Unstable (Sequel to Twisted)

Chapter 4

I stared at her, wide-eyed. I honestly didn't know what to say, or even think about this. Eleanor and Louis used to be so cute...he used to make it so obvious to us that he was completely smitten by Eleanor, and the same with her.

But seeing her look so broken and weak made me feel...terrible.

"He yelled at me the other day," Eleanor said shakily. "He yelled at me because I left the room without telling him. I-I've never been yelled at by him before. It scared me so much...He even threw me over his shoulder to carry me back." More tears were streaming down her face, and she was hiccupping from the sobs racking through her body.

I knew Eleanor did nothing wrong. Unlike me, she was perfectly innocent in all of this. I saw no reason why Louis should be mad with her.

Unless...

"I think he's worried about you." I said quietly. Eleanor paused in crying, pushing some frizzy bangs out of her eyes to look at me. "I think he's so scared of losing you. That's why he won't let you go anywhere without telling him." I forced a strained smile at her, hoping to calm her down.

But it didn't work.

"I waited for days, praying and hoping he was going to live." Eleanor buried her face in her hands, her thick, long strands of hair falling over her face, hiding her completely. "I-I was so afraid of losing my Louis. And I think I did, because the man that came back is not the man I fell in love with. This one scares me, so much."

I sighed and said, "Come here." Not knowing what else to do, I crouched in front of her and hugged her to me. She cried loudly in my chest, unable to contain her sobs, and I held her, gently rocking back and forth and running my hands through her grimy hair. This poor girl went from having absolutely perfect hair to...this disaster.

"I think he doesn't love me anymore." Eleanor murmured when she was done crying. She was sniffling now, and I handed her some toilet paper to dab at her nose. "I-I think it's because I'm so ugly now."

"Ugly?" I exclaimed in shock. Eleanor was not ugly. She was one of the most beautiful women I've ever met-on the inside and out.

She wordlessly pointed to the scar, her entire face twisting in pain again. "I catch him staring at it, you know. He stares at my scar, and even when I notice it he doesn't stop. He seems to get so angry when he looks at it. W-what if he doesn't love me anymore because I'm so ugly?"

I immediately shook my head, unable to resist reaching out and pulling her long hair from her face. "You are not ugly, Eleanor. That scar doesn't change anything about you. I know Louis loved you deeply, I know it. It was the first thing I noticed. So I'm positive he still loves you just the same. He just may feel...somewhat guilty when he sees the scar."

She was dabbing at her red eyes now, her hands trembling. She glanced back at me and chuckled humorlessly, "I'm sorry for dumping this all on you..."

"Hey, you helped me with my problems with Harry." I said, smiling gratefully at her. "And-"

"-where is she?" Louis's voice boomed through the apartment, and Eleanor and I both jumped up from the sudden noise. The girl immediately clung to me, her entire body beginning to shake. I could hear heavy footsteps pass by the hallway, doors opening and slamming.

This didn't sound like Louis.

I even felt scared as I heard Louis call out her name. And my face visibly paled when I heard Harry's voice suddenly say, "And where the fuck is Claire?"

"We're both in trouble." I murmured, licking my swollen lower lip anxiously.

The door to the bathroom door swung open, slamming into the wall as Louis stepped inside, Harry right behind him. Louis was wearing a dark blue tank top over sweat pants, and when his eyes fell on Eleanor, I noticed him look slightly relieved. But then anger clouded his features, and he stepped forward to literally rip the small girl out of my arms. Eleanor cried out, sobbing all over again as Louis shoved her into him.