To Love a Broken Heart

Chapter 18

[PLEASE VOTE]

"Come on. Come on." Louis repeated, giving the steering wheel a death grip, his knuckles turning white.

Luckily, thanks to the time of night, the streets were empty and Louis and I could drive down the road with no interruptions. My mind began to conjure horrific scenarios inside my head: I kept seeing Liam, battered and bruised, a cut down his arm and a stream of blood was trickling down his dirtied skin; Zayn lying beside him, the colour in his eyes were gone and his lips was an impassive line, showing no emotion. His skin was even bloodier than Liam and deep cuts littered his arms and legs. On his shirt, there was a dark patch, stained of his blood. And Liam was crying a melancholy lament, calling for Zayn... but he did not answer; he was dead.

I winced at my thoughts as we approached the end of the road; a red light forced us to stop and Louis slammed his fists on the steering wheel in exasperation. I leaned over and placed a hand on his shoulder, his tensed muscles soon relaxed at my touch and Louis closed his eyes and gave a deep breath.

"They'll be okay, Louis." I assured him, rubbing circles on his shoulder with my thumb. Louis kept his eyes shut for a few more seconds before giving a nod of his head and opening them.

"You're right." He replied but his voice was uncertain. I guess he was just trying to maintain his pretence of hope - it is all he has; all we have. The light turned green and Louis didn't hesitate to stamp on the pedal, making the engine of the car roar and sending us forward.

I kept my hand on his shoulder, continuing to rub circles, as we sped through a few more streets. Every house on each street was completely devoid of light, which is no surprise as it was bordering midnight and everyone would probably be asleep. Which is something I desperately need. I could feel the bags under my eyes dragging it down and signs of fatigue were evident as I could see the skin around my eyes lose colour through the side-view mirror.

We continued our travel in complete silence. Soon, we passed a field which had a playground in the middle of it, there were no lamp-posts, so everything was completely shrouded in darkness, giving the park an eerie feeling to it. But I knew the park: it's not too far away from Liam's house, so we must be close. I removed my hand from Louis' shoulder and began twiddling my own thumbs; I suddenly became nervous: I have yet to meet Alex in person and from what I've gathered so far, the guy seemed dangerous. I was certainly not looking forward to seeing him, but if it means protecting my friends then I'd be more than glad to lock horns with him.

"You okay?" Louis asked, sensing my concern. I lifted my head and looked at him, his eyes was still on the road but I could see the curiosity and concern in them.

"Yeah, just a little nervous... tis' all." I explained, shrugging my shoulders. Louis released one of his hands from the steering wheel and gently grabbed my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Don't be. I'll protect you from him, no matter what." He spoke sternly, lifting my hand to his mouth, placing a lingering kiss on it. "I won't let them hurt you... not anymore." His voice trailed off towards the end and he gave a tenuous shake of the head. "God damn it; I'm so sorry for everything I've put you through, Harry. For crying out loud, I made you want to throw yourself off a bridge!" he scolded himself, his voice was louder than usual and tears pooled in his eyes. He was thinking about what happened on the bridge and was hurting from it, I can tell.

I turned around to completely face him and began caressing his cheeks, wiping away a tear that had escaped his eyes. "Look, Louis," I began, sighing deeply. "Don't even think about that, okay. That was probably the most stupid thing I've ever done; I'm seventeen for god's sake, not a child. It was completely superfluous and I apologise for making you go through such an ordeal, but don't blame yourself. I just caused unnecessary drama." Louis' face still looked crestfallen and he didn't seem to accept what I was saying, so I leant over and placed a kiss on his cheek, causing a smile to grow on his face. "And as for you and me. That's all we need. After all this is over, we can start anew and forget about the past, okay?" I explained regarding him quizzically and Louis nodded.