Ready to Run

Chapter 29

Louis starts to feel the exhaustion after having cried for a good hour in his mother's arms so he decides to go to bed. His mum did not press further and did not ask too many questions, which Louis is grateful for. He is also glad his sisters were not there to witness his breakdown. Especially since Lottie is invested, she would ask many questions Louis is not willing to answer yet.

Unfortunately for Louis he is not able to get an ounce of sleep. Something is missing. Someone is missing. The warmth of a body pressed to his chest, the tingling feeling of curly hair brushing against Louis' neck or legs tangling together through the night is missing. Louis lays awake, staring at the ceiling for an hour, unable to fall asleep.

Thankfully, at some point during his sorrow, Louis' sisters barge in his room, happy to see him again. They jump on his bed, cuddling him and screaming cheerfully. Louis only counts three of them though: Fizzy, Phoebe and Daisy.

He hugs them back and looks around the room, only to see Lottie leaning on the doorframe with her arms crossed. She looks at him with a worried look and Louis knows she waits for the girls to leave so she can talk to him. But Louis had enough for today, or for the week, so he will just tell her he will talk about it later.

His sisters eagerly start telling him about what he missed while he was away. They tell him that Phoebe fell off her bike and it was funny, except Phoebe was hurting so they had to put a bandage on her knee. But in the end she was fine and they laughed about it because it was a stupid fall. Louis listens to them happily, laughing along and sometimes making a funny comment. Though he cannot help but notice how Lottie did not once participate in the conversion and how she looked at him almost all the time. She stands unmoving against the doorframe and Louis meets her eyes.

"Hey, girls, what about you go help mum make dinner? I have to talk to Lottie." He says, nodding to her. "She looks grumpy." He tells them and they chuckle before leaving.

Once the little girls are out, Lottie comes in silently, closing the door behind herself. She walks to the bed and sits crossed legged next to Louis. She studies him for a beat then tilts her head.

"You've been crying." She states more than asks. Louis looks away from her intent gaze, feeling uncomfortable to talk about the reason he has been crying. He knows Lottie would get angry if she knew what happened.

"I have." He just agrees, hiding his hands under his thighs. It is a thing he tends to do when he is uncomfortable or does not know what to do with his hands.

"Why?" She asks. Somehow Louis feels like she knows what happened. He knows it is not possible, but still. Lottie's face remains impassive, which stresses Louis out even more.

"I don't want to talk about it yet?" He tries but he doubts Lottie will take any of it. He is surprised when Lottie reaches and hugs him. He widens his eyes a little -they don't really hug often, even if they are extremely close- but embraces her back.

"It's okay." She tells him and Louis closes his eyes and enjoys the hug before smiling and pushing her away.

"Ew, when did you get so soft." He wrinkles his nose in mock distaste and she rolls her eyes, smiling.

"Ha, ha." She says but she is blushing a little. Louis decides to annoy her.

"What's that I see?" He inquires, looking closer. "Are you blushing?"

"No, I am not." She counters but she so is. Even more now that he pointed it out.

"Whatever, tell me what you had to tell me over the phone." He tells her impatiently. Also, he kind of wants to avoid any possibilities for his mind to wander to Harry and his face when he crumbled in the car earlier.