Within These Walls

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

The weekend came and went without any other incident, though it may have been because Louis remained in his room for the majority of it. Sam has also been keeping his distance since their talk in the cemetery. Their friendship has shifted into a new territory, and the both of them were cautious about it.

Although Louis had been afraid of the change and how different his friendship with Sam may be, he couldn't deny it made him feel better, albeit only a little bit, sharing some of the weight he was feeling. He knew he still had a long way to go, though. So much more ground to make and many more walls to bring down, but it was a start.

Sadly, Isaac hadn't been able to visit Louis due to Sarah continuing to feel ill, and Louis wasn't holding out any hope he would see her at school, which was where he sat now.

Slumping down in the passenger seat of Sam's car alone.

As they had pulled into a parking spot, Sam had thrown Louis his keys and told him to lock the car after he got out. Louis hadn't stayed in the car because he wasn't ready to deal with school again; after all it was only his second day back after everything had happened. While it wasn't his greatest desire to walk in there and have to interact with other human beings, Louis was staying in the gentle silence of the jeep to make a phone call.

One he should have made a week ago.

"I was just thinking about you," Kara's voice rang in Louis' ear like his favourite song, and a smile tugged at his lips.

"Good things, I hope," Louis said, cursing at himself for not reaching out to Kara sooner. "Though, not too good. I don't need you thinking about me without any clothes on."

"You wished I thought about you like that." Kara scoffed and Louis rolled his eyes. "You radio-silenced me, you been doing okay?"

Louis pondered Kara's question for a moment, letting silence sit between them. Of course, he hadn't been doing okay, and he knew Kara was aware of that, so he appreciated she was giving him the choice to open up to her or not.

He certainly considered it. He always had. Kara had been there from the start for him. When Louis' parents died, Kara was there and saw how hard Louis fell. She witnessed him building the walls around him and felt him pushing her away.

She fought it. Making sure Louis wasn't alone, though her approach was different to Sam's. She never tried to get Louis to tell her what was going on in his head or force him to let her know how he was feeling.

Instead, Kara made Louis laugh when he didn't think he'd be able to. She got him to start telling jokes again and brought a spark back to his eyes.

It wasn't until after some time had passed, she tried to get an insight into Louis mind. To ask him if he was truly okay behind the mask she had help him build up. Though, by then, her family had moved away, and Louis was left with his aunt, with no other place he could go when things got bad.

Louis didn't want Kara to feel bad for having to move away, so he never told her how he really felt. He didn't want her to worry that her family leaving effected Louis more than he wanted to admit, so he never took his mask off for her.

He often wondered if anything would be different if she stayed. If her family had never packed up and moved across the country. Would Louis have brought his walls back down for her? Would he be more willing to let other people in now?

No answer ever came to Louis, and he thought it was for the best. He did enough wishful thinking about what his life could have been, he couldn't keep adding to it. He knew it would only end his mind down a path he didn't want it to, making things worse.