The Housekeeper [h.s.]

Kindness

Lucy's POV:

The words that tumbled out of her mouth was heartbreaking. It made my stomach hurl and my brain spin. I felt like throwing up and passing out all at the same time. I didn't know what to do but cry. It felt hopeless. I felt hopeless.

"You're fired."

I hadn't taken it in until two minutes after Ms. Dalaria had called for me. Neither had I thought I would get that message two seconds after stepping inside her office.

Apparently I hadn't worked enough lately, and whenever I did actually work, I didn't do it properly. She also said that she wasn't fond of me having a relationship with Harry and also being good friends with the rest of the boys.

What was I supposed to say? That I could break up with Harry? That I could drink some magic poison to forget everything we had? That I would stop talking to the other boys and avoid them? Ignore them all? No. Then I would rather get fired.

I felt lost. Not the type of lost where you go somewhere and you can't find your way back. I had nowhere to go. Nowhere at all. My family hadn't contacted me in God knows how long. I had no idea where they were or what they were doing or if they were even alive. Hell did I care. They weren't even my real family whatsoever. Only according to the papers, and the papers could sod off.

I had always been the one left out. The adopted one in the family nobody cared about. One of those who had to take care of themselves and learn things such as moral and knowledge from books, not from their parents or school. I didn't even go to school. I was homeschooled by this crappy teacher who taught me nothing but spitting in people's faces when you talked, or laughing whenever someone gave you the wrong answer or failed at something. I shuddered just by thinking of it all. My past was my past, and hopefully it would stay there.

I had some money, but not much. There was probably some hotel or motel or something I could stay at until I found myself a proper job and earned some more money. Staying in a motel for the rest of my life didn't really seem like the best idea.

Not long after I had heard, I started packing. I didn't want to stay there any longer and be reminded that I would never ever use my ugly apron again, and I would never ever get to walk into Harry's room, smiling because of how clean it was comparing to the other boys' rooms. Sometimes even sneaking a chocolate truffle from the little bowl on his nightstand. Never again.

I finished packing pretty quickly and brought my suitcase into the hall. The boys weren't home, and hopefully they wouldn't get home before I had left either.

Laughter was heard from downstairs as I had just taken my suitcase down the stairs. I frowned, knowing exactly whose laughter it was. Liam, Niall, Louis and Zayn came up the stairs smiling and laughing. Until they saw me.

Liam's smile dropped the minute he laid eyes on me. "Lucy? What are you doing?"

I scratched my neck. "Uhm, I-I got fired."

Their jaws dropped and they all uttered a "what?".

"Fired? What, why?" Niall asked.

I sighed. "Apparently I wasn't working hard enough and she didn't like me having a relationship with Harry, neither being such good friends with you guys."

Liam's expression turned angry. He walked towards me.

"I'll talk to that woman, don't worry" he said, almost walking pass me.

I stopped him with my hand on his chest. "Not this time, Liam."

He looked at me with sad eyes. "But.. I want to help. You can't leave, Lucy."

Sighing, I walked past him towards the stairs. "I have to."

"Wait, where are you going?" Louis suddenly asked as I started walking down the stairs.

"I'm just gonna find a motel and stay in until I've found a proper job. Don't worry, I'll-"

"Nope, not a chance," Louis said determined. "You're staying here. Take those up to your room again and start unpacking. Dinner will be at 4 o'clock."

I chuckled. "No, Louis, I can't. Ms. Dalaria said-"

"Ms. Dalaria doesn't own this house, darling," he said, interrupting me again. "This is where you're staying. You may have lost your job, but you most certainly haven't lost us. This is your home too, you know. Harry clearly loves you, and Harry's hearts are where our hearts are too."

I got a bit glary in my eyes from how sweet Louis were. His words melted my heart. They sounded so sincere as he spoke. I hadn't experienced this side of him before, but I really wished to see it more. It seemed like he really meant what he said. For a moment I wondered if what I had thought about him was false.

"Yeah, of course you're staying here, Luce," Liam said, walking towards me and taking my suitcase. "Don't be silly and even try to say no, because you know we won't allow that, so get your arse up to your room and start unpacking before I carry you up there myself."

I laughed and shook my head, looking at them with awe. "You guys.. This really means a lot to me. I felt so hopeless, I had nowhere to go and no one to go to. What would I do without you guys?"

They all smiled and laughed happily.

"Well, we're always here for you and you'll always have a home to go to, and that's here. With us," Zayn said.

I gave him a soft smile and went over to all of the boys, hugging them tightly.

"Now get!" Niall said, pointing upstairs.

I laughed and went upstairs again, Liam walking in front of me with my suitcase. Of course I didn't want him to carry it and tried to protest, but that was just impossible. This was all so noble of them, and I couldn't ask for more. I knew that Harry would love the guys even more when I told them how generos and kind they were.

I was actually meeting Harry today. The police officers had called me and told me that I could come see him later on the day and he would tell me himself how things were going. The sad thing was I was only allowed to talk to him through a phone. We could see each other, but not touch each other. It was devastating, and I wanted to yell at the police for it. I mean it wasn't like he had killed someone or robbed a bank, was it? He wasn't dangerous whatsoever.

"You ready to go?" Liam asked through the door as I got ready in my room.

"Yep," I said and opened the door.

He smiled and nodded, spinning his keys around his index finger. It was quite cold out today, so I decided to put on some high waisted jeans, a burgundy sweater and my beloved coat that I had gotten from my dear cousin Jake. He was the only one in my family that actually cared about me and wanted to stay in touch. The bad thing was that he lived in Tokyo, which was far, far away from London.

As Liam and I approached the police station, I noticed how nervous I actually was, which was kind of odd. I mean, it was only Harry. I should be smiling and be so happy to see him, but I didn't smile. A weird frown was placed on my face. I think Liam noticed, cause he kept glancing over at every second minute or so. He was always so protective, wanting me to be happy and free of worries all the time. I couldn't ask for a better friend, honestly.