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Leon and Hollis
With his breathing coming to a standstill, Leon opened the door and stepped into the dark bedroom. The light from the hallway flooded into the room, giving him a clear vision. Leon's eyes quickly landed on the small bed that was pushed against the peach-color walls. Underneath the covers of the bed, Leon noticed a small outline of a human, the sound of weeping and sniffing entered his ears.
Leon stepped further into the room, closing the door behind him. The room went dark, with the only source of light being from the street lamps outside. He quietly stepped over to the bed, the weeping was much louder up close. He sat down on the edge and with softness in his bass voice, he spoke.
"Are you alright?" Leon eased closing to the figure." I heard what happened downstairs, you know, the yelling and stuff, and I wanted to come to see if you were doing alright."
Hollis poked his head from underneath the covers. Hearing that sleazy voice brought him much-needed comfort. Through the puddle of tears and darkness, he can make out his brother's features: From the bronzer skin tone to the muscular build, and buzzed haircut, he was practically not like any other guy Hollis could confuse with.
Still shaking, Hollis ease out from the covers and spoke.
"W-What kind of question is that," Snot oozed from Hollis's nose as Leon winched in disgust."Didn't you hear what you said about me?"
"Yes, I heard," Leon replied, nodded. "I'm pretty sure the whole neighborhood heard him too. Just wait for the happy letters that are going to be in our mailbox tomorrow."
Hollis wanted to chuckle at Leon's little joke, but it was too focused on the topic at hand.
"Leon, can I ask you a question?"
"I might have an answer for you."
Hollis twiddled his fingers together. Asking questions like this was so embarrassing to him, but it's a better time than never.
"Hollis, do you think I'm...Dumb?"
Leon raised an eyebrow in surprise. "N-No, I don't think so," Leon replied. Leon felt like he was lying through his teeth with that answer, but he wasn't. Hollis was a lot of things: loud, naive, and sometimes bratty, but dumb wouldn't even be close to describing him. Maybe, Foster fits that description better.
"Come closer," Leon said. With that, Hollis fully climbed from underneath the blanket and crawled to a spot next to Leon. In an instance, Leon scooped up Hollis in his arms. As he held the young boy against his chest, he took in how small the boy was compared to him. From all the times Hollis hugged him, Whether it was him coming from school or coming home from a game, he never realized how much he was a giant to Hollis.
He grabbed Hollis chin, making the boy look him in the eyes.
"Now, I don't know who or what gave you the idea that you are stupid but listen to me. No matter who said what, you'll always be smart to me, your brothers, and mama and dad. They said the day you were born, the first thing you laid eyes on was a book that grandad Oscar bought me and Leon when we were starting preschool. When your first birthday rolled around, the only gift that you were excited about was the children's book, The Three Little pigs."
Hollis smiled as the memory flourished in his mind.
"And after that, a day won't go by without someone reading to you. Most of the time was mom, but sometimes we switched up with me. Somehow, I knew you prefer me over mom as the reader. You will jump up and down with excitement when you hear my name, and once I stop reading, you will start crying."
"Yeah, sorry about giving you a hard time back then," Hollis said.
"Oh, don't start with the apologies. It was all worth it, can't you see? According to your English teacher, you're the highest in her class. Hell, you can even read complex novels at your age, something that some people older than you can't do."
Leon unwraps his arms from around as Hollis laid back in bed. Leon sat up from the bed. "No matter who said what, you'll always be smart to those who love you, especially me. Now, it's close to midnight, and you know mom and dad won't be happy with a tired child in the morning."
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Leon stepped further into the room, closing the door behind him. The room went dark, with the only source of light being from the street lamps outside. He quietly stepped over to the bed, the weeping was much louder up close. He sat down on the edge and with softness in his bass voice, he spoke.
"Are you alright?" Leon eased closing to the figure." I heard what happened downstairs, you know, the yelling and stuff, and I wanted to come to see if you were doing alright."
Hollis poked his head from underneath the covers. Hearing that sleazy voice brought him much-needed comfort. Through the puddle of tears and darkness, he can make out his brother's features: From the bronzer skin tone to the muscular build, and buzzed haircut, he was practically not like any other guy Hollis could confuse with.
Still shaking, Hollis ease out from the covers and spoke.
"W-What kind of question is that," Snot oozed from Hollis's nose as Leon winched in disgust."Didn't you hear what you said about me?"
"Yes, I heard," Leon replied, nodded. "I'm pretty sure the whole neighborhood heard him too. Just wait for the happy letters that are going to be in our mailbox tomorrow."
Hollis wanted to chuckle at Leon's little joke, but it was too focused on the topic at hand.
"Leon, can I ask you a question?"
"I might have an answer for you."
Hollis twiddled his fingers together. Asking questions like this was so embarrassing to him, but it's a better time than never.
"Hollis, do you think I'm...Dumb?"
Leon raised an eyebrow in surprise. "N-No, I don't think so," Leon replied. Leon felt like he was lying through his teeth with that answer, but he wasn't. Hollis was a lot of things: loud, naive, and sometimes bratty, but dumb wouldn't even be close to describing him. Maybe, Foster fits that description better.
"Come closer," Leon said. With that, Hollis fully climbed from underneath the blanket and crawled to a spot next to Leon. In an instance, Leon scooped up Hollis in his arms. As he held the young boy against his chest, he took in how small the boy was compared to him. From all the times Hollis hugged him, Whether it was him coming from school or coming home from a game, he never realized how much he was a giant to Hollis.
He grabbed Hollis chin, making the boy look him in the eyes.
"Now, I don't know who or what gave you the idea that you are stupid but listen to me. No matter who said what, you'll always be smart to me, your brothers, and mama and dad. They said the day you were born, the first thing you laid eyes on was a book that grandad Oscar bought me and Leon when we were starting preschool. When your first birthday rolled around, the only gift that you were excited about was the children's book, The Three Little pigs."
Hollis smiled as the memory flourished in his mind.
"And after that, a day won't go by without someone reading to you. Most of the time was mom, but sometimes we switched up with me. Somehow, I knew you prefer me over mom as the reader. You will jump up and down with excitement when you hear my name, and once I stop reading, you will start crying."
"Yeah, sorry about giving you a hard time back then," Hollis said.
"Oh, don't start with the apologies. It was all worth it, can't you see? According to your English teacher, you're the highest in her class. Hell, you can even read complex novels at your age, something that some people older than you can't do."
Leon unwraps his arms from around as Hollis laid back in bed. Leon sat up from the bed. "No matter who said what, you'll always be smart to those who love you, especially me. Now, it's close to midnight, and you know mom and dad won't be happy with a tired child in the morning."
© All Rights Reserved
