I'm fine, We're fine [boyxboy]

Thirty-One

Lottie's POV

"All it ever does in this fucking town is storm." My breath formed a small fog on the rear-view mirror when I leaned up to adjust it. In the reflection through the back glass, rain plummeted down, smattering against the clear barrier between us. Fog laid thick on the window; I was surprised I could see the rain hitting it. From the driver side window, I watched it splatter in well-formed, muddy puddles while I backed out of the driveway. The storms never ended. One after the other they came, some charcoal-black and swollen with a downpour that would last hours, while others merely rolled in and were gone in thirty minutes. But they came regardless, and now, I knew a bucketing rain was leaving dents on the top of my car.

I never went out during them. Did I care about the frizz it would cause my hair? Or the mud I could possibly ruin my shoes in? "No, no," I mumbled to myself, looking out in front of me as my headlights lit up the sodden asphalt rolling under. I wasn't concerned about the damage the water would do to my outfit or my hair. The thought of hydroplaning or it raining down so hard that I wouldn't be able to see is what usually kept me tucked away inside until it had passed. The only reason I was outside was for Louis.

Harry's assault had left him with more than wounded pride and hearing loss. Migraines plagued him constantly, and no matter how much he told me he was okay, I knew when he was lying. As soon as he and Niall had come into the house, I could see it on his face. Mom invited them for dinner, and now that Louis was staying with Niall, they came as a package deal. "Are you out of your medicine?" I asked him. The doctor at the ER had written him a prescription for painkillers made specifically for migraines. They recommended him to go see his primary physician, but I didn't know if he had. I didn't poke around in his life much anymore. "I called a refill into the pharmacy earlier, but it's raining so hard, I can't see to drive," he had said. So, here I was, driving lower than the speed limit with my wipers on as fast as they would go while I drove to the pharmacy.

Louis was doing better. Niall kept us filled in on much of what Louis withheld. He'd been staying at his house for about a week now and had started his new job at the place that was providing the attire for Liam and Zayn's wedding. Most of the time, Niall told us he was happy and smiling, but there were other times when Niall would tell us he had overheard Louis sniffling in his room. Once, two days before now, he texted me and said he swore Louis was bawling in the shower. They were getting closer, but not enough for him to knock on the door and ask, and like me, the rest of the family tread lightly when it came to him. None of us said anything about Harry, I tried not to even think about him out of fear of projecting it onto my brother. I didn't expect a miracle in a couple of weeks, but I wouldn't ruin what progress he had made by thinking of the one thing that kept dragging him down. I would simply thank Niall, pass the information along to my parents, then send Louis something I knew would make him laugh.

The roads were void of many cars. I only passed two before I made it into town and one of them had been a semi. Neon lights from signs and gas stations made it easier to see, but I kept the wipers on high, just in case. The pharmacy was only about ten minutes from home, but the weather had turned it into a twenty-minute trip. A red glow from the stoplight bathed my car while I stopped under it. A car behind me was blinding me with their lights and even putting my hand up to cover the reflection from my side mirror didn't tell them to turn them down. I threw them the finger in the rearview mirror, but when the lights still made me squint, I was forced to pull down one of the side roads that cut between one of the many convenience stores and a few houses that headed west. It was a minor detour, but one that could still lead me to the pharmacy. I would come in from the other side.

This direction brought me by the park, the one that was near the complex where Harry lived. I recognized it, but not for that reason alone. Louis and I had used to come here before Harry came along. As I passed by it, I slowed and let the memories flood my vision. In front of me, the soggy park changed and was bathed in sunlight. It was spring and Louis and I were laughing. A bright red frisbee flew from my hand to his and he jumped, only to watch the plaything whiz right over the top of his head and land in the thick grass behind him. Louis' face was bright, his cheeks tinged pink not from crying, but from the sheer joy I knew he was feeling. The only lines in his face then had been the ones from laughing. As the park passed, the memory did too. When I blinked, I was back in reality with the rain beating down on my car.