two ghosts (l.s)

Chapter 22

Harry's POV

I wake up early next morning to find Louis sitting at the edge of the bed, his head in his hands.

I rub the sleep out of my eyes and sit up.

"Lou?" I ask and he turns to face me. His eyes are red and puffy and I can tell he didn't sleep last night.

"Good morning." He gives me a small smile and turns away again.

"Baby don't cry. Please tell me what's wrong." I move next to him and try to pull his hands off his face.

" It's bad Harry. If it's true, it's really bad." He croaks and pulls away.

" You can tell me, I won't judge you Louis. " I reassure him but he shakes his head.

" It's just a theory. I shouldn't be thinking this." He moves to gets up but I wrap my fingers around his wrist and pull him down again.
"Harry" he whines but I don't let go.

"I can't see you like this. Tell me what's wrong Louis, please. Maybe we can work it out together. " I plead him but he just looks away. "Was it something I did?" A sudden fear runs through me. What if I hurt him?

"No Harry, don't worry, it has nothing to do with you." He turns to me and I'm filled with relief.

" Please tell me then." I beg again and he lets out a long sigh.

"I'm scared Harry." He speaks and his teary eyes meet mine.

"I'm hear for you Lou. There's nothing ti be afraid. I've got you. " I whisper and hold him to me.

"I  don't think the crash was an accident. " He finally speaks and his voice cuts through me like a cold knife.

"Louis, what are you suggesting?" I pull back from the embrace but his eyes don't meet mine.

" I think" he takes a deep breath.
"I think someone wanted me to die Harry." He whispers and my heart stops.

"No no. No. That can't be. Nobody would want that. That's just crazy Lou. Why would you even think that? No. No no no. That's just wrong. Don't-" I start to ramble but he cuts me off.

" I have proof ." He finally looks at me and I can tell he's serious.

"What kind of proof?"

"I have to show you." He gets up and leads me to the balcony. " Meet me at the willow in 10." He says and with thst he climbs down the wall and disappears into the forest.

I get dressed as fast as possible and quietly  run downstairs, not to wake anyone as it's still very early. I write a quick note saying I went out for a run and leave it on the kitchen table.

I take an apple and keys and run out the door.

***

I reach the willow tree minutes later to find Louis sitting with his legs crossed picking at the blades of grass beneath his hands. He never fails to take my breath away. Even when he's in pain, even when he's crying, he's still the most beautiful creature to ever walk this planet.

He notices me and stands.

"Come with me." He holds out his hand and I take it. He laces his fingers with mine and leads me further into the forest.

We walk for a couple of minutes before he comes to a stop. I look around to take in our surroundings.
We've reached a clearing in the woods and tall trees rise above us in every direction. There are birds chirping from every tree and I even spot a wild fox a few feet away. As soon as it's eyes meet mine it stops for a second. It lifts it's nose in the air as if to identify our smell and then runs off without a second glance.

"This is what I wanted to show you." Louis suddenly says and I jump startled. I turn to look at him and find him holding a rabbit in his arms.

"You wanted to show me a bunny?" I laugh but he frowns.

" No you idiot. I wanted to show you this. " He says and points to it's neck. I move closer to him to get a better look and my jaw drops. It's neck is covered in blood and it's skin is showing. There are bite marks in his neck deep enough that it shouldn't be alive. But it is.

"It's dead Harry." He says and I look at him.

"But- it's moving." I say confused and he puts the rabbit down. It runs off and disappears into the dark forrest.

"It's a ghost, just like me." He explains.
"It was murdered by a fox yesterday. I saw it with my own eyes. I chased the fox away but I was too late. It's teeth had already gotten too deep into it's neck. I saw it die in my arms Harry. " He cries." And then it just woke up and started hopping around again. I was so confused at first but then looking around I noticed that other animals had wounds that for sure are fatal yet they still move around as if they were perfectly fine. I came to the conclusion that they are ghosts just like I am. But that's not the worst part Harry. " He stops and takes a breath in.

" I was sitting at the stream and I noticed a birds nest in a tree nearby. The small birds were trying to fly but one of them failed. One of them didn't flap his wings and it fell to the ground. I ran over and picked it up to find that his heart had stopped beating. I waited for it to wake up but it never did. It never turned into a ghost Harry. " He looks at me and the pain is visible in his eyes, yet I still don't understand why he's telling me this.

"All the other animal ghosts I saw had been killed by another animal, but this one, it died on its own, by accident. "He explains and my heart drops as his words finally hit me.

" The other animals were intentionally killed by something else and therefore turned into ghosts. " I say catching on and Louis nods his head.

" So that means that I was m-" he begins but I cover my hand over his mouth.

"Don't say it." I breath and he nods.

He starts to cry again and I can feel my eyes sting as well. Why would anybody wish him harm. He is the kindest, selfless, caring person I know, yet somebody wanted him out of the way?

"My baby." I cry out and he falls into my arms once again. We fall to the ground and he cries into my shoulder.

***

What feels like an eternity later he calms down and dries his red eyes. I am still in complete shock at the news. I refuse to believe it. It has to be some sort of mistake. It has to be.

"Do you have anyone in mind who..you know..." I finally speak give him sometime to relax.

" No. That's the thing! I was nice to everyone and...I mean.. I didn't really have that many friends so..." He trails off. That means that whoever did it was close to him he and I both take a deep breath before I speak again.

"You don't deserve this Lou. You're the nicest person I've ever met. I can't believe someone would do this to you!" I suddenly yell causing him to jump. " If only we could turn back time." I sigh,my words having s deeper meaning than just Louis' death.

"No, because then I would have never met you." He points out looking at me and I smile at him.

" We would have met no matter what." I say." Wanna know why?" He nods his head. "Because we're soulmates." I answer honestly and he cracks a smile.

" I thought you didn't believe in soulmates." He recalls.

" Well I didn't believe in love either yet here we are." I say and lean in to kiss him to prove my point.

" I guess,yeah." He sighs and I give him a sympathetic smile.

" We don't have to talk about this anymore if you don't want to." I say but he shakes his head.

" I just have one question." He says and I raise an eyebrow.
"If I was murdered...why did I die in a car crash?"he wonders and a cold shiver runs through me. Something about that phrase doesn't sit right with me. I don't know if it's because my grandmother died in a car crash or because I just found out that the love of my life was murdered,but I have a feeling in my stomach, that this is deeper than it seems. And I don't like that one bit.