Songbird [H.S]

SEVENTEEN

By the time Louis reached Harry's house, Anne had helped clean Marley up and gotten her settled under her a soft blanket on Harry's bed. She knew there wasn't enough time for her to get some sleep before her brother arrived but she was exhausted and it felt nice to finally get some rest. The overwhelming sensation of guilt and embarrassment consumed her as she remained alone in the room, her mind confronting her with all the harsh things she'd accidentally snapped at her boyfriend. She knew he was only trying to help but she'd let her embarrassment and frustration take over and he was, unfortunately, the one who had to deal with it.

To make things worse, Anne had heard everything she'd yelled at Harry and while she reassured Marley that everything would be forgotten about tomorrow morning, the teenager still felt horrible for how she reacted. Thinking about it now, Harry was actually being very sweet in the way he cared for her, getting her drinks and always holding her hair back. He was such a loving soul and she'd been shutting him out because of her own insecurities.

Since she'd been curled up alone in Harry's room, the boy had chosen to give her some space. Perhaps it was because Harry also needed a break from her to prevent himself from snapping at her again. Muffled conversation drifted up the stairs, indistinguishable but undoubtedly about her - she knew for a fact Niall had something to say about her and wasn't going to hold back despite her being in the house. As a distraction, she let her mind wander to think about her baby, allowing herself to slip into a peaceful daydream where she was bouncing a six-month-old on her hip while singing them nursery rhymes. Recently, all her childish fantasies about growing a family had manifested themselves into dreams while she slept.

A soft knock on the door snapped her back into the present day, the blonde's brother quietly entering the room with a sympathetic smile tugging at his lips. The sounds of Harry and his brother arguing downstairs grew louder for a brief moment with her name being thrown about angrily by Niall but Louis was very quick to shut the door behind him to save her from hearing whatever they were saying about her.

"Hey, kid. How you feeling?" He asked softly, carefully approaching her and settling himself down to sit at the end of the bed.

Marley frowned a little as she noticed her brother's appearance. His usually scraggy hair had been neatly combed and styled into a smart quiff atop his head. Additionally, his usual dirty overalls and oil-stained shirts had been swapped in place of a fancy black button-down, wide-leg denim trousers and his beloved leather jacket. It was a rare occasion the girl ever saw her brother taking such care over his appearance and the fact he was no longer in his scraggy work clothes meant only one thing.

"You were on a date?" Not only had she been unnecessarily rude to Harry but she'd also ruined the one rare night Louis had decided to take for himself. An immense amount of guilt hit her, wondering if her brother was angry at her just like Harry was.

"It's alright, he understood why I had to leave." Her brother smiled reassuringly as he slid off his leather combat boots. His casual tone surprised Marley considering how much of a hard time her brother had been having with his sexuality recently.

Marley and Rain were the only ones in the Tomlinson family that knew Louis wasn't straight. The three siblings could trust each other with anything and Louis always leaned on his sisters for support when there was something he needed to get off his chest. It all started when Louis reached his twenties and  started acting strangely - his temper was very short, he was much quieter than usual and he started to distance himself from the rest of the family. His parents barely noticed but his sisters immediately understood their brother was struggling with something and carefully approached the subject to show they were there for him when he was ready. It took a few months but the man eventually opened up and revealed his confusion over his sexuality in a very vulnerable conversation where all three of them shed some tears and hugged each other lovingly the entire time.