Butterfly Keeper // h.s. au

Chapter Fifty

"And today in afternoon news, the search for the infamous 'Butterfly Keeper' is still ongoing as police and detectives scour the Atlantic Ocean along the coast of North and South Carolina for this convicted murderer."

"That's right Cheryl. For those of you who haven't heard the story yet, a John State University student was caught on camera outside of a university classroom beating one of the professors to death, and removing the body after the professor is rendered unresponsive in that video. The convicted Harry Styles, originally from a small town in England, is believed to be linked to the string of murders stemming from Wisconsin and down through Illinois and Indiana, following over and up into Kentucky and Ohio."

"It's absolutely chilling, Jeff. The murders are linked by the similar Butterfly drawing scrawled onto three of the victim's wrists, therefore bringing Styles to be dubbed as the Butterfly Keeper among the public and media. It's possible that several other murders that have taken place in Wisconsin and Kentucky are linked to this case but the bodies lack the incriminating Butterfly insignia on their wrists."

"Well, Cheryl, Styles is still yet to be brought into custody after an alleged stand off between him and Detective Tomlinson on a boat taking off from Kill Devil Hills on the North Carolina side of the Outer Banks. Styles had kidnapped his girlfriend who was supposedly unaware to his-"

"Hey, turn that damn thing off." Louis barks at a nurse, his blue eyes narrowing at her as she jumps and scurries across the cafeteria floor to obey his command.

He shakes his head to himself, looking over at me after with an apologetic look on his features. He explains that he's not usually this snappy with people, but it's unnecessary. If I had a spinal fracture and a gun wound to the shoulder, I would be irritable too. And I know what he just did was for my discretion, as if I'm the one who's really hurt here.

"You're okay." I assure him, taking my apple from the table and passing it between each of my hands.

He watches me, and he's good at hiding his concern but I've learned to sense when he's anxious about how I'm feeling. I've become quite close with detective Tomlinson over the past month, going through interviews and interrogation almost as one. What happened, we went through it together. He's the only one who really gets it, and I can't seem to open up to anyone else. Courtney's tried offering to go to the movies with me, or having me over for dinner with her and Zayn. They're both trying, they really are. But I just can't find it in myself to take her up on any of the offers. It feels like just going back to normal, and since a month ago, nothing in my life has been normal.

"I was watching over you, for months. I made it my job to make sure nothing happened to you. You're a brave woman, Charlotte."

Louis had informed me three days after it all had happened. He was sitting in his hospital bed, about to go into surgery to have his spine bolted back together.

"Like a guardian angel..." I had thought to myself, but when I looked up at him and saw the weakened smile he managed through the pallid tint to his complexion, I murmured,

"Thank you." And leaned in to gently kiss his cheek.

We now sit in the hospital cafeteria together, and his progress is coming along nicely. He can hobble along with one of those rolling walkers you see old people use with the tennis balls on the metal feet. His bullet wound healed in an almost perfect little circle, and the doctors say he's recovering at record speed in the case of both injuries. I, on the other hand, only stayed in the hospital as a patient for twenty-four hours. No critical damage was inflicted on me, but the internal trauma is something else. I don't really talk about. It seems so petty, compared to all that Louis is going through. So I keep it to myself, staying silent is something that I'm good at.