5 Leagues Above ➸ Larry Stylinson

Chapter 27

[Louis POV]

t/w: discussions regarding abuse

I blinked rapidly, staring at the bruises as if that would make them magically go away or I'd wake up and this would be all some sort of twisted dream. But the bruises stayed there, and there were so many in the one streak she'd revealed that I was scared to see the rest of her face.

"Who did this to you?" I asked at a mere whisper, and she trembled, wiping away more of her tears; more of the concealer wiped off too and I could see shades of purple and blue under the layer of tan makeup.

She hiccuped and took a deep breath, trying to stop the crying before starting to explain what would turn into a lengthy explanation.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jameson walk towards the patio with a tray of food before pausing when she saw my mom. I gave her a 'give us a minute' glance, and she seemed to understand and nodded before walking back into the kitchen with the tray.

My mom let out a few more hiccups and sniffles before talking.

"I never wanted to leave you, Louis, I really didn't. I-" She took another deep breath and I took her hands again, holding them reassuringly.

"You can tell me, Mom. I won't get upset, I just want to help you." She nodded.

"I thought your father was someone different when I married him. We were married soon after we started dating and then a few years later, we had you. I loved you with all my heart and I still do, even if you don't feel the same about me."

I felt a pang in my heart, suddenly very aware of the cold shoulder that I'd always shown her whenever she was around.

"Well, the marriage seemed to be going well until you started middle school."

"That's when you got the cabin and started leaving me alone in the house a lot," I said gently, not wanting to seemingly accuse her of anything in a negative fashion, "Does that have something to do with this?"

"It... it does, actually. After middle school, your father became scarily addicted to alcohol. I tried to make him stop drinking one night because it was going terrible for him, but he wouldn't stop. I don't know what caused it, but I kept asking for him to stop and one day he must have gotten so fed up with me that he hit me."

More tears rolled down her face, causing mascara to run down her face and the concealer tented her tears tan. I squeezed her hands so she'd know I was there for her.

"After that, I stopped trying to get him to get sober, but it didn't stop the abuse. I didn't know what to do because I thought I could fix it on my own without telling the police or anyone else. The cabin in Twin Peaks seemed like the only thing that I could use to distance his abuse from you."

I gasped but quickly covered up my shock with a question, "The cabin wasn't just a nice getaway?"

"No, but I told you that so he wouldn't get suspicious that I was telling anyone about the abuse. I didn't want you to know what I had to go through because I was afraid of the mental effects it would have on you, and that feels like too much stress for any child to handle."

"I'm a senior now, and I can help you with this," I assured her and she gave a weak smile.

"The abuse started to get worse in the cabin, and he hit me and sexually assaulted me more frequently. At this point, all I wanted to do was get the hell away from him, but he'd taken my phone and gotten rid of it so I couldn't call anyone for help. His phone was always hidden, and he rarely got on it so I couldn't use that to call for help either."

"Why didn't you do anything when you used to come home once in a while before going back to the cabin?"

"If he ever suspected I was going to try and say something about it, he'd hurt me even more. I don't love this man, Louis. This isn't the man who I fell in love with or the man who I married; he's the man who hurts me more than I could have imagined someone ever could or would. All of the seemingly sweet or loving gestures I offer him are all my attempts to try and not get hit and abused even more."

"I can't let you go home, Mom. Not now that I know," My voice was strained, and my eyes were watering as well.

"No," She said firmly, and I was taken by surprise.

"No?"

"No. If I don't come home, he'll know I told you about this and I can't predict what he'll do to you. It's been so long that a few extra days will just blend in with the rest. In the meantime, can you please help me find a way to get the police involved so we can get him arrested?"

"Can we call them right now?" I suggested, but she shook her head again.

"He's already threatened me and told me that if the police question him, he can easily lie and turn the blame around on me. I need you to contact them, though, and please find out some way to bring them to the house without him noticing."

"Tomorrow is Monday, which means I have school. What if I go to the police station after school and bring them to the house? I can explain the situation and Dad won't suspect a thing."

"Don't you think he'd suspect the police cars though?"

"I'll have them park near the street so you can't see them through the windows. I know the blind spots since I often get bored and have lots of time on my hands. Plus, he'll be expecting me to come home so when the front door opens, he'd have no reason to believe it was anyone but me. The officers could follow me in and take it from there."

She wiped away some of her tears and offered a small smile.

"Thank you, Louis," She whispered.

"Mom, I'm so sorry I didn't realize earlier. I'm sorry for all of the pain I've caused you too by being so distant and cold-hearted to you. Now I understand what's been going on but I really did use to think you guys just didn't love me. What you just told me shows that you're willing to sacrifice yourself to keep me safe and if that isn't love, I don't know what is."

I stood up and she did too before I nearly attacked her with a hug. I rubbed her back, telling her everything would be alright, and by tomorrow everything would finally be better.

I could feel her chest rise and fall as she took deep breaths, but the crying had finally stopped.

She pulled away from the hug after a solid two minutes had gone by and we both sat bad down. She looked happier now, despite the streaks of mascara that were drying on her face.

"I'm excited. Nervous, but excited. I think it'll work and I can't wait to finally be free of this all," She said softly.

"I'm ready too. I'm excited for a life like this with you and I, like a normal family," I gave her a small smile and she beamed in return.

Jameson must have noticed that the crying had come to an end, because she timidly talked out onto the patio holding a tray of two cheeseburgers and two baskets of fries as well.

"I thought you two might like some fries with your meal," She said, placing the food down in front of us, "I made sure everything stayed hot. Please, enjoy!"

"Thank you," I said genuinely and she flashed a little smile before walking away with her empty tray.

"So, back to a happier conversation," My mom said, biting into a french fry.

"Let's hear about this girlfriend of yours."

***

Sorry for the short chapter - it was simple... but effective :)

Are you ready for Louis to execute his plan?

Thoughts or comments?

vote if you want his dad to get arrested!