears shoes and the neighbors unashamedly spy on each other. He was rather skeptical that this would work out, and for once he didn't quite feel like joining Xander in his confidence.
Camilla, apparently, didn't either, "I don't know, brother. I just don’t know," She stood from her spot on the couch, "I'm rather tired, do we even have beds?"
"The last owners took them with them," He informed, "We'll go shopping for some tomorrow and put it on a store credit card, for tonight we sleep on the floor."
"Great," Leo sighed deeply and grabbed his bag, stalking towards a back room in his desperate attempt to be alone, "First, sleeping on the floor, now going into debt. I don't think that's very wise, brother. But of course, you're the leader."
Xander looked hurt, shocked even, "Stop talking like that, it's not anything we can help. Do you have any other ideas?"
Truth was, he did not. He had no idea, not even one. And this unnerved him more than one could imagine. His shoulders felt heavy as he took a deep breath, pushing aside his pride and turning back towards Xander, "I apologize, I'm merely tired. You're making the decisions here, so do what you think is best."
And with that, he softly shut the door behind him and dropped his bag on the ground, letting out a sigh of relief to be away from that situation. Xander had looked concerned at the apology, yet Leo didn't quite care to hear any of it. Outside the bedroom were whispers and low voices reverberating from the living room. One could whisper and it would be heard across this house. If they didn't keep secrets before, they surely couldn't even attempt it now.
He groaned and sat on the floor, looking at the empty room laid out before him. This was home now, this was his new life.