F E I G N E D | elounor

~ f o r t y o n e ~

~ E L E A N O R ~

I woke up to the feeling of something warm and wet touching my face. My eyes slowly began to open as I slowly began to awake, and felt something soft brush my cheek. I opened my eyes fully and saw my new puppy greeting me with morning kisses.

". . .hey you. . ." I whispered struggling to get the words out of my mouth because my throat was so dry. I cleared my throat and coughed.

I heard something in the room move and before I knew it, a very concerned yet angry looking Louis was at my bedside already ready to aid me with a glass of water and medicine for the throbbing hangover pain in my head.

"You're awake finally." He said, not making eye contact with me and giving me the glass before sitting on the edge of the bed next to me. I looked at the clock and saw it was almost one in the afternoon.

"Thank you." Was all I could say. Was he mad at me? What happened?

We sat in an awkward silence as I popped the small white pill in my mouth and swallowed with water. I set the glass on my nightstand and held my forehead with my hand as if it would stop the pain, while petting Bruce with the other. Bruce kept trying to play with Louis but Louis ignored him.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"How could you not tell me?" He asked, his face and voice like stone. He still stared at the wall.

My head dropped a little as memories of last night started coming back to me like puzzle pieces, scattered. Josh, Harry, Louis. . .oh my gosh. I was speechless.

"Oh my God. . ." I whispered under my breath, but he heard.

"How the fuck could you not tell me that it was fucking Josh that harassed you that night? How? HOW?!" He asked, now yelling and standing facing me. He looked beyond pissed, I felt frozen scared to move or speak.

"L-Louis, I'm s-sorry—" I stumbled over my words unsure of what to say.

"What the hell, Eleanor?! You let that fuck take my place in the office knowing what he's done?! You let him make me look stupid!!!! He fucking attacked you!!!!" He yelled, and hit the air.

My eyes began to water. "Louis, I'm sorry. Things between u-us weren't the way they are now, and I didn't want to cause any more problems for you." I said through gasps of air.

He scoffed, and gave a fake laugh. "A problem? A problem?! Eleanor, you're the furthest thing from a problem!!! I spoke to him in the office!!! At the club!!! Last night!!! I was civil with him and he played along!!"

"He threatened to tell people the marriage was fake!! I didn't know what to do! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I made you look stupid at work! I'm sorry he took your place!" I said, small tears escaping my eyes. I looked down shamefully.

"I'm not mad that you made me look stupid in the work place! I'm beyond pissed off that I was nice to that guy when he harassed MY WIFE!! I would've put that fucker in his place if I had known sooner!!! You're my responsibility Eleanor!!! You're my wife!! It's my job to protect you, and I failed you and I'm sorry." He started off yelling but his voice started failing near the end. He looked mad at himself now.

He shook his head looking at the ground.

He was worried about me? Me?

"And on top of that you made Harry keep that secret and now I feel like everyone just thinks I'm a bad husband that can't do his job properly. But I can." He stressed those last words, and finally looked at me with a guilty expression.

"What?" I breathed out. My heart dropped at the sound of Harry's name as I remembered what happened with him last night.

Did Louis get mad at him? Where was he? Did he just leave? Would he say goodbye to me before he left??

Louis sighed and sat back down on the edge of the bed.

"I know how this marriage started off. . .but whether it's fake or not it's still my job to take care of you. Provide for you. Make sure you're happy. And that's all I want to be able to do, Eleanor. I know I was a fuck up before, but I really want to prove to not only the world but to you that I can be that guy." He urged, and my cheeks began to feel hot.

I was fighting everything within me not to smile.

"You should've told me Eleanor, you really should've. I don't care what the hell he threatened you with. It wouldn't have happened." Louis said, giving me a disappointed look.

"What happened?" I asked, still feeling a little lost. "Harry?" I asked.

Louis rolled his eyes. "I was pissed he didn't tell me but he seemed just as upset with Josh as I was." He said, and a little panic occurred in me when I saw him make a confused face at that.

"Did you fire him?" I asked, sucking on a breath afraid of the possibility that he'd say yes.

"No."

I relaxed and my shoulders dropped.

"We almost killed him last night, Eleanor. I was ready to punch his face in the ground when I found out it was him that did that to you that night. People around stopped me, and you passed out and you were throwing up the whole way home and crying. You even cried Harry's name a few times." Louis said, a hint of question in his tone.

It felt like I stopped breathing. I did?

"He's um. . .he just does his job well, we've grown to be friends from him following me around so much." I said nervously.

"Yeah well, maybe he does his job a little too well." Louis complained but seemed to let it go.

"And Josh?"

"Josh was taken to the hospital but he was fine and left later that night. I filed a police report about him and I'm making sure his ass is fired and never getting a job anywhere else. But I swear to God Eleanor if I ever run into that ugly ass again I'll—"

Just when Louis was getting worked up again, I placed my hand on his shoulder and could immediately feel his muscles relax at my touch. He stopped his words and let out a sigh, and looked to me. Now his eyes were soft and I couldn't help but smile.

"You won't." I promised him.

We held eye contact.

For a moment it seemed like all the bad things in the world had disappeared.

All the emotions, the anxiety, anger, confusion all seemed to melt away at each other's touch. It's like you felt nothing but peace looking into each other's eyes.

I couldn't help but note how close our faces were now. I don't even remember how they got that close. It seemed like only seconds ago he was sitting straight and now his face was inches away from mine. Would he lean in?

Louis pulled back, and I couldn't help but feel disappointed. All too soon the emotions came flooding back.

"Please no more secrets." Louis looked to me with begging eyes. "I don't want this to happen again, I don't want to have to want to kill someone again. So please, if there's anything else just say it."

I froze.

Harry.

Louis looked to me waiting for a response, and suddenly I was fighting between my head and my heart about what my next move should be.

How do I tell Louis that the body guard he hired for me is my ex lover? A wave of anxiety began to take over me. Keeping this secret about Harry has felt like a weight on my shoulders. I've wanted to tell Louis so many times, but Louis was so upset right now would it even be a good time to tell him now?

Ugh, Eleanor just tell him. Get everything out on the table. No more lies, no more secrets.

"Well?" Louis asked.

"Well. . ."

This was it.