Frame of Hearts - l.s.

Chapter Twenty Six

sorry for the really long wait. just a bit of an untidy schedule bc i have exams next week and i'm heading into year 12 and stuff ahahaha im not ready

He wakes up in his bed the following morning, a pounding headache throbbing in his head like a bitch. Louis groans and fails to sit up. He looks to his right and sees Harry right beside him, cuddled into his blankets and still fast asleep.

Louis shakes Harry lightly with two fingers pressed to his shoulder. He croakily calls for him and Harry wakes almost instantly with worry marked on his face. He sits up and looks down to Louis, a thumb stroking over his cheekbone and a long sigh slipping past his lips.

"Are you sore, Lou?" Harry questions. Louis nods softly with his eyebrows curving down. He's close to crying. He doesn't even remember Harry coming over last night, or Harry even talking about coming over. "I-I came over as fast as I could the minute you stopped speaking to me. I got here and climbed up the window and saw you on the floor; you were knocked out cold."

"Didn't Phil see you?"

Harry shakes his head. "Thankfully not. I was nervous about it though. I know he's serious when he said he'd flog me if he knew I was with you again."

"Go home, Harry. P-Please," Louis pleads. "The last thing I ever want is for you to be hurt because you're with me."

Once again, Harry disagrees with a shake of his head. "I'm here to protect you, Louis. I'm not going to leave just because he said he'd hurt me. We just need to be more careful, love. If he hurts you, you call me and I'll come over. And if he hurts me, I'll tell my mum and she'll do something--"

"No!" Louis shouts. "Harry, don't tell your mother, please. I-I don't want anyone knowing about this."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to be taken away from here. I'm still young enough to be taken by a social worker, Harry. As much as I don't want to be with Phil, I don't want to let mum go. I don't want to move away from here, H."

Harry breathes uneasily. "Oh."

Louis feels guilty. There is nothing he can do to try prevent the abuse right at the very moment. He's only got a few more months of school left - it isn't that much. After that he's going to college and will be out of his parents' view for a while. Louis can deal with that.

Louis uses his hands to find Harry's shirt under the duvet and he pulls at it to ask Harry for a kiss. Harry smiles and pecks him lightly, grazing his fingers over Louis' collar bones.

"What's the time?"

Harry checks his phone just beside the bed. "It's only five thirty. Are you going to be okay here by yourself?"

"Of course," Louis says. "You need to go otherwise it's going to be a little difficult to try get you out of here when Phil wakes at six."

He nods and kisses Louis nose. "You're going to school, right?" Louis smiles - it's a yes. "I'll see you in a couple of hours, okay love?"

Harry leaves the bed and it feels significantly colder. He jumps out the window and clambers down the ladder, running home quickly before the first light of sunrise appears. Louis sleeps in bed for the extra hour, hoping to get rid of this hammering headache.

*****

Harry's there to kiss his forehead the moment he appears at the bus stop. Louis frowns and avoids staring up to Harry. His face is bruised and his eye is partially swollen. He's embarrassed about his looks, embarrassed about his father, embarrassed about everything. He's still amazed Harry can look at him.