Camera Shy (Louis Tomlinson) Book 5

Chapter 14

Lauren's POV

I stayed holed up in my room the rest of the afternoon. I didn’t want to leave on the chance I might see him. I couldn’t believe Hunter had brought him here. After everything he did. Hadn’t he messed up my life enough? As if sensing my stress, Hunter, the dog, trots over to me and noses my arm and licking my hand.

“Hey buddy. You wouldn’t have let him come would you?” I coo, petting his head. His tail starts wagging and I grin.  “Come on, lets teach you some tricks,” I tell him, slipping off my bed. By the time mom calls me down for dinner, I’ve successfully taught her how to sit on command. “C’mon sweetie, dinnertime” I tell my puppy as I head downstairs. He follows faithfully at my heels as I head downstairs. Playing with Hunter had put me in a much better mood. I’d almost forgotten all about… Louis, I freeze in my tracks as I see him sitting at the table. What a way to wreck my mood. I take the seat furthest from him and my puppy sits at my feet waiting for any scraps.

“Ooh chicken” I say with a grin, reaching for a chicken leg.

“Wait for your father,” my mother scolds me, lightly smacking my hand away from the food. Just then, my dad walks into the kitchen, is hunting rifle in hand. He takes his seat, casually laying it on the table so the barrel is pointed at Louis. My dad glances at me as Louis tenses and I can barely suppress my grin. That’s my dad for ya.

“So you’re Louis huh?” my dad asks gruffly and Louis nods his head shakily, eyeing the gun. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” Louis gulps nervously, his eyes flickering to me before moving over to Hunter who just sighs and shakes his head.

“George” my mom scolds, shaking her head at the gun. “Put it away.”

“Yes ma’am” my dad says, setting the gun against the wall, off the table. He glances over to me and I give him a small nod, glad at least someone was on my side. Louis breathes a visible sigh of relief as the gun moves away and I’m suddenly in the better mood again. There’s nothing like your dad scaring the life out of a spoiled pop star to put you back in a good mood. Dinner itself was pretty awkward. Mom and Hunter kept trying to include Louis in the conversation, while Dad and I did just about anything to keep him out. Louis himself seemed to realize how out of place he was and remained fairly quiet, especially when the conversation turned to the farm and animals. When dinner’s over, Hunter starts helping mom clean up.

“Thanks Dad” I whisper quietly, as he picks up his gun to take it back to his gun cabinet.

“Anything for you sweet pea” he says, showing me the empty barrel with a wink. I chuckle, giving a shake of my head before heading out the back door. I walk out to the old barn, pulling open the doors to reveal my truck. It was pretty old and rundown. It had been my Dad’s for 15 years until he got a new one and gave me his old. I’d used it till I went to college and now I only used it when I was home for breaks. It was breaking down though. I spent more hours working on the truck to keep it running than I did actually driving it. I grab the toolbox off the shed as I open the hood, peering down into the engine. I pull up my sleeves as I get down to work. An hour later and I’m completely engrossed in my work when I hear a voice.

“Fucking shit. Oww” I yell as I jump, banging my head on the underside of the hood. I step back from the car, holding my head as I turn to the sound of the voice.

“Sorry, are you ok?” Louis asks concerned.

“What are you doing here?” I snap, rubbing my head.

“Your mom sent me out. She thought you might want this” he says, offering me a glass of sweet tea. I narrow my eyes slightly as I try to figure out his motive, but the cup is too tempting and before I can think about the reason behind it, I’ve grabbed it from his hand.