Beautiful Scars

Moving Forward

With as much care as she could muster, Ally rolled Louis onto his back. Her stomach turned at the state he was in. But then again, her stomach turned when she saw someone get a paper cut. Ally hated blood. But she had dealt with so many worse fears tonight, that there was no way she would let that one get to her.

Determination coursed through her veins. Less than ten minutes ago, Ally had been so sure she was going to end up dead by the end of the night. Now, she was safe, with only a few cuts and bruises. But the only reason she was safe was because of the boy that lay in front of her. In the dim light, Ally could see Louis' pale face streaked with blood. One of his eyes was already bruising over and his lip was puffy. His hair was matted to his head with grime and what she hoped was not blood. Quickly, she examined the rest of his body. Bruised all over, but nothing too damaged as far as she could tell. No broken bones. But how would she know anyway? Ally was no doctor. If everything was okay, why wasn't he awake? Ally's tears began to fall again. She had no idea what she was doing. Her phone was somewhere with her jacket in the alley. But, where? Hating to leave Louis' side as she did, she knew there was better help for him than her. She began to stand up, when suddenly a voice began to speak.

"Go back to masturbating?"

Ally fell to her knees once again and stared in awe at Louis. His green eyes had opened a crack and he was staring at her with, remarkably, a smile on his face. "That was a good one." He gave a weak chuckle. Despite everything, Ally's face broke into a smile at the sound of his laugh.

"Thank God, you're alright!" She exclaimed, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"Yeah-" he began to speak again, but soon broke off into a coughing fit. Ally watched worriedly until the coughs subsided.

When it did, she said hurriedly, "Louis, I am so sorry. I can't believe I got you into this. Don't move, okay? I'm going to find my phone and then I'll call for help." She began to stand, but he stopped her again. This time, by feebly reaching out his arm and grabbing her wrist.

"No." His voice was weak and crackling, but he still held her word for word, as he always had. Carefully, he tried to pull himself into a sitting position. Every movement caused him to grimace. Immediately, Ally's arm went around his waist, helping and guiding him until his back was up against the wall. Ally kneeled before him, waiting for an explanation for why on earth she should not call for help. "You can't get the police involved in this," he spoke slowly.

"What?" Ally asked, surprised. "Louis, you need an ambulance."

 "Please." He coughed again. "I'm really not that hurt. A few bumps and bruises, but nothing major." He gave another weak smile that made Ally's heart lurch, but she still felt unsure. "My phone is still in my pocket," he said. "Can you take it out and call Harry for me? He should still be out." Louis took a deep breath as if every word pained him. Ally could tell how hard it was for him to try to look strong. "Tell him what happened and he'll agree with me," Louis continued. "Trust me."

Ally found herself nodding, believing that he knew what was best. With as little movement as possible, Louis dragged his phone from the front pocket of his pants and offered it to Ally. She took it in her hand. "Screen's cracked," she told him, showing him the phone which now had a screen that looked as if it had suffered a direct hit from a golf ball.

 Louis chuckled again. "Like I care," he said. Ally smiled. His optimism was contagious. She turned the phone on and fortunately, it lit up.

She read aloud, "Two missed calls. From Eleanor."

"Aww, shit," Louis said. He took another deep breath. "Will you text her? Tell her I won’t be able to make it tonight and I’ll explain everything later.”