Pretty Dolly - Complete | L.S

11

"Mum?" Louis, who was sitting glumly in front of the television, same chair Harry had been sitting on hours ago, turned to face his eldest daughter.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" Louis' voice cracked at that.

"I heard the TV." Louis watches as Charlie walks up to him.

"Well, I'm sorry I woke you." Louis pauses, motioning for Charlie to sit with him. "Come here."

"You look sad. Do you want me to sing to you like you do when I'm sad?" Louis pauses, holding in his tears."

"I think if you did that, I just might fall apart. You're sweet, though." Louis admits, holding his daughter close.

"Then should I go back to bed?" To be honest, she should. She has school tomorrow, she had been at grandmas all day... but Louis just wants someone to hold him.

"In a minute."

---

"Do you think they're gonna let me wear makeup in jail?" Louis asked his lawyer, and close friend, Zayn Malik.

The man sighed, trying to make a joke; "I'll try to smuggle you some."

"Thank you for helping me," Louis admits, slouching in his chair.

"I'm your friend."

"I haven't been a very good friend lately," Louis admits.

"What's your mum say about all this?" Zayn questions.

" She says, and I quote; It's the reason you have more than one kid. So you can ditch the screw-ups." Louis smiles slightly at that.

"That sounds like your mum." Zayn returns the smile before continuing, "All right, let's get down to business. It seems this whole thing was orchestrated by the mayor's re-election team. They're trying to position her as the champion of traditional values." Zayn speaks slowly so Louis will understand.

"How did she even find out about us?"

"Know someone by the name of Emma Hollings?" Zayn raises his eyebrows.

"Oh, my God." Louis' mouth falls open into an 'O' shape.

"She went to some religious group. Christian Fellowship Lodge. That's it. She found a lot of old people with time on their hands and cell phones. They bombarded the police with calls; they got nowhere. Took it to city hall, where the mayor decided it was divine intervention."

Louis feels awful.

"I sent her there. This is all my fault."

Zayn bites his lip.

"They're looking to charge you with felony promotion of prostitution and possession of cocaine. You're looking at two years."

He hates to be the one to tell Louis the bad news.

"Oh, my God." The idea of not seeing his kids in two years... it tears him apart.

"Are you still using?"

"No. Never again. I feel like dog crap." Louis admits.

"Well, you're gonna feel agitated, depressed. I mean, the works for a few months, and then, honestly, periodic cravings for the ten next years."

"Guess the first two years will be while I'm in jail."

Zayn pats Louis' back sadly. "I hope not Lou I will do everything I can as your defence lawyer."

---

"Mum, are you gonna die?" Asks Louis' four year old.

The lead up to Louis' trial date has been hard. Harry never looking at him. Not speaking to him. The kids not understanding why mummy was on television. Now, Louis was saying goodbye; the kids were going to live with their relatives in London until Louis' court case was over.

"No. No, I'm gonna be fine." Louis kissed all of the kids hugging them as If it were the last time he would see them for years.... Hell, it might be.

"Let's go now. You three head for the truck. Help your sister into her car seat." Harry ushered the children out the front door.

"But, I want Mummy to come," Charlie whined.

"Go on, baby. I'm right behind you. Meet you at the car. I'm gonna come out and say goodbye." Louis reassured.

"It's better for the kids to get away from all this talk," Harry spoke without emotion,

"Yeah, you're right." Harry paused, the silence was awkward...

"Maybe when you come back, maybe we could-" Louis started, however, was soon interrupted by Harry.

"Don't." He had clenched teeth and a seething look to him.

"Well, maybe-Maybe when all this is over, we could just think about moving and starting over?" Louis suggested hopefully, a tear running down his eye.

"Haz, please look at me."

"I can't look at you, Louis, which is real tough, because looking at you used to be just about one of my favourite things to do."

---

"Thanks for staying with me, Mum." Louis hugs Jay as they sit close together. He really needed someone. For a mother of three, it felt unnatural for the house to be so quite.

"This is no time to be alone." Jay understands.

"I keep thinking I've hit bottom, then every day it just gets lower," Louis admits as he places his head on his mother's shoulder.

"I have been up all night, thinking I just- Well, just realising that I must have raised you all wrong," Jay says, shaking her head.

"See? New low." Louis laughs softly, but there is no humour in his voice.

"I mean, I forgive you because you're my child, but how could you do what you did with those men?" Jay cries softly. Louis was worth more than that.

"For my family."

"Well, it makes my skin crawl. Thank God your father's dead." Louis clenches his teeth; he doesn't want to think of that right now.

"Oh, can you not completely destroy me until I've had some coffee?"

"I think your problem is I gave you too much self-esteem," Jay admits.

Louis frowns not understanding. "What the hell?"

"It's true. You were just so pretty and bright; I was sure you'd go to Hollywood and marry somebody famous. I wasted my life on your father. I wanted better for you...." There is a silent pause, both just thinking.

"Is it just disgusting? I'm picturing disgusting." Jay asks she might as well ask what it is like being a hooker.

"Yeah. Yeah, sometimes it's real disgusting."

"Oh, honey." Jay pats Louis' soft skin.

"But it's kind of like an actor playing a part. All the attention I got back, that was something. All those men, some rich, some powerful, all treating me like I was the best thing in their lives.

I guess there's just a little part of me that needed that more than I should."

There is another pause.

"Anyway, now I just wish I could crawl up in a ball and make it all go away."

"We will just see how the court hearing goes tomorrow."