Strawberries & Cigarettes

Prologue

February 14, 2014

"Thank you! M'sure she'll love these," Louis spoke to the salesperson in a thrilled voice, then gave him a wide and bright grin.

The seller offered assorted bouquets, heart-shaped chocolate boxes, and large, fluffy brown-colored teddy bears on the streets of London. Like many others that were scattered around.

He lent the middle-aged vendor the required money and left to look through more shops nearby.

Louis scooped out and searched over a variety of gold jewelry for a future birthday present for her. A promise ring he already saved money for.

It was Valentine's day, and confidence threaded in his veins from the single concept that he loved to spoil his girlfriend with special gifts and magenta orchids, her favorite flower.

He didn't have a lot in his wallet, but he always got to purchase gifts he could afford.

Especially on the romance-built holiday.

He walked around that day with an unbreakable smile fused to his lips, deep crinkles carved around his blue eyes, and a little bounce in his every step.

No one had ever seen such an animated and sharp individual stroll the pathways, boutiques, and alleyways on a cloudy day in England. But no one knew how much he loved her, not even her.

His love was taken for granted.

Taken advantage of how blind and lovestruck he was.

Louis fumbled with his keys to open their house door, his other hand occupied with the fresh, bloomed orchids and a heart-shaped chocolate box, but he finally managed to step inside.

The rooms had no lights on, empty, and too quiet. It was the mere afternoon, the day still young, so he figured her work caught up to her.

She said she had off today?

Maybe they needed her for a shift?

He set down the items on their marble kitchen countertop, and as he began to take out ingredients for a homemade dinner of roast beef and smoked vegetables for the two, he heard it.

Noises, suppressed and hushed whimpers.

At first, the sounds were unclear what they were, but as he moved closer to the bedroom, their bedroom, it became more audible for him.

His heart pounded against his ribcage, loudly, and with shaky limbs, he froze.

They were moans, her precious name moaned by a man that wasn't him. Her private moans were caused by another man that wasn't him.

And he knew that man, he wished he didn't, because it was one of his closest friends.

His blood boiled, hands fisted, a ring in his ears, Louis kicked the door and it flew open. He didn't even care that he broke the lock that they supposed would keep him out.

When they heard the door hit against the wall in a rough slam, they instantly scurried away from each other, but it was no use. He already saw them.

Tangled in their sheets, like Louis and her were last night. In the same sheets.

Long platinum blonde hair a lion's mess, fair skin flustered, her full lips swollen, red and purple bruises on her smooth neck, all the details about her he loved so much.

He stared, and stared, and tears welled up in his eyes. His tongue went numb, his throat in a rigid knot, the sight of his girlfriend of one year, nearly two years, under his closest friend was poisonous.

It killed him inside, devastated him, and it quickly spread across his body that the followed actions were a blur.

A delusion and impulse of shouted profanities and shattered glass and hysterical sobs.

Her glossy blue-gray eyes were filled with regret, but he couldn't look at her at the moment. Because he knew he would give in, and it wasn't worth it when she didn't love him as he loved her.

No amount of apologies from them was enough for Louis. They knew what they were doing, they knew it would harm him, but they did it anyway.

They didn't care, and that punctured his trust more.

The disastrous incident formed him into a cold, empty, drowned silhouette. His features from head to toe were lost in the midsts of his persistent cries.

Stinging tears of worthless devotion.

Love, they murdered it for him, brutally.

━━━

hiya angels! this was so painful to write because who in the world would cheat on pretty and loving louis?!?!

i actually had another prologue written down but i decided to just delete it and write this one... hope you don't mind it being so short.

btw i'll just write in past tense in flashbacks for now on, i wanted to try something new by doing it for the prologue.

i hope you stick around for more!!