Broken

Chapter 2 - I Guess

   Eleanor's POV.

   The heavy ran dampened the concrete pavement as I walked home. My head swam with thoughts of the day's events.  Louis' odd behavior. His hug in the library. James' cruel words afterwards. Everything was just so jumbled and messed up. Well, except for James. He always spoke that way to me. No matter what I did to try and please him, he was always heartless. There's no other word for it.

   I remember the last time he beat me. He had come home drunk with some random chick attached to his lips. They were equally plastered and didn't even realize I was sitting on the couch, watching television. It's easy to say that I was disappointed and maybe even a little heartbroken. I know he didn't love me the way I want to be loved, but I didn't think he would cheat on me so openly. He didn't even try to hide it. I stayed awake all that night listening to their noise, unable to sleep. Honestly, you'd think that they were caged animals up there. The sounds they were making didn't sound at all human. 

   A loud laugh broke me from my thoughts. I hadn't realized the rain stopped until then. A light fog started to fall over the streets of London. Not enough to block the view of my surroundings, but enough to blur it slightly. Another joyful laugh echoed through the silence, drowning out the chirping of the birds. My eyes scanned the houses around me. Suddenly I see Louis and a curly haired boy I recognize from school. Harry, I think. They were walking and laughing happily. I couldn't help but realize Louis' relaxed attitude around this boy. It makes me realize how different he acts at school. He's so reserved and serious, only ever smiling around his friends. I don't think I've ever heard him laugh for real. Sure, I've heard him laugh at me when he pulled his petty pranks. Like the one time he filled my locker with bull frogs. But I've never heard him laugh for something that's genuinely funny and not at someone else's expense.

    I watched quietly for a few more minutes until they entered a house at the end of my street. One of them must live really close to me. 

   Finally I arrived at my familiar red brick, single car garage townhouse. The white window frames and grey shingled roofing gave it a warm homey feel. I quickly stepped up the front porch steps and clipped my keys off of my backpack. The second the door swung open I could tell something was wrong. My suspicions were confirmed the second I walked into the living room. My mother was sitting on the couch, sipping tea and talking to the boy on the couch opposite to her. I stood in silence as he slowly lowered the tea cup from his lips and placed it on the table. He must have heard me enter the room because he turned and immediately met my eyes.

   "Hello love," James murmured with a smile, "I'm taking you out tonight."

~*~

   Louis' POV.

   "I just don't understand what you're getting so working up about, Boo." Harry muttered as he slipped a disk into the x-box.

   "You didn't see what he was doing to her." I grumbled from my spot on Harry's bed, "It was awful."

   I shuddered at the mere thought and I know Harry noticed because he instantly sat on the bed next to me, wrapping me into his warm embrace. I instinctively leaned into his chest and rested my head on his shoulder. Harry always made me feel better, he was always there when I needed him. We've only been best friends since I was 6 years old, he was 3. Even though he was half my age, he was always the one who stood up for me against the bullies at the play ground. He was always the one to make me feel better when I was upset.

   "I'm sure it was, Lou." he murmured into my hair.

   "But the worst thing is," I suddenly say loudly, "I didn't do anything about it. I didn't even try to stop him."