I've Been Watching You All Night

Chapter 13

Louis woke up and went downstairs, hearing his mum talking to someone in the kitchen. He figured she was just talking to Dan or one of the girls, so he went in with just his boxers on. He immediately regretted that when he saw who his mother was actually talking to.

"Louis, good lord, put a damn shirt on." Louis blushed as his mum smacked his butt with a tea towel. "Anne, I'm sorry, this is my son, Louis. Usually, he has much better manners than this." Louis waved at the woman then rushed out of the room. He found one of his sweatshirts lying on the couch and threw it on, figuring his boxers were short-like enough.

He walked back into the kitchen, cheeks flaming red, and held his hand out to Anne. "Hi, Ms. Anne, it's nice to meet you." The woman smiled. "Just Anne, love. And it's nice to meet you too, Mr. Louis." Louis's cheeks got even redder and he hid his face in his mum's shoulder. "Anne was just inviting us over for dinner sometime. How would you like that, love?" Louis nodded and went to the fridge. "Yeah, that sounds great." Anne smiled. "I have a son. He's about your age. I think you two might get along well." Louis grabbed the milk out of the fridge, then grabbed a bowl and some cereal out of the cabinet. "What's his name?" "His name is Harry. He's 17." Louis thought for a second. Harry. That name sounded familiar. Where had he heard that name recently?

Louis poured himself a cup of coffee and set it down next to his bowl of cereal. "Well, I need to get back. Harry's been having a bit of a hard time with his boyfriend lately and now I'm the one that has to make sure he's up and ready for work every day." Jay nodded in understanding. She had dealt with a similar situation when Louis and his boyfriend broke up a little over a year ago. "Where does he work." Anne pulled her purse onto her shoulder. "He works at Miss Susan's Baked Goods downtown. Louis, you should pop in there and say hi to him sometime. He's been needing some new friends." Louis smiled. "I'll do that." Anne waved to the two and left crossing the street back to her house.

"I like her." Jay sipped her coffee. "I do too. Maybe meeting this Harry guy'll be good. I'm gonna need some friends." Jay patted his back and left the room to go wake up the rest of the family. Louis sat at the kitchen table and finished his cereal, which was sadly all soggy. When he was done, he threw his bowl and mug in the sink then went back upstairs to change.

Louis changed and then sat back down on his bed, wanting to get some reading done. He was rudely interrupted, though, when Jay came in with Ernie and Doris in her arms. "I need to go to an interview for a job at the hospital, so can you watch these two? Lottie and Fizzy are in charge of Phoebe and Daisy, but I don't exactly trust those girls with the babies." Louis nodded and held his hands out. Jay set Doris on the floor by her feet and handed Ernie to Louis. "He's been fussy. I think he might be getting sick. Just keep an eye on him and call me or Dan if he gets a fever, okay?" Louis kissed his mum's cheek and readjusted the boy on his hip. "Are you not feeling well, bubs? That's alright, I'll take care of you."

Louis sat down at his desk, placing the small boy on his lap and making sure that the girl on the floor stayed within his sight, and then opened his laptop. He was going to have a lot of free time that summer, so he may as well get a job to make some money during that free time. The tattooed teen looked up jobs in Holmes Chapel and came up with quite a few results. He scrolled through and saw a job opening and saw a grocery store, a guns and ammo store, but then he saw the one. It was a small bookstore, in the middle of downtown, called The Book Nook. He immediately dialed the number and waited for someone to answer.

"The Book Nook, Calum speaking," Louis heard someone with a New Zealand accent say. "Umm, my name is Louis Tomlinson and I was wondering about a job opening there." The guy made a noise in the back of his throat. "So, I'm a new employee and I don't really know how to do this, so I'm gonna go grab my manager." Louis heard the guy set the phone down and there was some indistinct shouting. Then the phone was picked up again and Louis heard a deeper voice. "Hello, sorry about that, son, he's new. So, I hear you're looking to fill this position." Louis cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'm just looking for a summer job." The man grunted. "Yes, yes. Why don't you come in on...Tuesday and we'll see about that. Please dress nicely." "Yes, sir." Louis ended the call and set his phone down, sighing loudly.

Louis rubbed the boy's sides softly, humming lightly in the boy's ear. Ernie stayed calm for a minute but then he started to squirm. Louis took a hand off his side and put it on the boy's forehead. "Oh, buddy, you're running a pretty high fever. Let's get you into your pajamas and back in your crib." He stood up and set the boy on his right hip and scooped up Doris off the floor, setting her on his left hip. The teenager carried the twins back to their room and set Doris on the floor with some toys. Then he laid Ernie on his crib and pulled out his phone, calling his stepdad.

"Hey, Dan, it's Louis. Umm, Ernie's got a really high fever and mum told me to call either you or her, but she's in her interview right now. Can you come home?" The man said yes and Louis hung up, reaching into the crib and stroking the boy's curls lightly. "It's okay, bubba, Daddy will be home soon. Hang in there. It'll be okay." The small boy whined and moved around. Louis picked the boy up and rocked him a little, trying to soothe him until Dan got home. Hopefully, he would get home soon.