Bared Souls - Ellie Wade Page 0,110

there in shock.

I scan the crowd of concerned faces—a few who loved Leo, the rest who didn’t know him at all. “Leo is dead because of him.” I point to Mr. Harding.

Leo’s mom stands from her chair and shouts, “That’s enough.”

“Oh, I’m not even close to finished. Sit down because Leo is dead because of you, too, and you.” I point to Stephen. I ignore the enraged faces of Leo’s family, and I look out into the crowd. “Leo was born perfect. He was a gift. He was perfect,” I say again, my voice quivering with tears. “His family ruined him. They took this amazing gift from God, and they broke him. His dad physically, emotionally, and sexually abused him for years.”

Gasps come from the crowd, and there’s a ruckus behind me, which I think is Mr. Harding tripping and falling.

“Imagine the worst possible things that can be done to a child and know that Leo’s dad did those deplorable acts to him repeatedly … for years. Victor Harding isn’t America’s heartthrob. He’s the devil. A rapist, a molester. And Leo’s mom and brother … they knew it was happening. They heard the cries, but neither of them helped. Neither protected him. His own mother let him fall to abuse over and over again, in her own home. How can anyone do that? How can you bring a child into this world and fail him so miserably?” I exclaim, disgust and sorrow in my voice.

“They took this perfect soul and broke him until he was a shell of a person. His dad eventually stopped torturing him, and his mother and brother went on pretending that it never happened, but Leo lived with it every day. He turned to substance abuse because he needed something to dull the internal hell that he faced daily. He had vicious nightmares all the time. He had to relive his pain over and over again. And through all of this, he remained good and kind down to his core. He loved fiercely and fought even harder. He fought every single fucking day of his life with everything he had!” My words come out on a strangled sob. “He wanted to stay here. He wanted a happy life with me. He hadn’t used in four and a half years. He had one setback, and it killed him. It was an accident. He wanted to be here! He deserved to be loved. He deserved a life. These people robbed him of that. They didn’t love him. I love him!” My chest trembles.

“And he loved me, and now, he’s gone,” I cry, my voice broken. “Leo didn’t die from an overdose. He died because the people who were supposed to love him the most ruined him so irreversibly that he could never fully recover. His innocent life was stolen from him by monsters. Most of you weren’t lucky enough to know the real Leo, but for the handful of us that were, he was a gift, a treasure.” My voice breaks, and I say softly, “We were truly happy. He was everything to me, my one true love, my soul mate. I loved him, and now, he’s gone.”

I throw the microphone on the ground, and a loud thud echoes from the speakers. Amos is at my side, wrapping his arm around me and leading me away. I cling to his chest.

“He’s gone.” My lips tremble, and the absolute sorrow in my soul cries.

“I know,” Amos whispers. “I know.”

Someone grabs my hand, and I look down to Stephen’s grasp on my wrist. Cat sits beside him, her shoulders quaking in silent sobs.

“I was just a kid, Alma,” Stephen utters, his voice hoarse.

I shake his hand off of me. “So was he.”

Amos and I continue past the crowd. Nervous whispers buzz around me like creepy locusts, and I ignore them.

Screw all of these people. None of them loved Leo.

I loved him.

He was mine.

And now, he’s gone.

FIFTY-TWO

Alma

Leo’s been gone a month. Thirty days. Four weeks. Around seven hundred and thirty hours. And it’s rough.

Every morning when I wake, I instinctually reach for him on the other side of the bed, wanting him to fold me into his embrace. Then, I remember, and my soul shatters all over again. I’ve held a steaming pot of water up to every mirror and window in our home, hoping to find another message from beyond, but I always come up short.

Every minute of every day, I feel sick, my body still in shock at his