Chapter 85: Kicked Out
Salvatore walked in and didn’t look at Milo right away. He looked around the room. The shopping bags. Some clothes folded on the bed. The remote-controlled car sitting on the floor. The dresser.
He walked over to the dresser and opened the top drawer. He pushed the contents aside. Nothing. Second drawer. Nothing. Third drawer. He reached past the folded gray sweater, and his hand found it immediately.
He pulled out the box.
He stood there for a moment, holding it in his hand. Then he turned around.
Milo was standing near the bed. He hadn’t moved since stepping back when the door opened.
His face looked confused, not guilty, as Salvatore had expected. But Salvatore had met enough people in his life who could fake confusion well enough that he didn’t let that settle anything.
"Why is it in your room?" Salvatore asked, his face furious.
"I don’t know, Sir. I found it when I was unpacking," Milo said. His voice was steady, but his hands were not. "It was in the drawer when I opened it. I moved it to the dresser and was going to bring it to you when you got back."
Salvatore looked at the box in his hand. He ran his thumb across the surface once. Then he opened the latch.
He looked inside for a long moment.
The box was empty. The small plastic sleeve he kept the photograph in was gone. Nothing was there.
He closed the box.
He looked at Milo.
"The photo that was inside this box," Salvatore said. "Where is it?"
Milo looked at the box. His expression shifted from confused to something more cautious. "I... I don’t know. I didn’t open it; I just moved it from the drawer to the top of the dresser. I didn’t take anything out of it."
He repeated his explanation because that was what had really happened. He was confused about why Salvatore looked as if he were accusing him of stealing the box.
Salvatore crossed the room and stood in front of him. He didn’t grab him. He just stood close and held the open box between them so Milo could clearly see the inside.
"I’m going to ask you one more time," Salvatore said. His voice was low and steady. "The photo. Where is it?"
"I really don’t know. I don’t have it." Milo looked him in the eye. His voice shook slightly. "I really just found it in the drawer. I don’t know why it’s here."
Salvatore looked at him for a long moment. He was reading the young man the way he read everyone, looking for the small signs of lying.
The direction of the eyes. The movement of the hands. The quality of the breath.
Milo was scared. That was clear. Salvatore didn’t know if it was because he’d been caught or because he was afraid of him.
He stepped back.
"Roderick," Salvatore said.
"Yes."
"Stay with him. He is not to leave this room."
He walked out without another word. He pulled the door shut behind him and stood in the corridor for a moment with the empty box in his hand.
He thought about what Teo had said. The boy said Milo had the box. And he’d seen it himself.
But he needed to check on it. He asked everyone to leave and stop searching, but he said nothing about the box.
Salvatore walked down the corridor.
Teo wasn’t in the hallway anymore. He found him in the kitchen, sitting on a stool near the counter with his knees pulled up and his arms wrapped around them.
Maureen was at the other end of the kitchen with her back turned, speaking quietly to one of the other staff members.
Teo saw Salvatore come in and froze completely.
Salvatore asked everyone to leave the kitchen.
Now he was alone with Teo.
Teo stood up, his hands trembling.
Salvatore pulled a stool out from the counter and sat down across from him. He set the box on the counter.
Teo looked at the box and then at the floor.
"Come here. Look at me," Salvatore said.
Teo gulped, walked closer, then looked up. His eyes were red.
"You know I hate a liar," Salvatore said. His voice was calm and direct.
Teo was silent for a moment. He pressed his lips together.
"If I find out you’re giving me false information, I’ll have to kick you out of here. Do you want that to happen?"
Teo shook his head fearfully. His hands clenched together.
"So tell me what you actually saw with your own eyes. You told me Milo has the box. How do you know that?"
Teo felt his face flush and burn.
"I... I saw the box," Teo said quietly. "In Milo’s room."
"You said he took it. From where?"
"From... your room..."
"When?"
"T-this afternoon. When Milo came back."
"Why didn’t you stop him?"
Teo looked down. He felt like he wanted to cry.
"Teo?"
"Uh... I, I saw it. But I was afraid Milo might get in trouble if I told you."
Teo felt his lips trembling, and soon after, tears began to fall down his cheeks. He quickly wiped them away.
Salvatore looked at Teo. Then he stood up.
"Go to sleep."
Teo nodded quickly and ran to his room.
He kept crying because he felt so guilty. He couldn’t bear the heavy burden in his chest.
He loved Milo. And he was the one who had caused trouble for that young man.
"I’m so sorry, Milo. Please forgive me."
He cried inside his room. He couldn’t forgive himself if Salvatore kicked Milo out.
The worst part was, what if Salvatore killed Milo?
Teo cried even harder.
Teo sat on the floor with his back against the bed and stared at the opposite wall.
His face was wet. He had stopped trying to wipe it.
He kept thinking about how angry Salvatore had looked today. He had never seen that man look so terrifying. It frightened him.
He pressed his knees harder against his chest.
He hadn’t thought it would turn out this way. When Felix had asked him, it had seemed like no big deal.
Put the box in the drawer.
That was all.
Felix had said nothing bad would happen. Felix had sounded so sure about it, so casual. He just wanted to help.
Teo hadn’t given it much thought.
That was the problem.
He hadn’t thought about it, and now Milo was in danger because of him.
Milo hadn’t done anything. He had even brought him a car. Milo had thought about him. And he had gotten him into trouble.
Teo sobbed. What a coward he was.
Teo felt the crying start again before he could stop it.
He had told Salvatore the half-truth. The box was in Milo’s room. That part was true. He had just left out the part where he was the one who put it there. He had left Felix out entirely.
Every time he had been about to say Felix’s name, something in his chest had locked up. He had seen Salvatore’s expression, and he knew he would be in serious trouble.
And he loved Felix with all his heart.
He saw Felix often after Salvatore took him to the mansion. Felix and Salvatore had a relationship he couldn’t fully understand.
He was trapped in his own stupidity.
He was too scared to tell the truth. Because either way, he would drag one of them into hell. Milo or Felix.
And he had already told Salvatore he saw Milo take it. He couldn’t take back his word, or the man wouldn’t believe him at all.
And Felix said he’d let him stay at his house if he helped him. Teo wanted to stay with Felix.
But he didn’t know if it was worth it now.
He felt guilty.
He really wished Salvatore would forgive Milo and let him stay at the mansion.
He didn’t know the box was so important because the next day, he found out Milo had been kicked out of the mansion.
He asked Roderick, "Milo isn’t here anymore?"
Roderick nodded.
"But... is he alive?" Teo asked, trembling.
Roderick smirked slightly. "Go to the kitchen."
Teo stayed where he was, watching Roderick disappear down the hallway.
He walked weakly to the kitchen. His face was pale. His eyes were red and swollen from crying so much.
At least Milo was alive, right?
He tried to ease his guilt.
He looked in the backyard. He checked again.
No Milo.
He wanted to see for himself, so he ran to Milo’s room. The room was still a mess, with cars on the floor and bags scattered about.
Teo looked at it and cried. What had he done?
Milo...
Teo checked inside the dresser. The clothes were still there.
Milo hadn’t even taken his clothes.
Where was he going?
Teo ran to find Salvatore. But Roderick saw him before he could go upstairs.
"Don’t go there. He might shoot you. He’s not in a good mood right now."
Teo looked at Roderick. "Where is Milo going?"
Roderick shook his head. "Don’t worry about him. He’ll be fine."
Teo looked at him again. "How can you be so sure about that?"
"What can we do? As long as he has money, he should be okay."
Teo looked down. "What if something bad happens to him?"
