The Story of Us // L.S

Thirty Five.

Songs for this chapter are:

*Beautiful Girls are the Loneliest // McBusted

*BLUE // Zayn

*Nina // Ed Sheeran

*

Isobel sat with her knees tucked under her chin on the window seat all morning, just watching the traffic go by. Her blue eyes sparkled every time the sunlight hit them and all I wanted to do was sweep her hair out of her face and tell her that she was being so brave and I was so proud of her.

I placed a mug of tea down next to her and she moved for the first time in several hours, finally looking at me. "What if today goes badly?"

"What if it doesn't?"

"But that's more scary because then I have my real birth dad in my life and everything changes." I started to pick at a hangnail as she turned to look out of the window again. "Is that what scares you, life changing?"

"I don't know. A lot of things scare me."

"Like what?"

"Like if I allow him in and he decides I'm not good enough or the daughter he dreamed about and he leaves again. What do I do if he leaves again?"

"Belle, listen to me carefully. You are so brave and I admire you so much. Sometimes you have to let people in and if they hurt you, that is not a reflection of you, it is a reflection of them. If he did leave, it has nothing to do with who you are, but would be because he is scared.

I'll tell you a secret Belle, you are so much like him in that sense. Louis can't let people in and has high walls built up. I would bet any money that he is thinking exactly the same as you are."

"You admire me?" She turned to look at me again and I moved a strand of hair out of her eyes. "So much."

"Can I tell you a secret?" I nodded and she carried on. "I admire you. I wish I was trusting and I let people in. I'd love to let people love me like you do. And then I'd love to pick myself up and carry on if it didn't work out. I don't know how you do that Dad. I don't know how you did it. You know, when Louis left. You looked after me like I was yours and I don't think I could ever do what you did." I felt a tug at the corners of my heart and my vision started to blur. I sniffed to try and hold the tears back and started to laugh. "Bloody hell Belle, I just came to give you your tea." She started to laugh with me, and it was a noise I didn't think I'd get to hear for a long time. It was a magical tingly elegant sound that ended far too soon when the doorbell rang.

"Crap. What do I do, what do I say?" She jumped up and checked her reflection in the mirror. "Do I look okay?"

"Beautiful, as always." She tutted and paced around the room briefly. "If you need me I'll be in my room."

"Wha...What? You're not going to sit with me." I shook my head and she was drawn between arguing with me more and answering the door. She decided to get the door and as she slid out the room I followed behind her, but walked in the opposite direction to my bedroom closing the door quietly behind myself.

I sat with my back resting against the door and strained to hear every word they were saying. All I could hear to begin with was the low rumble of conversation and then nothing as the kettle boiled, drowning out any other noise. Once the tea had been poured it seemed to be like before, at least the conversation was steady.

As time passed and both Louis and Isobel got more comfortable, I could hear them laughing together, a sign that things were going well and I could see a future ahead for them. I smiled to myself and crawled along the carpet to my bed, fishing underneath it for the box of photos. My hand felt something that wasn't plastic and I tugged it out, revealing a wooden box I had long forgotten about.

My Louis box.

The padlock looked broken and when I used force to pull it open, it snapped, sending the metal hook flying across the room. I tutted myself and opened the lid, looking through everything I had collected over the years. I did not even realise I was crying till a tear drop splashed onto the photo I was holding, staining it right in the centre.

A knock at my bedroom door caused me to shove everything back in the box and push it under my bed hastily. I heard it slide across the carpet and hit the wall on the other side and I grimaced as I frantically dabbed at my face.

"Come in?" Isobel poked her head round the door and smiled at me. "Louis' leaving if you want to say bye." I didn't know how to tell her that I did not want to. "I thought we were pretending I wasn't here?"

"Well he knows you're here are you coming to say bye or not?!" I gulped and found myself standing up and following her to him. He shifted nervously when he saw me and Isobel took a step back. "I'll leave you to it." She disappeared into her own bedroom and before I knew what was happening Louis had thrown his arms around me. "Thank you Harry." I pressed against his chest to get him off me. "I didn't do anything."

"You allowed this to happen after everything and you were right, she is amazing."

"I know." A silence fell between us and he backed away towards the door. "Harry?... I do love you and I will use every single way under the sun to prove it to you."