irresistible||larry

Part 6

April 28, 11:20 pm
two months before the collapse

The minutes because hours. The hours became days. The days became weeks.

The days at home were quite. No one spoke. Everyone was afraid to break the thin line that divided the silence and the chaos. Louis and his sisters where taking care of his mum. They did everything they could. But speaking to her became impossible. She would always answer with short sentences, so it was pointless. They just set there, looking at her sleeping, and hoping for some kind of miracle.

But miracles don't exist.

"Louis?"

Louis looked up from his laptop, finding his sister, Lottie, standing there.

"Can I talk to your for a second?"

Louis nodded and closed the laptop, so she sat next to him.

"I uhm...I was wondering what— what will happen when mum...when she...you know..."

He knew. And it was heartbreaking. Everyone knew it. But no one said it. Everyone knew that it was going to happen, but no one dared to say it.

"What do you mean?" Louis asked.

"Will you— will you come back?" She asked shyly. Fuck. Louis felt guilty.

"Lotts..." he started.

"At least will you think about it? Me and Fiz need someone."

"You know I can't." Louis breathed. "And you can go live with your boyfriend and Fiz can find a roommate but...I can't."

"Why?" She whispered.

"Because it's dangerous love, you can do it without me."

"Yeah but— she was the part that kept the family together."

"I know."

"Me, you, Fiz and mum are a family. And now..." she trailed off.

"You're right. We are. And we won't stop being a family, even when she's gone." He said.

"You promise?"

"I promise," Pause. "But you have to promise me one thing. Lottie, when mum is gone, you and Fiz need to get out of this house."

"Why?" She asked confused.

"It has demons that we need to get rid off." He declared.

"Like dad?"

Louis froze. They never talked about him. It was like an unspoken role. Never talk about him.

"What time is it?" He asked, completely ignoring Lottie's question.

"It's uh...it's 11:34 pm." she said.

"I should get ready." he declared. Louis gave her a long kiss on her forehead before getting up. He went to his room and sat on the bed. He actually didn't have to. The car was arriving in an hour, but he didn't need to do anything. His suitcase was just like he left it. He didn't need to take things out. It wasn't his home anymore.

He looked around the room. Examining it. There were a lot of pictures on the walls, a lot of toys. The books that he should've return to his old school but never did. A lot of good memories. He smiled thinking about all the time his mum would bring him some fruit while he was studying. The way his father would always say the he'll help him but ended up watching him study.

His gaze then focused on the cracks in the wall. On the corners now black because no one cared enough to repaint the room. He dropped on the bed, starring at the broken ceiling. Good old times. He stayed like for a while, just thinking what he could have done to make his life go in a different way. In a better way.

Once his suitcase was closed, he received a text that the car was waiting outside. So he knocked in his mum's door. Of course, he didn't receive any answer. So, he entered in the room and tried his best not to cry. His mum was staring at the wall in front of her, looking like always, her eyes closing and opening. He could see that she was trying to fight, and she was tired, but she didn't need to sleep, it wasn't her body who was tired.

"Mum?" He whispered, as if he would speak louder he would break something.

"Honey." she smiled. She still smiled.

"I'm uh...the car is waiting outside." He declared, and her smile disappeared, but was replaced by her tired eyes giving him an heartbreaking look. Louis' heart broke a little more seeing that.

"Be careful." she looked at him. She stared at his soul.

"I will," He sat on the bed. "I'll miss you so much." He whispered.

"Me too," Breath . "Be kind."

"Well, in my job that's kind of hard you know." He smiled sadly. Of course she knew about Louis' job. She was his best friend. And noting was ever going to change that. He was never gonna replace her. And he hoped she knew that.

"Remember," she spoke slowly. "More water, and less poison."

"I'll remember it." He kissed her head, closing his eyes and staying like that for a few seconds just because he could. "I love you so much." He whispered as he looked at her.

"I love you too," She smiled. "I'm never tired...of hearing it."

Louis smiled at her one last time before hugging her. He tried to put all of his love in that hug, he wanted her to feel warm. To feel loved. She deserved it. She was an angel. He got up from the bed and looked at her one last time before closing the door behind him. In the living room, Lottie and Fizzy were waiting for him. They walked him outside, gave him a hug, but just when they were about to turn around, Louis felt like he needed to add something.

"Hey." He called them.

They turned around, looking at him in a way that made him feel that maybe they were hoping for him to stay.

"We'll be alright." He promised.

They nodded and gave a small smile before closing the door and disappearing from his view. He got in the car, and during the whole ride, he couldn't stop thinking about what his mother said.

More water less poison.

She has always been a kind person. She raised them with the idea of no violence, that everything could be solved without it. And look how that tuned out. He knew, deep down, that that was the last time. The last time he would get the chance to see her. And knowing it, it's way worse. Because he was sure that she knew it too. She knew that she was gonna die, and she was gonna do it soon.

And it was fucking scary.

The ride was long and silent, and he cried again, the driver couldn't see him anyway. He needed a cigarette. As soon as he arrived to the big house in the middle of nothing, he saw Liam outside. Weird.

"Li!" Louis exclaimed, leaving all of his sadness behind the car door. He didn't need someone else worrying over him.

"L! You're back." Liam smiled as he got up from his chair and went to give him a hug. And this time, Louis returned it.

"What the hell are you doing outside?" He smiled.

"Well, I may or may not have been waiting for you."

"But I never told you when I would come back, it wasn't even sure if I would." Louis said. Liam just shrugged, and Louis smiled. Again. Everyone deserves a Liam in their life. And Louis was glad that he had one.

"Can we talk about that thing before we go inside?" Liam asked, putting a hand over his shoulder.

Louis sighed. It was inevitable anyway. "Okay"

"How was it?"

"Terrible," Louis confessed. "She was so weak yet so strong. I'm gonna miss her."

"You'll see her again." Liam reassured him. He lied.

"Unfortunately, we both know that's not true."

"Why do you say that?"

"She didn't talk to me, Li, the longest sentence she told me was be careful." Louis closed his eyes. Liam looked at him, and Louis for a moment thought he really cared.

Just for a moment though.