Within These Walls

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

"How's Sarah?" Louis asked, letting his own thumb wander over the back of Isaac's hand. "She hasn't really been saying much over texts."

The passing of Louis' aunt wasn't the only dark cloud hanging over the two boys. Sarah, Isaac's sister and Louis' close friend had been battling with leukemia for some time—a fact Louis had only recently learned about.

There was a part of him that always knew there was something wrong, though he never asked. He never said anything and that same part which knew, hated him for it.

The constant tiredness Sarah had showcased and the days off school which seemed to pile up. Her skin growing paler with each day and her face becoming more drawn and sunken as the months went on.

He kept telling himself that he should've asked. He should've said something. He had been so caught up in his own life and everything going on within it, he didn't seem to question what was going on in anyone else's.

Even Isaac's.

It killed Louis to know Isaac and his sister had been struggling a silent battle all while having to deal with what Louis was going through and be his shoulders to cry on.

It made him feel worse about how he was acting now. Even after knowing everything and being let in on what was happening, he still couldn't bring himself to the friend that was there for them.

To be their shoulder to cry on.

He hated he couldn't be the boyfriend that Isaac had been for him.

"She's... hanging in there. Chemo is kinda taking its toll," Isaac answered in a low voice, letting his eyes fall to his and Louis' hand. "Shereally wanted you to come out and see her tomorrow when she goes in."

"At the chemo place?" Louis asked, and Isaac nodded.

"It gets boring there. And depressing. She said you'd make it less so." Isaac let out a small chuckle, and Louis let a smile grace his lips.

"Maybe I could make a trip in," Louis said before letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry I've been—" he started, but Isaac shushed him.

"Don't do that. You don't have to be sorry for dealing with grief. And... everything else," Isaac added, and Louis knew his mind had gone to the future.

While the grief of losing his last living relative had definitely hit home for Louis, it wasn't the only thing causing him to withdraw into the walls he had meticulously built up around him.

The state of his entire future was up in the air, and he didn't know what to start grabbing at first to pull back down to the Earth.

His living arrangement was one of the things he was most concerned about. Sam's family had graciously offered their spare room to Louis to stay in for as long as he needed, but he couldn't stay there forever. The apartment he and his aunt had lived in was now his responsibility and he had no idea how he was going to afford it on his own.

He knew the contract of the lease still have a few months left and there was a chance of him being taken to court if he didn't pay the rent which was due for it. If he couldn't afford the rent, there was no way he'd be able to afford going to court.

This also gave him plenty to worry about when it came to his school life. For the past two weeks he hadn't been attending, which he wasn't too worried about. He was at the top of his classes, of course. However, in order to earn the money needed to pay his rent, he would need to work a lot more, which would mean the possibility of dropping out of his final year of school to get a new job.