Breakdown (HIATUS)

*3 - Hurt

A/n: This is shorter than the other two, but eh. Oh, I forgot to mention: The picture in the previous chapter is mine and the picture in this chapter is also mine. 

The moment Della appeared in front of Scrooge's door, Louie knew exactly who she was, but he was never sure. His mom was dead. That was not his mom. But when she came to him, a surge of emotions burst through him and he could not help but cry. This was his mom. But...It doesn't feel right. Louie lied on his bed, silently scrolling through his phone in the dark. Looking through his social media, he viewed as he saw his friends have the time of their lives with their parents. Boyd was on the pier with the Drakes. So many happy family pictures.

"They look like a perfectly happy family," Louie thought, forcing a smile on his lips to be happy for his friend. "I'm happy for them." He lied. He isn't happy, he's jealous. He's so jealous that his friend has this mean Cinderella-like life and yet, Boyd still finds so much... happiness. Louie didn't have an evil step-brother. Louie didn't have a dad that disowned him. He had an awesome rich family with awesome siblings, amazing uncles, and a happy mom. Mom?

"You never had one in 13 years. Why should you have one now?" the voice taunted, trying to get a reaction from the young teen laying there, starring pictures on his phone. Louie gritted his teeth and didn't reply to the voice and kept scrolling.

"You took off in that contraption without thinking of the consequences or the people you would hurt!"

Della's voice suddenly called, he knew for once she wasn't here but it felt so real. Louie's eyes widened as he set his phone down and covered his ear with his pillow. "Go away, go away, go away..." he repeated, already feeling the hot tears slowly drip from his eyes as he faced the wall.

"Louie Inc is done!"

"Please..." Louie begged, "Please stop..." his grip on his pillows tightened and he closed his eyes shut.

Ever since the Timephoon incident, he kept hearing Della's voice, repeating her phrases like a broken recorder. Everything was fine now, he thought. All is forgiven, he thought. But why won't these voices stop?

It hurts. It's tiring. His head is pounding with flashbacks, and at the same time, he's trying to suppress it. He's trying to suppress everything that has happened.

"If you want to be part of this family, you gotta stop."

Silence. After that phrase, the room was silent. Was it over? Is it gone?

He was alone now. In this dark room.

Louie could still feel the pounding in his chest. It hurts, even after Della's voice stopped. He gripped on the spot where his heart was pounding so rapidly, trying to make it stop, but the more he demanded, the more it seemed to beat.

Louie let out a choked sob. He didn't know where these tears were coming from, but he knew that it hurt. It hurt to be like this. It hurt to be him. Sometimes, he just wants to be invisible and never come back.

He felt a sudden chill as a single thought came into his mind, "I'm wrong."

He cried into his pillow, muffling the sounds of his sobs. That single sentence was laced with many more phrases and words that were being nailed into Louie's head the second his mother arrived.

"I'm at fault. Lazy. Stupid. Lame. Never good enough. Never right. Always the one to blame. Always the one to mess up. Burden."

Ding!

Louie looked to his side where his phone lit up, alerting him of a message. He swallowed the rest of his tears and weakly reached out for his phone.

"Violet," his lock screen read. Louie's mind went blank as he stared at the name. He doesn't know what to do because his brain was unable to process things right now. He forced his fingers to act. Entering his password, he looked at her message.

"Greetings Llewellyn. How are you?"

He stared at it, contemplating how to answer. Ignoring his breakdown from earlier, he answered, "I'm fine."

"Great. Would you like to meet?"

.

.

.

The little bell jingled as Louie entered the small coffee shop. The sound of the shop's music and the smell of brewed coffee made Louie's muscles relax. He was nervous because he didn't want to tell the hummingbird about his mini-breakdown a few hours ago.

Looking to the left, Louie saw the young Violet Sabrewing on her usual spot, casually reading a book with a cup of tea in front of her. Despite the casual pose, Louie knew there was a storm going inside of the hummingbird's mind. If there wasn't, she wouldn't have called him for a meet-up.

He casually strolled down the shop and sat in front of Violet, acknowledging the drink she ordered for him. A strawberry and a chocolate smoothie with extra whip cream. Louie smiled as he took the drink sipped, satisfied with the flavors mixing in his mouth.

Violet put down her book and stared at Louie. He put his drink aside and nodded at the young girl, acknowledging her presence. It was just a simple action but Violet's lips twisted into a small smile. She took a sip of her tea and then looked at Louie again.

"How are you, Llewellyn?" she asked.

Louie reached out for his drink again, but instead of sipping on it, he began to play with the straw. "Peachy," he replied. "You?"

"Lena's going with us in our back-to-school family retreat," Violet answered in her regular monotone voice, but Louie knew deep down that Violet was somehow upset.

"I am very happy that Lena is now part of our family, but I still am adjusting to... well, everything. It feels like she is invading my life and taking away my parents but I know she isn't. She is just herself and I feel like I should be happy about that, but at the same time, I could not." Louie listened as Violet ranted. He knew how she felt all too well.

Someone fitting into their family like a perfect puzzle piece while they were trying to find out where they fit in. It seemed so unfair, but it wasn't. Nothing's wrong and it just seems like they were making a big deal out of this.

Violet sighed and drank her tea. She looked at Louie and asked, "What course of action should you think I should do?"

Of course, having the same problem with Della, Violet would want to ask Louie for help. Louie took a sip of his drink and then replied, "Go with the flow. I usually just show them that I'm not bothered and they'll leave me alone. They're going to carry on and act as if nothing's wrong."

Violet stayed quiet. Louie awaited her response, sipping on his drink as he was. She looked up at the duck clad in green and nodded.

No words were exchanged between the two as they peacefully drank their perspective drinks, respecting the silence. They both knew that they had storms that are incredibly similar but different. They are there for each other but they do not interfere with the other. They comfort each other, not with words, but with silence. Their bond is something no one can understand. Possibly, not even them.

Violet looked at the young duck in front of her, studying his movement and his pace on drinking. "Llewelyn," she called, breaking the silence between the two and pulling Louie back from the depths of his mind, "how are you?"

Louie silently sighed as he put his drink on the table. "I am not fine." The honesty was spat out of Louie's mouth. He could never admit it to anyone, so telling this to Violet was uncomfortable, yet comforting.

Violet sat quietly, her hands intertwined with each other, and was ready to listen.

Louie let out another sigh as he forced himself to push out the words from his throat.

"I feel hurt."