Monday the 22st of September | Liam
"I read the school's email about what happened yesterday," his mother said.
"Hmm." Liam didn't know how to react.
"I thought this school would be a decent one, but look at what kind of children they allow," she sighed.
"I mean the lad that started the fight. Isn't he twenty or something?"
"He's eighteen, mom."
She scoffed. "Still, an eighteen year old in year 11. That just sounds wrong to me." Her face scrunched up in the rearview mirror, as she made a turn to the right.
Liam pretended to pay attention while looking out of the car window.
"So naturally I called Trisha about it and she was just as shocked as I was," she continued, not caring if Liam was actually listening. "I told her: as a headmaster you can't afford your school to take in those sorts of students. I mean poor boy, coming from a broken family and all. Must be hard. No wonder he beat up that kid. Maybe that's what his parents did to each other before they split. That's why your father and I always stayed together, even when things got... difficult."
His stomach knotted together. Another thing he had to live with, besides having a rare heart condition and frequent panic attacks, was the fact that he destroyed his parents' marriage.
"A family is something you've agreed to work on, Liam," she smiled at him through the rearview mirror, but the shred of sadness in her voice didn't pass him by.
"So I told Trisha she'd have to talk to the school about their policy. Doing your year over once, I can understand. My sister did her 10th year twice actually. But doing it over a second time? Absolutely inexcusable! Either way surely they must listen to her: she gives very generous donations."
His mother's car was cold and it was silent after her little rant and Liam wanted to put on some music to break the tension, but he was sitting in the back, where he was able to stretch his legs but unable to reach for the radio.
They were on their way to the doctor's office to receive the results of some test. Liam wasn't even sure what it was about and didn't care enough to ask about it. He just went with the flow. Deciphering difficult medical explanations, even after years of exposure, was not his best quality. As long as he was still allowed to swim, he didn't really care much about what the doctor had to say.
He took a tiny bite of his sandwich with chocolate sprinkles, his favourite topping because it reminded him of ice cream.
His mother shot him a look in the mirror.
"Finish your lunch! We're nearly there."
He took a bigger bite and enjoyed the chocolatey taste that filled his mouth. This seriously was delicious, but it made him crave ice cream so bad.
The rest of the car ride, his mother got more and more nervous the closer they came to their destination. When she parked the car she was biting her lip and sighing an awful lot.
She unbuckled her belt, grabbed her purse and closed the door with a huge bang that made Liam shoot up in his seat. It took her a few seconds to find out Liam hadn't followed her out.
Liam immediately regretted dawdling when he saw the look in his mother's face and got out of the car against his will.
His mother lost it when he pretended to tie his laces to try and stall some more: she grabbed his hand and dragged him across the carpark to the doctor's office.
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Care for me (L. S.)
FanfictionJust the predictable AU story about a sixteen-year-old Harry who lives in the fictional town of Lanfordshire. When Harry meets Louis at school, he thinks he's the cutest human being he has ever seen. But, of course, things don't run that easily arou...