Hope - A Louisentine Story

Chapter 20

Description: Aasim, Violet, and Louis go out in search of AJ following the news of his disappearance.

Wordcount: 2654

A/N: Two updates in a day, I'm getting good at this 'productivity' thing. I hope y'all enjoy this part as much as I did writing it. Next part will be a BIG one, so stay tuned for the weekend. Also, this isn't a big deal, but this part has a callback to one of my earlier one-shots called 'Fishing Trip', which you can find in my Oneshot book. It's not really important to understand this, but it has some cool parallels to it.

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"What do you mean, AJ's gone?" Clementine exclaimed, frantically getting to her feet as fast as her swollen belly would allow. Louis stood with her, his hand on her lower back for support. Tenn shuffled his feet awkwardly. The rising sun shone on the wood floor, dust particles floating in midair.

"Before dinner, he said he wasn't hungry, so I let him use my coloring pencils," Tenn explained, stepping back when he saw the fire in Clem's eyes light up. "When I came back, he was gone, so I figured he'd come here instead."

"And you didn't think to come check?" Clem asked, throwing her arms up in the air. She felt the baby kick wildly, her anger masking the pain she was feeling.

"I didn't think he'd run away," Tenn defended himself, though his eyes were downcast in shame.

Louis stepped in between them, eyeing Clem warily. "Let's just cool off for a moment," he said. "I'll go ask Violet and Aasim to help me find him. He couldn't have gone far. You should stay here and rest." He directed that last part to Clem, who scoffed.

"Like hell I'm resting," she exclaimed, already making her way to the door before she was stopped by Louis.

"Honey, Eleanor already said you need to take it easy," he argued. "And I'm worried of what'll happen to the baby if you go traipsing through the woods with no direction when you can barely move without hurting. Let us handle it, and I promise you AJ will be back home in no time."

She huffed in annoyance but agreed nonetheless. There was no reason for her to put herself in danger, not now of all times. Reluctantly, she nodded and followed Louis and Tenn out of their room. The trio rushed through the halls as fast as Clem could. On the way, they ran into Willy and Ruby, both of whom were frantically searching some of the dorms.

"He's not here," Ruby called to Tenn, who shook his head.

"I think he may have gone outside," he said. Louis burst through the courtyard doors, holding them open for Clem to waddle through. Her hands drew circles on her belly, as a way to calm herself down. He's fine, Clementine, she kept telling herself, repeating it in her brain like a mantra.

Louis rushed to where Violet and Aasim sat on the tables. At the sight of him, both of them stood up and rushed to him. Violet held her meat cleaver in one hand, the compound bow strapped to her back.

"Tenn told us what happened," Violet said immediately.

"We're coming with you," Aasim piped in, nodding at Louis.

Louis smiled at his friends, looking down at Clem. She was caressing her belly fiercely, her eyes darting to the gate every few seconds. With the promise to bring AJ back, he leaned in and placed a kiss on his wife's lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to him.

"Please," she pleaded, tears in her eyes. Damn hormones, she thought ruefully. "Come back safe."

"I will," he said, nodding. "I promise. You stay here and let Ruby know if you need anything."