Summer Love - l.s.

Chapter 9

*the next day*

"So did you kiss him?" 

"Niall, it's too early for this and my head is fucking killing me." Harry groaned as Niall jumped on his bed. "And no, we didn't kiss."

"Ugh" Naill exclaimed as he rolled back only Harry's bed. "Well at least you told him right? Now he knows you love him."

"Yeah and will probably go back to never talking to me again." Harry sighed as he rolled over to check his phone.

L: Need to talk. Im at the bridge. Lou.

Harry turned his phone to Niall.

"You need to get up! Hurry!" Niall shouted, tugging Harry out of bed. 

Harry quickly got changed and left the house to find Louis. He was secretly hoping Louis was going to confess his love and they could finally be together, but he didn't want to get his hopes up considering his recent luck in the situation. 

"Lou?" Harry said quietly at the boy who was lying on the grass, seemingly asleep.

"Haz?" Louis sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Sorry, didn't get much sleep last night."

"Look Louis, I'm really sorry about what I said last night. I didn't mean to scare you off, I just want my friend back is all. I miss you, Lou." Harry sighed with his head down.

"I have something I need to tell you" Louis said. Harry looked up to see the boy, his hands were shaking and he started to breathe heavier.

"Is everything ok?" Harry asked, placing his hand on the boy's knee. Louis smiled softly at the touch, but his smile was wiped away just as quick as it came.

"Harry, I just, there's some things I haven to told you and I think it's time I tell you." Louis rambled. Harry held onto his hand as he could see Louis shaking. He must have been really nervous to tell Harry the secret everyone had been keeping from him.

"I could never hate you." He started softly. "And I really tried to hate you. But I just couldn't."

"Why would you try to hate me?" Harry was confused, he didn't think he had done anything wrong.

"Do you remember much about my stepdad?" Louis asked. Harry shook his head. He had only met the man a handful of times over the many years of friendship the two boys had. All he knew was that he was a well-known business man and he was always working.

"Well when we were younger, he didn't quite, um, agree with our friendship. He always said we were too close and boys shouldn't act the way we did. I never really cared about what he said because he wasn't my dad so he didn't  really have any authority over me." Louis sighed.

Harry could tell Louis was nervous to say the next part so he squeezed Louis' hand tighter.

"When I turned 10, he started to hit me." Harry gasped when the words came out of Louis' mouth.

"Louis, I" Harry started.

"Just hear me out." He interrupted. "I would tell him that I didn't like you like that and we were just good friends, but he didn't believe me. He would slap me across the face, telling me that I would be going to hell and that I disgust him. I didn't want him to see me as weak, I wanted to regain the power, that's why I had you come over so often, to kind of rub you in his face."

"So you used me." Harry nudged him jokingly.

"Shh I haven't finished." Louis giggled, then went back to being serious. "He would hit me more and more but I still never followed his rules. He then decided the only way to keep me from you was to move me away so he took a job in Donny and that's why we moved."

"Louis, I didn't realise." Harry sat there in shock. "You could have told me."

"You see, I couldn't though. He was watching my messages and making sure I didn't reply to any that you sent. It got to a point where I just had to give in and obey." Louis sighed at the memory. "So by the time I was 16, I started to sleep around, brought home a new girl every night just to try and please him, but that wasn't enough. Then I was a disappointment because I couldn't commit to one girl. I just didn't have that connection with any of them, the connection that you and me had."

Harry looked at Louis sorrowfully. He felt a sense of guilt, as if it was his fault all of this happened. It kind of was his fault in some way.

"When I moved away for college, I finally thought it would be over and end wouldn't be able to hurt me again. I felt free for the first time in my life. I met this guy, Daniel, and we dated for a while. It was getting quite serious so I took him home to introduce him to my mum."

Harry started to feel jealous as Louis told the story. He didn't  want to picture Louis with anyone else other than himself.

"I wasn't expecting my stepdad to be there when we arrived. I thought he was going to be at work, but he wasn't. He was drunk and got so mad when he saw me and Daniel. He started screaming and he hit me really hard. It knocked me out and my mum couldn't believe it. I was taken to hospital with a concussion and the police arrested him for assault. Not long after, mum left him and moved the girls back here." Louis stopped for a second. "So part of me always blamed you for him treating me that way, it had nothing to do with you. All I wanted was for him to stop so I tried hating you because I thought you were the problem, when really it was him. I couldn't stop thinking about you Harry. I've missed you so much." 

Harry pulled Louis in for a tight hug, tears streaming down his face. Louis wrapped his arms around Harry's back for the first time in many years. Harry felt himself relax in Louis' arms and wished he could do this more often.

"Basically what I'm trying to say to you is that I love you too."