The Lost Boy (Harry Styles)

8

"It's a match. I'm afraid she was Harry's Mum." Rita said, as the three adults sat in the living room. The two boys were still asleep, curled up together in Harry's bed.

"Oh God. That poor woman. Poor Harry. That's so awful." Jay said, her voice wobbled as she tried to hold it together.

Mark put an arm around her. "What happens now?" He asked.

"The investigation into her death is obviously still ongoing. His father hasn't come forward, which makes us think he has something to do with her death. No other family has been found either. So, we'll need to look into finding him a permanent home." Rita explained.

"We'll take him." Jay said immediately. Mark squeezed her shoulder.

She looked at him. "I'm sorry. I mean, what do you think?" She questioned him.

He smiled. "I agree. If we're allowed to."

"I'll look into it. He's obviously settled with you. You need to speak to Louis though, make sure he feels OK about it."

"He loves Harry like a brother, I think he'll be fine. We'll talk later."

"Ok. Let me know and I'll set the ball in motion. I'll be off now. Im so sorry it's ended like this." Rita said, before shaking their hands and leaving their house.

As soon as the door closed, Jay fell into Mark's arms and cried. It was so overwhelming.

"Mummy? Why you crying?" A tiny voice said from the doorway.

They turned to face Louis who was stood next to Harry, who was clutching his bear and blanket, looking sad.

"Oh. Come and sit down boys." Mark replied, as Jay composed herself.

The four of them sat on the sofa. Harry climbed onto Jay's lap, Louis sat in front of Harry.

"Harry love..." She began, taking a deep breath. "...I'm sorry, but your Mummy has gone to heaven."

Louis gasped.

Harry looked at her, confusion in his eyes. He had no idea what heaven was. Or what death was. How can you explain to a child who's only just turned three years old that they won't see their Mummy ever again? It broke Jay and Mark's hearts.

Louis took Harry's hand.

"Mummy is up in heaven. She's an angel now. All the other angels will look after her. And we want to look after you." Jay said.

She looked at her son, who wiped a tear that slowly trickled down his cheek. He understood. His Grandma died last year, but he knew what death was, unlike Harry.

"Would you like to live with us?"

Harry stared at Jay, still not understanding what was happening.

"M-Mummy." He said, before he started crying, hiding his face in his blanket. Maybe he understood after all.

Jay and Mark had wondered before if he had witnessed his Mum dying. They hoped to God that he didn't. That would be traumatic for anyone to see, but for a two year old, you couldn't imagine.

"We'll look after you Harry." Louis whispered as he put an arm around him.

*****

The police had visited a few times since they got the news of Harry's Mum.

Anne had died from multiple internal injuries and brain damage from what the police said looked like hammer blows to the skull.

The house had been searched. Bloodstains splattered up the living room walls and carpet. There were broken ornaments and a trail of blood going out into the back garden, stopping right where they could see a car had previously been parked.

That's where they found a blood covered hammer.

Jay was nearly sick when she heard this.

After the forensic team had done what they had to, Anne's body was released. Her funeral was arranged thanks to donations from people all over the country, who had heard about the tragedy and the poor boy she left behind.

Jay and Mark attended the funeral. They really weren't sure if to take Harry or not. After lots of advice, they decided to take him.

Although he didn't really understand, he still cried a lot, not wanting to leave the safety of Jay or Mark's arms.

It was the worst day any of them had ever had.

When they returned home, afterwards, Louis made sure to take care of the small boy. They cuddled in Harry's bed all afternoon. Louis reading stories and hugging Harry when he cried.

He still didn't speak. Apart from one word, 'Mummy'.

"I'm sorry about your Mummy." Louis would say. "You can share my Mummy though. And my Daddy."

Harry just sniffed and carried on crying.

Louis tried not to be too sad. He wanted to cheer Harry up, despite everything. He found it difficult sometimes, especially when Harry had a particularly hard day.

But he was always there for him, when he wasn't at school.

Harry hated it when Louis wasn't there. He would look everywhere for him, until Jay told him where Louis was. Harry didn't know what a school was though.

But whenever Louis came home from school, Harry would run to him and pull him by his hand until they got to the sofa. They would snuggle up and Louis would read to him again. It became the normal.

Harry was finally allowed to stay with the Tomlinson's for good.

To say they were all ecstatic is an understatement.

Louis jumped around cheering and clapping announcing he had a new brother.

Not quite. Harry was still being fostered. But Jay and Mark really wanted to adopt him. He needed a family. And the Tomlinson's wanted him to be a part of theirs. Fingers crossed.

*****

Hi...

So...now I've finished tastes so sweet, I will be concentrating on this book, as well as Sunflower volume 2.

Hope you're all OK? We're still waiting for a pcr test result. Praying it's negative. All the love. L. Xx

💕💕💕