number 12. (l.s.)

Chapter 52.

F I F T Y  T W O
-'I dare you...'-

Louis carefully laid down next to Harry after he changed in the bathroom again. It was only half past 10, but it had been an exhausting day for all of them and especially for Louis. And besides, they had to get up at seven in the morning to go to the courthouse. So Dan figured it would be the best if they went to bed on time, so they'd be well rested.

Since they needed to go early in the morning, they all stayed the night at Dan's and Scarlett's. Dan and Scarlett were sleeping downstairs on the mattress and couch, so Juliet could take their bedroom. Because the mattress was already taken, Louis and Harry shared the same king sized bed.

Even though Louis was really tired and exhausted by the entire day, he just couldn't fall asleep. He was too nervous, but also just too awake by the adrenaline. He just was so conscious about every little thing, which made him fully awake. When he saw Harry already laying peacefully with his eyes closed, he sneaked silently to the desk where his small notebook laid and grabbed a sharp pencil. He crawled under the blankets in silence and flicked on a small light next to his side of the bed.

He quickly turned to look if Harry was still asleep, and luckily his eyes were still peacefully closed. He laid on his side and both his hands laid under his head, breathing gently through his nose.So Louis started leafing to the right page, seeing the drawing he once started of the house of Scarlett and Dan. Since he couldn't sleep already and had to draw it eventually, he started scribbling over the lines again, making sure it looked perfect. He was just working on the flowers in the garden when he could feel movements through the sheets and on the mattress. He just drew further, sketching the small pencil over the thick paper.

"Why aren't you asleep?" Harry suddenly asked, his voice raspy and slow, as he breathed in sharper through his nose once, tugging his loose curl behind his ear.

Louis shrugged slightly, adjusting pressure on the pencil so he could darken the shadows of the flowers. "I can't."

So Harry crawled up, sitting straight up in the bed like Louis. He frowned silently as he looked at the sketch Louis was making, as he tugged at the blanket to fold it over him. "Is that this house?" He asked. Louis just nodded, having his bottom lip in between his teeth—a habit when he's concentrated. "Why are you drawing this house?"

Louis just sketched the last part, and after he was done with the flowers, he put down the pencil at the tiny nightstand on his right, and shrugged. "I draw every house I've lived in."

Harry's eyes flicked from the drawing to Louis' ocean-colored eyes. "Can I...?" He asked, reaching his hand out to the notebook. Louis nodded silently, handing over the notebook in hesitation.

Harry started leafing to the beginning of the pages, and looked at the first drawn house. Louis just watched him grin, but at the same time admiring the sketch. "Don't judge me, I was twelve then," Louis chuckled, seeing how bad that sketch actually was.

But Harry shook his head as he ran the tip of his index finger across the lines. "You were twelve when you needed to leave your first family?" Louis nodded slowly and swallowed, staring at the house on the sketch. He remembered everything so well, every little detail of the house. He even knew the places where he used to play with the dolls with Nora or where he used to help his mother with the dishes.

"If you don't count my real parents, yes it was my first family."

"Why did you have to leave? I mean, of course, the accident and all, but what about the father?" Louis bit the inside of his cheek, thinking about the four most horrible moments in his life. After the accident, he woke up suddenly in the hospital. Before he could even process anything that had happened, he was told his mother and sister had passed, and the rest of the remaining days in the hospital he laid alone, as nobody visited him. Those weeks he got so weak in his mind, telling himself he was guilty about everything, just caught up in fears.