I'm Not Fine At All

Chapter 25

Louis woke up Saturday morning with a pounding headache and a low, heavy feeling in his stomach. His dad had taken him out for drinks the previous night and, well, let's just say it was a good thing they had taken a cab to get to the bar. And to make things worse, he heard his sisters screeching downstairs as one of their little friends had come over to the house for a play date. The boy groaned and pressed his pillow over his face, trying to resist the urge to vomit. He finally lost the battle when he felt bile rise up in the back of his throat and he ran out of the room, immediately vomiting up everything he had eaten in the last day once he reached the toilet. "Oh, fuck," He groaned out once he finished throwing up, his head feeling like someone had taken a ten-pound mallet to it.

Louis was rudely interrupted from his rest on the bathroom floor when his dad came in, the same queasy look plastered on his face that Louis had had just moments before. "Here, dad, you take it. I'm done." The father looked at his son thankfully and rushed to the toilet, emptying all of his stomach contents into the ceramic bowl. "It's alright, dad. Let it all out. I'll have Lottie make us some eggs for breakfast. I promise I won't tell her you got drunk." Louis patted his father's back before leaving the bathroom to go downstairs. He found the twins in the living room with some girl he had never seen before. "Good morning, loves," He said as he waved to the three girls. Phoebe hopped up and ran over to him.

"Good morning, Lou-Lou. This is Ines. Her dad lives in France." Louis hummed at the girl and put his arm around her shoulders. "Ah. Nice to meet you, Ines. I like your braids." Ines grinned at him and ran a hand over her hair. "Thank you. My mummy did them for me." The little girl smiled with pride for her mum's good work with her hair. "Well, your mummy did a very good job," He said before turning back to his sisters. "Uhm, loves, where's Lottie? I want her to make breakfast for dad. He's not feeling too good." Daisy looked at Louis and just shrugged but Phoebe squealed. "Oh, I know where she is! I know!" She screeched, hopping up and down. Louis laid a hand on her shoulder to make her stop jumping.

The girl pouted but quieted down, her feet settling back down on the floor. "Quiet, darling. Daddy is upstairs with a really bad headache and you don't want to make him mad, do you?" Phoebe shook her head sadly. "Good. Now, where is Lottie?" Louis asked, his tone soft to try and help balance out Phoebe's energy. "She's outside," The girl whispered. Louis frowned at her. "Why is she outside?" Phoebe giggled into the palm of her hand. "She went out to meet her friend. I saw them kissing," She said teasingly. Louis sighed and stood up fully, thanking the girl before leaving the room. He made his way out to the garden where he saw Lottie sitting on a picnic blanket, making out with someone who looked way too old for her.

Louis cleared his throat, making both of the teenagers jump away from each other, and he walked slowly toward them. "Well well well. What the hell is going on here?" Lottie gulped and stood up, twisting her hands in front of her. "This is, uhm, this is Stevie. We go to school together. They came over to hang out and stuff." Louis scoffed and looked between the two of them. "And stuff? Is that what I saw when I came out here? Stuff? C'mon, Lotts, you're too young for this shit. You should be running around outside with the twins and playing in the pool, not making out with people that are way too old for you." Lottie groaned and grabbed Louis's hand, pulling him aside.

"Would you just stop, Louis? I'm fifteen fucking years old, I'm allowed to kiss someone I like. Just let me hang out with Stevie. They're really sweet and nice and they're the only person that makes me feel pretty. Please, Louis, please. I like them so much." Louis took a deep breath but pulled Lottie close, kissing her on the temple lovingly. "As long as they make you happy, darling. But, just," He sighed and leaned down to Lottie's ear. "How old are they? I just need to know." Lottie smiled and hugged him close. "They're seventeen, for your information. But they act like a twelve-year-old." The girl's smile faded when she saw the tense look on her brother's face. "That's...that's so old. It might be different if you were sixteen and they were eighteen, but you're still a child. I don't know if I approve."