Forgotten Child

Chapter 1

"Papa, I'm hungry," Finn says quietly as the sun is starting to set.

Glancing down at the 6 year old boy that's leaning up against the alley wall beside me, I give him a small smile. I know he's got to be hungary, hell, so am I. Nodding to him, I pull myself into a standing position from where I was sitting next to him, holding my hand out to him to help him up. I'm taking him to the soup kitchen that's a block north of us that we us every night.

"Let's go to the soup kitchen, okay?" I ask him quietly not wanting any passerbyiers to hear me. Finn nods his strawberry blond haired head at me eagerly.

Smiling at him as he swings our clasped hands as we walk the block to our destination. If I don't take us to the soup kitchen for a hot meal, then they only time that Finn has anythingn to eat is while he eats lunch at school during the week. During the weekends I take us there for lunch and dinner.

I know the soup kitchens are supposed to be free for those of us who are homeless but I feel guilty for using the service so I wash dishes and sweap and mop the floors after every meal we eat there. I have to because I'm caring for Finn since his mum died two years ago.

I'm not techniclly Finn's dad but he started calling me Papa shortly after I met him. I had found him and his mum in the abandoned small shop store where I had been living. She had thought it was abandondoned by another homeless person who had either died or just left their meager posessions behind.

I allowed her to stay when I realized that she had her two year old son with her. Shad lost her job six months prior to me meeting her and shit had gone down hill for herself and Finn. She had lost her flat and had no family that would help them.

I guess I should explain who I am and how I ended up homeless and raising a 6 year old boy on my own. I'm Louis William Tomlinson and I'm 16 years old, almost 17 years old. My birthday is December 24th and Finn's is December 25th. His mum always said Finn was her Christmas miracle seeing he was born 4 weeks early.

How did I end up homeless you ask. Well it happened when I was only 12 years old, only 12 years old, people. It was three months after my birthday (late March) and I had finally came out and was honest with my mum Jay and my step-dad Mark about my sexuality. I finally admitted to them that I'm gay and I thought they would accept me, boy was I wrong so very wrong. I was screamed at and given the speach that I was a sin and an imbomination and was only given ten minutes to collect my things before I was promptly kicked out of their home.

For the first two years, I lived with my aunt, my mum's sister until she kicked me out when she had found herself a new boyfriend that didn't want me in the house. So, I was once again homeless and started living on the streets. I found the abandonded small store about a week after I had left auntie's home and have been living there ever sense.

I've seen my sisters a few times since I've been out of the house. I have four younger sisters - Lottie, Fizzy, Phoebe and Daisy (twins). Lottie and Fizzy attend the same high school as me but when I left home, Lottie was 9 years, Fizzy was 7 years and Phoebe and Daisy were only 4 years.

The first time I had run into Lottie, litterally, was in a hallway at the high school. She wasn't watching where she was going and walked into me before I could move. She almost fell on her butt, the only reason she didn't was I grabbed her by the elbow.

She had stared at me for a moment before thanking me and then asking if she knew me, that I had looked familiar to her. I lied telling her that I just had one of those faces that I look familiar to people I've never meet before.

Her repy was, "I dunno, you remind me of somone, like my brother, what he might look like at your age. How old are you anyway?" she asked.

I just shrugged at her while replying, "I'm 16 years old and I couldn't be your brother, I don't have any siblings." I felt horrible for lying to her but I knew she wouldn't stay away from me if she knew who I was and I didn't want her to be in trouble with Jay or Mark. I stopped calling Jay mum the day she kicked me out of the house.

I managed to find a job working at the marina unloading crates with fish inside three to four days a week for five dollars a day, enough money by the end of the week to wash Finn's clothes and mine.

I make sure Finn goes to school everyday and I try too. There are days that I don't attend if I can manage to work an extra day. If I'm working and Finn isn't at school he comes with and helps out. I give him a dollar for helping if this happens.

Finn's mum died from cancer that she had been batteling for four years before she died two years ago. She had found out she had cancer when she was pregnant with Finn. Finn's mum's name was Celeste, a very beautiful name for a beautiful woman.

So back to where I was before explaining some about Finn and myself. We finally make it to the soup kitchen and walk inside with the bell above the door chiming.

"Hello Finn! Hello Louis!" I hear one of the long time volunteers, Sarah, greet us. She's in her mid-fifties and is a total sweetheart.

Sara is the one that allows me to wash dishes and sweep and mop the floors after the meals are done being served. She sometimes helps Finn with his homework if he has any or she'll talk to him and he loves the attention. She's like a granmum to him since his mum's mum doesn't have anything to do with him, nor my mum. Finn's real dad was a drug user and died when Finn was six months old.

"Hello Ms. Sara," Finn replies politly as he and I stand in line.

"Hi Ms. Sara," I answer softly with my head down.

I'm so thankful that Finn isn't embarressed or ashamed of our situation. To be young and not fully understand our situation. I'm thankful for this, to Finn we're having an adventure until I can somehow manage to find a way to get us out of this situation.

"Louis," Sara says from right beside me now. She lifts my chin with to fingers so I'm looking her in the eyes. "There is no reason to feel ashamed. You and Finn need food and help. You are doing what you can to keep yourselves alive. Will you let me help you and he find a better home and job so you can be safe?"

Shaking my head at her, I can't take any more handouts, espically not from Ms. Sara. "We're doing okay, thank you though, Ms. Sara," I whisper.

She frowns but nods at me. "When you change your mind, I'm here to help. Remember that please?" I nod in confirmation that I will. She squeezes my shoulder and gently pats Finn's back as she heads back to the line.

Ten minutes later Finn and I are sitting down eating the meal we were given. "Papa, why are those two guys staring at us?" Finn asks pointing with his hand to the window.

Looking over I see two of my classmates staring at Finn and I in confusion. Shit, shit shit. This isn't good. The two guys are Harry Styles and Niall Horan.

Turning my attention back to Finn, I give him a weak smile along with a shoulder shrug. "I'm not sure, love. Finish your meal okay and then we can go to the park if you would like to?" I encourage in hopes to take his mind off being stared at by Styles and Horan.

I know that them seeing Finn and I here will raise questions. They are friends with my friend, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik. Payne and Malik are school 'friends' only. I don't social with them outside of school because I am and was trying to avoid anyone from school finding out that let alone I'm homeless but also raising a 6 year old.

If the wrong people find out that I'm not related to Finn, they might take him from me. That posibility scares the hell out of me.

Now, comes the fun task of avoiding Harry and Niall or lying through my teeth at them if and when they question why I'm here with Finn. Once we're done eating and have helped clean up, Finn and I head to the park so he can play for a few hours before we head home and sleep.

What I didn't know was that Harry and Niall had followed Finn and I to the park and back home.