Park Benches (EDITING)

seven

seven

 

Louis POV

            I had no excuse to lie to Charlotte, but I did it anyways. I was parked outside a café, waiting for Eleanor, not with the boys. My hands were stressfully clenched tight around the steering wheel, but relaxed when I heard a knock against the window. Eleanor was standing at the passenger door with a smile; I hastily reached over and unlocked the door, helping her in. We sat wordlessly for a  few moments; I couldn’t find my voice. “I’m sorry,” she blurted out in a fearful manner.

            My head slowly shifted to look at her, she seemed distressed. “It’s okay,” I eased her, rubbing her hand.

            Eleanor gave me the puppy dog pout I adored, “No, it’s not. I feel terrible; I completely lost track of...I forgot, okay.” Embarrassed, she sunk back in her seat, biting her lip.

            “It’s alright, I don’t mind at all.” My tone was exceedingly soft and pleasant, which caused her to give me a perplexed expression.

            “I-,” My voice caught in the back of my throat. I didn’t think I should admit I spent the day with Charlotte. Would that make Eleanor mad? Jealous even? The lump in my throat wouldn’t budge, especially with Eleanor starring me down. 

            “Louis, are you alright?” She leaned in towards me, pressing the cool palm of her hand to my flushed cheek. One side of her cheek sucked in and I knew she was biting her cheek, as she always did when she was thinking strongly about something.

            “I thought you broke that habit,” I averted the subject of today, causing her to retract her hand.

            “I didn’t even notice,” she pressed out a laugh, “Do you think you could drop me home?” Her eyes widened, saying please.

            “Why don’t you just stay at my place again?” The engine started up with a roar as I twisted the keys.

            “Oh, I just think that, um, I should actually get a real night’s sleep; I have an exam tomorrow. You snore loudly, you know,” she chuckled.

            “Alright,” My foot pressed against the pedals, hurling us towards her flat.

            Out of the corner of my eye I saw her twist towards the back seat, searching for something. She slid a CD in and let the tracks play, “Happy Anniversary…I think!” My voice boomed through the speakers.

         I exchanged glances with her; she was playing the mix tape I made her from the longest time ago. One of my hands released the steering wheel and took hers, interlacing our fingers. Slow piano began to flow from the speakers, calming me. “I love you,” she whispered, more towards herself than to me, and began rubbing her thumb against the back of my hand.

        “I love you,” I whispered back, staying quiet for the rest of the way to the flat, letting the music speak for me.

 -

        I walked Eleanor all the way up to her door, where she stood uncomfortably, unsure of what to do. I leaned up against the door, smiling down at her. “Louis! I’m sorry alright! Please don’t act like everything is okay! I can’t take it! Yell at me!” She broke down, throwing herself into my arms. I was pushed back to the wall by her force, but I didn’t really care. I squeezed her fragile body in my arms, letting her sob into my shirt.