Forever Young {Larry Oneshot 6000+ Words}

Age Two

“Stop,” Jay screamed, clinging to her husband’s arm. She was unaware of her two-year-old son, barely a hall over, listening to the whole thing go down. All she could think of were the blurry images of her husband trying to leave, and getting an a car accident. “Troy, stop, please. Stop, stop! Think about Louis, think about your son!”

Her four words made him pause, but after a short hesitation, Troy Austin moved out of Jay’s grasp and continued out the door. “What son?” he said in monotone, staring at Jay with a dead look in his eyes. Jay began to cry as her husband slipped out of their lives and into the rain.

“Troy!” she cried, collapsing on the ground. “Don’t do this. Don’t leave us, Troy. Troy, please, don’t leave us. Your son… Think about your son…”

“Mommy?” a small voice piped. Jay blinked and hiccupped through her sobs. She was desperately praying her son was still asleep, and that she was just imagining his tiny cries. But the thunder boom and that familiar yelp of fear brought her to her senses and she began searching for her son.

She found him pressed up against the wall, tears streaming down his face. Immediately, her only child fell into her arms and she began to comfort him as he cried. “Did the thunder scare you?” Jay cooed, fighting back her sobs. She had to be strong for her son. Without Troy, there was no one else to be strong.

“Where’s Daddy?” Louis whimpered, clinging to his mother’s hair.

She shuddered and ignored the innocent question. Instead, she gave Louis the best advice she could give to him at such a young age. “Don’t ever grow up, Louis. Stay young forever and maybe then I can protect you from the world.”

Age Five

“I want to be an astronaut!” Jack Wendy bragged, and the young children around him giggled. Ten small children sat huddled at a Doncaster park, talking about their dreams.

“Well, I want to be a nurse!” Annette Smith said, grinning. Cosette-Marie Alder smiled slightly.

“I just want to be a mum,” she said simply. A few girls around her nodded in agreement, then the boys turned to Louis.

“What about you, Louis?” they asked. Louis made a face and shook his head.

“I’m not growing up.”

Age 6

“Blackbird fly,” Louis sang loudly, skipping through the house as fast as his small feet would take him. “Blackbird fly, into the light of the dark black night!”

Jay smiled at him and he ran into her arms. She scooped him up and pulled him close, and he buried his face in her neck. “Let’s listen to it again!” Louis said excitedly, bouncing. Jay laughed and ran her fingers through his short hair. He was small for a six year old, and Jay predicted he would always be smaller than most of the boys his age.

“We need a new song, boobear,” Jay said, putting him back down. Louis whined.

“I’m not boobear anymore!” Louis complained. “And can’t we just listen to it one more time? It’s my favorite.”

“Your sister is trying to sleep,” Jay pointed out.

“I’ll sing to her!”

Jay sighed and glanced at her son, debating whether or not he could contain his excitement enough to keep his younger sister calm. She blinked and turned back to the dinner she was making. “Why don’t you go kick around the football for a bit?”