Stars Leave Black Holes Behind [HS]

8

A soft knock-knock jolted her from her thoughts and she turned her view away from the window and to her door.

"Yeah?" The smiling face of her brother appeared and she smiled slightly. "Hi Lou."

"Hey V, what you up to?" He stepped into the room and Valerie shrugged. She actually hadn't been doing anything. Had just been standing by the window and watching the sky. Everything got so dark so fast in winter.

"Not much."

"Huh," Louis eyed her unopened suitcase by the door. "You putting off unpacking?" He grinned and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Something like that." Nothing like that.

Louis grinned and flopped onto her fully made bed. "So are you going to tell me what's up or not?" He questioned whilst he settled himself against the pillows.

The smile was immediately wiped off her face and she frowned.

"What?"

"Oh come on, V. You've barely said two words since you've got here, what's up?" He leaned up on his elbows and Valerie turned her back to him and squeezed her eyes closed.

"Nothing, I'm just tired," her voice didn't sound like hers.

"Come off it Val, just tell me what's been happening," he urged. Val could tell from his voice that he was worried, it was nice that he was, but she couldn't help but want to open the goddamn window and jump out of it.

Anything would be better than telling him, than hearing it out loud and making it all too real all over again.

"Honestly, Lou, I'm just tired."

"Cut the bullshit. Just tell me why you're acting strange, I-"

"I'm fine, Louis."

She remained with her back turned, she couldn't look him in the eye.

They were both silent for a while, the only noise was Delilah yapping away to her girlfriend on the phone in the next room.

Finally, he spoke. "It's Harry, isn't it?" She couldn't speak. "He's done something, hasn't he? Val, what the fuck has he done?"

The tears began streaming out of her eyes before she knew what to do and she felt her shoulders shaking and her lip started to tremble and then right there, right in that moment, Val realised she couldn't, wouldn't hold it all in. She let out a whimper that became a sob and then she slid down onto the floor, crying harder as she did.

Immediately, Louis was by her side, holding her in his arms as she cried silently into his shoulder.

__

Song: Still by The Japanese House

"Baby it's too hard, I'm too scarred."