Guns and Roses

The old fling

Genevieve

He looked at me like I was the answer to a question he didn’t know he had asked.

The wind danced between us, making the curls I had tucked behind my ear shake loose as we stood beside the boardwalk, the salt breeze of the beach brushing against our skin. I looked down at the sand, then up at him—Leo Saint-Laurent. Saint-Laurent Leo to his teachers, but never to me. To me, he was just Leo. My chaos. My thunderstorm in a leather jacket.

And I was about to make a mistake, or a miracle.

“I’m willing to give you a chance,” I said, eyes steady. “But only if you promise to be nicer, Leo. I can’t… I won’t deal with you being a jerk to everyone just ‘cause you don’t know how to handle your own feelings.”

He rubbed the back of his neck and exhaled, like the idea of kindness was heavier than all the secrets he carried. “Yeah… yeah, Geni. I can try. For you.”

I smiled, just a little.

“But,” I added, “there’s something else. I want you to come see my dad. Officially.”

That smile? Gone. Like I smacked it off his face.

“Your dad’s a cop, Geni.”

“He’s also my dad,” I snapped. “If you really mean all that sweet stuff you say, then what’s the problem?”

He looked at me sideways, stuffing his hands in his jacket. “Let’s just keep this between us for now. Not ‘cause I’m tryna play you. I’m not. But I got things… in motion. Things I can’t have your pops snooping around.”

I took a step back. “Right. So I’m just another secret.”

“Don’t do that.”

“What? Call it like it is?” I folded my arms. “You used to mess with girls all the time. Whisper to them in the hallway. Kiss them behind lockers. You told me I was different—but that don’t mean anything if I’m still a ghost in your world.”

His jaw clenched. “You ain’t a ghost.”

“Then prove it.”

I said looking at him squarely.

“Fine man. But it ain’t happening immediately okay.”

I rolled my eyes and walked away.

“Hey hey hey. Fine. I’ll come see your Pa. Ya happy?”

I gave him a mock glare and he tickled me. I burst out laughing and we enjoyed the rest of the night happily. He later dropped me off at home and promised to come see my dad the next day after school.

The next day, I couldn’t find him anywhere. I had given up and was heading back for my class when I heard them. Him and Claudia. Her voice was low, but desperate. I ducked behind the wall, holding my breath.

“You haven’t called since that night,” Claudia whispered. “Not once. You said—”

Leo cut her off. “Claudia, you messed up. I ain’t dealing with your drama. I don’t need you anymore.”

A beat. A silence that cracked like lightning.

“You’ll regret this,” she hissed.

“You threaten me again, I’ll paint this whole damn town red with your blood.”

I gasped. I didn’t mean to. But I did.

His head snapped to the side of the wall. He didn’t see me but I saw him. I saw the wild blaze in his eyes. I couldn’t unsee it.

I turned around and headed to the bathroom. My stomach was in nuts. Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure about this boy anymore. What if this is all a game to him?

Could the girl be pregnant?

Two days later, Claudia was found dead in the girl’s bathroom. OD, they said. But I wasn’t buying it.

When the police came to school and asked questions, I was silent.

But my head? It was loud.

And Leo wouldn’t meet my eyes.

Not once.

Not even when I passed him in the hallway and whispered, “Did you do it?”

His jaw twitched. “She was just an old fling. You don’t need to worry.”

But I was. I was worried.

Because I was falling in love with a boy who might’ve killed someone.

And no matter how nice he tried to be now

There was still blood on his hands.

Everyone was talking. Claudia’s name lived in everyone’s mouth like a rumor too juicy to swallow. Dead. Gone. OD. Found crumpled in the girls’ bathroom like a candy wrapper.

And Leo? Silent. Still. Distant like I was just another face in the hallway.

But I remembered. I remembered that look in his eyes. I remembered his voice—low and dangerous—when he told her he’d paint the town red.

The girls Claudia used to hang with acted brand new. One even had the nerve to whisper, “She had it coming.” And Leo? He didn’t deny the rumors. He didn’t say a thing.

Not even to me.

That silence? It tore into me sharper than any confession could’ve. Because I still wanted him to be innocent. I still wanted to believe that I hadn’t handed my heart to a boy built out of gunpowder.

But the truth was, I didn’t know who he really was.

And that? That scared me more than anything.