Broken Bonds and Stolen Hearts (discontinued)

Chapter 4

After that day, Louis never bothered to ask for help again. He started to do what he was told, figuring it was the best way for him to gain the favor of those who were around him. Even when it all felt so terribly wrong, he didn't know what else to do.

His mother refused to read the note to him, she refused to say what Kevin had told her. Sometimes at night when Louis was unable to sleep, he would roam the corridors to tire himself out. And he would hear his mother's sobs coming from her room. Many times, he wanted to go to her and comfort her, but he was scared that it would be wrong.

After all, his friend died because Louis tried to help him. He didn't want his mother to die because of him too. He didn't want Hugo to suffer because of him.

He swore deep down that one day, he would leave this damned place and take his mother and brother with him. As long as all of them were alive, there will be a way. He just had to be patient and obedient for now.

But at the end of the day, Louis was just a child. And there's only so much a person can do with whatever information they have, which is very limited for an eight years old child who was born in a place like this.

There were a lot of things that Louis was unaware of. Many hidden truths and many lies in these books he read at night when he couldn't sleep. It all confused him more instead of guiding him, but he refused to seek help. He didn't want to get into trouble.

During the time he stayed with his mother and brother, his bond grew stronger with Hugo. Louis tried his best to be a safe space for Hugo, he wanted to be the person he needed, and he knew his mother might not be capable of doing that for them.

Often he would steal dates and give them to Hugo, who would be hiding under the bed as the two of them ate whatever they had, that wasn't human remains. He would steal empty papers and random pens for Hugo because it made him happy to see his little brother draw happily.

And often, Hugo would get into trouble for acting like a spoiled brat. A lot of the time Louis would be there to shield his little brother from the whip. It was very painful, but Louis never cried in front of Hugo. He wanted to show him that he could rely on him... Even when he would bawl his eyes out in the bathroom from the burning pain when no one was watching.

But even after all that, Hugo would sometimes get in trouble when Louis wasn't around to protect him. And Louis would only know because he would accidentally spot some bruises on his brother's arms.

At first, it made him very angry, and he would snap at Hugo and scold him. But once Hugo starts crying, he would stop. He would realize that what he was doing wasn't very different from how others reacted to him when he was in pain. It wasn't right, and so he would try to change it. He would try to be more careful with his words and watch his reactions.

Instead of scolding his little brother, he would hold him and tell him it would be okay. Even when he knew it wouldn't. He still wanted his brother to feel better anyways.

A few months later, Kevin came to take him back. This time Hugo was on the list as well, which made their mother even more heartbroken than she was when Louis was sent the first time.

"No matter what, always listen to those older than you, okay? Make your Mom proud, alright?" her speech was mostly directed at Hugo, with a few spared glances in Louis's direction.

"Okie!" Hugo chimed, and it made Louis feel bad for him. He had no idea what he was about to face.

Their mother knelt and hugged Hugo tightly before she looked at Louis and motioned for him to come as well. Trapping the two little boys in a bear hug. They stayed like that for a while, but when they stopped hugging, their mother quickly stood up and faced the other way while using her sleeves to wipe her tears away.

"Oh... One more thing," She smiled at the two boys and whispered.

"No matter what happens. I will always love you two. Don't forget that," She kissed their cheeks before Kevin ushered for them to move.

"They better be good this time Elina. Especially him," He gestured at Louis as he spoke.

"Don't worry, he will be good. Won't you sweetheart?" Elina, their mother responded, pointing the last question at Louis.

"Yeah. I will. I learned my lesson," Louis responded as coldly as he could, trying to be as emotionless as he could be.

"Good. Let's go then, there's a lot of shit to do and we are short on people," Kevin went ahead, and Louis grabbed Hugo's hand and followed after him, but not before throwing his mother a quick glance.

There wasn't much interaction on this journey, a couple of questions here and there, and this time, Louis made sure to answer all of them.

Hugo was looking wide-eyed at the area they passed by, since this was his first time away from their mother and out in the open. It was hard to hold back his curiosity, and Louis understood that perfectly because he did the exact same thing. Only he was beaten and scolded when he tried to run off. Hugo won't be able to do that because of Louis's iron grip on his hand.

They reached the other settlement with no issues, and no Hugos getting scolded or beaten. Louis knew his way around, and he begged Kevin to let Hugo be with him all the time, promising he would teach him well. It didn't take much to convince him since there were only two rooms for the kids.

The kid who used to bully Louis apparently sneaked out once at night and got shredded to pieces by the monsters outside alongside a few other kids. This caused a big issue for the traffickers since they were already short on people, and now they had to start training kids even younger than the previous generations. Which explains why Hugo went with Louis this time.

Perhaps it was wrong to say... It was wrong, but Louis was glad that Charlie wasn't there anymore. He won't have to worry about Hugo getting picked on by other kids now since whoever was left was nice as far as Louis knew.