章 58: SYLUS: I Can’t Tell You

A child's laughter reached my ears, and my eyes rose from my phone as I stepped into the living room. I stopped short.  

Leo stood in the middle of the room with a girl of possibly five or six years cradled in his arms and tugging at his rumpled tie. He bounced up and down with her, imitating an airplane, and the girl laughed like I've never heard a child do before. It almost seemed like she could burst from so much bubbly laughter.  

His hair was a wild mess, clearly having been messed up by the little girl he was playing with. Leo?

"Okay, okay, but you're going to get dizzy," he said, chuckling in a deep tone that I've never heard before. Wait, Leo doesn't even smile, a chuckle was like asking for the impossible. "…You just ate, and you're going to end up vomiting it if I swing any more."  

"But I want to play more. Please, Uncle Lee." The girl pleaded with puppy eyes, smiling so widely, her teeth, including the missing ones, on full display.