Within These Walls

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

The cool spring breeze whipped around Louis as he walked slowly down the sidewalk. His eyes glued to the ground as he watched his feet step one after the other.

It was the first time he had gone out of his way to leave the house in a week, and he could already feel the weight of his new world settling in on his shoulders.

The previous afternoon had gone by much too quickly for Louis liking and he had to say goodbye to Isaac sooner that he wanted to. While Sam's parents had been the best support Louis could have asked for, they weren't too keen on having the two boys spend the night together.

The time Louis spent in Isaac's arms though had been refreshing for him. As though the warmth of his boyfriend had recharged him slightly. However, it didn't feel like it was enough, and Louis still felt as though he was running near empty.

In their time together, Louis had promised Isaac he would make an effort to head out of the house and go see Sarah—Isaac's sister and one of Louis closest friends.

Since his Aunt Monica's funeral, Louis hadn't spoken much with Sarah—or anyone for that matter—but the lack of contact with her left an especially sour taste in Louis' mouth and made itself known by sitting uncomfortably in his heart.

The day of Monica's funeral, Louis had pushed Isaac and Sarah to tell him what had been going on with them. They had spent so long trying to ensure he had been alright, that Louis never thought to ask what was going on in their lives.

Deep down, Louis had known there was something wrong. The way Sarah carried herself and how it seemed to get worse as time went on. As though a sickness was seeping into her very being—and a sickness it was.

Leukaemia.

A battle Sarah had been fighting since before they moved into the apartment next to Louis'. Since before Louis had first heard Isaac's soft and caring voice slip through his wall to comfort him.

Louis hated himself for never asking Sarah if there was something wrong. He would love to blame in on everything else that was happening in his life at the time, but he knew it was no excuse.

He had been a bad friend.

Even in the past week after he found out, he continued to not make an effort. The occasional text message he sent to Sarah was it.

Isaac had told him the chemo was starting to have more of an impact on her recently. The low dose tablets she took every day seemed to wear on her more than they used to. Today, however, was her time to get an injection and that was where Louis was heading.

Louis had no idea what to expect once he arrived and he wasn't sure how he would handle seeing Sarah in the situation she would be in, but he knew had to do it. It was time he was there for her as she had been for him.

Isaac had told him the time to be at the building where Sarah would be getting her injection and as Louis pulled his phone out of his pocket, he let out a sigh knowing he was going to be late.

Ten-fifty-eight.

He was supposed to arrive before eleven to go inside with Sarah, but there was no way he was going to make it for that. He had been held up at Sam's house. Mainly due to the fact his brain was not allowing him to function in a manner that allowed him to get out on time.

Getting out of bed, shower, and get dressed were all a struggle. He had to force himself to do any of it, even though going to see Sarah was something he wanted to do. Even though it would do him good to see his friend and get out of the house.

His brain simply didn't want him to.

It wanted to continue to sit in the darkness and watch time swiftly pass him by and until it was good and ready to move on. Louis didn't know when that would be, though. He didn't think he would ever be ready to move on. Not fully.

So, he had to force himself to do it. To try.

He couldn't wait forever, and he knew that.

Shoving his phone back into his pocket, Louis continued down the sidewalk, moving out of the way of oncoming human traffic and stepping over any of the weird substances that somehow ended up on the pavement.

The sun beamed down on him, though there wasn't a lot of warmth to it and was relying on his grey jumper and black sweatpants to keep him warm as he marched toward his destination.

Turning a few corners and feigning a few smiles at people he accidentally made eye-contact with, Louis finally found himself standing in front of a small building tucked away in one of the side streets.

Lifeline Cancer Care.

Louis looked at the embezzled letters on the door and took in a sharp breath, feeling his heart pound in his chest.

He was not ready for this.

Standing frozen for a moment, Louis couldn't seem to bring his hand up to open the door before him, fearing the state his friend would be in once he walked inside.

On the day of Monica's funeral, Sarah hadn't look as bad as she had previously, though, Louis knew it was because of the make-up she was wearing. It was still clear by the way she looked something was wrong, but Sarah had done the best she could to cover it up.

On the other side of this door, though, would be different. She wouldn't need to hide it in the Lifeline Cancer Care centre and Louis would be faced with the full weight of what it meant for his friend to be fighting cancer.

"Sorry, excuse me." A voice behind Louis caused him to snap out of his trance and quickly turn to see who had spoken.

As he did, he saw an older man smiling gently at him, gesturing with his right hand to the door of the clinic, signally he wanted to get through.

Louis let a small grin linger on his lips as he stepped back and watched the older gentleman move forward. The man's greying hair was slicked back and the wrinkles on his face deepened as he gave Louis another smile.

Letting his eyes wander, Louis looked down at the man's left hand where a boy, no older than six, gripped it tightly. His Superman outfit looked brand new and the cape he was wearing floated gently around his body has the breeze got a hold of it.

However, the clothes weren't the only thing Louis noticed about the boy and he stared at the slightly sunken face of the child before him. His head had been freshly shaved and Louis could see his eyebrows were almost non-existent.

Louis stomach churned inside him, and he felt his whole-body quiver as the gentleman tenderly pulled the young boy in the cancer centre with him.

"You alright?" Louis heard the older man's voice again and brought his gaze up to meet his. "Are you heading in?"

The man was holding the door open and waited for Louis to respond, though Louis couldn't seem to get his voice to work as he looked back down at the boy by the man's side.

He didn't seem scared to be there and even smiled up at Louis and waved, his cape getting caught up in his arm as he did so.

The boy probably had no idea what was happening to him or why it was happening, and only understood it was the best thing for him and was going to make him better. At least, it was most likely what he had been told.

A weird feeling crept over Louis as he returned a small wave to the boy and a fleeting smile. It wasn't courage, but it was definitely some form of it.

If this small boy could go into the clinic and get poisoned pumped into his body with a smile on his face, then Louis could go in and sit with his friend to keep her company while the same thing happened to her.

"Yeah," Louis finally managed to say, glancing back at the man and moving forward, over the threshold of the clinic.

-------------------------------------------

A/N: Ah, good. The depression is settling in.

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Question:

Are you proud of Louis for taking this step?