Stranded

Chapter 31: The One-Eyed Bear

Louis' POV

We jogged back to our flat to change into fresh clothes and take the car, taking Loraine with us. It was a good thing that she trusted us in an instant that it wasn't hard to convince her to come with us. After taking a very quick shower, we drove around the city, hoping that Loraine would recollect where she came from.

"Where did you come from?" I asked. We seemed to be driving in circles. Loraine was already on the verge of crying, trying to remember her point of origin.

She pulled her bag from behind and took out some kind of card which, I think, is an identification card. She handed it to me then looked down, as if she is embarrassed.

LORAINE SUMMERS

Cavanagh Hospital, Children's Ward/****** Orphanage

What? Hospital? Children's Ward? Orphanage?

"I ran away." Loraine confessed, still looking down at her shoes. It didn't take me too much time to realize that she is an orphan with an illness I am still figuring out.

"Why?" I asked, curious.

"They hurt me." She showed me the back of her hand, which is laden with pricks, which I guess are from dextrose injections. "I have cancer."

What she said was so shocking that Harry unintentionally stepped on the brakes, making the car halt swiftly. Fortunately, all three of us were wearing our seatbelts. I shot Harry a death glare but he looked away before my eyes could even meet his.

"Do you want us to turn you in then?" I asked as I wiped her tears away. She looks so much pitiful that I suddenly realized how much I should appreciate my life.

Loraine is actually too young to be in a situation like that. The pain she has to endure in every single day is greater than the pain I have experienced in the past twenty-two years.

Her eyes themselves were pleading, begging us not to turn her in. Harry even had to pull the car over because he, too, was caught by the little girl's luring magical orbs, her soft stare hypnotizing us bit by bit.

"We won't. At least not for now." Inside me, I knew that what we were bound to do could be considered as a form of kidnapping, but I took the risk. Harry was with me, anyway. His constant nodding was enough proof that he agrees with me. Before the little lady's hopes could even shoot straight up, I told her of her, or our, limitations. Luckily, she agreed to be turned in later this afternoon.

"Thank you so much Mister Louis." She planted a kiss on my right cheek, making me freeze, and then proceeded to do the same to Harry. "You too Mister Harry."

Her actions surprised both Harry and I yet she looked at us as if we were the ones who did not know how to act around people.

"Why did you do that for, Loraine?" I asked, smiling, but instead of answering my question at once, she laughed. Really, kid? I don't see anything funny...

"You're so funny Mister Louis." She sat back beside me and fastened her seatbelt, still with a grin on her face. Harry chuckled as he started the engine again, making me shoot an eyebrow up in curiosity. Er, what's going on, guys? I honestly don't have any idea. "You can call me Lorie."

Lorie hummed happily as Harry drove us to the mall. It's so cute how little things could make someone who has problems like hers very happy. She told us how rare she gets out of the orphanage.

The smile painted on her face grew wider as Harry pulled the car over to a mall. We both put on our Ray-Ban's, hoping that it would be enough for a guise. Harry partly hide his famous curly locks with his beanie as another safety precaution for hoards of fan girls keeping an eye around for him.

Like any other kid, Lorie's joy was immeasurable when we finally entered Toys-R-Us. We quietly followed after her as she marched along the aisles, eyeing at the toys on the shelves.

Since she wasn't picking things out like what I had expected, I took a big fluffy bear from one of the shelves and showed it to her. "You want this? You can choose anything you want. We'll buy it for you."

Again, a grin emerged on her angelic face. "No, thank you, Mister Louis."

She took something out from her huge backpack again. It was an old teddy bear half the size of the one I am holding. The dirty white color indicates its age. If I am right, the bear is almost thrice older than she is. Also, the blue-green eyed bear is missing an eye. Smiling, she turned to me and Harry again. "He will get jealous."

I could tell how much she loved her teddy bear the way she held it close to her heart. She loved it dearly, like it was the world to her.

"Are you sure you don't want to replace him?" Harry asked.

She nodded. "Positive, Mister Harry."

After minutes of walking around the store, we came to an aisle full of One Direction merchandise. Before we knew it, Lorie picked two dolls from a shelf, one of Harry's and one of mine. "Can we buy this?"

"Why?" I asked, amused of her choice.

"I want to remember these two people who are making my day productive that I could die happy tonight." I was shocked. I was about to argue and tell her that she will not die but she didn't allow me to talk. "Sign them, too. I want to show this to a friend who loves you dearly. She'll be jealous, for sure."

Rae's POV

My heart throbbed faster than Vicky's driving, making the sound of the engine seem faint. I was about to bite by nails again, but Vicky slapped my hand and gave me a 'don't-you-dare-do-that' look, making me stop almost in an instant.

"You're still like a seven-year old Jassy Rae." She said, British accent tainted with a bit of disgust and a bit of amusement.

I hate seven-year old Rae. No, I hate myself in any age. When I was seven, I had huge-framed eyeglasses and braces on. Also, I used to be chubby, while Vicky has always been her petite little self. Lucky her. Unlucky me.

"I remember the bear you always had. You used to bring it everywhere all the time." Vicky snickered as she reminisced the past. I, on the other hand, was red in embarrassment.

"I know. I remember, too." I confessed. "I just couldn't remember its name."

Vicky changed the subject the way she always does in an instant. Maybe models really get bored talking about one topic. "What's your mum fussing about, anyway?"

"A lost kid."

"And what bothers you so much you want to murder your fingernails?" She inquired, sounding more like a case-stricken detective than a curious cousin.

"The same kid."

Like she always does when she's really, really, not into the topic, she grinned, probably thinking of a fresh subject. Her forehead wrinkled a bit but she suddenly lit up as if she just had a brilliant idea. "Oh, I know your teddy's name now!"

I looked at her with eyes wide open, full of expectation. "What?"

She smiled genuinely at me. "It's Lou."

---

So.. hey, fellas. I'm actually in the hospital with a slight case of dengue but I did this through my phone. There's no word count so if this is short, I'll probably get back to it once I'm on my laptop.

Don't forget to comment, vote and fan, please! And follow me on Twitter: @itskimshelly. Thankie, loves.

-Shelly/HailBritannia