Things I Can't

Chapter 26

Louis' pov

When I returned home that night, my stepfather was waiting by the door with his arms crossed over his chest. "Where were you just now Louis?" He asked, raising a quizzical brow. I gulped, feeling the sweat pool in my palms.

"Just with a friend." I answered back, my voice higher than usual. All my confidence from earlier was gone. The man stared me down, towering higher and higher over my body.

"Liar." He stated simply, and in a split second I was being towed into my bedroom by my collar and locked inside. "Your sister told me you went to that styles' boy graduation. You've purposely gone behind my back, not once, but multiple times! Not anymore. You're grounded for the rest of summer. No friends, no tv, you may stare at your wall. Maybe this will give you some time to think about your decisions." With that, he slammed the door, opening it once again, only to spit on my floor and leave.

"Well shit." I whispered, bringing my palm to my forehead. This was not how I imagined my night to go. Harry was still outside, waiting for me in the cool air. I couldn't just stand him up!

A part of me wanted to escape through the window, but the other, more safer part told me otherwise. I batteled over the choices a little, but in the end Harry's happiness won.

I stealthily tiptoed over, glancing worriedly back at the door. Ever so slightly, I lifted the window up, cringing as it scraped against the surface, creating a loud groan. If that's what I sound like when I groan, I thought, gingerly lifting one leg through the opening. Then I feel really bad for Harry.

once my whole body was through, I lowered myself onto the slanted roof, not yet brave enough to stand up. When I did finally catch my balance, I took a shakey step, repeating this motion until I found the ladder resting against the side of the house.

Going down was the hard part. More time than not, the ladder shook when I stepped, threatening to collapse from underneath me. As soon as my bare foot touched the wet ground, I let out a deep breath and did a quick victory dance. "THAT'S RIGHT WORLD!" I yelled, frightening a few birds, "I JUST CLIMBED OUT A WINDOW AND SURVIVED! BEAT THAT NINJAS!"

"Um--Louis?" An amused voice came from behind my back. I whirled around and was met by Harry, who was smirking.

"Harry!" I greeted, pulling him into my arms, "I just climbed out a window for you."

"I know." He snickered, "I saw the dance."

Harry's pov

Louis and I fell back together quickly after graduation, forgetting about Tye-- more like Louis was forgetting about Tye--for the time being. I tried multiple times to bring him up, but every time, Louis silenced me with a chaste kiss. After a few days I decided to let it go, worrying more about rebuilding our relationship than our impending doom.

Another thing that changed was the interrogations stopped, leaving us in the shadows about really happened. I internally hoped that meant they had a lead, but nobody could really be sure.

It also meant that I hadn't seen Zayn for a while. Louis was beginning to worry about his childhood friend, claiming that the murder might've had a larger effect on him than we'd expected. He came over each day more and more stressed out. I couldn't blame him, he lost someone he cared about; we all did really. Of course, Zayns words from the funeral still rung in my ear. 'I've done some things I regret Harry.' But what did that mean? Whatever it was, I hadn't told the others about it, not wanting to make a mess of things.

"Harry!" Maria called, peeking her head into my room where I was tossing a ball around. " Your husband's here for you downstairs." I rolled my eyes at her comment, telling her that i'd be right down. Against all odds, Maria had become quite fond of Louis. They met by accident the night of my graduation. Maria had caught the two of us behind my house cuddled up to each other, and despite my original thought, she hadn't said a word to my mother.