Back for More // louis t.

Eighteen - 18

We arrived in Manchester at around 2 in the morning, and I only know this because I was woken up by my phone ringing as the buses came to a stop. Without checking to see who was calling, I picked up.

"Hello?" I rubbed my eyes to look at the time on Niall's alarm clock across from me. Who was calling at this ungodly hour?

"Cassie, can you come to my bus? Lottie and I can't get Freddie to calm down and go to bed. We've tried everything, and he calmed down for you so easily yesterday," Louis' raspy voice rambled on the other end as Freddie's cries sounded behind him.

"Give me a minute," I whispered, hanging up quickly. I rubbed my eyes and stretched before hopping out of my bunk to pull on my slippers and my university pull-over sweatshirt. Before I left, I scribbled a short sticky note for Katie explaining that I was helping Louis with Freddie and left it where she would see it when she woke up.

Minutes later, I was knocking on the door to Louis' bus, shivering in the cold. My pullover wasn't much help since I was only wearing pajama shorts and slippers on my lower body. Lottie's tired face welcomed me in as she unlocked and opened the door for me, ushering me toward Louis, who was sitting on a bunk with his little boy curled up in his arms, wailing and flailing about.

I walked over to them and sat right beside Louis, close enough to feel his body heat radiating off of him. The stress in his face was obvious, and Lottie was just as tired. There were blankets, sippy cups, stuffed animals, toys, and books thrown all over the floor and the bus around me as I reached into Louis' arms and pulled Freddie into my arms.

Without thinking, I started to hum a lullaby I had sung to my little cousins dozens of times before, rocking Freddie back and forth and holding him tight. "I wanna write you a song,
one as beautiful as you are sweet,
with just a hint of pain for the feeling that I get when you are gone,
I wanna write you a song..."

As the fifth verse came around, the sweet little blonde boy in my arms was quietly snoring. I continued through the song, rocking Freddie and finally placing him in his new bed and tucking him in with Louis' help. I noticed that Lottie had nodded off on the couch while I was singing the lullaby, and I figured Louis had too when he kissed his son's forehead and then caressed my cheek in his hands to kiss me.

I kissed him back, a smile playing on my lips as I pulled away. "I should get back to the bus..."

"Stay here, with me. Please, neither of us could get Freddie to calm down like you did." Louis pleaded, intertwining our hands together.

I sighed. "Just for tonight." I gave him a serious look, squeezing his hand. I couldn't leave Katie alone on the bus with Niall, Liam, and Harry. She just met them for crying out loud!

Louis smiled softly before pulling me to the bunk across from Freddie's. I faintly remember wondering if Louis had explained that I was his girlfriend to his son, but I was too tired to protest when his arms wrapped around me and pulled me into his warm embrace. I was asleep before I could worry any further.

"Daddy, its time to get up!" Freddie's voice rang through the bus as a weight jumped up and down on our bunk.

I giggled and opened my eyes. "Louis I believe he's talking to you."

Louis mumbled something unintelligible before pulling the covers over his face. He was not a morning person. I rolled my eyes endearingly at my boyfriend before sitting up, catching Freddie as he jumped.