inferno // l.s.

sixty two

"so this right here will blink red when the battery is low. you will have a charger that comes with it. if your battery dies and we lose contact on you, you could be arrested even if it were something as small as this." harry's probation officer, bridget, tapped the monitor in her hand. "you or your fiancé can call me. he has my number."

"and i thought we were cool." harry shook his head at louis.

"you're not going back, pretty boy. i hate to break your heart." louis shrugged. "we already talked about this."

"you're right." harry sighed as bridget strapped the monitor over his left ankle.

"it's water proof, so you can take a shower in it. if it still makes you skeptical, put a child's sized shower cap over it. it's set to where you can't leave your property for up to fifty feet, so about mailbox distance and back. if you step even fifty one feet ahead, it'll buzz against you and i'll get an alert."

"what else is he supposed to do while on probation?"

"when he was arrested, he took a urine test. marijuana was in his system. it's legal here, so that's not a bother, but if he were to drop and something else came up in his system — say, unprescribed narcotics or actual illegal drugs, then he can go to jail."

"harry's a recovering junkie," louis teased.

"i am not," harry scoffed. "i was drugged and hospitalized, under supervision for withdrawal treatments."

"so i shouldn't worry about it then?" bridget asked.

"no, you have nothing to worry about. it was a freak accident," louis smothered her worries softly. "we all just pick on him about it."

"got it."

"anything else i have to lecture him over?"

"attend court. please, for the love of god, go to court. if you don't show, they'll come for you with a failure to appear warrant."

"i'll take him to all of his court dates."

"with house arrest, he will have to attend it by video, but after that, he can come in the courthouse. he also has papers that he has to fill out and have sent to me at the beginning of each month, so i'll get those to you once i get this band cut."

bridget measured the band and cut it, sealing it onto the other side so harry couldn't remove it. she activated the alarm, set the house address and range, and got the documents printed off for them to take home.

"i think we're good." the officer said. "thank you, gentlemen. if you turn left, an officer will escort you to your vehicle."

the couple thanked her before leaving her office. as promised, a police officer escorted them out of the courthouse and to louis' car, where harry settled in the passenger seat.

"this is going to suck major balls."

"your fault," louis hummed as he started the car. "now suffer with my face every day."

"more like be blessed." harry leaned over to kiss his cheek. "loves you."

"loves you," louis murmured. "what do we want to eat?"

"chinese?"

"go for it."

they got home before the delivery came since harry had to be back at his documented residence as soon as possible. he found comfort in his couch, where emma was curled up on top of it.

"been a minute since i've been here," louis admitted. "except for this weekend. it's like i'm visiting all over again."

"you still haven't been here?"