Devil in Your Smile

Chapter 20, Contagion I Exhale you

LOUIS POV

I park in an empty space, leaving my car on for Clifford and Princess and cracking the window to keep airflow. I feel guilty about it, but I can't just walk into a bank with them, right? I lock the doors and head towards the entrance of the big building, getting my information ready as I do so. When I walk in, I'm met with the bustling noises of a bank, people talking on phones and the Tellers talking to customers. The building is colder than outside, and the wave of air flows over me and makes me shiver a bit. Breathing in the stale air, I step into the shortest line. I get my I.D out, grabbing a withdrawal slip and a pen from the small desk next to me. After filling it out, I stand in line and wait for my turn. I check the time, seeing that I've only been here for under ten minutes, and I still have about forty minutes until I have to meet Oli. I stare at the floor, going through my plan in my head and going over every possible scenario. I get lost for a bit, until "Sir? I'm ready to help you now." I shuffle closer to the counter and set the paper down along with my drivers license and social security card. The lady slides them towards her, picking them up and reading them. She begins to type the information into her computer when she says "Alright Mr. Austin, you're all set, I just need to ask you a few security questions before we get you your money. Can you tell me your account number, date of birth, and confirm your social security number for me?" After I give the information that I've had memorized for two years, she nods and stands up, sliding my things back to me as she does so. She comes back with two paper bags, smiling at me as she does. "You requested Hundreds so it looks like a lot less than it is. Do you need anything else, or will that be it today?" After thanking her, I take the bags and exit the building. Once I'm back in my car, I look up the name of the next bank location and make my way there. I drive to the next three locations like this, going inside and withdrawing $9000 each time. Once I've got enough, I start my journey to the run down cafe that I love so much.

3RD PERSON

Louis pulls into the parking lot, parking behind the dark blue Toyota that he recognizes as Oli's. He grabs Princess' harness from the back seat's storage pocket, forcing it onto her and clipping the leash to the loop on her back. Next, he grabs Cliffords vest from the same pocket, putting it on him and making sure that SERVICE DOG can be seen clearly from both sides. Once his animals are ready, he digs through his glove box and finds his emergency makeup bag, pulling eyeliner and mascara out along with tinted lip gloss. He flips his visor down to look in the mirror, regretting it as soon as he does. He looks tired, like he's aged ten years in the last few days or like he's been crying. He feels like all of those are true, but he ignores them in favor of making himself feel pretty again. He puts on a small amount of eyeliner, trying to keep his hands from shaking as he does so. Once it looks decent enough, he moves on to mascara, and then lipgloss. The smell of artificial strawberry hits his nose as the gloss tints his lips red, and he steps out of the car once he feels he looks good enough. He walks across the bare parking lot with Clifford and Princess following on their leads. He spots Oli, wearing a deep purple sweater and jeans, sitting in the outdoor dining area. He's typing on his computer, but the large duffle bag on the ground next to his feet tells Louis that everything is going well. He taps Oli on the shoulder making him jump and whip his head around to see who touched him. He relaxes when he sees who it is, until he remembers how panicked Louis was on the phone, and then he starts worrying. "Louis! What happened? Where were you? Why do you need the bag?"